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JAP vee twin

Some may have noticed the unusual JAP (J. Arthur Prestwich for our younger readers!) vee twin for sale in the clasads in SEM this month. I was fortunate enough to get in first & purchased same, collecting it last Friday night from a farm near Rye on my way to Kent

Here's some photos.

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I had an opportunity on Saturday to sit down & have a long look at it & although it has sat in the open for many, many years, my feeling is that it has seen very little service. Look at the valve cap hexagons - none of them show any sign of wear much less abuse. The exhaust ports have their nuts & the threads are unworn. There appears to be no carbon in the ports. There is oil in the sump & it is a clean golden colour.

The engine not only rotates - a trifle stiffly perhaps! - but has compression with the valves behaving as they should. It has fixed heads & it's general appearance leads me to date it circa 1925.

I have cleaned off the white dust from the place where the engine number usually appears but cannot make the faint marks into anything readable. Should I be looking elsewhere? I can find no references to this model & it is unlike any I have seen - the thoughts of those here are eagerly sought.

Regards,

Kim Siddorn

Reply to
kimsiddorn
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Kim,

All you want now is a reliant three wheeler in reverse mode and your away :-))

Reply to
campingstoveman

After fighting Webshots for some time, I've finally been able to see the pictures. Once upon a time, Webshots was good. Then they wrecked it. Now it seems the site only works properly if you have the latest version of whatever browser they recommend. How they managed to make a site which just hosts pictures so complicated, I can't think :-(.

I think you're right about the date. It is remarkably similar in design to the engine of the 1947 Dennis lawnmower that I'm currently overhauling, except that yours is a twin cylinder engine. The cast iron cylinder with non-removable head, valve caps, compression tap, aluminium crankcase and fan on the side of the cylinder are all common features.

Apparently the Dennis engine was originally made by Blackburne (the motorcycle manufacturer) to a design by aircraft pioneer Geoffrey De Havilland. It remained largely unchanged from the 1920s until around

1960. Perhaps there's no connection except that the two engines date from a similar period, but here are some pictures:
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My guess is that the serial number should be on the crankcase somewhere, but probably not on a plate. It might not be next to the "JAP" text. You might find it when you get the whole crankcase cleaned.

Best wishes,

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

I have a vague recollection of a past Lister-Petter rally at which there was a display of Auto-Trucks and the like. One of these, in RAF colours, was fitted with a similar engine.

NHH

Reply to
Nick H

readers!) vee twin for sale in the clasads in SEM this

last Friday night from a farm near Rye on my way

pictures. Once upon a time, Webshots was good. Then they

version of whatever browser they recommend. How they

Big Snip

Hi Chris, I assume you do not have a paid Webshots account and kept being thrown into adverts! People tell me the same about my Webshots page & I think it is wicked the way Webshots charges people like Kim & me to put the pictures up but then puts vast amounts of adverts on top of the pictures. They make it hard to download the pictures otherwise I would probably use another provider.

Reply to
Dave Croft

thrown into adverts!

Webshots charges

adverts on top of the pictures.

another provider.

No, I'm not going to give any money to Webshots. If I was going to pay money for a picture hosting service, I'd rather go with Flickr. While not perfect, Flickr is a lot better.

Best wishes,

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

Chris,

I got fed up with Webshots and now use Googles Picaso 3, no adverts, easy to use and quick.

Reply to
campingstoveman

Reply to
Charles Hamilton

I think it is a Martinside engine.

I'd drop Webshots, but the thought of transferring over 4,000 photos decides me against it.

Hopefully, they will see the light when sales drop off

Regards,

Kim Siddorn

Reply to
kimsiddorn

Can anyone help me with Paul Nutt's e-mail address?

Regards,

Kim Siddorn

Reply to
kimsiddorn

I don't have one, but i've got a Pawl Spring if you need one ;-)

Reply to
MatSav

;o))

Paul Nutt is the SEM JAP marque specialist & I have an e-mail addy now - thanks Peter.

Regards,

Kim Siddorn

Reply to
kimsiddorn

Reply to
Charles Hamilton

MAG then? Another clue could be the IoE valve layout favoured by that marque at one time.

NHH

Reply to
Nick H

Reply to
Charles Hamilton

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