Original ulster engine rebuild

[Greig Smith]

I can recommend 7 County Austins for replacement valves and pistons Tony..... 

Great to see the innards and thanks for the detailed pictures

Aye
Greig

[JonE]

how does 4 big end sit in relation to the oil supply line and the points noted? All very interesting and instructional, thankyou.

[dickie65]

HI Tony,
Is That an 1980s Allen Crank hiding in there ?? Or is it an early Phoenix ??
It looks very similar to mine but yours apears to have more rounded shoulders.

[Tony Betts]

hi Greig,

thanks for the plug.

ive just had valves come in as well.

im not sure about replacing everything? the valves are not burnt or bent. and i know they seat well. im looking at cleaning them. reseating them. and reaming the guides.

just replacing whats worn or worn out.

and yes it will have my slipper pistons fitted.

ive just had a customer fit the slipper pistons to his engine to replace JP pistons. he has already sed it runs quieter and cooler.

also the ulster rep ive just sold i was having problems with smoke from the build done by pigsty in 1995. the engine had never been run since its build. slipper pistons now fitted. everything solved.

im looking forward to see how they run in the ulster engine.

on the same subject, ive also had them fitted to the blown ulster.

jonE,

number 4 is last in line for oil supply,

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im not sure if it is phoenix or alan.

alan was etched but i cant see it, and the early phoenix had no markings.

although, as you the relationship between the two. basically makes then the same thing.

tony

[JFaulknerUlsterRep]

Very educational Tony so thanks for keeping us updated. Like you say the valves all look good and much of the bottom end also looks to be fine. Be interesting to see the block come back all ready for new pistons etc, sounds like it will all come back together very nicely. Joe

[Tony Betts]

hi joe,

im not looking to go full expence on replacing parts that dont need replacing.

im hopeing i dont have to have the crank out.

but if it has to, it has to.

the parts have all been happy running together, and i beleive the valves are mine. fitted when i had the top of to seal the leaks. and fix a sticking valve.

this build is about fixing whats going wrong.

hopefully people will enjoy an honest view of it.

ive had to borrow a bottom end of the 30MOV carb, so the engine is fully running for the centenary.

SO IF ANYONE HAS A BOTTON HALF, OR A COMPLETE 30MOV CARB, IM LOOKING TO BUY ONE. will pay well, but not stoopid.

[Bob Culver]

Surprising that the pressure fed engine retains the oil baffles. Maybe a mousepower to be gained by reducing pumping loss? it is interesting that get low oil consumption with slipper pistons; books used to emphasise influence of piston skirt edge on oil consumption.
Do you happen to know whht the current valves are made of? XB and inferior steels, which many aftermarket were, are magnetic. Up until late 1950s when XB was phased out for exhs near all makes needed occasional valve replacement/grind

[Tony Betts]

Picked the block up yesterday.

All nice and shiny bores.

Cleaned up at 56.25

Which is surprising how baggy the standard 2.2 were

   

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[Dave Mann]

Well that answers a question I've asked many times over the last 40 years, that's do pressure fed engines have baffles, thanks Tony. What oil are you using Tony? I used Duckhams Q20/50 until it wasn't available then tried Castrol Classic 20/50 for about 50 miles when two exhaust valves started to stick and looked just like your valves. I dumped the Castrol and tried Unipart 20/50 a mild detergent oil like the Duckhams and had no valves sticking.

[Tony Betts]

Hi dave,

The engine has always sooted-up so quickly its unreal. Which I've always felt was from the bores and the carb.

I've run it in the past on castrol straight 30 or might have been 40. But number 8 valve started to stick.

I run it since on castrol 20/50 and its started to stick.

I've bought halfords classic 20/50

I've always preferred 20/50. But if it continues, I'll go onto a detergent oil. I dont like it. But I've found it's ok if you flush and replace regular.

I know everyone will have there own miracle oil.

Thanks tony.