Yet another Petter A1 !!

Hi All
First off sorry no pic's. Just got a petter a1 1.5hp @750rpm. Tried to start it and nothing but there's spark + petrol
Not sure about compression. So off came the head and the valve's are fine and then what a nice big step in bore
and the piston wobble's a little. Can i get a new piston and get a rebore if so most likely full restore.
If not get some slightly bigger piston ring's and runner as she is. On the piston crown it say's 538/ P12 OT if that help's on sizing. Oh yeah she's green not blue But i did have a blue on about 25 years ago
Many Thank's
Andrew

Just done some googling and still not what i need

I know it's a bit of a travel but there's a place at Durham will do your re-bore and prob get your piston rings to suit, link to Cleasby's below. Although for the price of a Petter A1 is it worth spending the money! Think I'd just try to give it a good glaze bust and keep your fingers crossed.

http://www.cleasbypes.co.uk/?Cleasby_Precision_Engine_Services

Stu.

Hi Stu
Thank's for the reply. I will glaze bust the bore like you said and keep finger's crossed. If that does not work then some new ring's. If i remember right when i was at school friend of mine said he used land rover piston rings in a petter a1 cant remember what size. Any one else know of other piston ring's that might fit a petter a1.
Many Thanks
Andrew

Update
Done the glaze busting thing swapped over compression ring's + broke the oil scraper ring
Carb needed a new gasket. Still flood's at the moment soon to be fixed
Then one of the govner weight's came of jammed so would not turn over. Out they came.
So throttle only. And she need's big end bearing's. Buuut it did run for a short time because she kept flooding.
So all in all good progress. Now to find some big end bearing's.
Many Thank's
Andrew

If your still after piston rings try http://www.fwthornton.co.uk/ or Cox and Turner of Dorset (sorry no link) they might be able to help with big end bearings also.

Stu.

Cheer's Stu for the link i will be getting in touch with when time come's may be next payday
One step closer to getting stuff together
Many Thanks
Andrew

My pleasure, keep us up to date of your progress.

Our paths might cross if you attend any rallies, the last event I did was the North York tractor group event down the A19 passed Northallerton.

Stu.

Hi Stu Thanks for the reply. I dont think our paths will cross very often because i dont have a car we cycle every where so no rally's
Any way hear is some pic of my Petter A1



That's as i got it. It look's like an older resto if only it was that good on the inside
Now got to get big end off to see what size bearing's are needed. And take it from there.
It may take a while to finish.
Many Thanks
Andew

give me the serial, i'll get you a date with any luck
Andy

Hi Andy
The serial no is 543560 rated 1 1/2hp @750rpm
That's all i can make out on the plate it's fading out.
Many Thank's
Andrew

Andrew1971 wrote:Hi Andy
The serial no is 543560 rated 1 1/2hp @750rpm
That's all i can make out on the plate it's fading out.
Many Thank's
Andrew

more than enough for now

Is the big end very bad? Many of these old engines have some play, but most are unlikely to be heavily worked again, so many people usually just put up with it.

But I'm guessing, as you're putting up with the piston problems, the big end is quite bad? I can't remember what type they are on these. Are they the solid white metal ones which can be scraped then just remove some shims & put it back together? (When I say "scraped" I mean in the engineering sense, it's a process which needs the shells sending away, I believe with the crank or at least accurate micrometer crank measurements, I've never had it done myself but my dad knows all about it). Ideally the crank should be measured with a micrometer as well, to make sure it's not gone oval.

Anyway, good to see someone else getting their hands dirty. I know other enthusiasts who don't show their engines. It's not that common, but it does happen, more so now with the advent of the internet. Rallies aren't the be-all & end-all, & they're not everyone's cup of tea (in fact these days it's not a cheap thing to do, & is far from the "free weekend" people talk about).

Keep us posted anyway. Best of luck.

hi andrew
its starting to sound like you will be better off buying another petter a1 and making a good one from the 2
ive had a couple of these over the last 3yrs and its always seams cheaper to get a donner and save the cost of rebore piston rings shells gaskets weight shaft ect thats what you know about before its a runner mate
sorry to sound negertive but they just aint worth the money to repair this one
i never pay more than £20-25 quid for them and im shore just the piston rings will be more than that mate
i have a almost complete a1 in my sheds ,would sell it to you as its a good one ive used for parts
but the shipping cost will be more than the engine again mate
if you need any other info or help finding spares let me know
and will see if i can be of help
kev

its cheaper to find a good bore and piston/con rod and swap them over..the bore section unbolts off the block easily and u dont need a ring compressor as there is a slope on the bottom of the bore which u just slide over the piston taking care to make sure the rings are pushed in a little with a screwdriver.also if u find a better bore and piston you may even find it comes with the big end bearing still attached which hopefuly is in better shape that your one.. keep eyes peeled on ebay for someone breaking one up..

the carb flooding is proberbly the float has a hole in it..looks like a early carb on there as well off a petter A...
found a few with a very quick search.think he is still a forum member as well(scratman) but also check out his other parts as for a few bits he will proberbly knock a bit of cash off(I havent found him to be to bad with prices in the past)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Petter-A1-petrol-stationary-engine-piston-and-conrod-spares-parts-barn-find-/111008778169?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item19d8a387b9

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Petter-A1-petrol-stationary-engine-cylinder-barrell-block-spares-parts-barnfind-/111008776623?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item19d8a381af

Why does he say "Cash on collection only" but give a price for postage???

Andrew,

you said the carb needed a new gasket, what gasket was it?

Paul

Jay I'm not sure that the seller Scratman is a member, we do have a statman for down south west where as this seller is Cambridge (I think)

Stu.

Hi All
Thanks' for all the link's and info everyone i am gratefull for all your help.
@Paul it;s the gasket that joins the carb to manifold. When i took carb of the stud's that go into the manifold some one jammed in a 10mm stud.
Any way the reason i would like to get this petter fixed and running is because i dont have a car so got no way to get rid off it beside's ebay it''s not going to be sold it's for my own enjoyment so i dont mind spending that little bit more when it's going to be kept. I do like the petter a1's might end up with more who know's
Many Thank's
Andrew

Stationary engines are a labour of love anyway, most end up costing more than their worth to restore.

nutgone wrote:Stationary engines are a labour of love anyway, most end up costing more than their worth to restore.

AMEN!!!!!!!

had a look through the Petter archives for you, are you sure its not 1543560?
543560 doesn't seem to give me much on the archive, however I believe the ali serial plates began with 1500000 were as 6 digit serials were on brass plates (I could be very wrong) if that's correct and yours is 1543560, then it was sold to Gascoignes Ltd, Berkeley Ave, Reading on 25/9/1962. So it would have been a milking set if this is your engine

Hi Blackvanman
Just had another look the plate appears to be brass it's got that old brass look.
were the number is stamped on there is not enough room for a 1 to fit.
543560 is what's stamped on the plate. Just wondering how are the magneto's fitted on 1962 engine mine does not have the spacer plate between magneto + engine.



My engine above. This pic was taken on me phone so not that clever.
Many thanks for having a look Blackvanman.
Many Many Thanks
Andrew

My A1 is serial number 527485 which was sold by Petters of Loughborough on 5.9.1947 to Vipans of Leicester and it has the same magneto type as your one.

Pete.

It would be good if mine was about the age of your's Pete
Got a pic Pete.
Many Thank's
Andrew

Andrew1971 wrote:It would be good if mine was about the age of your's Pete
Got a pic Pete.
Many Thank's
Andrew

Well it wont be far of my date Andrew, not if your number is correct. I haven't any pics of mine yet but will try and get some this week, forgot all about it to be honest!

Pete.

Pete what colour is your a1
In next few day's i will be taking some measurement's to see what size stuff i need + see what parts are needed.
I have some good memory's of petter a1's. Now if only i can get some more
Many Thank's
Andrew

My A1 was green and rust Andrew, however I had a half litre of Stoneleigh Grey left in a tin so it is now Grey haha! I only bought the engine (for £20) as the seller who had only just bought it at auction was going to strip it for parts, the tank was holed and I had to fit new piston rings as they were stuck up with it having stood outside with no spark plug. Apparently the previous owner had tried to get it going but failed, the mag was 180 degrees out of time, the throttle linkage was upside down so the butterfly was closed instead of open and he had the plug out so many times that the threads had stripped in the head. I managed to recut the threads out to 18mm and it doesn't run too bad, though the bore was corroded in places so it smokes a little at times.

Pete.