Classic Car and Bike Show, Timour Hall. Harvey Metcalf asked
us to come along to this show on Sunday, 27th January, and to bring along
something to make a noise with. The gardens of the Hall are ideal for a
show of this sort, with a lawn set aside for each of the main car
clubs. There were Morris Minors, Lancias, MGs, Jaguars, Rolls Royces and
Bentleys, the Classic Bikes etc. We had a pleasant corner of a lawn which
was also a public car park, far enough away from the Sans Souci School Band-stand
for our noise not to be a nuisance, yet wherever you went on the grounds
you could hear the put-put of our engines. This made sure that nobody could
miss us! Visitors had unfortunately to come across a rickety plank bridge,
which prevented at least one person on a wheelchair from visiting us. Philip
& Ryan Gray-Taylor had an impressive selection of engines,
along with a generator, and a mill. They also brought along the remains
of a Villiers-powered Ransomes Mower which they had found weeks 
before on a rubbish pile. They had got it going and it caused quite a stir
when it ran! Mike & Mary Thurgood were there with no
less than four miniature Hot Air engines, and the rest of us, including
Steven Sokolic, Darryl and Trevor Bailey, Arthur Wilding
and myself had an engine apiece. Most ran continuously, which was in stark
comparison with the cars and bikes, which were mostly static, without their
owners in sight! It was nice to meet Folker Streitberger
and Horst Lau there, who do similar work at Deutz, and
competitor, MTU respectively, in Cape Town.The feeling is that the Show
will make a pleasant replacement for the now defunct Constantia Show.Wolseley Engines:
Philip Gray-Taylor has been doing some research into Wolseley Engines in
South Africa, and invites your comments:
We all know how popular Wolseley engines are in South Africa, as Hendrik
says "In his part of the world there is one under every tree", but how much
do we know about the engines that were Wolseleys but with the timing gear
cover stamped Boeresake or Vetsak? Tidying up the back garden the other
day (what that actually means is moving a few engines around to satisfy
the boss) I realised that I was the owner of a Senator, which is really
a Wolseley WLB 8, and having two flywheels the timing cover with the 'Senator'
name on was hidden. By writing down a short history of Wolseley, putting
it in the newsletter and asking the readers to correct and add to it, we
may start to see the big picture. 
In 1942 during the Second World War the Ministry of Supply requested that
Wolseley make an engine for the War Department for use in the Western Desert (which is where
the WD comes from), the other engine manufacturers being too busy. Wolseley
had previously purchased a batch Ruston and Hornsby PT engines
and sold them as Wolseleys so it is little wonder that the new WD 1 was
so similar. These were discontinued in 1945 after 3548 were made, to
make way for the WD 2. Of these, 17004 were made, the last one in 1949.
After Rustons built their last model PT they officially passed on the design
to Wolseley and in 1949 the WD 8 was born. Maybe Ruston was a
tad hasty in getting rid of the PT because they had to buy 1600 engines
back from 
Wolseley to run compressors to start their big diesels! The South
African Wolseleys all seem to be WD 8 or WD 9`s (3" bore, 1½-3HP)
or WLB 8 and 9`s (3⅝" bore, 2¼-5HP).
In the UK the WD 8 was discontinued in 1961 at engine no. 60650 with 36645
being produced, the WD 9`s history is 1961-1976, nos. 60651-90258, total
production 29607. The WLB 8 and 9`s, as well as the air cooled engines, were
also discontinued in 1976 after totals of 46227 and 9322 respectively.
Now for
the interesting part, in RSA I have seen Boeresake, Vetsak, Trojan, Senator
and Southern Cross "Wolseleys", but where were they made? Were they assembled
from imported castings or not? I have a note that the last one was made
in 1987, is this so? And who still stocks parts?
South African News: Andrew Gush wrote in from
Port Elizabeth about a National MBSE Horizontal Diesel he's working on:
See Right: I plan to put her back into use on the farm where
she was first installed in the 1930's to 40's where she was used to pump
water out of the Bushmans river (unfortunately the pump is gone) between
Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown onto Citrus orchards. Later she was sold
by my dad's uncle to another farmer in the Sidbury area (also between PE
and Grahamstown) to pump water out of a borehole for irrigating lucern which
she did until the compression nut on the front of the piston came out and
smashed a hole throught the cylinder head. The farmer then stripped the
engine down and welded the head and then never had it machined down again.
I was lucky enough to be given the engine about 2 years ago. Walter Penny and I then fetched the engine and brought it back to my dad's farm where we threw another block in a garage near the house. All the restoration went well until a friend and I did the machining on the head and installed it on the block. When filling the water jacket the welding looked like a frosted beer glass, it was completely porous. One good thing, I had got my levels right as the water ran out the back of the sleeve.
Back to the drawing board. Not many welders want to try and tackle rebuilding the head as the cast iron is full of carbon making it extremely difficult to weld. I have however found one person who will do it but at great cost. I now have two alternatives 1. Find another head or 2. weld the original either way I will eventually get her going again.
The plan is to use the engine as a standby generator for the farm, the electricity supply here in the East Cape is getting more and more erratic and this is a good enough excuse (if I need one) to do a little bit of restoration. I like to see my engines working at the end as well as looking good.
Derick Kleynhans in Heidelberg (Cape) reports good progress on his Fairbanks Morse Jack of all Trades. He has to be congratulated on having had an article published in Stationary Engine Magazine in UK, concerning his B&L engine, along with a request for help on the 'Jack'. He was recently woken up by a phone call in the middle of the night, and was immensely relieved that it wasn't a family disaster, or even a call out to a breakdown at work......no, it was a kind gentleman from the USA offering him a set of oilers for the 'Jack'......for the price of the postage! There is a reply to his B&L request in the latest Stationary Engine Magazine, from Chris Madeley in Canterbury, England, who has spent a lot of time in Japan. He says that Japan was in 'Occupied' status between September 1946 and April 1952, so that helps with the dating. He has not heard of the engine, but has offered to translate any Japanese Derick might find on the engine! (Ying-tong-iddle-i-po)
Peter Boast's Manual and parts list for his rare Deutz Vertical 2-stroke PME 117 (See right) has arrived from the Deutz factory in Cologne, thanks to the help of Folker Streitberger, who runs the Deutz office in Cape Town. This is going to be a great help with the setting up during assembly. Derick Kleynhans is busy sorting out the crack around the boss of the flywheel, and has found that the crank has been slightly bent, but that's no problem for those resourceful country engineers in Heidelberg! With the manual, came a brochure reminding us that we're celebrating 125 years of the Otto Cycle!
Johan Mundey reports that his Bentall is now running! He is still getting used to the way it wants to run, and finds it runs much better with its carb outlet assembled the right way around! His restoration has been made possible with the help of drawings sent to him by Alf Shand in Australia, a world renowned authority on Bentalls. This has rolled a big stone out of the way of his restoration's progress! He's looking for a three piece spark-plug, and says that the porcelain is broken around the central electrode, and leads to an erratic spark.
Pieter Fourie from Koringberg
reports that he has managed to get hold of an old stationary baler, made
by a firm called John Bunell & Son, Engineers, Reckyn St, North Melbourne,
Australia. He says it's in working order, and he's just still looking for
the 2 wooden slotted blocks and he'll be in business. He plans to use it
on his farm, for hay for their donkeys. Why were the Australian models
so popular here? Or have they just lasted better? Peter Boast
and I saw Petrus Roux' machine recently, made by Smith
of Ballarat, and then there's my Mitchell.......
Herman and Elana Geldenhuys from Caledon called in to report that
they have successfully recovered the Ruston & Hornsby 4X HR from the
farm Dungye Park near Thesslersdal. See right:
Although the engine has been flooded many times, and had suffered damage
from a tree swept down by a flood, it is in remarkably good condition. The
air inlet housing and a push-rod were damaged by the tree, but those will
be easy to repair, even if they have to visit Elana's brother Fanie
Smit at the Engineering Works at Graafwater for a working weekend!Robbie Weir rang in from
Settlers near Warmbaths saying he'd been in the Cape recently and had had
the pleasure of a tour of Oom Jannie duToit's International
Tractor Museum in Agter Paarl. He said that they are starting a new club
up there, as a result of the enthusiasm generated around the forthcoming
Great 400 Working in Ficksburg, which they plan to attend. He asked for
the correct shade of blue/grey for the older Farmalls. He can be contacted
on 014 73001 56.
Netherlands News: We have had a request from Jan Vegter
in the Netherlands, who is writing a book on the Brons, or Hvid system of
ignition. He had heard of Arthur Wilding's Voigt Voortrekker engine, which
uses the system, and Arthur has sent him,
via the Paarl Museum, a copy of his
extensively researched article which appeared
in the last Veteran Farmer magazine.
See right: Jan knows that Ransomes Sims
and Jefferies used the system on their Wizard, and that the McDonald Super
Diesel from Australia does too. If anybody has any more information, please
contact me, or him direct on jvegter@zonnet.nl
Swedish News: At the suggestion of Keith Brinch in New Zealand, we have made contact with Nils-Eric Sjöstrand, who is the Secretary of the Tändkulans Vänner which in fact means "The Friends of Hot Bulb Technics" but it is so difficult to translate so they just refer to themselves as The Stationary Engine Club of Sweden. They started 10 years ago, with a small nucleus of enthusiasts. The response from the public was tremendous so they decided to form the Club and started yearly exhibitions. They have made two different videos and have become known nationwide. They opened a website early on and soon started to become known abroad and today they have 1000 members, many outside Sweden. Nils-Eric is the vice president and editor of their 80-page magazine which they send out twice a year. Visit their homesite http:/ www.tandkulan.com and Nils-Eric suggests clicking on "motorljud", which might be recognisable as 'motorgeluid' to Afrikaans speakers: they have recorded the sounds of several engines!
Australian News: Peter
Ogborne reports progress on their 'real' Trusty engine, particularly
that the crankshaft which they were worried might be cracked, has been given
a clean bill of health after non-destructive testing. There is another similar
engine in a museum in Tokyo, and two people (one of them Chris Madeley,
a frequent contributor to Stationary Engine Magazine) have taken photo's
of that engine for him. Unfortunately, the Japanese engine is not running,
nor even complete, and also, a person taking photo's doesn't always take
it from quite the right angle for that critical detail
you need! He is extremely grateful for the photo's anyway, and also to Roland
Craven in the UK, who has sent him 8 pages of very interesting
information, as a result of a request Peter put in 'Stationary Engine List'
on the web. Some time ago, Peter found an engine, the make of which has
stumped the experts worldwide. He has pictures of it on this web address
http://www.oldengine.org/members/christison/mystery/ogborne.htmlRobert Laurent is
collecting more and more interesting information to help him write the book
on the history of Southern Cross Engines, made in Toowoomba, near his home,
and also here in Bloemfontein. His latest breakthrough was finding a set
of minutes of their board meetings, which will help him trace the South
African connection. So far he has had no response to his requests for information
from the firm, which still exists in Bloemfontein.
Rob has also offered to help his local Highfields Pioneer Village with information
on the big 6-cylinder Deutz ex-Toowoomba Power Station, Type EMS 166. See Right:They had previously drawn a complete blank
as far as any information on the engine was concerned. Having also
helped Peter Boast with an instruction manual and
parts list for his Deutz PME117, Folker Streitberger from
the Deutz office here in Cape Town offered his services again on Rob's behalf,
and has come up trumps, yet again! His contact in Germany, Mr Voss has again
promised a copy of the Instruction Manual and Parts List, as well as supplying
the following information: It was supplied on the 7th August 1933 ,
and has a maximum output of 1000 HP at 250
RPM, with a stroke of 660 mm and a bore
a bore of 400 mm. Between 1932 and 1934 six engines were built. Folker
says that in all instances with Deutz, the last two figires in the engine
type are an indication of the stroke of the engine.New Zealand News: We
were pleased to be contacted by Ian Gillon who has decided
to start a new life in New Zealand. He's settling down in Christchurch and
has made contact with the many restoration organisations there. His wife
Karen has found a job, and Ian hopes to do the same soon.
We wish them the best of luck, and hope they bump into our other Christchurch
member, Keith Brinch, who reported that he had heard that
Ian had met Gordon Hayes, who is in charge of one of no
less than three clubs there devoted to mechanical restoration,
including Stationary Engines.
New Members: (Remember,
being a member only involves opening and reading this newsletter, we're
a no subs, no rules Society!) Andrew Gush
from Port Elizabeth and Walter Penny from Grahamstown have
been mentioned above. Jan Vegter in the Netherlands, and
Nils-Eric Sjöstrand in Sweden, Chris Madeley
and Roland Craven in England and Gordon Hayes
in New Zealand are mentioned above. Dominik Buss and Bill
Rabe who we met at the Classic Car and Bike Show, and Horst
Lau who is busy building 8000+ BHP MTU engines in Cape Town for
the new Corvettes.
Tractor & Engine Club
I have attended another planning meeting for the Big 10th Anniversary Show
at Kleinplasie scheduled for 8th, 9th and 10th August 2002. We have been
allocated a very pleasant place under trees near the stadium, from where
we will be able to see Gawie van Schalkwyk 'doing his thing'
with the threshing tackle in the arena. I have approached BM Power Products,
the distributors of Stihl equipment, to have a trade stand next to us. It
is
For Sale / Available: Cobus
Thesnaar has a 1969 BSA Thunderbolt in running condition for sale.
Phone Cobus at 082 801 9066. Lister CS 12/2 Engine Serial
No. 3281025 12HP, 600 RPM Price – R500.00 Contact: Mike Twyman Tel: (033)
3261458 (033) 3261334 Cell: 0836252731
Fraser Howell
has an Osborn UK 50 ISO collet chuck plus a 50 ISO face mill stub
arbor. Offers invited. TEL 021 794 7604, or contact him on howell@worldonline.co.za
Wanted: Andrew Gush
is looking for a cylinder head and big end bearing for his National Horizontal
Diesel Engine Type MBSE 17Hp. He can be contacted on: Phone:
+27 41 3730313, Fax: + 27 41 3730314, Cell: +27 82 7833564.
P.O. Box 23006 Port Elizabeth 6000 South Africa, or andrewg@jendamark.co.za
Stephen Sokolic is looking for a magneto for his 1954 Fairbanks Morse ZC118. 7/8 HP at 600/700 rpm, serial number K506964.
Tom van der Vyver is looking for parts for a 1958 John Deere 620 tractor, which he saved from a scrap dealer. Contact him on vdvyvert@iafrica.com or write to P O Box 2 Homeleigh EAST LONDON 5212.
Hendrik v d Berg is looking for an exhaust muffler for his Ruston & Hornsby PB8. Contact me, or him direct on hfvdberg@douglas.co.za
Fraser Howell has the following request: I need to buy/hire/loan milling gear cutters Nos 2 & 4 for 20 DP gears. 021 794 7604, or contact him on howell@worldonline.co.za
Chris Dry in Hazyview has a lot of parts on his want-list. Perhaps a reader can help? For his Massey Harris R14 (2HP) he's looking
for a cover for the Wico EK mag, an air cleaner, and a flywheel without
the crank-handle. For his M-H R20 (3HP), it's a Wico EK complete and the
trip gear (Might have to modify that to chain-drive rotary mag in the
meantime, Chris), a carb complete, a standard big end bearing, both
valves including the spring and retainer for the exhaust, and a cam gear.
Then for his Villiers 421D80721, he needs a carb complete with air cleaner,
a petrol tank and brackets and a cylinder head cover. (Happy hunting!)Philip Gray-Taylor is looking for a Carburettor and silencer or a photo of a silencer as a guide to making one, for a Villiers Midget Mk. 2 dating from the fifties. See Right:
John McGregor in Worcester is looking for a small generator of any voltage to drive with an engine of about 3HP. He has several motor car dynamos, but doen't want the hassle of carting a battery around. Please phone him on 023 342 7488 (a/h).
Directory of Services/Spares. Hermann Geldenhuys is drawing up a list of suppliers of goods and services to our hobby. . Please contact Hermann with details of your favourite suppliers, so that the rest of us can support them too. His home number after hours is (028) 212 3304, or e-mail geldenhj@telkom.co.za
What's On: Please
check with the organisers before travelling to these events!
Friday 8th & Saturday 9th February
2002. Cathcart Country Expo 2002, on the farm Roslin. Contact Fergus
Miles on 045 8432313 or 082 678 4573. Proceeds in aid of the Callie Evens
Lodge Old Age Home.
Thursday 14th, Friday 15th and Saturday
16th February 2002 are the dates of the Heidelberg Landbou Skou.
The main engine and tractor display is on the Friday. Contact Derick
Kleynhans for details.( a/h ) 028 722 1696.
Saturday 23rd February 2002.
Tea Festival in Moreesburg.
Saturday 16th March 2002. 5th
Annual Mini Stationary Engine Rally, at the home of Gerald Buitendag, a
RSME member, at 189 Senior Drive, Northcliffe, Gauteng, 2195. Gerald has
asked people who need to stay over there to ring him on the above number.
These rallies are in his garden, (smaller engines only) and have been reported
on in the past. If anybody is in that area, make sure to look in, preferably
with an engine!
19th 20th & 21st April
2002. Great 400 Working, Sandstone Estates, Ficksburg. It's hoped
to get 100 stationary Engines there, as well as the 400 tractors.
8th, 9th & 10th August, 2002. Tenth annual show of the Tractor & Engine Club of the Westen Cape, at Kleinplasie Museum, Worcester.
Please remember your name-tags, even if you are just coming along as a spectator! (I have made a whole lot more, and will give them out whenever I first see you, so turn up and claim it!)
Andy Selfe, Sec. (021)8592430 (home & manual fax) e-mail aselfe@mweb.co.za