Enfield Diesels.

There are a group of engines that include Coventry Diesel, Coventry Victor, Enfield Diesel, Enfield Cycle Company, Cub (Oil Engines Coventry Ltd) and probably a couple I have missed that were all part of various MOD and other contracts, and may have been manufactured by other than the name on the plate.

We come across this with the MOD, where they will buy a design including all drawings etc., and the put it out to tender, the originator not always getting the job.

The Enfield flat twin diesels were produced in various formats but always air cooled. The verticals are fairly distinctive but they made 3 versions that I can find, a 350, VS85 and VS100

They are in the British Diesel Engine Catalogue for the 3rd and 6th editions (1954 and 1965) but not in the 1st.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Engine pages for preservation info:

I think in fairness to SEM we should recognise that air-cooled diesels were not their favourite subject matter over the past couple of decades, although David Edgington always seemed happy to give them a push now and then.

Some, like the Cub flat twins and a few others are particularly nice to play with and restore, but others seem to languish behind the star players and never get to see the rally field.

The Coventry Diesel CDU was a nice if heavy engine, the Coventry Victor another similar if not as nicely built engine. The little Stuart single cylinder is almost collectible now as well...

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk Engine pages for preservation info:

I don't know if that comment was intended to provoke (perhaps aimed at P T-E), but I would have thought that the Stuart-Turner was quite the most collectable of small diesels!

The little Stuart single diesel would be very collectable if there were more of them about. :-) I know of the existence of only 5 or 6, of which maybe three are in a workable condition. The main customers for them were the RNLI, due to the cost of the things, and eventual failure mode tends to be catastrophic, I have seen two which were literally sack and shovel jobs. Though made in small numbers, there seem to be differences between all the engines I have seen. And before Roland says anything I know I ought to get mine finished off:-)) The ex Brian Sharpe gen. set is at present being overhauled, with a new liner and rings plus other sundry jobs, and may be out in the latter part of this year. Its owned by the same man who has the vertical hotbulb Blackstone, so a top class job is assured.

Regards

Philip T-E

There's a chap out here in West Wales who is into all things Enfield. He's got a bunch of motorcycles, & a very nice example of the alloy vertical diesel (about 6-8hp?). He shows it, & almost certainly has background material. I have some pix.

I can ask him if you are looking for anything particular -- if so, mail me offline with what info is needed. I haven't checked Internal Fire for manuals etc. If u haven't, you should!

I've got RE 250 & 350 stationary flat twins, ex WD generating units. Not diesel. Available to interested parties ...

I've also got a '33 250cc Bullet -- the first year Bullets were made. Has a 250cc OHV sloper engine that was only listed for a year, so not a common Enfield lump.. yet another in the restoration queue. Sigh.

Colin

"Philip THornton-Evison" wrote(snip):-

Do tell us more!

"Philip THornton-Evison" wrote:- >

Must have been spectacular, one can imagine the rising howl and clouds of black smoke followed by BANG! Can't say I'd want to be too close by though.

Well, wot I reckon is that the pins holding the governor weights are not up to the job. They are just mild steel rounds pushed through the fork and the weight, and prevented from falling out again by having a saw cut across the diameter and the ends spread apart. On my own engine I found all four of the pins cracking along from the saw cut, and my surmise is that eventually they fail and the governor weights fall out, causing the engine to over speed. On the two broken engines I have see they were literally piles of cast iron shrapnel, smashed crankcases, crankshafts, cylinders etc. Anyhow, that's my story and I'm sticking to it :-) On mine the pins are now proper parallel hardened jobbies held in by high strength never get it apart grade Loctite.....

Regards

Philip T-E

There is this great story of Frank Whittle testing one of his early gas turbines which ran away. The last one had exploded in a very spectacular fashion quite recently, so he had it on his toes up the corridor.

The Technician followed him at a leisurely pace, wiping his hands on some cotton waste and calling after the fast-retreating genius:

"It's no good running, sir, it'll get you if it wants".

Regards,

Kim Siddorn