Douglas SV54

Just picked this lump up (with assistance from seller!)  Would not have thought that an engine with an aluminium body would weigh so much.  May have bitten off more than I can chew - but hey ho.  
Now need to pull my finger out and finish/sell the two Villiers to raise some funds.

Are these just a re-badged Briggs & Stratton ZZ?

Garak wrote:Are these just a re-badged Briggs & Stratton ZZ?

I don't believe so, though I admit they look similar.
ZZ has horizontally mounted spark plug and flywheel magneto and B&S  Flo-Jet carburettor
Douglas has vertical spark plug, Wico magneto and Amal carburettor.

Also it has Douglas Kingswood Bristol cast into crankcase inspection cover.

Hi Paul,
I agree with you i do not think Douglas have any thing to do with Briggs and Stratton,although these engines bear no resemblance to the flat twin engines that Douglas were famous for,i reckon your engine will be of similar power and perfomance to the Villiers MK 40,good luck with your project.
Regards,
Chiefy.

chiefy wrote:reckon your engine will be of similar power and performance to the Villiers MK 40

Rather more! MK40HS is rated 4.6HP at 2000rpm. Douglas is rated 6.9 HP at same speed.
Also weighs more - 96 Kilos (about 15 stones in old money).

These two plates are fixed to the tin-work on a Douglas SV 54 I'm looking at, maybe the long one should not be on there.

Alternatively, maybe B&S re-badged Douglas - unlikely I think.

Woodsman wrote:

chiefy wrote:reckon your engine will be of similar power and performance to the Villiers MK 40

Rather more! MK40HS is rated 4.6HP at 2000rpm. Douglas is rated 6.9 HP at same speed.
Also weighs more - 96 Kilos (about 15 stones in old money).

Yes you are right Paul i should have read your post properly the 54=540cc iwas thinking the 45 which is obviously 450cc they also made a sv 63 which is would believe 630cc that will be a right lump,there also said to be a sv 70!!!!, you will have to get the full set now Paul !!!.
Regards,
Keith.

Woodsman wrote:Just picked this lump up (with assistance from seller!)  Would not have thought that an engine with an aluminium body would weigh so much.  May have bitten off more than I can chew - but hey ho.  
Now need to pull my finger out and finish/sell the two Villiers to raise some funds.

I have been looking to purchase a Douglas and was in negotiation with a seller, the engine has a bad fuel tank, no exhaust silencer and the seller 'did not know' if the magneto was working, so I made an offer based on the three things highlighted, the seller must have thrown his dummy out of the pram and has not replied to my offer so the search goes on.

Garak wrote:I have been looking to purchase a Douglas and was in negotiation with a seller, the engine has a bad fuel tank, no exhaust silencer and the seller 'did not know' if the magneto was working, so I made an offer based on the three things highlighted, the seller must have thrown his dummy out of the pram and has not replied to my offer so the search goes on.

I think some Ebay sellers research a make/model and use completed prices of show ready engines assuming the rusty lump they're selling is worth the same.

My recent favourite is a rusty A1 shaped lump on for £150

Stuart.

On the opposite side of the crankcase from the oil filler cap, next to the magneto, there is what appears to be a breather but I suspect some of it is missing - I don't see any sort of valve / spring.
Can anyone shed any light?

Woodsman wrote:On the opposite side of the crankcase from the oil filler cap, next to the magneto, there is what appears to be a breather but I suspect some of it is missing - I don't see any sort of valve / spring.
Can anyone shed any light?

It properly is a breather unless it's a lubricator for the magneto drive gear?.

This is what it looks like (sorry for the small size of the photo)



I've got a 52 page maintenance manual and spares list for the Douglas SV range of industrial engines (SV45, SV54 &SV63, 463cc, 543cc & 630cc) coming in the post in a few days which may shed some light on this part. I'm also picking up my own SV-54 soon so we will be able to share info.

Hi Garak,

Having got hold of a somewhat smaller (16 page) manual I can confirm its a breather but there isn't much detail in my manual.
A few pics when you have your engine would be great.

Woodsman wrote:Hi Garak,

Having got hold of a somewhat smaller (16 page) manual I can confirm its a breather but there isn't much detail in my manual.
A few pics when you have your engine would be great.

No problem, does your manual say anything about the correct colour? some kind of blue looks likely.

Garak wrote:
No problem, does your manual say anything about the correct colour? some kind of blue looks likely.

Yup. Light blue - see pics, no idea what BS381C spec it might be. To be honest I'm not that concerned with getting exactly the right shade I just like getting 'em going again.

Woodsman wrote:

Garak wrote:
No problem, does your manual say anything about the correct colour? some kind of blue looks likely.

Yup. Light blue - see pics, no idea what BS381C spec it might be. To be honest I'm not that concerned with getting exactly the right shade I just like getting 'em going again.

Does your magneto spark?

Garak wrote: Does your magneto spark?

Haven't tried it yet, if I start on the Douglas the Villiers will never get finished - at least that's what happened with my Petter A1

Here is my breather:



This is the outer domed cover and screw:






This is my engine, I picked it up today. I did not realise how large these Douglas air cooled engines are, and you are right they are HEAVY!!!! I've got to leave it in the van until I can get some help to get it into the workshop.

Hi Garak,
Thanks for the pictures - should be able to cobble something together. Looks like your tinware is a better condition than mine. According to my manual they weigh 96 kilos.

Just checked and my engine is no 3101 H (H indicating 'High' i.e shaft is 7.5 inches above the base)
So yours is somewhat later and a Low model (6.9 inches) and the 'B' indicates that it would be fitted with a Burgess oil filter.

Found this on another forum and it appears that the breather does not have the spring/ball that I expected so should be able the bodge something to suit

Woodsman wrote:Found this on another forum and it appears that the breather does not have the spring/ball that I expected so should be able the bodge something to suit

On mine there is a very thin disk of spring steel that covers the hole (indicated by the arrow on the left), I don't have a spring in mine the disk must seal using atmospheric pressure when the engine 'breathes'

Well, having put the T300 on the naughty step, I've dragged the Douglas back out!

I've spent the last few days soaking all visible fasteners with penetrating oil and giving everything a bit of a jiggle. First thing I noticed was that the nuts holding the exhaust seem to be an odd ball size. Whitworth spanners fitted everything else but these were in between sizes across the flats.

I favour using sockets when I can and ring spanners when I can't  but I had to fall back on an adjustable.  
Loads of heat and Plus Gas later I had one moving but the other was proving stubborn. In the end I decided to try and chisel the nut off and lo and behold first clout it started moving. Once I got the nuts off I checked the studs and, yup, 3/8 inch BSF same as the cylinder head. Odd ball nuts are approx 0.335" id and 0.575" AF  

Got the carb' off easily and packed away safely.

Whipped the head off and the reason for the lack of compression was obvious - stuck exhaust valve. Gentle tap with a hammer shaft and it popped back in.  Cleaned the junk off the head, piston and valves and it looks pretty good. Piston is stamped +.030 so presumable it's had a bit of work done earlier in it's life.

Going to check ignition next. Fingers crossed, though if the magneto is duff, a WICO Series A should be more affordable the a BTH twin

It is worth checking the oil seal on the gouvenor side of the crankcase. When I did my SV54 no oil leaks were visible (even with the crankcase filled with oil) but on it's first start it flooded the bench with oil past the seal. It's now in the back of the workshop until I can be bothered to continue with it.

Moved on to ignition yesterday. Cranking it over the impulse was clicking like a good 'un, points opening OK around TDC but no spark.
Checked the resistance of HT windings and got around 5.5Kohms - so more optimistic. Removed the magneto for closer inspection. Turns out there was a piece of plastic (?) obviously intended to insulate the spring on the moving contact from the body which had slipped. Whipped the points out for a quick clean and reassembled. Now have a spark. Not exactly greased lightning but looks enough to set fire to petrol vapour.
A bit low on compression so cylinder off next for a butchers at valves and piston rings.


A couple of questions:

The (Tufnol?) coupling has a small screw in it. Any idea what it's for?



The spark plug KLG F50 (should be Lodge CN)  seems to be able to be taken to bits? Is that possible ?

Plug can easily be taken apart for cleaning, shouldn't be too much of an issue although it might need some heat if it hasn't been seperated for a while.

Pete.