Petter A1 Renovation

Hi,
New member, Keith Rees, from Shrewsbury.
We have a Petter A1, serial number 347052, 1.5 bhp at 750 rpm.
Fitted with Zenith 24T.2 carb and Wico series A type magneto.
New to these although we have managed to get a Lister D type running successfully.
The Petter is not in such good condition. Been out in the open for many years and, I'm led to believe, under water for short periods.
The majority of the engine is corroded and pitted. The bottom of the cooling cowl has deteriorated. The bottom of the fuel tank is perforated. Assuming this from having water in it rather than fuel. There is no starting handle or fuel tank cap. The cap appears to have the same thread as the Lister. The cast sump also has a nasty crack right in the bottom, this again we put down to frost damage. Unsure what we will do with this. Maybe a temporary repair until we know that the rest of the engine is good.
We have started to take it apart but we did have a struggle removing the flywheel. The intention is to clean, repair, replace, rebuild and run this engine as part of our open days at the pumping station in Coleham, Shrewsbury. The Lister gets some attention especially from the older fraternity.
We would like to get more information of this engine. Drawings and adjustments are difficult to find on the net. My main reason for joining the forum.
Can anyone point me towards a manual? We have found drawings of the carburettor.
I can go on about this engine and the Lister. It gets you doesn't it. I could never understand the fascination of these lumps of steel but now I do. Being involved in engineering most of my working life, its brilliant when we can restore one of these to its original working order.
Nostalgia!
Keith.

I have a A1 petrol/paraffin. It developed a knock and did a partial seize. Possibly a blocked oil filter. So far I have not been able to get the pulley off, let alone the fly-wheel.
I bought a handbook for mine on E-Bay. Not too dear as I remember. You might take a look.
Phil

Hi Phil,
Since my posting, we have found out that our engine is in fact a type A and not an A1.
As to the pulley and flywheel removal, we tried all sorts of puller. The pulley came off reasonably easy once the key had been removed.
The flywheel was another thing. We tried to remove the key but eventually the end broke off and someone tried to drill it out. In the end we made a heavy duty puller, bearing on the end of the shaft, and threaded into the flywheel itself. We also applied heat to the centre boss of the flywheel. With all this pressure and some impacting, the flywheel eventually moved and was removed. We were then able to carry on with the rest of the renovation.
We are buying a replacement tank from a Jim Perkins in Nottinghamshire (jimp1115@btinternet.com).
He knows a thing or two about Lister and Petter engines. Has a lot of spare parts and information.
Keith Rees.

[quote="Capstan"]I have a A1 petrol/paraffin. It developed a knock and did a partial seize. Possibly a blocked oil filter. So far I have not been able to get the pulley off, let alone the fly-wheel.
I bought a handbook for mine on E-Bay. Not too dear as I remember. You might take a look.
Phil[/quote]
Not a blocked oil filter as they do not have one, more than likely to be oil starvation by not enough in the sump or broken dipper, sometimes running on 28sec heating oil can cause an engine to seize as well as heating oil will remove oil from the bore of the cylinder if the engine isn't running hot enough.

Petter A engines are a good engine, I'm surprised you have the Zenith carb on yours as most A engines have the Solex carb with the Zenith being fitted to latter A11 engines.

Thanks for the info. Not shortage of oil in the sump. It does use a drop of oil, high to low in about 12 hours run time. It looks like there is a gauze on the pump inlet which could be sludged up. I put 2-stroke and lead replacement in the mixture. The knock sounded very much like a starved big end to me. Anyway, I have to start somewhere.

[quote="Capstan"]Thanks for the info.  Not shortage of oil in the sump.  It does use a drop of oil, high to low in about 12 hours run time.  It looks like there is a gauze on the pump inlet which could be sludged up.  I put 2-stroke and lead replacement in the mixture.  The knock sounded very much like a starved big end to me.  Anyway, I have to start somewhere.[/quote]Not on an A1, like I said there is no filter because there is no pump. The Petter PA1 has a pump, as does the Petter PAZ but Petter A, A1, A11 etc are all splash lube. Unless you have one of those rare engines that crop up now and then that have all the things it shouldn't have for that spec.

No need for lead replacement as these engines are designed to run on lead free petrol, it wasn't in the petrol in those days. 2 stroke in the mix is also a waste of time, better off with a 1:4 mix with petrol and run the engine hot.

It is possible to remove the crankshaft, flywheel and pulley as one lump. You remove the timing cover, undo the gear on the crank, take the big end off and then with a long socket bar undo the bolts around the cover behind the flywheel by using the holes in the flywheel, then the hole lot should slide out, bit like a D.

You may well be right. I had a look and there is no sign of the plug shown in the handbook which clearly shows a pump and a filter. I might cut the pulley off because lifting crank and flywheel might be a bridge too far for me. www.bearingshopuk.co.uk carry a full range of taperlock pulleys and quite reasonably priced. I'll just have to get stuck in and see how it goes.

keith
hi there
if any use to you i have a petter a1 for spares or repairs ,as ive robbed the mag and 24t2 carb off it last year its been dry stored and seamed to have a good compression and no knocking or tight spots when i got it last back end ,i also have in my shed a tvo manifold and also a cast iron 2 hole petter silencer and a few other bits and bobs lurking ,from when i had petter a1s in my colllection
if you need anythink just message me as only just 15mins the other side of whitchurch shropshire from you
kev

You often see pulleys for these on Ebay so there would be no need to get a new one, unless you have a job for it and need a specific size.

Thanks for that. Will have a browse.

Hi Kev,
Thanks for the offer.
Apart from ordering a replacement fuel tank, we have everything we need for the Petter.
I found out now that it is a Type A and not an A1.
Regards,
Keith Rees.