Restore-Sell-Scrap?

[m1taylor]

I now have two Stuart Turner R3M's - one better than the one, but both needing parts. The first I wrote about a while ago on a thread - the cylinder block totally welded to studs and crankcase - the only way to get it off is probably to break it off. The other is better - all bolts moving and little corrosion - but no magneto (and I am not sure if the other one fits or works. The cost of parts seems to be out of all proportion to the value of the engine - a reconditioned Magneto £160! So simple question, before I do the easy option of selling both engines on ebay - once restored and working, is it worth really the effort (and cost)? Are they good reliable engines, or just a nostalgia trip to a bye-gone age age of unreliability, and inefficiency. So scrap them or restore them? Almost heavy enough together to throw to the bottom of an estuary for a mooring.

 

[Porthandbuoy]

I suspect I'm just the lone voice in the wildeness on this. Restore them, or give them to someone who will. The R3M is great little engine for a small launch.

Reliability 1: In the dim and distant past, before low ash and biodegradeable 2-stroke oils, folks simple added engine oil to the petrol. This burned badly and fouled the plug. With modern 2-stroke oil this is not a problem

Reliability 2: Way back when petrol was leaded this frequently caused a whisker of lead to bridge the plug gap causing the engine to stop suddenly. With unleaded petrol this is no longer a problem.

Reliability 3: Because they have a float carburettor they may flood or starve when motor-sailing. As long as you are aware of its limitations this is not much of a problem.

Efficiency: Okay, they're thirsty little devils, but very low vibration (mine is solid mounted).

 

[Mirelle]

Funnily enough, I was just thinking how much I might like a nice 1-1/2hp Stuart launch engine. as recently as last Sunday.

 

[kds]

I restored, at immense cost, an 8hp, to fit into a 26' yacht.
When I assembled it, together with gearbox, I found it took 4 strong men to lift it. I could just imagine what it would do to my sailing performance and finally scrapped it. My 13hp. diesel is a comfortable lift for 2 people and I can't seem to get it to use any fuel.
Blow the nostalgia and scrap it !
Ken

 

[oldharry]

[ QUOTE ]
I restored, at immense cost, an 8hp, to fit into a 26' yacht.
When I assembled it, together with gearbox, I found it took 4 strong men to lift it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Errr - was that Stuart? The 8hp was not a particularly heavy engine. I put one into my boat back in the early 80s. With the flywheel removed I was able to shift it and get it aboard on my own without too much trouble. The worst moment was hoisting it aboard from the dinghy. Block and tackle on the end of the boom, and the boat just kept coming over on top of me until it finally took the weight at about 35 degrees of heel!

 

[Topcat47]

I priced the parts to restore an old Volvo MD1b single. Those that were available (80% of my needs) came to over £1000 including VAT and that was five years ago. Volvo refused to sell me drawings of the other parts, and,although I had enough contacts to have them reverse engineered, by the end of my refit, I still would have had an old engine with a parts supply problem. I suspect your ST would be the same. They charged a friend of mine £120 for four head bolts/studs back in the 80's (there may have been a head gasket and nuts included in that deal....it was a long time ago).

If you want a practical, reliable engine...get a new one or a reconditioned current one anyway. If you're restoring a classic and want a period engine...go ahead and refit.

 

[kds]

It certainly was a Stuart.
They don't work too well without the flywheel and gearbox, so you need to count them in the overall weight - and its effect on your sailing performance.
Ken

 

[dombuckley]

I'd second Mariposa's post on ST reliability: my 49 year old cutter still has her original 8hp ST. In 8 years, it has always started first time and hardly missed a beat - but I'm glad for confirmation that it's not just my imagination that it runs better on unleaded! The magneto is the weak part of the set-up: I always take mine home for the winter, and keep it in the airing cupboard (inside a plastic bag since the first time SWMBO found it and threw a hissy fit!).
My vote - restore: there's bound to be someone who wants a nice little engine for their clinker launch.

 

[m1taylor]

well better news on that front - the better of the two engines I have seems worth doing - and the magneto from the duff one works, and fits even though the good one was built in 1948 (the duff one 1961). In interestingly the reason the 1948 one is better is that it has suffered far less corrosion, and many more parts are brass. The Stuart Carb - all brass - is a work of art in itself. So I will buy a set of gaskets and try to see if the 1948 one will start up once more.

 

[Porthandbuoy]

Re: dombuckley

So I'm not alone!!

Best of luck Jimminy with your engine(s). If you do decide to scrap them, post them on the For Sale forum. I'm sure someone (possibly myself) will buy.