Ruston 6PB & Milking set and Wolseley WD2

I started to get some engines ready for Mells Daffodil Rally next weekend, first of all I finally got the 6PB running, I got this engine very cheaply a few months back missing the silencer, tank and starting dog, I made a starting dog, and you may have noticed the engine currently has a PT tank fitted, which has the brackets fitted lower down, making the tank higher, and the outlet is on the wrong side, hence the elbow etc, trying to find a proper tank for it, I am not sure if it is original paintwork or not, it looks like it may have been painted in its working life, and it looks reasonable with some oil on it, so it can stay that way! The nails holding the wheels on have now been replaced with washers and split pins:whistle: I then gave it a run with the new milking set, have now creosoted the base the milking set sits on too, the 6PB runs that set at just the right speed, and she governs very well when the vacuum is switched on and off. Also made some metal stakes this afternoon to hold the pump in place instead of a bit of 4 x 2 wedged between the pump and the engine :whistle::embarrassed:









A friend of mine wanted me to bring his Lister D as well but it was buried at the back of my lock up so I dragged out this old WD2 as well, I bought it last year for £60, and it turned out to have a rebuilt mag, but needed a set of rings, I took it to a show right at the end of the season last year, where it ran very well, but when time allows I need to make a new drain tube as it currently just has a bung in there, she got a quick 10 minute run, and fired straight up after cleaning the plug




And there we are, all loaded up for the do next weekend!

Sounds like you've been busy Matt, and a new engine, I'd of thought you'd have plenty by now

Enjoy your weekend and hope the weather stays fine.

Stu.

Good set up have there. I like the ruston though

I've just been given the job of restoring one of those little Ruston Hornsby 6PB engines. Never done one before, so should be interesting. Shame it's not mine though.

Tell me, does it leak much oil? Apparently the prospective owner of this one doesn't like his engines to leak oil, so I've got to try my absolute best to get it oil tight. I suppose if I had to make any old British engine oil tight, the best bet would be a Ruston Hornsby. They were pretty well made engines, not your average JAP or Lister.
Personally I don't mind engines leaking a little oil. You kind of expect it when they're this old.

Nice little engines though, those horizontal Rustons. I've always liked the look of them.

The crankseals tend to go on them, and they leak oil out, this one leaks a fair bit but being as found, does not really worry me enough to take the flywheel off! good little engines they are

Matth92 wrote:The crankseals tend to go on them, and they leak oil out, this one leaks a fair bit but being as found, does not really worry me enough to take the flywheel off! good little engines they are

Think there might be new seals with this one. The main bearings seem pretty tight as well. I'll probably do a little thread about it in the resto section.

Also, this is a later one, with the Lucas RS1 magneto.

think i need to get myself one of these 6pb's one day .

I had a friends of mine in my shed for a while and it ran like a clock .

Matt

They have felt ring crank seals and they do tend to weep a little, my PT is the same.

Pete.

I think, personally, I prefer the slightly bigger one (think they're still a PB though), but the small ones do have a certain charm about them. Not as big or heavy as I thought it would be either. Although it is in bits (I've got to work out how it all goes together whilst restoring it & making it look nice too).

Will probably start it next week, or on the weekend, if not before, & I won't be happy until it too is running like a Swiss watch.

Foden wrote:They have felt ring crank seals and they do tend to weep a little, my PT is the same.

Pete.

Yeah, now I think about it, the one I'm doing has new seals, & many other new parts to go in. Not my usual style of "make-do & mend" but then it's not my engine. Might be looking for one when it's done though, if I like it.

The new seal hasn't actually turned up yet, Nuts but hopefully sometime this week. I think its more the case seals he is worried about and around the drain filler. I don't think you will ever get the crank to seal completely but a lot depends on wear to the mains, if there is any play then I doubt the seal will do much good. I understand with new felt seals, you should soak them in oil first, drain and then fit as if installed dry, they will burn in the first few revs before oil gets there.
Matt, that is one well modified engine! What did the mag come off? Looks like you have made a good job of fitting it

It had no tank when I bought her so I have put a PT one on until the right one turns up, the PT one has the outlet etc at the wrong end hence the need for the elbow, the mag flywheel is off an atco mower so has no thread in the middle to hold the starting collar on as usual, the collar was missing when purchased so I machined one, and it is held on by 2 csk bolts going into the flywheel itself, works a treat! for what It cost me its turned out a cracking little engine!

Looks like you have had to make some sort of adaptor plate too to fit the back plate of the mag. The beauty of having your own machine shop eh! Looks like you have a cold plug in there, mine usually needs a hot one and even then still misses quite a bit, new coil and condenser in the mag too.

nuts i had a 8 PB (3 hp) and it was a real beast thump thump thump it went , and it did use quite alot of fuel ....

Il see if i can find a video







matt

Just realised too that's a real early 6PB with the small flywheel. Not sure when the bigger flywheel came out, probably with the PT which would make it pre 35?

I would have thought these days the old felt seal could be replaced with a more modern garter seal. That would undoubtedly seal better.

BTW, I've always oiled elt seals prior to fitting, as you're right, they could burn if put in dry, then they would never seal properly (probably). But many engine makers back then never bothered with felt seals, just close fitting metal scraper rings or oil flingers, or even just relying on the plain bronze bushes with clever oil ways blanched in & a drain hole on the outer bottom edge.

You can rest assured this one won't leak from any of the gasket faces though. & it won't be plastered with bloody red hermetite either! (I do have some, but for sealing threads, not gaskets). Freshly cut gaskets with correctly cleaned & prepped mating faces. Possibly a smear of Wellseal on each face before fitting. It's mostly in the prep work on the faces though, I find. I might even get a bottle of gasket shellac one day.

Nice video Matt. A proper old thumper, & quite a lump those bigger ones.

I seal a lot of my gaskets with grease, I was tought that as an apprentace but I can't remember the reason why for now, I know if you did it on rocker cover joints it notmally allowed you to remove it again without damaging the gasket. In the old days when the rocker cover gasket was made from cork one of the lecurures at college used to glue the top part of the gasket into the cover let it set then a bit of grease on the bottom half and it would last for years.

Stu.

Yeah, I tend to grease gaskets when they're likely to need to come off again. Like carb gaskets & rocker box covers. I like the idea of gluing the rocker box gasket on, saves it coming off & getting damaged or lost.

I find Wellseal, when used with a dry paper gasket, sometimes soaks into the paper, & as it doesn't go off it means you can get the gasket off in one piece again (notice I say sometimes, so far it's done that every time with me, but only with paper gaskets, & they hadn't been fitted long). Whereas gasket cement would glue the gasket on & usually they are destroyed in the removal process.

You can oil gaskets as well, instead of greasing them. Quite handy if you've forgotten your grease.

Scraping old gaskets off is a PITA when they've been stuck on with cement. I had a right job of it on the Kohler, whereas the Briggs ones all came off in one piece.

Stamford24 wrote:Looks like you have had to make some sort of adaptor plate too to fit the back plate of the mag. The beauty of having your own machine shop eh! Looks like you have a cold plug in there, mine usually needs a hot one and even then still misses quite a bit, new coil and condenser in the mag too.

I think that is all original that backplate, the flywheel is the same as the original just doesn't have the thread in the middle of the nut, It is the first plug that came to hand that is in there, I never worry about plug grades for these engines, if it fits the hole and sparks then it should be OK

Matth92 wrote: I never worry about plug grades for these engines, if it fits the hole and sparks then it should be OK

Yeah, I must say, that's very much how I do things as well. Especially as I prefer old detachable plugs which come apart for cleaning anyway. Maybe I've just been lucky?