I too had a good time. I found an aircraft starter magneto - I've got a few of these now, not enough to be a collection in their own right, but moving in that direction. It was uptogether & really cheap & was promptly followed on the next trailer by another identical device, but this one attached to a bit of plank in a more or less professional fashion along with a bit of square section steel pipe with brazed up end plates, two inspection ports, two plug 'oles opposite the windows and topped off with a nice brass cased pressure gauge & a Schrader valve! The HT leads are clamped to the unit & end in proper Lodge rubber plug caps & it even had a couple of VERY expensive Platinum plugs in the holes. The box was stove enamelled black & showed the remains of a makers name which might have been "The Lameler" . It caters for long & short reach 18 & 14 mm plugs & is, of course, a plug tester. It was very dusty & dirty, so I am actually restoring this one - and yes, the magneto works just fine. It even has a little mirror so you can peer into the ports more easily whilst cranking & see the plugs sparking - or not!
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I suspect it was one of those short lived devices that spring up after major wars to take advantage of a temporary glut of very cheap well made machinery of all kinds. I have seen several like this based upon the little compressors fitted to most aero engines. Churning out 400PSI they must have been much sought after & are now with Autolocus, that well known collector of unconsidered trifles!
Next, I found an engine from a British Bulldog rail drill. I have one already & could do with the bits.
Finally, I discovered a soft soldered, hand made, copper sheet replica of the standard two gallon can which I snapped up for a tenner. It has a few marks upon it, but no dents per se & it will look stunning & hard to look at on bright days. Close investigation shows no marks or identity of any kind and it is slightly larger than the original, holding 13 litres or 2.85 gallons.
I came upon the ABC unawares & it took a few moments to recognise it as the engine was resting on the sump lengthwise. The engine itself appears to be complete, but is sans auxiliary gear box and generator. There was a big sign asking for identification, so I wasn't hopeful & sure enough it wasn't for sale, no thank you, not at all. As it is a Mk1 APU, I'd have been delighted to have had it follow me home to join my Mk 2 & vee four, but nothing doing. It seems it was amongst a collection of vintage outboard engines (and indeed looks not unlike a Yamaha flat twin outboard at a quick glance) that have gone to form the basis of a museum collection & it was recognised that the ABC was something else.
It appears to me to be something of a hybrid with the long sump off the Mk2 - but for all I know they were making them like that for years, no-one knows now.
I of course took several photos & you will find both these and a couple of Factory photos so you can see what's missing.
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& the six that follow it and the factory pics ....
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Quite made my day!
Regards,
Kim Siddorn