Stuart Turner R2 x2

Hi all
I am just starting to sort out a couple of R2s I have had for ages, ive been busy pouring through stalls at local shows trying to locate bits and pieces and I think its about time I got to grips with them both. Engine number one is ex army and is rad cooled, I have seen examples like this driving a dynamo but the one I have is mounted on a fabricated angle iron base and is engine and rad only. If I could locate a generator and control box I would prefer that option but failing that I might try an appropriate pump.
The second engine is a generator unit on a cast iron base it is missing the inner cover containing the magnets
and a cooling tank but other than that it seems reasonably complete.
I know these engines are not exactly rare and its probably been done before but if anyones interested will post pics as I go along cheers kev

Hi Kev,
I am trying to restore 2 R2s( both with dynamos and control boxes), so would be very interested in photos and updates of your restorations.I don't know about you but I find spares for these engines very thin on the ground - you almost have to find a donor engine - and these aren't all that common!
All the best,
Kev.

Hi Kev
I think you are spot on there I have looked everywhere for a volt meter for the front of the control box but no joy. I intend to fabricate a cooling tank from some sheet copper and a back panel for the control box but I am missing the housing for the rotating magnets and although I could turn a housing the magnets are stumping me for the moment.
The rad cooled engine is in the worst condition of the two so I am starting this one first and if I need to make anything I have the other engine for comparison. When I bought this engine off ebay I was told it came from an army disposal sale and had been stored unused for some years, there is a label on the engine saying it has been disabled
but it would seem to be seized. I am adding some pics of the start of the strip down

this is the ex army unit

engine and control box

Head /cylinder/gov housing removed, the rubbish from inside is rust and the remains of the springs off the gov weights.

They are neat little units, never seen one over here . The voltmeter , maybe look at ham radio junk sales , these sales are called hamfests , the vendors often have boxes of unwanted old meters of various types.

Thanks for the info mixerpetter I'll give that avenue a try kev

I have managed to get the bearing out of the govenor housing this was seized solid the crank now turns freely and there appears to be little or no wear on the bore or the main bearings , the head is virtually free of carbon as is the piston head in fact the engine shows very little signs of wear so I wont be removing the piston and crank.The next job will be to remove the inner flywheel housing the magnets and have a good look at the carb.

Hi all
after a couple of days indulging I was glad to sneak out to the shed and snatch an hour on the R2 I have removed the inner flywheel and carb and started preparing the castings for paint. the more I have worked on this engine the more convinced I am that the engine has done very little work, however I will paint and reassemble this one but then it will be put up while I track down parts or a donor engine and the inner flywheel will be used on the generator set.

the inner flywheel/magnet assy. Not much to look at but took some persuasion to part company with the tapered shaft.

the carb after cleaning looks perfect and will be good to go.

Hi Kev,
Nice couple of engines you have there - I certainly like the look of the rad cooled one.
You are lucky to have found an engine that has had very little use - the inner magnet flywheel looks brand new!What state is the coil in?
Keep us informed of your progress.
All the best,
Kev.

I have started to strip down the second engine today, first job was to remove the governor housing so I can get a sample of the springs off the governor weights as the other ones have rotted away . As can be seen this governor assembly is in very good nick and I can use it as a guide to rebuild the other one,

Hi Kev
the ex army engine is a little different but I don't know if I can save the radiator, it is badly twisted ( far more than it looks on the photo ) the top tank is also crushed to borderline scrap. I think I could fabricate a top tank from copper sheet but it would mean un soldering the original tank without all the finned tubes becoming unsoldered not to mention putting it back together. I have decided to use the flywheel magnets to get the gen set working as they are missing from that engine , so I will end up needing the flywheel magnets a new front bearing / gov springs and pegs and a flywheel securing nut to complete the rebuild. the coil looks fine and the points are as new so I don't think i'll have any problems there.

Hi Kev,
You are certainly making good progress with the restoration.I was told that the Millers flywheel mag was used on old motor bikes so rather than wait /hope for a scrap engine to come up perhaps vintage motor bike places might be worth a look.
I have damaged the thread at the end of the crank shaft( the end that secures the flywheel) - do you happen to know what thread size this is?
All the best,
Kev.

Hi Kev
Thanks for the info on the millars flywheel I will see if I can find one ,its always worth a shot. I took the flywheel nut to work today and asked my mate to get his thread gauges out he has identified it as five eighth BSF but its difficult to tell from the nut as the blades of the gauges mask the thread. he is pretty sure but if you contemplated perhaps buying a die to clean it up give me a shout and I could take him the crank to measure more accurately. I have ordered a box of assorted springs today for the governor assy and had a couple of spray cans made up of olive green BS220 and sorted a cooling tank from an old fire extinguisher.

Hi Kev,
I haven't got a 5/8 BSF ( I do have a 1/2-typical!!) so I am going to have to get one - if you wouldn't mind taking your crank into your mate and confirm that it is 5/8 BSF that would be great.Thanks.
What size fire extinguisher are you using as a cooling tank?
All the best,
Kev.

Hi Kev
I will take the crank tomorrow (Wednesday ) and I will get back to you. The cooling tank is around 18 inches high and 8 inches diameter ( guestimate), I would estimate it will hold around three gallons max but although this is small I am toying with the idea of adding some screen cooling to improve efficiency. I don't want to make the tank to big as it has got to sit on top of a battery box with the idea that the plant will run lights and keep the battery charged which is the battery I will be using to run my amanco hired man although this is forward planning as it is just a bucket of bits and needs a lot of work, it is quite an old one circa 1914. I hope to have my springs and bearing delivered tomorrow in the meantime I have sprayed the base plate and a few of the castings so I need to get to grips with the trolley so I can assemble with the minimum of lugging around.

Hi all I've now got the new bearing and governor springs so I can begin the rebuild but I have a little problem in that the springs are around 5mm shorter than the originals does anyone know if this is likely to make much difference. I have toyed with the idea that if I use one old spring and one new on each governor this should halve any difference ,I have been told that it doesn't work like that and the spring exerts the same pull across its range and the 5mm difference is negligible , any thoughts ?

That's a great looking project for restoration,
I can't remember seeing that setup at rallys I've been to in Australia.
All the best with it.
Graeme

Hi all
I have just started to clean up the flywheel backplate and I have found this, looks like a date stamp what do you think.