RUMCars Forum
General Category => Unusual Microcar Discussion => Topic started by: richard on January 01, 2015, 10:05:06 PM
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Just been emailed by a George who has bought the Coronet and wanted to get in touch with Jean and Alistair . I have asked for more details from George
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okay so George told me his reg but what we can divulge is that its given as 1958 owned by last owner , in Aberdeenshire , for 35 years and stripped in 1990's . Missing its 328 Excelsior engine and will be fitted with quad bike engine if nothing else is available , part of the chassis has been replaced by George who is now rebuilding the suspension
Any HELPFUL information ?
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they can look very nice ;) this one was sold by coys
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The chassis design was pretty reasonable on them wasn't it?
Unequal length double wishbone suspension up front pretty good for a cheap car of that vintage.
A water cooled quad bike engine would give quite a nice quiet refined little chariot.
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It would be a great shame not to be able to reunite the correct engine too such a rare car.
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I agree Bob , as it turned out George was the underbidder on my Excelsior engine last September . Fairly sure it went for a Berkeley
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Richard, without giving sensitive information out, did the car stay in Scotland?
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Well I haven't been asked to keep it quiet so yes I am fairly sure it did ;)
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Really the unit wanted is across the top blower Excelsior, not common. Earlier cars had in ineffective across the side blower. They appeared with no blower too.
I wondered what they would go like with a Dolphin Excelsior derived engine in, using the water cooled top end to good effect. A marriage of a certain amount of originality with an ability to use the car. Quads are for four wheeled cars, so not necessarily ideal here. I am assuming that the selection is in need of providing for reverse. My left field option would be a Cossack, Dnieper or Ural unit. One of those has suitable cooling and reverse, is cheap, and has a nice bit of torque without silly speeds.
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There's an idea. I saw a well sorted Berkeley fitted with one of those Boat Excelsiors. As you say, not totally orininal but still in the family so to speak and certainly not a dishonourable marriage.
Whats the point of owning a classic car if you are going to put a quad engine in it?
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Well a good point Bob , but a bit harsh if it' s just not available ? Perhaps I could ask my buyer if he's happy with his purchase . Asking for trouble though ;)
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Well you just wait until something turns up like I had to twice for the correct Inter engine. You have rare cars too Richard and I know you wouldnt put a quad engine in any of them would you? At least use a period alternative, not easy I know.
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Whats the point of owning a classic car if you are going to put a quad engine in it?
The only answer I can think of is you would be Quads in!
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Richard, without giving sensitive information out, did the car stay in Scotland?
Still in the same part of Aberdeenshire. Gary Aitken, Powerdrive owner from the area knows the car well,having worked on it. Have seen it a few years ago when the body and chassis had been separated. The body was in brilliant original condition then but has since been stored out doors :'(
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Mmmm shame but hope the new owner can get it back running again. I know Gary, I think he is going to attempt a trip to Brechin in the next month or so, have a look over what I have stashed away!
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well i have very little information other than that George said he bought it " in boxes " :)
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hi george here,i agree with comments about engine.would love to find either engine or dynastart .can anyone help?????????
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ah just exchanged emails with George :) this will be the dynastart he's looking for but isn't this a standard Siba/Villiers reversing ? or is it different ? lets get him this engine sorted eh ?
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yes, Siba Dynastart but unique to the Excelsior engine. The internal taper on the rotor is where the main difference is between this and a Villiers. Have suggested a few potential sources to George.
Blower cooled Excelsior engines are now very rare.
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/ch11/5121805220/in/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ch11/5121755278/in/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ch11/5121754460/in/photostream/
these links were posted by Rusty Chrome last time we touched on Coronets i wonder if , as George has a rusted solid orginal , could the taper be cannibalised/replicated and adapted on another ?
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Ahh, Am I right in thinking that this dynastart fits together back to front?
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Pretty sure that this is a unit only for Excelsior and friends. The flywheel might have the windings demountable. So you might put a Villiers type on, reusing your centre. But some are crimped on, rather than screwed together. Stator, it is what is. The good thing about this installation is you can service the dynostart without parting it from the crank. Pity the crank is apparently not as reliable as something like a Sachs or Villiers to make the most of it.
Blower engine should be achievable as if folk have got them in their Berkeley they should have the casing they took off. The machines that use them should be rarer than the number of engines left. Normal practice, as is sitting on several spare units when never using the car in question. The rarity of some parts is a product of the mumbers sat on shelves not for sale. Indeed some parts are not really rare at all!
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Is there an easy way to tell the difference between these? Recently aquired some second hand dynastarts and wonder if I could help out !
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nut in centre or 4 'pop' marks to hold it together , will post a picky latters ....
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some photos of the Sibaa centre fastening ...
1 .the fastening nut in the centre , a special 'C' type box spanner is needed to renove/tighten.
2 .alternative fix is the boss is peened over by four 'pip's' .
3 .the outer rotos is fixed to the back plate by screws .
4 .also of note to Bonders if you get a spare from the ex goverment cripple car look for the green ones (higher output ) keep stator and rotor together .
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and finaly for them thats never seen a 'new' one , heres your chance - rearer than steam of rocking horse s**t ;D
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I would add that experience in swapping flywheel windings to other centres suggests it is worth noting the following.
The units are balanced so they rotate without significant deviation nor strain to the crank and bearings. Thus the orientation, normally offered by several pegs/dowels, should be adhered to. Be aware that it is wise to replace any iffy looking/feeling set screws holding the unit together, is it nine? I think they are BA type. Do not tighten too hard and ensure an even spread of the load, so should the centre fastening not be 'home' the screws will not shear. If one shears it can then withdraw from its hole and make quite a mess. If the lot goes, as has happened even on untampered with flywheels, it gets very interesting very quickly!
This said care should mean you can possibly salvage usable dynpostarts from what might appear a load of old rubbish. Never throw then away. If your not minded to try and repair them, trade them to a twit like me for some bits you can use, and we retain a pool of units to recycle. The stators will repair too, not easy but if you have the tooling and knowledge it is a nice winter job in the warm. I have a few sets of parts to reassemble but most of mine have now been done. I still have a new/reconditioned Excelsior Dynostarter with casing and points bits and a spare used flywheel. These are ex Dolphin Engines/Chapman stock.
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The first flywheel I fitted to my Bond came apart after a few hundred miles, (fortunately the car came with several) It hadn't crossed my mind till that point that the exterior of the flywheel/armature/rotor was constructed of more than one piece. This first one was the type 2 shown on Plas Mans list and when I looked at the others and saw that they were all the type 1 with a fastening nut, I assumed that must have been missed off somehow which had caused the problem. When I fitted the first one, In the absence of the Siba rotor locking tool mentioned in service notes I used a strap wrench to hold the rotor still while I tightened the centre nut, I suspect that even with all the set screws holding it in place, this is enough to disrupt the balance of the assembly if you use it on the body of the rotor rather than on the front where the lip is.