Seagull restoration

fergal.b

This is a 1955-56 102 I just picked up and I'm thinking of restoring, it's sized missing bits and is in pretty bad shape but I think it will look ok when it's done. :rolleyes:

pedroeibar1

Masochist! Repeat after me...masochist! masochist! masochist! masochist! masochist!

The only things I ever owned that compared with a Seagull engine for an inability to start in the damp were an old Fiat sportscar and to a lesser extent a Stuart-Turner that would not start when warm. I have never bought another of any of them!

Best of luck with it! Brave man!

fergal.b

This one must be good it say's so on it




Not much left of her now

pedroeibar1

fergal.b wrote: »

This one must be good it say's so on it

Reminds me of the friendly spat years ago between the Royal Vancouver YC and the Seattle YC. The first regarded itself as ‘superior’, ‘The Best Damned YC In The World’ and had the following printed on its match boxes - TBDYCITW. Seattle responded by printing EBTTBDYCITW (Even better than .....

On the Seagull, I suppose at least you can fix it with a hammer and do not need a computer terminal for ‘diagnostics’ and there are ‘points’ instead of some nebulous ‘chip’ thingy. The first photographs look as if it had an enclosed flywheel – mine was I think 1¼ HP and has a whirry one with a loose cord that had to be wound around it before every pull.

Imagine, at age about 12, being somewhere you had been warned not to go to , no breeze, an adverse tide and an engine that could not be coaxed into life. If I wake up with cold sweats and nightmares of dead Seagulls tonight it’s your fault!:D

JamesM

My father used to hire one from Mountjoy Motorcycles in the 50s for our holidays. He then bought one. I remember getting burns on my arm from the flywheel, which was not enclosed. Good luck with the project

fergal.b

The recoil starter was an after market accessory I will be going back to the wrap around pull cord :eek:
I had an old evinrude that broke my heart pull starting, once as I was getting washed up on an island off Skerries It stopped so I started up the aux and it blew the head gasket after 5 minutes so back to the evinrude I pulled till I vomited my fingers blistered and bleeding and my heart about to pop out of my chest I had to call the lifeboat I swore that day that I would never have a pull start again





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JamesM

With the wraparound pull cord, everyone else on the boat had to duck when the rope came flying at them

breghall

Never owned one of these but one or two of the old timers around here swear by them for relialbilty.
Looking forward to seeign what you do with it.

pedroeibar1

breghall wrote: »

....... one or two of the old timers around here swear by them for relialbilty.

I ain't no spring chicken but my memory is sharp and whatever about 'the good old days' the two I have known were awful. At least with my old Fiat I could remove all HT leads & distributor cap and put them in the bottom oven of the Aga for a while; hard to do that with a Seagull (engine, that is):D

There is a good Seagull site here

fergal.b

[QUOTE=

There is a good Seagull site here [/QUOTE]

Yep I'm on it





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pedroeibar1

fergal.b wrote: »

Yep I'm on it .

Why am I not surprised?
Do keep us informed with photo updates. I'm going to set my Google Maps satellite to Skerries, so I can see by the 10:1 oil slick when you are out on the water!:p

fergal.b

All striped down now not much to them

pedroeibar1

Well, mmm......don't know about the other stuff, but nice deck!:D:D

fergal.b

Getting down to brass tacks I started to clean up the fuel tank hoping to do a nice polished brass finish to it but as it turned out someone had someone had patched it up before so I'll just clean it up fill the dints and paint it black.







The chrome on the exhaust was all pitted so I cleaned that back to the brass the gear tube is steel so I'll just take the chrome "what's left of it" off and paint it.

Daibheid

Proper piece of history but that one's a pussy version with the recoil starter AND a flywheel guard. It was said that some of these were dug out of the Normandy beaches years after the Allies left 'em there and were good to go after a clean-up. I'd almost believe it as they have the bare minimum of moving parts. They certainly could be moody iof not handled well but seemed to produce an amazing amount of torque for their size. It'll look and sound a treat when you have it done up.

fergal.b

On testing the coil it turned out to be dead It should be reading between 3-5K




So I tested one off a donor engine and it looked good.




Grand now I just have to swap them over :eek::eek::eek::eek: what a nightmare these are not easy to get off they are held on with to small screws and two studs that are sized in, I used the ratchet on the screwgun to work them loose and some gentle hammering I put it back on the head of the donor engine and used the screwgun on the flywheel nut to turn the engine over for a few minutes to charge the condenser once it was charged I got a good spark.

fergal.b

Gave the carb a check over and a bit of a spit and polish

fergal.b

To remove the flywheel I first undid the nut and sprayed with WD40 then after a few hours replaced the nut and take out the spark plug then turn the engine over so that the piston is at it's furthest point from the plug then get someone to hold the engine up by the flywheel and hit the nut with a good heavy hammer do not use a pullers as they will just warp the aluminium flywheel.
I found an easy way to clean up the flywheel it just bolts onto my bench grinder then working down with fine sandpaper from 400 to 1500 it comes up nice.

fergal.b

I know these gear boxes allow water in unlike other outboards but when they are run in salt water and then left for 20 odd years it can leave a bit of a mess :eek: but at least I know why it's not turning





That's a bit better.

ted1

fergal.b wrote: »

On testing the coil it turned out to be dead It should be reading between 3-5K




So I tested one off a donor engine and it looked good.

you have the wrong scale selected in the first picture the reading is what you would expect.

fergal.b

ted1 wrote: »

you have the wrong scale selected in the first picture the reading is what you would expect.

I saw that when I posted the photo and wondered would anyone spot it , don't worry it wasn't like that when I was testing only when it was posing for the photo





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Bio Mech

That must be the worst looking gear box I have ever seen. Serious muck in there! 20 years of salt tolerant microbial growth. nice.

fergal.b

Dents filled primed and painted, I'll give it a coat of lacquer when I get a decal for it.

fergal.b

The tank straps were a bit rusted up and the chrome almost gone so back to the patio heater for another bit of stainless steal I opened up the band to fit over the heater drilled out the holes and bolted it on to hold it in place while I cut them out.





After a little polish two shinny new straps.




I also cut up an old bike inner tube to line the inside of the straps so they won't scratch the tank.

fergal.b

Got the decals from http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/i_d_your_seagull/102_models.htmon today and built up a few coats of lacquer.

Hifive

Looks great Fergal.

10 to 1 mix :eek:

gctest50

Hifive wrote: »

10 to 1 mix :eek:

Keeps the midges away

pedroeibar1

Hifive wrote: »

Looks great Fergal.

10 to 1 mix :eek:

Oldies remember that, causing the particular smell of a Seagull exhaust (different to, but just as nostalgic as, the smell of hot GTX or the particular whine of a Cooper S distributer) , all associated with ham, egg and tomato sandwiches and Taylor Keith red lemonade. And raise the skeg above horizontal and you get a cylinder full of water. The nightmares of it.:eek:

Well done Fergal, super job!

fergal.b

Not much I can do with the transom bracket it seems to be missing a few corners



I have a bid on this one that should work and looks to be all there.



The stud for the tiller arm is also broken and boy was it hard to remove very fine whitworth threads.

Daibheid

Coming along nicely Fergal - should be good for another 40/50 years when you're finished with it.

It'll probably cost more to run on oil than petrol but I think I can top 10:1 - an old Bultaco 350 Trial Bike I had as a field bike used 8:1!

Hifive

Are you sure it was 8 to 1?
Years ago, I had several Trials machines including two Bulto's, a Sherpa 250 and an Alpina 350, and both were 25 to 1.
A Mate had 4 or 5 Sherpas running 25 to 1 as well.

The running in instructions for my 8hp Wind outboard suggest 6 to 1:eek:, but back to 30 to 1 after the first tank of Juice. Maybe the translation from the Russian was incorrect as it really smoked like a trooper and was very hard to start for that the break in period.

fergal.b

Just about finished now except for the thrust block and a bit of adjusting here and there.












And here is a little video of her first start up, a bit smokey at first but not too bad once she got going

BrensBenz

I can't be 100% sure but I think there is an old Seagull in my late dad's shed. Sorry but I don't know the model but I can check - perhaps, if you need parts or a spare, it could help you. If it is there, it hasn't run in yonks but my dad would have made it run before putting it away! Let me know if of any interest.

Termonator

All you need now is a glass case to put it into. Absolutely stunning end product.

roadsmart

BrensBenz wrote: »

I can't be 100% sure but I think there is an old Seagull in my late dad's shed. Sorry but I don't know the model but I can check - perhaps, if you need parts or a spare, it could help you. If it is there, it hasn't run in yonks but my dad would have made it run before putting it away! Let me know if of any interest.

If Fergal has no need for it Bren, I would swap it for beer vouchers if it suits you. This thread has given me a graw for a small project:D

fergal.b

BrensBenz wrote: »

I can't be 100% sure but I think there is an old Seagull in my late dad's shed. Sorry but I don't know the model but I can check - perhaps, if you need parts or a spare, it could help you. If it is there, it hasn't run in yonks but my dad would have made it run before putting it away! Let me know if of any interest.

I'm sorted BrensBenz thanks for the offer, maybe someday you will get it going again so the smell and sounds can conjure up found memories of your late dad cursing the engine for not starting




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breghall

Fantastic job Fergal, I can't believe it came up so well.

BrensBenz

roadsmart wrote: »

If Fergal has no need for it Bren, I would swap it for beer vouchers if it suits you. This thread has given me a graw for a small project:D

Sorry for delay - since I retired, there seems to be less time available for boards!
I'll go and check dad's shed, maybe tomorrow but definitely over the weekend. I know there's an old Johnson outboard there but I just have this vision of a Seagull there as well.

Thanks for the offer of vouchers - I don't drink but I know someone who does.

roadsmart

BrensBenz wrote: »

Sorry for delay - since I retired, there seems to be less time available for boards!
I'll go and check dad's shed, maybe tomorrow but definitely over the weekend. I know there's an old Johnson outboard there but I just have this vision of a Seagull there as well.

Thanks for the offer of vouchers - I don't drink but I know someone who does.

Beer vouchers = money. Not actual vouchers.

boldspirit

fantastic job Fergal!! You never disappoint

Bio Mech

Lovely work Fergal. But every time I see one, even a pristine shiny one I still get flashbacks to evenings rowing like a madman to get back in from Lough Owel after another inevitable breakdown.

It does look brand new.

BrensBenz

roadsmart wrote: »

If Fergal has no need for it Bren, I would swap it for beer vouchers if it suits you. This thread has given me a graw for a small project:D

Lads, really sorry about this! It seems the shed has already been raided and the only outboard left IS a Seagull but a terminally ill Seagull. There's no prop but photo 1098 and 1100 show why this one wasn't plundered.

Again, apologies. I should have checked before posting.

roadsmart

Such a pity Bren. If you're dumping it I'd take it for spares though.

fergal.b

I think it's the same as mine it's a bit hard to make out the last letter is it 669AC



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BrensBenz

fergal.b wrote: »

I think it's the same as mine it's a bit hard to make out the last letter is it 669AC.

669A9

roadsmart wrote: »

Such a pity Bren. If you're dumping it I'd take it for spares though.

Really??? It's in Skerries but, if that's not convenient for you, I could meet you elsewhere. Arrangements on PM?

roadsmart

Skerries is no bother, how about Monday evening? I'll PM you, thanks.

fergal.b

Skerries :eek: If I had known that I would have nicked it a few weeks ago when I was looking for parts





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roadsmart

Do you still need it Fergal?

fergal.b

roadsmart wrote: »

Do you still need it Fergal?

No I'm sorted now cheers,:) Keep us posted on your rebuild.



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roadsmart

Really nice to meet you Bren, and thank you very much. I know I said that I'd take my time and amass the bits and pieces needed over a few months, but I couldn't help myself and managed to find a refurbished cylinder head and piston/rod on ebay already! And so it begins.....:D

BrensBenz

roadsmart wrote: »

Really nice to meet you Bren, and thank you very much. I know I said that I'd take my time and amass the bits and pieces needed over a few months, but I couldn't help myself and managed to find a refurbished cylinder head and piston/rod on ebay already! And so it begins.....:D

Excellent! Glad to be of some help, even if the engine wasn't what I remembered!

Oh, by the way, my brother's 200hp, V6 Yamaha "outdoor" motor came with a complimentary emergency pull cord. Unfortunately, Yamaha failed to supply a Sumo Wrestler strong enough to actually pull the pull cord so, since the cord should fit a Seagull, you're welcome to that as well. You have my number!