Saving Old Seagulls

In answer to the original question, the reason is given in British Seagull service sheet No 7 which states: "The throttle control cable is of a standard length to give the over-riding control feature enabling the engine speed to be varied by raising,or lowering the tiller.The throttle control m...

It looks as if someone has shortened your motor by 5 inches.
The standard shaft lengths as stated in my parts book are:
Exhaust tube 17 ½â€

I recommend that if you can get the pinion and sleeve bearing to move then carry on and remove it completely.One apart clean the corrosion off the bearing and housing.If you don’t do this then it is probably going to require the same amount of hammering to drive it back in, only now the percussive...

All the gearboxes that I’ve seen with this hole seem to have the bronze bush above the water pump rotor. My theory is that in this situation excess water pressure is not so readily relieved by the holes in the drive tube casing because the bronze bush acts as a barrier,hence the hole in the side. ...

Pleased to hear that the method worked. I'm guessing that the rotor pin must have already been in a perilous state as I don't see how removing the driveshaft would stress it, except by vibration of course. I think that the hole you are referring to is the one on the side of the water pump housing.If...

If you look at the 102 page in the "ID your Seagull" section on this site you will find some line drawings of the gearboxes and one of the complete motor which may help you to understand the arrangement. The pinion is integral with its shaft which terminates with a squared end above the wa...

The driveshaft is theoretically a sliding fit onto the squared end of the pinion but I've had some where rust has bonded the two together.There can also be a lot of crud inside the shaft above the pinion. Try tapping the shaft with the open end downwards,you may find a lot of rust etc falls out. Get...

Have a look here, http://www.oro2u.com in the throttles and cables section. Item 12-804 is the type you want,it has a straight pull. British Seagull used to sell these for the later motors,it might be worth asking John . I have seen normal motorcycle twistgrips used for Seagulls,they will work, but ...

You could always fit an Amal twistgrip throttle and then use one of the commercially available telescopic tiller extensions.

My Father used to pilot Short Sunderland flying boats during WW2,principally in the far east. He once told me that when we were evacuating Burma large quantities of munitions and equpment were dumped at sea to avoid them falling into enemy hands. He remembered seeing large numbers of jeeps being dri...

Connecting rod big ends are usually line bored as a complete assembly of rod and cap to ensure a perfect fit.

If the connecting rod rotated smoothly with the original big end cap fitted then it seems likely that the new cap is the problem.The only way to be sure is to measure the big end journal for ovality and to measure the internal diameter of the connecting rod with the new cap fitted and fully tightened.

I’ve checked some of my flywheels and find some have straight edges whilst others have bevelled edges. I cannot imagine that this difference is other than a manufacturing change for some reason. I have one flywheel with straight edges which has a depressed centre similar to the one you have descri...

I wonder if in the past someone has attempted to remove the flywheel with a puller instead of using the recommended method.That could explain the dished centre.

There is a wire clip soldered to the top of the float,this engages with a groove in the needle.If you remove the fuel pipe union you should be able to push the needle out. Amal carbs usually respond well to polishing,either with rotary polishing mops or by hand with Solvol Autosol if you have the ti...