17th September 2015

Unfortunately I have decided to sell the engine. It needs work that I have not the capability to do which rather defeats the point of a project like this. It is now in an auction on ebay at the following link.

Some of the bits. There are more photos on previous posts and on the ebay listing.

9th October 2012

Spent a few happy hours moving forward with the engine. Firstly I needed to wire brush the main casting so I could prime it. I have thought about shot blasting but concluded it would not add a lot. I raised the casting up a bit higher and used a rotary wire brush in my 4" angle grinder. The engine plates had to be drilled off and will go back with new rivets after the painting (note to self - put them on before the flywheels go on).
I have been unsure how to remove the stuck exhaust valve and removable guide from the cylinder head but concluded that heating it in a bonfire might be best. I also have two big end bolts stuck in the bearing cap which I thought might respond to the same treatment. I built a small hardwood bonfire and after it was going  put the cylinder head on top. I added more wood round the outside and left it to get hot. I also put the bearing cap in too. After about one hour and half and the fire was dying down I knocked the exhaust valve in a little and loosened the guide. I also knocked the bolts on the big end cap and they both moved. I then left the whole lot to cool down for a few hours.
Back on the bench with some WD40 etc I disassembled the bits. I was careful to file down the valve stem where it had slightly mushroomed before driving it through its' guide.
You will note that I have now found a crack in the cylinder head (see photos). I was very worried that I had done this on the bonfire, but looking at its position at the bottom of the head and being part of the water jacket I am concluding that this is frost damage from long ago. Looking at earlier pictures I have taken of the cylinder head, the crack was not obvious. May be the bonfire opened it up. Another job to research!

Preparing to wire brush the main casting

Removing the badges by carefully drilling the rivets, starting with a small drill bit and working up.

The stuck exhaust valve (top left).

The valve and valve guide removed after firing

The separated big end cap from its bolts. Wondering whether the bolts should be reused or new ones made?

The casting crack at the low point of the water jacket.

2nd October 2012

Today I made some new studs to hold the bearing caps down on my Ruston Hornsby 4AP. I do not have any idea what the top main bearing shell looks like. The pictures below show the bottom shell which is located in the main block by a cast in lug. Nigel Burney's book shows the top shell of an IP bearing but that has two lugs that align with two cut outs in the bearing cap (Drawings 166 and 167 show this clearly). As you can from the second photo that cut out is not there on this bearing cap. I can only assume that instead of a tab there is a flange the whole way along the shell to stop it turning. Has anyone got a picture of a top shell please? I have also looked in the Illustrated Spare Parts List but that does not seem to help. Thank you.

Lower shell half removed with locating lug clearly visible

Bearing cap showing no cut out for locating lug. Also one of my new studs

25th August 2012

Getting back to the engine now my daughter's wedding is over.

Firstly it was a repaint of my shed floor. Makes it a lot easier to keep it clean. Then it was on to looking at the big end. This had been disassembled before I got the engine. However both bolts are solid in the cap. I did try to budge it with a copper mallet but am obviously nervous of hitting it too hard. One of the bolts is slightly bent suggesting these bolts had been fast when the engine was originally disassembled. I have put some WD40 on it but I suspect I am going to end up putting it into a small bonfire to heat it up. Any other thoughts?

I had a go at polishing the crank pin but it is badly rusted (been out in the rain?) and will need regrinding along with the main journals.

Repainted shed floor

Big end bearing cap with bolts fast in the cap

Crank pin badly rusted - will need grinding

11th August 2012

A bit of background to this engine. It is a Ruston Hornsby 4AP bought by me from the Absalom Sale in 1992 (I believe there is an article on the sale in Stationary Engine Magazine 226). The Engine Number is 138513 and according to Ray Hooley's records it was exhibited at the Royal County Show at Southampton and then sold in May 1929. The engine was bought as a pile of bits, the most significant missing bit being two main bearing shells. It is only recently I have had some time to start looking at it and make a start on its restoration.

The following are a series of photographs of the bits. I also have the flywheels and crank assy and the side shaft assembly

Main crank case with piston as bought. There cylinder bore seems in good condition

Some bits

Some more bits

The cylinder head

Earlier this week I completed the disassembly of the crank, leaving the side shaft gear on the crank as suggested by Nigel McBurney. The weights came off relatively easily as shown.

The spanner ground down to fit into the balance weight to undo the nut

A little assistance to get the nut free

The next jobs include assessing the cylinder bore wear, looking at whether the big end bearing is reusable and making some studs to replace the missing main bearing studs and probably all of the cylinder head studs. The engine is booked into JEL Bearings to have a crankshaft regrind and new main bearings.

6th August 2012

This is the first of an occasional series of blogs about the restoration of my Ruston-Hornsby 4AP. I will provide more background later but the engine was bought as a collection of bits. Today I had a go at removing the 3 gib keys on the crankshaft. Since I bought the engine 20 years ago I have been occasionally spraying the gib keys with WD40 ready for this event. I recently bought the Claas 'Curved Key Drawer' - Part No 0001818341 from the local Claas agricultural equipment dealer. The set up was fairly obvious although the key drawer does not have parallel sides and should be placed the right way up. For the first key a packing piece was placed on the hub of the pulley so that the curved drawer could fit properly (without the packer, the point of the drawer would foul with the pulley rim). The G clamp held the packer and prevented the drawer from lifting out. Once the drawer was set up, the pulley was placed against a wall to provide support and the drawer hit with a 3lb lump hammer. A couple of good belts and it moved. With a bit more tapping it came out. The key has been put in a plastic bag and labelled to avoid muddling them up.

Using a piece of hardwood and the lump hammer, the pulley was knocked until it started to move. Gradually the pulley was worked loose and then slowly worked off the crankshaft.

The set up for the removal of the gib key from the pulley

 Then on to the next two keys and with a similar arrangement (without the packer), the keys were out.

Set up for the removal of the first of the flywheel keys

The flywheels were not at all loose and it was not clear what the next step would be. A look back at Nigel McBurney's series on the restoration of a Ruston-Hornsby IP in back issues of Stationary Magazine and I decided to put the crank and flywheels on the crankcase. This would allow me to work more easily on easing off the flywheels. After a bit of effort the crank was loaded on to the bearings and the weights chocked in the crankcase with a block of wood. I do not have the upper bearing shells so could not fasten the crank down. However with a bit of careful rocking the flywheels were worked loose. The next step is the removal of the flywheels and then the balancing weights and sideshaft gear drive off the crank.

The crankshaft on the crankcase. The crankcase is on a temporary trolley made for the restoration.