wolsley wd

hi there i have just brought a wolsley wd the one that has the finned hopper i am thinking about restoring it completely with a strip down and rebuild and the paint work has seen better days how easy is this engine to work on please and how easy are the parts to get hold of and what colours where these availble in when new any help would be grately recieved marcus

Hi Marcus
Sorry i can't help with the information your asking, but good luck with it and i hope you enjoy doing it, as for a colour i have seen one in a light grey, i thought that looked nice, please don't go down the pink route, even if Ryan can sell you the paint cheap after he has painted his.

hi marcus

Between us all sure we can help you all, statman and john knows someone that does good paint for a tenner a can, 1 can will do, i believe the wd range is fairly easy to get parts for, i personaly like wolseleys and rustons, 2 members you may wish to consult with about the wd are jonesey and statman, there the only 2 i can think off hand there may be lots more that may see this thread and put me straight , good luck though

Marcus the only advice I can give you is photograph the parts as you take them off. label them and try to lay them in order, that should help. If you get stuck I'm sure theres plenty on here that can help, so get stuck in.
As Ian says a common colour was grey, but I have seen one that was burgundy and if you do the lettering in gold it should look very good. Keep away from the pink paint Ryan has as it comes with matching shoes and handbag

Good luck with the restoration I'm sure you'll do a great job,

Stu.

Very easy to restore, there easy than Lister D' s
Just take your time and enjoy doing it.
everybodys coverd the things to do so far.
They were painted Dark Brunswick Green, Battle Ship Grey or depends how they were supled to to fit the own eqitment they painted them there selfs.
Chris

thanks to all for the advice what is the weight of the wolseley wd compared to the lister d

I think they should near enough be the same.

Hi,

I've just (almost) completed the restoration of my WD II, so my experiences might be helpful:
The first thing I would do (after careful cleaning off of all the muck and rust) would be to take off the crankcase cover and check the aignment of the dots on the gears. The 2 dots on the crank gear (the middle one) should align with the one dot on the camshaft gear (the left-hand one) when the single dot on the crankshaft gear lines up with the single dot on the magneto gear (the right hand one). Mine didn't (they were about 3 teeth out), making setting up the mag a hit and miss affair. I would suggest that, If they don't line up, set the two dots on the crank gear in alignment with the camshaft gear, then mark the mag gear and the crank gear so that you can put them back in the same place.
Another thing: get a new head gasket and other gaskets before you start (or make your own!). I thought I could re-use the head gasket but I had the head off a dozen times during the restoration and the gasket leaked like hell afterwards, although it looked ok.
Another point about gaskets: I made my own cork gasket for the crankcase cover. DON'T! Use a non-spongy paper gasket material (about 1 mm thick), when I tightened the gasket cover nuts there was a "tick" and now I have a hairline crack in the cast cover. The cork is too resilient.
If you are taking the big end shells out, you will need a socket of just the right length to go into the crankcase and not foul the crank webs when removing the rear crank bolt.
When you take off the mag, be sure to mark the mag flange and the housing so that you can replace it in the same position. The mag couples to the mag gear via a rubber disc with a slot in it and a dog on the mag. If you get the alignment wrong (180° out) it will be sparking at bottom dead centre. No problem if you don't turn the Mag or the crankshaft but this is unlikely. Again, marking the mag gear, the rubber disc and the mag dog would be a good idea.

Maybe this has been of some use, have fun,

Jim.

I don't know why that post went through 3 times! please excuse.

Jim

smenkhare wrote:I don't know why that post went through 3 times! please excuse.

Jim

all sorted now Jim...

regards....mike.......

Thanks, Mik. It looks better now. All I need now is some advice on my Stuart!

Jiom.

HI JIM....

contact Steve (shakin giant)..i think he the fella that knows about those engines...

regards.....mike...

What do you want to know? I can get most manuals and date engines roughly. Had a few dirrent ones and most can be a pain lol

Cheers Steve

Hi, Steve,

If you check the above titled messag (immediately below this one) you will find a link to pictures of my Stuart, which I would like to have identified, together with a few comments on it.

Jim.

hi there i have decided to start this restoration again since my last post it has been sand blasted and powder coated and also i am looking for a key that hold the fly wheel in place anyone know where i can get one please also is it better to brush paint these engine or use compressor with spray gun many thanks

marcus wrote:hi there i have decided to start this restoration again since my last post it has been sand blasted and powder coated and also i am looking for a key that hold the fly wheel in place anyone know where i can get one please also is it better to brush paint these engine or use compressor with spray gun many thanks

WELL IT DEPENDS ON THE MAN DOING IT THEY BOLTH NEED THE SAME PREPERATION LEVELS
I DECIDED AGAINST SPRAYING MY WD11 WOLSELEY BECOUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF NOOKS AND GRANYS FINS ECT TO RUN THE RISK OF OVERSPRAY
UNDERSPRAY AND RISK OF RUNNS AND MORE PAINT SEEMS TO GO OVER EVERTHING ELSE TOP TO BOTTOM OF SHEDS SO YOUR PAYING TO PAINT YOUR TOOLS SHELFS AND WINDOWS ECT ECT
P.S DONT FORGET TO PRIME INSIDE THE BLOCK WATER JACKET BEHIND THE FLAT SQUARE PLATE AS THE CASTING OR THINEST DOWN THERE
AND A RUST TRAP TOBOOT
I WILL HAVE A LOOK IN MY WOLSELEY PARTS BOX SEE IF I HAVE ONE FROM THE DONNER ENGINE I HAD
WILL MESSAGE YOU IF I FIND ONE 2 DAYS MAX AFTER THAT YOUR OUT OF LOOK
THANKS KEV

I'm spray painting mine because of the fins on the head but it's taking for ever as I'm doing it outside and the weather is always agianst me.
Sorry can't help with the gib key, just a thought are they the same size as the Ruston PT? anyone know? jsut if they are it gives you more options to find one. Only other thing if find a larger one and file it down to fit.

Stu.