Douglas SV54 Questions

[vhgmcbuddy]

My Douglas engined Trusty is missing it’s oil filler cap from the crankcase cover. As the cap also incorporates the dipstick, can anyone tell me how far below the filler neck the oil level should be?

Also, would the Aluminium crankcase have originally been painted? Mine has no trace of paint on it, but may have been stripped by a previous owner.

Thanks,

Sean

[vhgmcbuddy]

Hi Sean. I will measure mine tomorrow and let you know. My trusty has the same engine.
Not sure on the crankcase question though.
Ben.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Ok, unless I am missing something here, it looks like the filler cap and dipstick are two different things in my Douglas engine.

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[vhgmcbuddy]

Hi Ben,

The oil filler/dipstick arrangement on your engine is different to mine. As you can see in the attached photo, on my engine the oil filler is directly below the magneto, but yours is on the timing case. I am guessing that one of our engines is a later version.
The manual for the engine states that the sump capacity is 3 pints, so I will drain it and then refill with 3 pints. I can then measure the depth myself and make a suitable dipstick.

Thanks for taking the time to help.

Sean

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[vhgmcbuddy]

No problem Sean. Happy to help – I certainly learnt a lot from your Norton Trusty restoration which was extremely interesting to follow.
I believe mine is 1947, perhaps yours is older?

Out of interest do you remember where you got your trusty wheel felt washers made? Was it RH Nuttall? I need to get a pair and if I use a company who has done them before it might be easier.

Many thanks, Ben.

[vhgmcbuddy]

The felt washers were made by Ram Gasket Solutions (www.ramgaskets.co.uk). I had 10 made, which cost £4.24 each plus £18 postage & packing. Their works order number was S/43592, if it makes it easier for them to trace.

Hope this helps,

Sean

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thanks for that Sean – very helpful.
If you wanted to sell a couple, do let me know.
Also, what oil would you use for the Trusty, as mine looks like it needs changing?

Many thanks

Ben.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Unfortunately, I haven’t got any felt washers left. I knew I should have got more made at the time!

The manual advises engine oil should be SAE30 if using during the winter and either SAE40 or SAE50 for summertime. Make sure it is detergent free.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Further dabbling with the SV54 has left me a little puzzled over the breather. Normal breather operation allows high pressure to escape from the crankcase and close when crankcase pressure is lower than the external air pressure (correct me if I’m wrong). On my Douglas, it is open to breathe in and out, which makes me think something is missing. Attached is a photo of the breather stripped down. I reckon that there should be something between the items arrowed. Anyone else had one of these apart before?

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[vhgmcbuddy]

You should have a thin spring steel disk as in the image below. It is 0.20mm thick.

Does anyone know if any spares are still available for these engines??

[vhgmcbuddy]

Many thanks for the info.

As for spares, nothing is readily available. You either need to cannibalise another engine, or have items manufactured. Pistons and rings did used to be available from Cox & Turner Engineering. For my engine, I had to make my own starting handle and mounting brackets for the fuel tank.

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