Unidentified Boat? Engine

[Paulck13]

I hope that someone will be able to identify this old side valve petrol twin cylinder engine for me - recently bought on ebay as a marine engine, but I'm not sure....

Any suggestions will be gratefully received thanks Paul

 

[KevB]

Looks like a Volvo Penta D12 to me.

 

[Paulck13]

Hi Kev I've searched on D12 and it brings up a modern diesel.......
But thanks anyway regards Paul

 

[volvopaul]

Looks like a Stuart Turner 8hp twin cylinder, they were also used to drive water pumps as well as marine use, my dad had one in his second boat .

 

[Latestarter1]

Paul,

Forget the jokers....Not you VP.

Cannot be a Stuart Turner two stroke.

Cylinder head looks like a Brit very early model similar to the later Sprite.

Sadly the gearbox is missing which have been a good clue.

 

[Jim@sea]

Might sound silly but if you take the spark plugs out and then look on a Champion Spark Plug list it could help to narrow down what engine it is as in those days very little was standard and often plugs although of the same thread had different numbers and were of different thread sizes, so in fact if your plugs were 14mm and the plug guide said 20mm for a Stuart Turner then it would not be one of those.

 

[volvopaul]

Paul,

Forget the jokers....Not you VP.

Cannot be a Stuart Turner two stroke.

Cylinder head looks like a Brit very early model similar to the later Sprite.

Sadly the gearbox is missing which have been a good clue.

Ok it must be a D12 then .

 

[Chris_d]

That's definitely not a Stuart Turner quality looks awfull, must be A Volvo

 

[Dabhand]

Stuart Turner did make a 12hp four stroke at one time, must be quite rare now but there is a possibility this could be one although I am not convinced. Whilst there are plenty of ST two strokes still around, i used to have a P66 10hp many years ago, I have never seen a 12hp. The green paint is very classic Stuart, though no doubt other makers use similar.
Two stroke Stuarts normally have 'Stuart' cast somewhere into the expansion chamber cover so leaves no doubt.

 

[volvopaul]

That's definitely not a Stuart Turner quality looks awfull, must be A Volvo

Ehh !!

 

[Chris_d]

Ehh !!

I speak as an ex Stuart Turner owner and current Volvo owner, it was a bit tongue in cheek I had the Stuart 1.5 over 30 years ago so slightly tinted glasses, but you could almost rebuild them over lunch and lots of bits of brass and copper to polish. Actually looking at it again that flywheel does look like the Stuart one

 

[Latestarter1]

Stuart Turner did make a 12hp four stroke at one time, must be quite rare now but there is a possibility this could be one although I am not convinced. Whilst there are plenty of ST two strokes still around, i used to have a P66 10hp many years ago, I have never seen a 12hp. The green paint is very classic Stuart, though no doubt other makers use similar.
Two stroke Stuarts normally have 'Stuart' cast somewhere into the expansion chamber cover so leaves no doubt.

You are spot on Stuart Turner did do a four stroke twin the 12 hp ST4 of broadly similar size to the OP's engine, however it was very late in the period of marine engine production ( Late 60's) and was designed with coil ignition from the beginning as Lucas had stopped magneto production and the Wipac magnetos were junk. ST4 had raised hand starting on the other side with the words Stuart cast into it.

Makes me feel ancient when I realise that I saw ST4 under development when I used to be sent to the Stuart factory in Henley to purchase parts.

The green lawnmower fuel tank on the OP's engine is just a late add on.

May be worth checking fasteners on the engine to see if they are Metric or Whitworth, also make of magneto, Metric fasteners and a Bosch mag could point to motor being of foreign origin possibly an Albin.

 

[KevB]

Come off it guys...just recently bought off ebay as a marine engine? The only thing that lump of rust is going to be any good for in a marine environment is a weight for a mooring buoy. I feel you have been dupped.

 

[Paulck13]

Hi Guys - yes, I didn't realise that KevB wasn't serious - I thought that he was giving a sensible answer....
Thanks for your help anyway Latestarter1 Dabhand and Jim@sea, but I still haven't been able to identify it, I'll give it a good clean and see if I can find any serial numbers or identifying marks at all. Looking at Brits it doesn't seem to be similar, and the Stuart Turner four stroke is very different. I think that it is going to be a challenge to identify it - any of you up to the challenge?

 

[KevB]

May I ask if you can turn the flywheel?

 

[Paulck13]

Hi KevB - yes, I can turn the flywheel, however the rest of the engine turns with it......
But fear not, it was purchased for the price of a bag of chips and I'll be a lot healthier by the time I've lugged it about a bit than I would have been eating the chips. Regards Paul

 

[KevB]

Hi KevB - yes, I can turn the flywheel, however the rest of the engine turns with it......
But fear not, it was purchased for the price of a bag of chips and I'll be a lot healthier by the time I've lugged it about a bit than I would have been eating the chips. Regards Paul

Good luck with it. I would really love to see it working and hope you manage it. What are you intending to use it in?

 

[Dabhand]

The forum on 'oldmarineengine.com' is worth going to, it is likely that someone there will be able to help.

 

[rich]

I think Brit, but it's along time since I worked on them.

 

[Paulck13]

Thanks guys - I've posted a couple of pics on 'oldmarineengine' this afternoon, we'll see if anyone can help. I've looked at Brits, rich, but I can't find anything the same as this one...