Saving Old Seagulls

Not really a question of price.
More, what you think it's worth and whether you're prepared to spend loads of money and time getting it right.(if it needs it that is)
As with a lot of auction sites, the more people interested in the item for sale, the higher the final sale price will be depending on how many people are bidding.
Often a cheeky offer to the seller can turn up the goods. Try your luck, you never know.
What i have noticed over the last couple of years is that most things seagull related seem to go in trends. The older stuff seems to be taking over in popularity a bit more than the younger stuff, hence the slightly higher price today compared to a few years ago.

I've been quite lucky with my 3 LS's. All of them were bought quite cheap.One needing quite extensive repair, the others just needing a good clean up and a fresh coat of paint here and there. What i've spent on them is a different matter entirely.
Unless the re-sale value of "little model 40's" suddenly rockets up in the very near future, i'm unlikely to get my money back on them.
That's not important to me.
What IS important is keeping the heritage alive and passing on that information to the next generation.


They're still a nice little motor all the same.Not everyone's cup of tea but i like 'em
Hope you get one soon.


Jon

Well, believe it or not, I just got myself a little 40! One of three I know of in Australia, it popped up on gumtree and I grabbed it. Serial of FV3302 puts it at 1950/51.
It's being delivered on the 17th, and needs a full restoration.









Cheers
BP

Nice catch..... I must have the other two then FV1580 and FV3364 both great little engines in regular use on the channel!

If you need info give me a shout

AJ

Hi AJ

I was counting the 3 I know of as mine, Steve green's and also the one on gumtree.

It seems that most of the ones over here are FV's...

Cheers
BP

I think the most recent FV sold here quite recently went for around £100 or so, that was a decent original condition engine that was complete. That seems to be the going price. As said previously it does very much depend on how many interested bidders there are. To be honest I doubt there is any profit to be made on seagull restoration. I bought a complete and tatty FVP for £30 and fully restored it to a nice standard, it went for £130 when I had a big clear out to make some space.

I think the gearbox nose is on upside down??? I have one of these little beautys, they seem to run smoother than the newer models and are much aesier to carry down the beach to the dinghy.

I just read back a bit and see Adrians FV numbers, mine is FV 3481. Garry.

It looks to be pretty much a complete example, not bad at all, I did notice the gap in the cylinder head, hopefully that's nothing.
Gearbox cap is upside down, that's not uncommon to see, as it can sometimes be easier to remove the whole cap if the screw cap is stuck as that can be a pain to remove.

Great little engines the FVs. The 2 issues are the open water jacket and the screw in leg. The water jacket can cause really bad corrosion of the crankcase, particularly where the studs screw in. Getting the leg out of the water pump housing can be a real devil too.
Here's mine, since the picture was taken I've trimmed the tiller to the correct length and added a correct Dover grip. I think it is now pretty correct v factory spec.

Incidentally the decals are now available, I had a few made, and John now stocks them.

Enjoy!

Should these tillers be black or polished brass

Black! (according to spec)

But it's your motor so you do what you want.
Polished looks nice too.


With a bit of luck, Jeremy will be along shortly. (havn't heard from him in a while)


Jon

Can't be far away.....

That's a very nice restoration Tam.

Nice job Tam.
(from memory, it wasn't that bad to begin with, or was it?)

Yours in nice too Keith.

Mine is a bit younger than both of yours and still quite a way off from being finished. (too ashamed to upload any pics )

Lovely little things whichever way you look at them.
Sweet

Jon

Hope this one turns out the same...