Nutgone's Tarpen

There not the best of pics to see the difference but you can tell one looks better then the other so you work wasn't wasted. One way I've managed to get rid of runs in paint is to let it dry then cut it off using a razor blade, (very carefully) makes it look a lot better even though you'll still know where there at anyone a few feet away shouldn't be able to see them.

Stu.

No, you're right, the close up shot doesn't look very good, it looks better from a distance.

Trouble is, the plaque is quite badly worn anyway, I'm gona still play with it a bit, as some of the letters haven't come through very well. It's going to be an ongoing thing, I think.

You might have more success getting the letters to stand out using a scalpel or stanley knife blade to gently scrape them off. I've found using abrasive paper gets rid of even more of the only slightly raised letters. Maybe I was too heavy handed with it though...

Right. Today I thought I'd take it easy, just do a little bit. So I began by putting the wheels back together, then I got carried away again

The wheels have roller bearings, like big needle rollers, a bit OTT but nicely engineered. They're pressed steel split rims with solid tyres. I couldn't find any satisfactory new tyres & the tyre & bumper restorer bought the old ones up a treat anyway. Also the side walls were quite badly bashed about, but only on the outside faces, so I turned them round for re-assembly & they look really good......



Once together I touched them up with some more black Hammerite Smooth & put them to one side.

Then I thought I'd start putting the end caps on the chassis. I've decided to use some instant gasket type stuff on them, as they form much of the exhaust system. I used something called "Wellseal", it's reckoned to be one of the best & is quite expensive (it was my dad's, with his permission)......



The Wellseal takes 5 minutes to dry, before you can assemble, so the first end plate I just had a fag & greased up the threads of the bolts, but the next one was too soon for another fag, so I put the engine mounting bit on instead......



Then I realised I'd done this in the wrong order. I should've put the front plate on first, then done the rear (Tarpen embossed one) on once the wheels were on, but it's not a massive deal, so on goes the front plate & wheels (the wheels will be on & off a few times, I guess, so I won't open out the split pins until I'm sure I'm ready.......



So then I'm thinking "how many bits can I get on this thing without denying myself access for painting up the nuts & bolts?" The answer was "engine & governor mounting shelf" so on goes the engine......



Oh yeah, while I'm at it, I might as well put the flywheel back on, & the coupling flange on the other end (Of course I re-checked the points gap, just to be certain)......



Now it was time to paint up all the nuts & bolts & various scuffs, & put it to a safe corner of the workshop.

Might as well make a start on building up the generator whilst I'm here, I suppose.......




Now this isn't as easy a job as I thought. It turns out, all that bashing to get the pulley off has pushed the bearing along the shaft & now the brushes aren't correctly lined up. So I've just got them as best I can, just hope it's OK.

Then it turns out all that bashing has splayed the end of the shaft out a little where my new pulley & the other coupling flange have to go on. I filed it down for ages but still managed to split my new taper-lock bush in half tapping it onto the (very tight) shaft! BUGGER! I thought that was it, but it still goes into the pulley & locks onto the shaft, so it'll just have to do. It's not like it's under much strain.

I also split the coupling flange (BUGGER!!!) tapping it onto the shaft (DAMN that shaft's tight!) It's only got one split in it, along the line of the key-way. It's still on there tight & it's not like it can fly off anywhere, it's attached by the rubber coupling. So I've left it be. If it does break up I'll have to find another or get it welded.

So, off come the wheels & on goes the generator. I did up all the coupling bolts, only to realise I'd left the fan belt off! (BUGGER!!!!!). Off it all comes again, just to slip the fan belt over......



She's really beginning to take shape now. I had to connect a length of that special flex, as I didn't know if I could get to the connections on the back of the genny, after shortening them during the tidy-up of the old wiring. I put it in an old Jiffy Bag, so it doesn't get dirty (I'm turning into a bit of a girl with this one, aren't I?).......



I painted up the next lot of nuts & bolts & put the wheels back on.

I stood there looking at it for a while, than I thought I might as well get the fan & cowl back on. I'd already had it on once, to get the pulleys lined up, & I'd already greased up the bearing.

So on went the fan, then it's shroud, then I thought I'd put the exhaust pipe on & the engine cowl. I rested the governor box on it's shelf, dropped the petrol tank into it's holes (haven't bolted it down yet, as it's gotta come off again) & took some more pictures.....




I'm a bit annoyed with myself at splitting the bush & coupling flange, but all in all I think she's looking great!

Next I've got to polish the petrol tap, rebuild the plug socket, put the governor back together (it doesn't actually work, but is needed to hold the throttle linkage), put the carb back on, petrol pipe on, connect up the electrics, handle back on, spark plug shorting strip back on (my version of a stop switch), plus a little plate with 2 holes (with new grommets in) on the back of the genny, than I suppose I'd better try to start it.

I haven't checked for a spark yet, as there was still wet paint & I didn't want to have to touch it up AGAIN! I suppose I'd better check that tomorrow. I haven't polished up the carb either. I have cleaned it up VERY thoroughly with almost a full tin of carb cleaner (albeit some weeks ago), & I'm fed up with polishing stuff, so as long as it works it'll do me for now.

Also I've got the petrol tank to sort out. I went to give it a 2nd coat the other day & completely messed it up. I think I will have to sand it down & do it again (3rd coat) before I'm happy enough to put the new "TARPEN" badges on. I'm going to have to be patient though, as that'll mean waiting for the paint to fully harden, which takes a good week, possibly more.

Right, I've rambled on long enough for now. Will let you know how I get on tomorrow.

What a first class write up and great pics to help show what your doing. The genny is looking well, great job you've done and no worries about the alloy parts they look good and clean, all that hard work polishing was well worth the effort. Looking forward now to see if she'll run so fingers crossed.

Stu.

I will complete this write up. I had her running yesterday, in the shed, as a few of you may have seen from the short video I posted on the Facebook page.
Trouble is I've over done things a little bit lately & I just flaked out last night, made myself far too over-tired. (I get that from time to time, & have been told not to over-do things). I've got more pics to show & one or two still to take (when the weather clears up).
I've done something to my neck as well, it was a bit painful yesterday, now I can hardly move it.

Still, to take my mind off that I'll be thinking about what to do next, once I'm happy with the Tarpen. She's running quite well now, just a few nuts & bolts to paint.

Well done what a great job you've done, you get a well deserved pat on the back. Sorry to hear you've over done things, there's a few of us on the forum the same that once we get out teeth into something we tend to push ourselves to hard and suffer later, it's what I call worth it pain. Well now you can put your feet up and have a few days rest and thing about what's next and maybe take your time on the next one so as not to give your self so much pain etc.
Just one question, did you check the output on the genny to see if that side is working ok?.

Well done great job,

Stu.

stationary stu wrote: did you check the output on the genny to see if that side is working ok?.

Well done great job,

Stu.

I did shove some test leads into the plug socket & she's definitely generating. I was getting just over 100v at tick-over, up to about 180v with a good rev. This is, of course, no-load voltage. There's no regulator on these, that's supposed to be done by the governor, which is basically an electromagnet affair, but the coil on mine has long since perished. One day I will unwind it, weigh the wire & see if I can re-wind it & make it work, but that's way down on my list of priorities, it's never worked for us & never given us any problems. The throttle has adjustment on the carb anyway.

I understand a few of us members here have health problems of one sort or another, I'm probably one of the youngest "old codgers" though, at 33!
I won't go into any detail, as this really isn't the place, but I do get myself very tired from time to time. Usually a few days rest sees me right. Part of it is liver related, so late nights & birthday parties don't help much either. It usually takes me a good day or two to get over a steam rally, but I know a few fit & healthy people who can say the same.

I'm having trouble getting the last lot of photos onto Photobucket, so still can't finish off the story here. Maybe later on.

OK, the pictures have finally loaded on Photobucket. So, where was I???



Oh yes, that was it.

So, Monday morning came, I was hoping for a lie-in but my brother turned up early (well, early for me) so I got up & got on with it. He had a couple of things he wanted to do in the workshop, so we both got to it.

I put the plug socket & switch back together, wired in some of that lovely "antique" (effect) flex, hack-sawed & filed down some M6 bolts & fixed it on....




Then I wired a length of flex to the governor, put the guts back in it, put the carb on & connected it all back up (the governor doesn't work, but you need the guts in it to hold the throttle linkage in place)....



Then I carefully put it all back into the generator outlet point, feeding the flex through the new grommets (I'll touch up the screws later, during the final paint touch-up session). I think the "Antique Gold" flex looks quite good against the green....



Then we got all excited!
I needed to clear out the petrol tap, which has been sitting, in bits, in a jar of 2 stroke mixture for nearly a week now. We put that together, bolted the petrol tank on & I said we should start looking for a piece of rope to pull the starter.
Lucky Ian was here, as I would've had to drive 5 miles down to my caravan storage for some, he had some brand new cord in his car (well, he is a gardener). We cut a piece, then he said "hang on, maybe we should sort out how we're gona stop it, if it starts".
To which I remembered the last bit hanging up in the shed from painting! The plug shorting strip which fixes onto the exhaust studs! I got it down, scraped the paint off the bits which needed to make connections (a bit off each end) & put it on.

He then decided to test for a spark, whilst checking another bit of rope (he didn't want to give away a piece of his nice new cord but was left with little choice )
He pulled it over & there was a massive, lovely fat spark, which I could hear clicking from a good few feet away, over the workshop.

That's it then, plug back in (almost forgot the copper washer ) & pulled her over....

One cough! She fired once on first pull!
Second pull; nothing!
Third pull; bit more, thought she might go.
Forth pull & she was away!

Running a bit lumpy, but not bad for a carb that's set up from 15 year old memories & blind luck.

We stopped her, then started her again, messed around with the carb a bit, then she wouldn't start, then she started & wouldn't run! So I took the main jet off & checked it out. I set it up from memory (I remember the needle just pointing out of it's seat, so you could feel it dragging on your thumb as you moved it across), put it all back together, fuel on & fired her up! A quick half turn to the throttle setting & she's fine.

Time for a celebratory pint I reckon......



Back, later on (only had one, I promise) & I just couldn't resist it I had to put the tank lettering on. I'm pretty sure they only ever had it on one side of the tank anyway, so I probably won't bother with the other side, might save that one as a spare or use it on a lighting board, or some other Tarpen piece that turns up......



So that's pretty much it. I guess now the clean-up begins......



I'm thinking about making some kind of exhaust silencer up. Originally it would've had a mesh tube arrangement inside the 2nd bit of chassis tube (the outlet side), looks to me like they were made from weld-mesh, or something similar. She is noisy, but then she always was really, it'll probably have less impact on the rally field, although if memory serves correct we did used to get some looks from our neighbours when she fired up on the rally field.

Maybe I'll chuck some of those left over wire wool pads in there, or some stainless steel pot scourers, dunno yet. For now I'm just happy she's running. & she's reliable as well; I pulled her over a few times today & she fires up first pull, just like she always did.

So, from this....



To this....



In 13 days.

Quite an intensive job, I wouldn't want to be under pressure like this on another one, so I need to sort some storage out & just bring bits home to tinker with.
I've got my sights firmly set on 3 of our former collection, which will be first is anyone's guess.

Weather's not been so good today, although I have been running her up in the workshop for a while, sorting out some final carburettor issues (think it's all sorted now) & starting her up for a friend of the family, who popped in to see how it was going.

I decided to get all the receipts out of the various back pockets & see what I've spent these last 2 weeks. Turns out I've done around £125!

Mind you, a lot of that is stuff I can use again. I've got loads of paint left, plenty of primer, some very nice brushes, left over HT lead & fancy flex, & some left over wire wool. It's all stuff that'll come in handy, as my brother & me have got a fair few more of these "projects" to come out from under the tarpaulin in my sister's garden.

I could never sell this engine, so the value is of little importance, but bear in mind I didn't use any outside services, such as shot-blasting or machining, which I see more & more people using during their restorations. I reckon if I had to rely on services like that, stationary engines would be well out of my price range.
Incidentally, does anyone know what it costs to have a new cylinder liner put in a small 2 stroke engine? (probably more than the engine's worth).

It's definitely a labour of love. Good job I love it.

Nice job there

Seems quite a bit of money to spend, but like you say there's a lot of 'leftovers'...

The 'external services' thing is what gets to me a bit sometimes when it's taken too far - I'm not keen on chequebook restorations - credit to you that you did it by hand.

Let's see what you pull off with the next one then

Next time I'm definitely getting a wire brush attachment for the drill, sometimes I can take this "by hand" thing a bit too far!

Nut's we forget about all the stuff we buy to restore an engine like you've said adding it all up it's still quite expensive, Even taking into account how much you can re-use it must still cost approx. £40 to prepair and paint an engine even without buying things like new pulleys . Maybe it would be good to see someone do a full restoration re-newing say piston rings and maybe shells then a clean up and paint see how much the cost would be and the man hours involved, I think if you worked out the hours even at minimum wage the engine would cost a few hundred pounds to restore.
Good to see the difference with the before and after pics, great job a credit to you.

Stu.

glowes3 wrote:I've just finished reading the whole story of your restoration of your Tarpen.
I love seeing the before and finished shots - especially when you put the decal on. its really inspired me to get on with mine. I've got some of the hard preparation and fixing to do and got a bit unmotivated of late.
So thanks for the inspiration.
Graeme

Glad to hear it. I'd like to hear more about your project. I'm already considering my next one, I'd like to have a go at another generating set that my brother & me have had for years, it's a bit more of a "project" than the Tarpen was, it was bought as a non runner & dismantled a long time ago, he reckons it'll not run again, I reckon different. It's a US army one from 1945, apparently used to be bolted to tanks in the war, no idea what make, but it's another 2 stroke, this time the fuel tank's mounted under the engine & the carb's mounted between fuel tank & crank case, so it's a bit complicated. It's also a bit smaller, I'm hoping to sneak it under my dad's workbench while he's not looking

Stu, you're absolutely right, I even reckon £40 for a paint job could be an under-estimate, that good quality paint cost me over £17 a tin! But none of us are doing this for a living, some of us are lucky enough to be doing something similar for a living, where we can get bits in & worked on.
I honestly thought, by now, the rallies would be charging people to enter exhibits, I believe one or two did try, they were soon put right though. But when you think what it costs, not just restoration but travelling to & from, towing caravans or transporting all our tents & camping gear (which itself aint cheap), & it always costs more to shop for these weekends, I did nearly £50 in the supermarkets last time for a weekends supplies, that was just for me!
It's still a relatively cheap weekend though, & a relatively cheap hobby (or at least it can be done cheaply). I can't believe I lost interest in it, back in my teens. I know it's taken me ages, but I'm glad to be back into it all again.

Like you say a few have tried to charge exhibitor to attend rallies and some still do, speaking for myself I don't think I'll ever pay to show at a rally unless there is a good reason too. There's a rally I know of charged £2 to enter this has now gone up to £5 which it a kick in the nuts if you ask me, I saw there balance sheet for the rally and they made £40,000 profit so people are getting rich off people like us spend our hard earned cash to give them a show. Just to add fuel to the fire how much do the guys with the steamers get for attending, they don't do it for nothing, they get expenses and coal yes it might not cover all there costs but at the end of the day it's a hobby and they knew it wouldn't be cheap to own a steamer and take it to shows.

Ok rant over,

Stu.

Trouble is, the more rallies who charge to exhibit & get away with it, the more others who'll try it on.

I did hear of one show which charged £5 to enter, then gave it back to the exhibitor when they showed up. I thought this was a good idea, as it stops people not turning up & also those others who deliberately double book & decide which show to go to "nearer the time".

Personally, I would charge to exhibit, then give it back when they leave at the end of show. As it really grates on me when you see exhibitors leaving at 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, when there's still punters walking about. I have to say, the car & motorbike boys are worst for this.
We always stay right to the end, then cook dinner, enjoy or meal, pack up at our own pace, whilst everyone else is maniacally trying to get out & getting stuck in mile long, snails pace tail-backs behind steam rollers!
Sometimes I even stay on til the following morning, there's usually one or two others who do the same (can be a bit freaky if you're the only one camped in a massive field )

We normally stay over till the next morning if the weather is ok. And as you say the car exhibitors are the worst at shows there always late to get there and first to leave and if it's raining they don't even bother to turn up. I have heard of shows that have a charge give you a free breakfast on the sunday morning (bacon roll and a tea) I think that's a good idea.

Stu.

I'm getting all excited again....

I'm currently waiting in for a courier to deliver a "Tarpen Grassmaster" which I got off eBay. It'll need working on, but it's a 110v model, so will work off this engine.

I might even make another thread, especially for it, if it needs restoring.

Sounds exciting, hope it just needs a light restoration so your up and running and all ready to show.
Looking forward to seeing the pics when it arrives.

Stu.

Not sure weather to put this on a separate thread or not, I personally don't like long threads, they always look a bit daunting, but this is only a minor project & will always be run from the Tarpen (unless I get another Tarpen) so I guess I'll keep it on here.

Anyway, whilst I was finishing off writing up the American WW2 generating set thread, the doorbell rang & in came a strange looking parcel.....



So I rushed in, finished off my post then got back out there with the Stanley knife. Here's my new toy, in all it's glory....





I thought, seeing as it had the right plug on it, I would play dangerous; start up the Tarpen & plug it in, see if it works.....

It didn't!

A quick test with a multimeter reveals high resistance through the switch, so I decided to dismantle it. I got the head off the handle, an interesting device, it runs off a round section rubber belt....



This one doesn't have wheels on it. I've only ever seen them with wheels, but I'm told they were built without.....



All these pics & more will be on the same album as the Tarpen pics, on this Photobucket album:-
http://photobucket.com/nutgonesengines

So, I got the head off, & I couldn't resist it. I got the plug off the flex from the handle & put it onto the end of the flex which was previously inside the handle. I thought I'd get the engine running again & try it out without the switch (well, there's a switch on the plug socket ).....



& success! It works! How pleased am I?

So Nutgone's a happy bunny with his new Tarpen Grassmaster. I'm going to get some new rubber flex for it, paint her up & get it back together. Does anyone know where I can get a new rubber belt from???

stationary stu wrote:Nut's we forget about all the stuff we buy to restore an engine like you've said adding it all up it's still quite expensive, Even taking into account how much you can re-use it must still cost approx. £40 to prepair and paint an engine even without buying things like new pulleys . Maybe it would be good to see someone do a full restoration re-newing say piston rings and maybe shells then a clean up and paint see how much the cost would be and the man hours involved, I think if you worked out the hours even at minimum wage the engine would cost a few hundred pounds to restore.
Good to see the difference with the before and after pics, great job a credit to you.

Stu.

stu that sounds a bit like the fowler that a complete strip down repaint new big end has to be poured and new cam bearings made ... and even that mag will have to be done soon too ... that be a few £££'s i say

matt

Definitely a labour of love.

Good job I love it!

So Nutgone's a happy bunny with his new Tarpen Grassmaster. I'm going to get some new rubber flex for it, paint her up & get it back together. Does anyone know where I can get a new rubber belt from???

It looks like an over sized hoover belt, the belt looks ok in the picture is it cracked or perished? Maybe try a belt supplier the people that normally sell v-belts etc apart from them I can't think of anyone else ATM.

Great news that it does work and won't take to much work to get it fully operational again.

Stu.