Rusty Iron Rally

Great pictures and event!

I noticed that the McDonal 'Imperial' Diesel had 'crude oil' written on it. Can anyone confirm that this engine does actually run on 'crude oil'?

Can anyone tell me about the design features that make this possible?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

Patrick M Liv> With all the discussion on engine displays here is a good sample of a rally

Crude oil then was roughly equivalent to what we would now call diesel. Originally some fields produced such a light crude (e.g Russolene) but as demand expanded distillation was introduced to be followed later by fractionation. The Petter S type began life as the Petters Patent Crude Oil Engine and although it remained a semi-diesel (or surface-ignition) throughout its name was changed c1925. The Petter V series were genuine heavy oil engines. The essential feature being a start on light crude with a switch over when hot and a preheater was fitted. Many large 1920s horizontals could run on heavy oil. e.g the Tangye MLD 7 at Internal Fire has a fuel preheater drawing heat from an exhaust by-pass. IIRC The McDonald Super Weasel was the longest running Brons system diesel?? hth

Well, THAT rally would be "done" under the Trades Descriptions Act in the UK - hardly any rusty iron in view!

Nice set of pictures!

Brian L Dominic

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I spotted a few bits of rust, not much mind ;-) The guy with the Hornsby and clingfilm, sorry but I have to say ` Get A Life`, has he not heard of emery paper???? Surprised he takes it out of the air conditioned, humidity controlled environment it`s used to ;-) Only jesting, lovely engine.

The little Hornsby has the shiniest flywheel I have ever seen. It looks like it has been chromed but it is only polished. I did not think cast iron could be made so shiny. He spends hours polishing it so makes sure it is protected at night. Personally, I am too lazy for that sort of effort ;)