nasty knock for the ABC at Brooklands

Good progress has been made in recent weeks, the engine rebuild is virtually complete and we are looking to reinstate it into the rolling chassis in the next few weeks. Working towards starting it up first week in the New Year - and finding out how good a job we have done! We are using the old rocker assembly to check all is working and then if all is fine do the necessary manufacturing to use a more robust design, which has kindly been donated.

Ian and Graham have done a great job, engine now back where it belongs !

We started the ABC for the first time after the rebuild - hurray. The excess oil soon burnt off and the engine sounded much healthier than before. I believe I may have made a mistake on the timing or we have a carburation issue - however I am sure we can get those sorted next week.

Yes, well done Ian, and Graham. I posted a video clip on the FB site, one person commented 'What fuel are you using?'. Perhaps we need to be careful what we put in the tanks at the museum, I know we usually just use a can from the store, but going forward a more scientific approach may be better, especially for some of the more 'fussy' machines !
I know it certainly had a rather 'sharp' sound to it, John did comment it sounded a bit like an old 2-stroke !

And no nasty knock

Great work, lads!
I'm reminded of my own efforts of early 2014, when my engine started and ticked over well enough, but blatted and pulled poorly when the throttle was opened.
To keep it short, the trouble was a mis-marked timing pinion. Advancing the camshaft one tooth (about eight and a half degrees) made a dramatic difference: the engine roared, and pulled like a train!
An instant check on cam timing is to see if the valves are rocking at TDC. If they aint, there's your problem!
I refer you to Newsletter No. 1009 of May 2014 for a little more background.