Saving Old Seagulls

Hi all! Greetings from sunny East Central Florida, USA - the Space Coast. So called due to the Kennedy Space Center a few miles away.

Yesterday I spotted a British Seagull for sale on the local Craigslist. Pictures looked good. Price was reasonable. So I crawled through this whole website and related sites to educate myself before looking at the motor. My previous experience with Seagulls was back in 1978 when I helped a Coast Guard colleague deliver his newly acquired Cape Dory 18ft Weekender down the New Jersey coast on a day with a rousing easterly blowing onshore. I was impressed with the Seagull's power to push us out the inlet against a very foul flood tide.

I currently own a 1972 Gulf Coast 20 sloop manufactured in Houston, TX and designed for good performance but with a cuddy for two to overnight. I've been using a 2hp Evinrude I bought new in 1984 for a 24 ft sharpie schooner I had built. It is adequate for the GC 20, but the Seagull seems a much better match on several levels - especially for a well preserved vintage sailboat.

The seller had acquired the motor from his uncle who purchased it new and estimated between the two of them the motor has about15-20 hours on it. It has been idle for a while but appears well treated. The seller believed it to be a 1985 3hp, but running the engine number shows it to be a Forty Plus built in June 1979. Edit: As mentioned in my next post below, I goofed - it is actually a Forty Plus built in June of 1969. Even better.

After a good look over I paid the seller his price and brought it home. He had commented that he couldn't get it to fire after sitting so long. I pulled the plug (Champion 8 COM made in the U.K.) and discovered the electrode closed down as if dropped. No carbon and light wet oil on it. I believe it is the original plug. I won't try and fire it up until flushing the fuel system & carb and changing gear case oil, but I had to check the spark by grounding a plug to the cylinder and giving it a pull. The plug slipped off the motor and I can attest it has good strong spark - my hand tingled for several minutes.

By tomorrow or Friday latest I should have fluids freshened up and a couple of aging seals like the gas cap freshened up and try to fire it up in the test barrel.

I must say I am thrilled to find an active forum and active support for these great old motors.

Sounds like you have a good one! why dont you post a pic of it so we can all have a look

I do plan to start a picture gallery showing off the motor as it progresses from its current state through cleanup and onto the boat. I'll post up the good ones on here as I take them.

I need to make a correction to my first post. After exchanging some info with John here at SOS regarding parts, the engine identifier revealed that I actually have a 1969 Forty Plus! My fault for merely looking at one of the tables showing all the models instead of actually plugging the motor numbers into the Engine Identifier. The difference between my build date code of F9 and the FF9 code for a 1979 model didn't register with my brain.

Considering its exceptionally good overall condition and that it has all the same features of the 1979 engine I thought I had, except the conversion to 25:1 oil premix, I am even more pleased with my acquisition. I'll be putting together an order for whatever small parts I may need very soon and will include the carb slide needle needed for running the 25:1 premix.

Wow! Can't believe it has been since mid-May that I promised to get pictures as I revived my Forty Plus. Apologies, but other things kept interfering.

Ordered a few things from John a while back and finally got time this past weekend to rebuild the fuel tap, install the Villiers 25:1 slide needle, replace the gas cap gasket, and install a fresh spark plug.

And yesterday I poured a few CC's of outboard oil into the cylinder with it laying down. Turned the motor a few times by hand with the spark plug out to distribute the oil around the cylinder and back into the crankcase. Then installed the spark plug with a dab of anti seize on the threads. Placed the motor on a large barrel of water. No leaks from fuel tap. Tickler on the carb worked great without spewing very much gas from the vent hole. Choke on. Half throttle. Four pulls and it fired right up.

A few pics along the way...






The old gasket coming off with careful use of a scraper...



And finally making smoke and noise...



There are a few more pictures at https://mark1305.smugmug.com/British-Seagull

I'll be adding more pictures to the gallery as I get good ones. Next step will be fitting the motor to my 1972 Gulf Coast 20 sailboat and when weather permits between days of Florida summer thunderstorms, getting it on the water.

Very nice!

You should not need to pot an O ring on the gear box filler cap... but it is up to you.

Very nice motor! Looks new!
Same as mine, only 6 years younger.

Guzzi in the background, is it?

Sandro

Thanks Sandro. Actually that's a 1983 BMW R80 ST in the background. I've always wanted a Guzzi and almost snagged a very nice older one a couple of years ago. After having a couple of Ducatis, that incredible 90 degree v-twin sound hooks you forever. Not to overlook the Italian flair for moto styling.

And yes about the lack of need for an o-ring. Before I learned from John that no ring was required I had noticed the groove in the gearcase cap. In my experience a groove usually means the part was engineered for an o-ring seal. So I fitted the proper size and don't have to tighten the cap nearly as much.