Cape Vintage Engine13 - May 2009

Newsletter of the Cape Vintage Engine and Machinery Society.
Number 13. May 2009.
celebrations on the same day to
Warm Up, I know I‘ll make the
benefit from our overflow of visitors
effort to bring a couple, but it isn‘t a
I suspect. I was looking at the
pre requisite, bring anything,
Franschhoek Tourism website the
running or not or just bring yourself.
other day. ―Highlights of the Bastille As in previous years, rain or shine,
Festival include an engine and
we always have a great time and
machinery display at local eccentric it‘s not just for Cape Vintage
Arthur Wilding‘s farm ‗Tradewinds‘,
Engine and Machinery Society
Food & Wine Marquee, a French
members, if you belong to any
Film Festival, the Chef‘s & Waiters
other car, bike, tractor or
From The Engine Shed.
Race, Pêtanque, the Barrel Rolling
likeminded preservation club or if
you just like old machinery, come
Winter has hit the Cape and that competition and lots more!‖ There
you have it, if you still have the
along, tell your mates, all welcome,
means it‘s ‗Winter Warm Up‘ time
th
no entry fee. We always have a
again, our 11 . We will be holding it energy for a bit of ―Hanky
th
Pêtanque‖
after
our
show,
you‘ll
braai fire going and a kettle for tea
on Saturday 11 July at Arthur‘s
find
it
nearby.
or coffee so no one will go hungry
farm ‗Tradewinds‘ as usual and the
It will be an ideal opportunity to
or thirsty. Looking forward to
village of Franschhoek will be
th
celebrate the 100 year of Lister
seeing you. Phil.
holding their ‗Bastille Day‘
engine manufacture at the Winter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks again to everyone who
Bridge (South Australia) recently.
in the workshop? The quantity and
has contributed, especially Andy,
He also kindly sent me a copy of
range of entries is mind boggling
Peter Noble, Ron Wiley and John
the official rally brochure.
and I would love to have been
McGregor and also to everyone
The brochure is a book consisting
there. Maybe the next rally?
who has contributed to the ‗Inbox‘
of 72 pages wherein every entry
Pictures: it would be
and John and David Menasce for
and details thereof are shown, i.e.
appreciated if pictures sent to us
their pictures. If I have omitted
Entry number, Brand, Description,
could be sent in JPEG format if
anyone please let me known so
HP, Exhibitor, and Club.
possible. I have recently received
that my computer can be
Interestingly under the heading
pictures in various weird formats
reprimanded.
Exhibitor, husband and wife teams
and have had problems
Ron Wiley has sent us a very
are noted. Is this because
downloading and opening them. If
interesting article about the
Australian wives are actively
you can‘t, then send them anyway
th
Australian 12 National Historical
involved in the hobby or is it
and we will do our best. Gordon.
Machinery Association bi-annual
because they keep the home fires
rally which was held at Murray
burning whilst the guys are buried
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contacts
Phil Gray-Taylor ptaylor@worldonline.co.za
Gordon Riley
gkriley@telkomsa.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Jerry Evans has kindly archived all our previous issues of Cape Vintage Engine as well as Parafinalia which
was produced by Andy Selfe between August 2000 and early 2005. In all Andy produced 28 issues, but
unfortunately editions 5, 6 and 8 are missing. Please does anyone have a copy of these?
Jerry‘s link for the newsletter archive is:
<http://www.oldengine.org/members/evans/paraffinalia/index.htm>
Andy’s Compagnes Drift Mill Restoration articles. To keep up to date one can find his (generally weekly)
articles on the Sandstone website:
http://www.sandstone-estates.com/interim/Compagnes_Drift_Mill_water_wheel/index.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
Contents
A Trip To Swellendam.
Page 2.
Seagull in Box.
Page 9.
Australian National Rally.
Pages 3 & 4.
Long Memory.
Page 10.
The Century Run.
Page 5.
In Box.
Pages 10,11,12.
My Other Hobby.
Page 6.
What Was It.
Page 12.
Maluti Magic Weekend.
Pages 7 & 8.
A Touch of Yesteryear, What Is It?
Page 13.
More About Tools.
Page 8.
Forthcoming Events.
Page 13.
A Couple of Beautifully Restored Engines. Page 9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --A Trip to Swellendam to Inspect a Lister Blackstone Powered Generator.
Andy Selfe.
The purpose of today‘s trip to Swellendam was to inspect a Lister
Blackstone-powered generator which is set up as a stand-by plant at a
sawmill on Grootvadersbos beyond Buffeljags River and Zuurbraak,
quite a distance inland, on the way to Heidelberg. Ronnie Crowther and
I had arranged to have the engine started for us by Nick Selley and to
meet the owner, Alex Anderson. In case you think the name is in
Khoisan, think again! It‘s an acronym for all the first names in Alex‘s
family!
The engine is in running condition and we hope that if it becomes available for preservation, Alex will join us in
the Villiersdorp Club, and we can help him bring it to our Museum and set it up there as an interesting exhibit and
stand-by plant at the same time, but that, like our arrangement with everything else in the museum, it would
remain his property.
The Crossley engine we saved from
Standard Roller Mills and restored and
installed as a Club Project.
A view of our museum.
More about Andy’s trip in the next newsletter. G.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
th
The 12 Australian National Rally.
th
The 11 National Rally was
held at Biloela, Queensland on the
th
st
nd
20 , 21 & 22 of July 2007, five
local South Australian clubs won
th
the bid to run the 12 National
Rally at the National Historical
Machinery Association AGM. The
Fleurieu Antique Rural Machinery
Society (FARMS) of which I am a
member is one of those clubs, the
site by the River Murray at Murray
Bridge about 100 km east of
Adelaide was perfect and compact.
It was an interest exercise
setting up such a large rally and
something most us will not be
involved with again. The national
rally is held in a different state or
territory every two years, sooner or
later the governing body the
National Historical Machinery
Association will have to look at how
these rallies are setup and run
Ron Wiley.
because of the growth in this
interest in old machinery.
The rally was held on the
rd
th
th
3 , 4 & 5 of April 2009, there
were over 700 engines over 200
tractors, around 100 cars, 20
traction engines (that mainly came
from Victoria) and many sundry
items connected with rural life and
farming were on display.
There were some paddle
steamers but the low river due to
the ongoing drought meant that
many were unable to come down
river. So much to see and do, also
a time to catch up with old friends
and make new ones. Inevitably if I
went walk about someone would
come looking for me, my friend
Harward would say that I would be
back later on, so he said I should
now be called ―Lateron‖
There was a dinner for
entrants on the Saturday night that
was attended by over 600 people.
The main thing was that everyone I
spoke to had a good time and said
the rally was well organized. We
had 15,000 plus people who paid
to come through the gates over the
three days so it looks as if it will be
a financial success as well.
Finally at the NHMA AGM
held on the Friday night delegates
from affiliated clubs voted that the
next National Rally in 2011 will be
held just south of Mandurah about
100km south of Perth the Western
Australian Capital. When more
details are available I will send this
information Gordon and Phil,
maybe some of you from South
Africa would like to come?
This sight that greeted me each morning Hoppy Pop and behind him a 1920 269cc A traction engine driving a saw bench that
as I set up my engine for the day.
Villiers Mk.III with water-cooled cylinder. demonstrated how logs were cut into planks.
A 1919 20hp Ronaldson Tippet made at
Ballaarat, the company made stationary
engines from 1904 to 1971.
A 1908 Campbell gas engine.
A row of early Ronnie’s.
1910 Williams two-stroke engine
built in Adelaide.
The sign on the water tank says it all
about this engine.
1930 Perry petrol/kero engine built in
Adelaide by Perry Engineering.
3
A Blackstone oil engine built in 1919
by Clutterbuck’s in Adelaide.
The paddle steamer Flender Hemmel.
A nice little model traction engine.
Some of the small wooden boats
on display.
A 4hp 1908 Capel type LCV oil engine.
The paddle steamer Marion that took
visitors for trips up stream.
Some of the Chamberlain tractors
in the grand parade.
The blacksmiths shop.
Moline tractor followed by a tow motor
in the grand parade.
The local bus.
Just peddle away and excuses are
generated on the display at the top.
Practical exercise machine used
for cutting logs.
1911 2 cylinder Renault Runabout & 1910 Renault AX Cabriolet.
The sign on the water tank (pic 6)? Unknown Oil Engine 1893, 116 years old!
4
The Century Run.
Organised by the Triumph
Motorcycle Owners Club and Cape
Vintage Motorcycle Club, the run is
for riders and their machines with a
combined age of at least 100
years. This year it was held on
th
Sunday 29 March, starting at
Century City and ending at the
Multi Motor Club in Parow. I was
persuaded by Bruce Kirby of the
TMOC to take part and my Son
Our bikes, 1962 BSA B40 and
1954 Royal Enfield model S.
Phil Gray-Taylor.
Ryan came along for the ride on
our BSA B40. I was riding our
Royal Enfield, a 1954 model, so I
just made the 100 year certificate.
Mind you, between me, Ryan and
the two bikes we have a combined
age of 160! There must have been
close to sixty bikes parked up at
the start and by 10 a.m. we were
off. There were three distances to
choose from, 19, 34 and 86km. We
Parked up before the run.
had opted for the 34km run which
took us around the Durbanville Hills
area. The run is open to anyone
with an old bike and if you make
the 100 years, you qualify for a
certificate. We had a great run and
will be there again next year. Now
if I can find a bike from 1928, Ryan
will also get a certificate!
Royal Enfield V-twin with sidecar.
Norton twin cylinder.
Only two bikes did the 19km,
Douglas in the background
and this very nice Vincent
engined push bike.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------And with an almighty crack it came loose!
[The inlet valve cage, not the door frame!]
Phil using his
delicate touch.
Some progress on my Tractor. G.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
My Other Hobby.
John McGregor.
Gordon has repeatedly asked me to furnish some information on my other hobby. Here is a little something for
the newsletter. It is a small article about my great love of old buildings. Here are a few words:
It all started a few years ago
which was owned by his brother,
farm Renosterfontein (more about
Dirk Gysbert van Reenen. (Note
with the farm in this picture.
this farm in future newsletters). In
1799 Jacob left the farm and
Someone told me that there was a
that the two brothers spelt their
very old farm in the Witsand /Port
surname differently).
bought the farm Ganzekraal in the
In 1798 Lady Anne Barnard
Beaufort district that might interest
Darling district from the bankrupt
me. I was taken to the farm and
and her husband stayed with the
Dutch East India Company, living
van Renens for about four days in
what I saw was a fine old building
there till his death.
this house. Fortunately, Lady
that needed to be recorded forever.
Unfortunately, and with much
Anne described the house and
Having walked around inside
sadness, we will be losing this
and photographing all the rooms, I
surrounds beautifully in detail,
farmhouse and its outbuildings to
became interested in its history.
therefore identifying the house
the elements. No one has lived in
Through weeks and months of
without a doubt. During their visit,
the house for many years, and
Jacob took them down to Witsand
research, I found out that this
decay is swiftly moving in.
Next Newsletter: Dirk Gysbert van
farmhouse and its outbuildings
for a picnic and on their way back,
were built by Jacob van Renen in
stopped to visit Jacob's brother,
Reenen.
Dirk Gysbert van Reenen on his
1796 on the farm Brakke Kuil
The farmhouse
on the farm
Brakkekuil.
Outbuilding on
the farm
Brakkekuil.
John has long been a member of our engine club and has restored quite a few engines. After receiving the
above we asked John to tell us more about his other hobby. G.
You asked for some info about
will be), as there are so many still
This consists of old photographs
my photos and the future thereof.
to be photographed, especially out
taken from the internet, private
Because of the lack of control in
there in the faraway places in the
collections and museums. Some of
South Africa in regards to the
mountains and countryside. One
these photos go back to the late
protection of old buildings, I
half of the above hobby is the
1800‘s and early 1900‘s.
decided to photograph as many as
preserving of the images of the
My future plans with the
I can so that I can keep a record of
buildings and the other half is to go
photos? I will be storing them on
what they looked like before the
out there and take the photographs
DVD, and they are available to
loss of any of them through fire,
myself. It is a very satisfying feeling
anyone who would like to refer to a
alterations or demolition. I have a
after I have taken the photos. Last
building. I might look at printing a
collection of a bit more than 2500
weekend I took photos of
coffee table book one day, but in
photos of old buildings (farms
Vermaaklikheid, a ―village‖ near
the meantime I will just keep on
group and town group), bridges,
Witsand.
with my task. John.
passes etc. in my collection. My
I also have a small collection of
work is far from complete (it never
―old photographs of old buildings.‖
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I Am Often Asked What We DO in Koringberg (where?).
Meetings, Bloody Meetings!
Loitering Within Tent.
6
Maluti Magic Weekend Feb/Mar 2009.
Andy Selfe.
My Maluti Magic weekend adventure started about a year ago, when the Trustees of Sandstone Heritage
Trust asked me to ‗polish off‘ an already superb restoration on an International Harvester ‗bakkie‘ (pick-up/ute).
The initial restoration had been done by Oom Jannie duToit and the story is covered in detail in
http://www.sandstone-estates.com/interim/African_Odyssey_2008/index.html
Then my invitation came! Stunned, I looked at the calendar. I have been forced to miss a number of
Sandstone functions; normally they fall in our apple picking time, which begins at the end of February. This was
to be the weekend at the end of February, beginning of March. Would the fruit be early? Late? On time? I was
watching the Maturity indexes carefully, but they remained vague. I asked around other growers of earlier fruit
than Golden Delicious. All running a few days late!
With a week and a half to spare, I said, ‗If it‘s not too late, yes, please, can I come?‘ ‗Yes, but how about
bringing the International bakkie up at the same time?‘ came the reply. That led to a flurry of activity mostly
revolving around making and fitting a canvas canopy. Then we decided that the wine for the event should come
from the Estate where the Water Mill which I‘m restoring, is situated. See http://www.sandstoneestates.com/interim/Compagnes_Drift_Mill_water_wheel/index.html
That had to be hidden under the canvas cover.
Then I had to tie up all the loose ends at the workshop and farm, which included asking Pippa, my wife, to
stay behind and open and close irrigation valves and feed the dogs!
The trip up over two days went fairly well, small breakdowns, mostly from
vapour locks in the fuel lines. One potentially more serious problem came
from a simple source; a faulty ignition warning lamp. As a result on the
Thursday afternoon, the alternator was not charging and on Friday I woke
to a nearly flat battery. It got me 1½km out of Richmond where I had spent
the night and as a result, I had to be towed in and I lost three hours from
my 4.30am start. However, I made a friend in the garage owner!
I was on the farm by 4.30 pm, after an amusing incident at the petrol
station in Ficksburg. A rather attractive lady stopped and asked if I was
married.
‗Yes,‘ I said, ‗why?‘
‗Oh dear,‘ she said, ‗otherwise I would have married you for the bakkie!‘
No sooner on the farm than I found myself on a train, the full
circuit, behind a Garratt,
driven by Oom At
deNecker
As much as possible,
everybody was given a
job to do over the
weekend. I was happy to
choose to be in charge of
the Eland 90 Armoured
Car. I served in these
‗cars‘ about 40 years ago,
so this would be a nostalgic experience for me!
At the appointed
time, I reported to
Jan Fouche and his
son Francois for a
refresher course,
this being a Mk 7,
our latest cars were
Mk 3. It all came
flooding back, the
gear-change gate,
keeping my thumbs
out of the spokes of the steering wheel; I even remembered my Fire Control Orders!
There followed a flurry of train rides, every time behind a different locomotive! Then meeting with Colonel
Doyle of the School of Armour, who gave me more hints on driving, before he climbed into the Sherman tank and
7
we all went off in a convoy towards the Lesotho border, on a Punitive Mission! I can hardly describe the
excitement of driving the Eland close up behind the Sherman, so close that it was throwing up mud in my face
(and movie camera lens!) Yes, somehow I was able to film the experience.
At one stage, we were treated to the sight of a lifetime, no less than three Narrow Gauge Garratt locomotives
coupled up together and connected to a train! The sight and sound of 12 (!) steam engines pulling in unison up
the hill towards Pandora is something I won‘t forget in a hurry!
Three Narrow Gauge Garratt Locomotives.
Picture by Hannes Paling.
This is as much as I can do to record the experience of a lifetime. Thank you to all involved! And thank you,
Nature, for being just a few days late! Andy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------More About Tools.
Gordon.
A while ago whilst battling to get
rusted and partially rounded ½‖ nuts
off a gantry that I was modifying, I
unearthed a solitary Metrinch socket
that just happened to fit. Using this I
managed to remove the 16 nuts that
had resisted my efforts with a
normal socket. Being suitably
impressed I decided to think about
investing in a set of these sockets.
Purely by chance, about a week
later whilst browsing through a
hardware store in Vredenburg I
came across a table laden with
Metrinch spanner sets of all sorts.
The tools had been used for a
promotion, but had not sold and
after prolonged haggling with the
shop owner, I purchased rather
more than I am prepared to disclose
(the lady who was with me and who
shall be nameless, but who is also a
club member, must shoulder a large
portion of the blame. She also loves
spanners and did some arm
twisting).
Interestingly some of the
extension bars in the socket sets
had a ‗wobble‘ end similar to the
Jonnesway ones discussed in the
previous newsletter.
Shortly afterwards I acquired my
1941 Massey Harris tractor that is
reputed to have stood under a tree
for 20 years and have used the
Metrinch spanners exclusively for
removing the old and rusty imperial
nuts and bolts on it. As a matter of
interest, in the process stripping the
tractor, virtually every nut and bolt
has come loose fairly easily and so
far I have only broken two bolts out
of the more than a hundred that I
have removed. The nuts and bolts
were all liberally sprayed with
penetrating oil a while before
stripping, but I have a feeling that
the material used when the tractor
was built was far superior to what
we have now. In addition there have
not been any rounded corners
which must be due to the Metrinch
design.
Whilst looking for Metrinch
sockets, I found out that Gedore
produce a similar profile - I think it is
known as their C series.
Metrinch Ring/Set Spanner.
Metrinch Sockets
¼’’, 3/8” & ½” drive.
‘Wobble’ extensions
(Jonnesway).
8
A Couple of Beautifully Restored Engines – Seen at Gerald Buitendach & Seps Engine Day (I think!).
Pics by John Menasce.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Seagull in a Box.
For many years it was rumoured
that during WW2 dozens of seagull
outboard motors and inflatable
boats had been buried on the DDay beaches of France as a back
up in case they were ever needed
for another Dunkirk type
evacuation.
The Seagull outboard used was the
type 102, made at the British
Seagull factory in Poole, on the
south coast of England. They were
made in the thousands for the War
effort, being used to power
pontoons, barges and for bridge
Phil Gray-Taylor.
building. The War Office design
specification was for the engine to
be capable of working non-stop for
at least 24 hours at a time.
History shows that the buried
engines did indeed exist but were
never needed during the War,
more recently some have been
discovered and liberated from the
French dunes for more peaceful
duties.
My Seagull outboard in the box is a
type 102. The paint on the box is
old and faded but you can still
make out the stencilled legend
‗British Seagull Outboard Engine
Unit‘ and the serial ‗PGT 333 VT‘
One can also plainly make out the
WD (War Department) and their
‗broad arrow‘ symbol with the date
June 1944. Is there a possibility
that my Seagull Outboard motor in
the old and faded, weather-beaten
box could be one of the motors
discovered in the French dunes?
Naah, I made the box a week
before the Timour Hall Show in
January this year. Looks good
though hey?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------An Early 2’ 0” Gauge Locomotive of The
Rhodesian (Zimbabwe) Railways.
Tractive Force at 75% B.W. P. 3987 lb.
Total Weight (F. W.O.) 20tons 4 Cwt.
Manufacturers; Falcon Engine-Carriage Works 1897.
9
Long Memory.
In approximately 1958 the first combine harvester
model that Ransomes, Simms & Jeffries (to give them
their full title) produced was undergoing field trials prior
to manufacture. They encountered a major problem
with the engine in so much that sometimes under full
load the engine would suddenly lose power and
produce clouds of black smoke.
After checking all the obvious things like fuel pump,
injectors, valve clearances, etc, they still had the
problem. Close observation of the engine under load
was difficult as it was situated between the driving
wheels and underneath the threshing mechanism. In
desperation they replaced the engine with a new one,
but the problem was still with them which concentrated
their minds on other external factors and eventually
they discovered that a length of rubber hose which
connected the pipe from the oil bath air cleaner to the
inlet manifold was not strong enough and was going
flat when the engine needed the maximum air flow.
At least 15 years later when we were using the
Massey-Ferguson 500 combines and oil bath air
cleaners were a thing of the past, I was visiting one of
the outlying farms for which I was responsible,
I noticed that the combine was operating in extremely
dusty conditions. In the UK if you get a lot of rain once
the grain crops have started to ripen, you get soil
splash on the lower parts of the plant, the straw
becomes brittle and breaks up more and worst of all a
black sooty mould grows on the wheat ears. When all
this goes into the combine the gray/black dust cloud is
Peter Noble.
extreme – all these conditions were part of that day‘s
operation, plus there was no wind, so that the combine
was invisible from a short distance away. All you saw
was the slowly moving black/gray cloud of dust.
The Early Ransomes Combine.
Late that evening my assistant from that farm rang
me in a very concerned state – just as they were about
to knock off for the evening the combine suddenly lost
engine power and produced clouds of black smoke. He
and the driver were so concerned that they just
stopped it and left it where it was and then contacted
me. Although I had never thought of the Ransomes
experience, it immediately came to mind and I was
able to tell my assistant that probably the air filter
cartridge was completely choked and that a good
routine clean would put everything right. It was and it
did. P.N.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Box.
Sent to Andy. Your reference to bricks reminded me of Siggi Duvel's (our club treasurer) recipe for cooking
guinea fowl.
a) Find a pot large enough to hold the guinea fowl AND a hard Coronation brick.
b) Place brick and guinea fowl into pot, add vegetables and seasoning as required.
c) Cover with water and bring to the boil.
d) Boil for about 6 hours, topping up with water as needed.
e) Remove from fire and remove brick from pot.
f) Throw away contents of pot and eat the brick !! Jerry Evans, near Johannesburg in Sunny South
Africa.
I sent the following to Stuart Lawson: I have attached two pictures of a spanner I was given recently; one
end is offset at 90° as if it was made for a special purpose? Note the snail motif, do you know of the maker?
Stuart‘s reply; Of course I do, says he modestly!! It is made by Thomas Smith and Sons, Saltley, Birmingham.
Sometimes seen with TS&S markings. From the style I would say it is from 1900-1920. Ron Wiley.
Thank you for all the help and information! I really enjoyed reading all the newsletters. Karl van Dyk.
Thanks for the latest edition of the newsletter. Sue and Fred Harvey, England.
10
I have done well lately with the engines I have been given, 4 Villiers, a Power-Pak cycle motor and the early
Honda stationary engine driving a pump.
Wednesday I went to the post office to collect the mail, two letters and card to say there was a registered
parcel. I thought Margery had ordered something but found it was addressed to me from a Peter Scott. When I
got back to the car I opened the package and found a cardboard box, I suppose you are expecting me to say
there was another box inside the first one?
Wrapped in tissue paper was a small glow plug model aircraft engine, the mystery
deepens. There was no note with the engine and I have checked my records, I have
not had any contact with a Peter Scott. From his address I got his phone number, I
have called twice and left messages on the answering machine.
As you will see from the attached picture I have an O. S. MAX-1 15 glow plug
engine, the following is what I found on the Internet about it:
The first of a long line of O.S. 'MAX' engines, the MAX-1 29 and MAX-1 35
appeared in 1954, followed by the MAX-1 15 in 1955. In 1956, a MAX-1 15 powered
model, flown by Ronald Draper, won the official (FAI) World Free Flight
Championship held in England. This drew worldwide attention to O.S. engines and became the turning point
that led, eventually, to O.S. prominence in the world market.
Displacement - 2.48cc, Bore - 15.2mm, Stroke - 13.7mm, Weight - 114g.
Well, there it is—as much as I can tell you about one of the forgotten classics of the model engine industry. It's
a great pity that this design didn't achieve greater sales success—if it had, there'd be more of them around
today! And it really is a lovely engine which would be a real treat to fly. But with these engines being as rare
as they seem to be, I doubt that we'll see many of them in the air in the future. Still, an engine to remember
and to really enjoy if you're ever lucky enough to acquire one! Ron Wiley.
The other day I came across a rather battered Victa engine in a scrapyard. I was interested in the fact that it
had two spark plugs at right angles to each other. I contacted Phil and received the following reply: There
should be an automatic decompressor in the side of the head where the second spark plug is. It is a popular
dodge to remove this and fit an old spark plug when the decompressor is faulty. Gordon.
Regarding the ratchet rings, there's an unbranded type available through the Mica franchises with a very
useful hinge just back from the ratcheting ring, and at the other end, a very robust open end spanner. You turn
them over to go the other way, so there's no clumsy lever. I don't usually buy unbranded tools, but these are
good. I have worn some out already (OK, spoiled them by expecting too much of them), but have gone back
to get replacements, they are available separately. Andy Selfe.
Looking at Gordon's oil covers, you should have heard the mostly Afrikaans instructors in the Army trying to
say 'huile', which was written on the pressure gauges of the (then) French Panhard Armoured Cars we had! In
the true Afrikaans custom of pronouncing every letter, it came out as 'hay-luh', a far cry from the 'Ooooeeee'
that would make some sense to a Frenchman! Andy Selfe.
Thank you very much for this edition - I must say I am getting hooked on to this subject. Steve, Simonstown.
Thank you for including us in the newsletter. So glad you are finding the product useful! Pieter Steenkamp,
(of Steenvas fame), Lamberts Bay.
Thanks for copying me; I always enjoy reading your news letter. Some of the old engines bring back some
great memories (Neil‘s Villiers collection). Phil Menasce.
Wow, you guys have excelled yourselves again. Congratulations. John Menasce.
To Andy: My name is Rod Clark and I am a vintage engine collector living in Blenheim New Zealand, I have
just finished reading your most interesting newsletter on the web. I stumbled on it by accident while looking for
information on a Dorman Petrol Engine that I am in the process of restoring.
I have just received from a friend in England a copy of a Dorman Type 1AB handbook, but unfortunately it
does not give any of the spec's for it e.g. HP, revs etc. If anybody wants a copy I could scan it and send it by
email.
I am a member of the two clubs here in Blenheim and am the Newsletter Editor for the Tua Marina Vintage
Traction & Machinery Club. We are a small club with about 40 members and like all clubs there is a small core
group who are the active members. We recently held a Lister Rally here to celebrate 100 years since Lister
made their first engine. It was very good and we had just on 100 Lister engines and others on show. One of
the things we do is to exchange newsletters with other clubs, that way we get to hear what is going on
11
elsewhere. A lot of these I send and receive by Email and the ones that I receive by Email I print and take to
our meetings as a lot of members do not have computers. Would you be interested in doing this? I guess that
is about it for now, hope you get this and don‘t mind me contacting you. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Rod Clarke, Blenheim, New Zealand.
Andy to Rob. Thanks so much for the e-mail! Yes, of course we want to know what's going on down there
and an exchange of newsletters will be great! I'm not sure which one you found, nor where, but that doesn't
matter! In fact, if it was an old Paraffinalia, I stopped doing them a couple of years ago, it just became too
much to handle. Since then it has been started, under another name, by two of my friends, Philip and Gordon,
and I have copied them in on this mail. The more people who read it, the more feedback, and the more
interesting both newsletters become.
Was your Lister rally the one that JT was at and helped (?) organise?
Who did you get the Dorman info from? I'm trying to think of the name of my Dorman contact. I get mixed up
with the Meadows man who's often writing in. Giive me a mo to think. I seem to remember that the 1AB was
used on the Calfdozer.... Andy, Elgin in the Cape.
Ron to Rob. Andy Selfe forwarded your email to me. I run the Cooper register for Australia and with Dean
Hatcher in Brisbane the Villiers Register. I have been writing articles for The Old Machinery Magazine
(TOMM) for 10 years now and in issues 112 & 113 I wrote articles about an Aveling Barford Calf Dozer that
belongs to a friend of mine. In trying to find information about the Dorman type 1AB engine, I contacted
Patrick Knight and he put me in touch with Derek Jones the former head of R & D at Dorman‘s. I wrote
about the engine in issue 112.
Looking at the article again I can tell the following about it:
98.4mm bore by 104.7mm stroke = 797cc
Compression ratio 5·5: 1. Wico-Pacy impulse magneto type AG08BZ. Zenith 30VES carby.
Tappet clearance 0·006‖ for inlet and exhaust. 9·5bhp @ 1,700 rpm.
In the Calf Dozer engine the inlet manifold has a butterfly controlled by the governor, the butterfly in the carby
is cable operated and when closed brings the engine back to a tickover. Open the carby throttle and governor
takes over to run the engine at 1,700 rpm. I hope this is of help to you? Ron Wiley, Victor Harbor, South
Australia.
Ron to Andy. You must have had a helping of brains, the wonder head filler, fancy you remembering I wrote
about the Aveling Barford Calf Dozer and its Dorman engine five years ago. As you will see I have copied you
on my note to Rob. I am sure Gordon & Phil will want to contact Rob. Ron Wiley.
And now for something weird and wonderful; I have been sent
photos in the mail of the All Australia Sentinel Moto-Cultor. I
have scanned one picture showing it with the water-cooled
Mk.VIII-C. No prefix or S/N has been found on the engine but
the conrod has VILLIERS VIIIC – VID stamped on one side and
PAT 207157 – 25 on the other. I have an 8-C with the same
conrod so I think engine dates from say 1925 to the early
1930‘s.
Because of the design of the machine it does not have a
Villiers Flywheel magneto but a gear driven magneto. I suspect
The Sentinel Engineering Works made the water-cooled
cylinder? The good news is that the engine runs and the owner
Graeme Campbell tells me it will be restored at a later date.
Vary interesting to say the least? It is apparently a beast to handle. Ron Wiley.
Hi Phil...I really enjoyed your resourcefulness in that Seagull article. Well done!! Tony Beckett.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What Was It?
It has a 1/8‖ ‗gas‘ thread in the centre and a taper reamer, a screw driver tip, and 1/8‖ gas
taper and parallel tap on the outside point. It may have been a bit unfair for farmers to
guess what the tool was used for, as it was essentially for ‗town‘ gas pipe work. Leith
Paxton.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------Wanted.
Could someone please advise where saucer type and brass cup type welsh plugs may be
purchased in South Africa and also for an Allis Chalmers ‗B‘ 1946 :- a set of pistons, rings and sleeves.
Contact Douw at hsdelange@vodamail.co.za
12
A Touch of Yesteryear.
What is it?
Size is similar to average pocket knife with a 40mm
blade and brass hilt, the handle is spring loaded like
tweezers having half circular ends and serrated jaws.
Dated 1913.
Submitted by David Menasce.
Phil.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Forthcoming Events
The following is a preliminary list of events as given to us and we cannot guarantee the accuracy thereof.
Please check with the relevant organizers before making arrangements to attend any event.
If any errors are found it would be appreciated if we could be notified so that corrections can be made for
the next newsletter.
Note: The Piket Tractor and Implement Club Engine Day has been postponed due fact that it clashes with
other events. No new date has been decided on yet.
June -
Saterdag 20 Villiersdorp engine day at the museum.
July -
Saturday 11 Cape Vintage Engine and Machinery Society’s Winter Warm Up at
Arthur’s Place near Franschoek. (Franschoek’s Bastille Festival 11 & 12 July)
Saturday 25 Swartland Veterane Klub Ploegdag 2009 (see below for contact details).
August –
7, 8 Villiersdorp Expo (Friday & Saturday).
16,17 Aurora Agricultural Show.
22,23 Heidelberg Show.
September – 20,21 Bokkeveld Veteran Week – Ceres.
27 Whales and Wheels – Hermanus.
30 to 4 October Spring Show – Robertson.
Oktober –
9,10,11 Malmesbury Show.
24,25 Wheels Festival, Worcester.
November –
22 Museum Day at Stettyn (Villiersdorp).
December –
6 Veteran Harvest Day at Goudmyn (Paul Smit‘s farm, Moorreesburg).
Swartland Veterane Klub - Ploegdag 25July.
Enquiries: Linda Carstens 084 887 7843 or Cassie Carstens 082 859 2939.
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