Identification needed for unknown engine

[charlie]

I found a numerical price list at the back which unfortunately only goes up to 13703. It would be handy to find a newer catalogue which might have 17529 in it.

[charlie]

I wonder if Cox and Turner engineering might have any information

[trusty220]

I’ve been a little busy over the last few days, but here are a few pictures just to keep your interest alive. The crankshaft, camshaft and intermediate magneto drive gear went into the acid bath for a clean up; they are now getting a bath in bicarbonate to neutralise the acid and looking very good already. The barrel still has it’s valves in- both are stuck fast in their guides, so a long soak in the acid will be the order of the day to try to free them up as gently as possible. You can see the effect of the acid bath in the one photo as there is a build up of froth from the reaction with great big flakes of rust floating on the top- I really hope there is something left when I pick it up again!

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[trusty220]

Now that you’ve seen the horror story of the internals of this engine here is the proof of the effectiveness of the acid treatment method. Compare the pictures of the cleaned items with those of the same items in “as found” condition and be amazed!

It is important to keep them covered in oil once cleaned up as the moisture in the air will start more corrosion off. All I’ve got to do now is do the same treatment to the barrel to try to free up the valves- as you can see it’s now in the neutralising solution and starting to react.

The crankcase will keep me occupied in the meantime. The clean-up will not be quite so easy with the cast aluminium but if I take my time I hope to do it justice.

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[wristpin]

Out of interest, what “acid” are you using?

[trusty220]

I use the Brick and Patio Cleaner that Jewsons sell. It’s quite a dilute Sulphuric Acid and so it is kinder on the metal than some others. Either way it seems to work well enough but you need to do the soaking in a well-ventilated place because it will give off Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) which can be harmful (and flammable) if allowed to build up. The missus can be a problem as well because she objects to the smell!

I’m going to try Caustic Soda on the aluminium to see if that is going to shift the grime; I’m going to have to experiment with test pieces first before I risk the crankcase.

[Author]

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