Saving Old Seagulls

Hi all,
I have just finished working on my clutched 40+ and have now turned my attention to the silver century that's sat at the back of the shed, I was given the engine a few years back, but when I stripped it down I found it had many issues and needed many parts. So I reassembled it to keep it all together and now its been sat for about 2.5 years.
The problem is John has quoted me around £230 for all the parts.
Not to sound cheap but I'm only hesitating on fixing it because I wont use this engine and will only have it as a display piece, because its too heavy for my dinghy so I use 40+'s instead.
So that's the question, is it worth fixing or should I keep it for parts incase I buy a larger dingy and a working silver century.

Thanks

If you are in no rush getting the century working, keep a look out for a donor motor, its a better option, as it looks like you need a lot of parts, it not as though its an uncommon motor and especially if you don't know if you are going to use it or not.

What is the serial number and what parts are required. As Keith says it's a common motor so you can probably get hold of the more expensive bits 2nd hand and buy the plug / lead / cables etc new. If you don't need it now you can bide your time and keep your eyes peeled for the necessary bits .... no need to rush!

If experience has taught me anything, it's keep old machinery. The price goes up over time, and if you choose not to fix or use it for parts, you can always sell it later.

Me personally, I'd keep it and fix it up over time.

Dug the engine out from the back of the shed today and took some pics.
I may have found a good donor engine but its one of the century style ones with the smaller gearbox and Villiers carb. I'm sure these have a proper name but I don't know it. Anyway will most of the parts be the same for a standard silver century?
Here is the list of parts needed to fix my century:

cylinder block
gasket set
spark plug
ht lead and cap
prop spring
choke
float chamber
crankshaft top nut
impeller
water pump housing bolts
transom bracket
throttle cable
tank transfer
piston rings
fuel cap
fuel pipe
fuel filters

thanks

To me anyway, they're all worth saving provided you can lay your hands on the spare parts at a price that won't break the budget.
Without the parts it will lie in the shed for many more years before it gets a second look and it might be too late by then.

Question:
Do you need a motor with a clutch (slightly easier to use) or will a direct drive do the job?
Longshaft or standard shaft?

Plenty of options available to make a good outboard from a donor gull or two. Half the fun is taking them to bits


Funny, i've been looking at selling my silver century plus (standard shaft) for a while. Same as the one in your pics. No good to me any more as i'm into the older 102's.
Interested?

Jon

Hi jon,
Yep I 100% agree with you, they are all worth saving. Yes I might be interested in your silver century if you can post it to me. If you want to sell it maybe PM me some pictures and a price.

Thanks

I've sent you a PM




Jon

Hi all,
Some may have seen my other topic on my new purchase, so therefore I will restore this century plus that this thread is about, as I now have most of the parts I will need.
I stripped the whole thing down today and now have a few questions.
My crankshaft has 3-4mm of up and down play, is this a easy fix?
What is the best paint for the flywheel that will match the original color?
What is the best primer to use?
Where can I get a new chrome drive leg as I see them often on restored engines?

thanks, Jacob

Crankshaft end float, pretty normal.
Best paint for the flywheel = Hammerite hammered finish gold.
What is the best primer to use = acid etch primer.
Where can I get a new chrome drive leg = Ebay maybe.