Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Seagull restoration

  • 28-05-2014 3:33pm
    #1
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    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:


    2014+-+1


    20140528_080838.jpg


    20140528_080634.jpg

    20140528_080618.jpg


    20140528_080548.jpg


«134

Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭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!


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭fergal.b


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


    20140529_101516.jpg

    Not much left of her now :)


    20140529_103053.jpg


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭pedroeibar1


    fergal.b wrote: »
    This one must be good it say's so on it :)


    20140529_101516.jpg
    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


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭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 :)


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭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 :D





    .


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭JamesM


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


  • Registered Users Posts: 605 ✭✭✭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.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭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


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭fergal.b


    [QUOTE=

    There is a good Seagull site here [/QUOTE]

    Yep I'm on it :D





    .


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭pedroeibar1


    fergal.b wrote: »
    Yep I'm on it :D .

    Why am I not surprised? :D
    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


  • Advertisement
  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭fergal.b


    All striped down now not much to them :)


    20140530_162455.jpg


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭pedroeibar1


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


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.

    20140602_163534.jpg

    20140602_164550.jpg

    20140602_170536.jpg

    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.


    20140602_160508.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 533 ✭✭✭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.


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭fergal.b


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


    20140603_090306.jpg

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


    20140603_090444.jpg

    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 :D 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.


    20140603_163044.jpg


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭fergal.b


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


    10417700_10201058563384601_4675198268847790325_n_zpseco7eapm.jpg


    10259350_10201058564304624_2937829229604186578_n_zpsnngi4ogl.jpg


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.


    2014+-+1


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭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 :D


    20140609_091339.jpg


    That's a bit better.

    20140609_102227.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 23,179 ✭✭✭✭ted1


    fergal.b wrote: »
    On testing the coil it turned out to be dead :( It should be reading between 3-5K


    20140603_090306.jpg

    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.


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭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 :D





    .


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 1,037 ✭✭✭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.


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭fergal.b


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


    20140609_200635.jpg


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.


    20140616_114142.jpg


    After a little polish two shinny new straps. :)


    20140616_124728.jpg

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

    2014+-+1


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.

    10487263_10201141259211945_8115840366966913425_n_zpsc8vcir1g.jpg

    10410653_10201141258971939_7886122808864951064_n_zpsprwsodq6.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 495 ✭✭Hifive


    Looks great Fergal.

    10 to 1 mix :eek:


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,606 ✭✭✭gctest50


    Hifive wrote: »

    10 to 1 mix :eek:

    Keeps the midges away :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭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!


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 6,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭fergal.b


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

    20140609_154709.jpg

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

    20140610_194610_zps1487d2a4.jpg

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


    20140606_163530.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 533 ✭✭✭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!


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 495 ✭✭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.


Advertisement