An old relic strips down an old relic.

Hello everybody... Well I eventually got my Petter A11 out of the boot of my car and I am now only, for really the first time, having a good look at it.  The guy I bought it from told me it had been running within the last year and indeed it was very free running, too free to be honest, as I couldn't feel any compression.  However onward and sky forth the first job I decided upon was getting the flywheel off.  On the output shaft is a triple pully with its gib key butting against the flywheel gib key which was great as the key can stay put while I pull off the pully.  The next job of removing the flywheel key took a little longer, well most of the day actually, but in my defence I had no help and trying to hold bits and pieces together gets frustrating.  The key was removed but not until after welding the shoulder back on.



As you can see on the picture of the two keys one of them put up a bloody good fight.  Now, the next job is taking all the tin ware off and then the head to see what horrors we have in the dark depths, not a lot really except the exhaust valve is in very good condition but the seat has rusted badly. I have got to say that at this point I very puzzled by a couple of things.  1, the oil looks new.  2, the spark plug is very clean and gapped at 20 thou.  3, the points look brand new and gapped at 15 thou.  4, the engine is covered in the usual shite and has not been cleaned for many many years.  5, this is the good one, the magneto was firing 180 degrees out!!  I am of the opinion that persons unknown, in the distant past, decided to service the engine and took the magneto off to fit new points and when it wouldn't fire up said "sod it" and chucked it in a dark corner for the rest of its life.  It is my good fortune that I bought it as, as far as I can tell, there is very little wear on the valves and the cylinder looks great.

That's it for now but I do have a question which is how can I get rid of a lot of rust in the fuel tank?

Loads of stones, a beer and sitting in the sun shaking the tank so the stones can knock off the loose rust, treat with a rust inhibiter.

Maryalice

Follow Maryalice's advice about the stones, empty and rinse out the loose stuff, then fill with a fairly strong solution of citric acid.  I use Wilko own brand - sold as descaler. If you can use hot water so much the better. Leave overnight then flush out with water.

The only A1 I owned was bought very cheaply as the previous owner rebuilt the engine with new rings etc and then couldn't get it to fire. He had the plug out so many times that he stripped the threads in the head, he then left the engine outside to rot! When I bought it the rings were solid and needed replacing again, the mag was 180 degrees out and the throttle lever was upside down so the throttle was permanently closed. New rings were fitted, coil rewound, the plug thread recut to 18mm, coupled it to a Stuart water pump and it ran well for a Petter. I only rallied it once and sold it all before the rally ended as a lad in our club took a liking to it.

Pete.

I use nuts and washers instead of stones - and I count them in and I count them out!
Good luck.
Kev.

I was lucky the key came out of mine with a home made extractor (there's a thread on it somewhere) looks like a previous owner had attacked it with an angry grinder for some reason.

Thank you all for the advice.  Before I saw your replies I had already put an assortment of nuts and bolts in the tank and gave it a good shake whilst having a cup of tea in the sun.  Also today I ground in the valves, the inlet seat was great and only needed a fine touch but the exhaust seat was shite.

To start it off I glued a bit of course emery to the valve face and with the cordless took the worst of the rust off before grinding in with coarse and fine paste.  I was so pleased with the finish that I forgot to take a photo.  However I reinstalled the valves and temporarily fitted the head and nearly ripped my arm off with the compression.  I wasn't expecting a single cylinder to do that and then realised I had taken off that massive flywheel which would have helped my arm.  I have also attacked the carb today, strip, clean and rebuild.  It certainly looks a lot better.


Well I am off to bed, nighty night.

Nice one, the carb looks great! It's amazing how rust can put a valve seat I think you did the next best thing to re cutting.

Alan

All looking very good, glad you managed to get the keys extracted. They seem to be one of the greatest challenges faced by the engine restorer. With many keys having been butchered by previous owners attempting to remove them with various incorrect tools and methods.

Having very nicely cleaned up the carb, what standard is the the rest of the engine going to be restored to, a full nut and bolt restoration, an oily rag, or somewhere in between?

Whatever you decide, hope enjoy the process and successfully achieve your aims.

Neil.

Thank you for your comments guys. I have decided not to take the cylinder off as I did a leak test on the piston and I am happy with it. This engine has not been touched apart from servicing so I'm of the opinion "if it ain't broke don't fix it" so as much as I want to do a full nuts and bolts refurb I can't see the point. I will however repaint it but IMHO fully restored ones in green are boring so I have decided to paint mine in many colours... maybe three.

I have had a day off today as I am having a rest in Musgrove Park Hospital because my bowel needs refurbing. Hope to be back home soon as I am wasting this lovely weather.

All the best and keep well... Jeff.