How many record breakers are in running order?

[Pullman99]

I attended the Friends evening at the National Motor Museum last Saturday to hear a talk - primarily on his book "The British are Coming" and his own forthcoming diesel class record contender the Project 100 - by Mike Varndell. Very enjoyable and well attended.

Ian Stanfield, the NMM's Chief Engineer, also provided an update on the progress to restore the 1000HP Sunbeam to full working order. The 90th anniversary of Henry Segrave's 1927 record of 203.79mph - the first LSR at over 200mph - is on Wednesday of this week, the 29th March. I believe that the intention was to have completed the rebuild by the anniversary date but this has proved not to be possible. The scale of the work on the two Sunbeam Matabele engines is immense and, due mainly to having retained Castrol R in them since they were last run, meant that it took some 18 months just to free off each one. Quite a number of new components have been required including some vital items removed by Sunbeam and Segrave at the time. One intriguing mention was made by Ian of the car having been run by Sunbeam as late as 1939 although I have always assumed that the two runs, post-record, at Brooklands and at Montlhery, in 1927 were the only occasions that the car had been operated (both times driven by Segrave). Does anyone know if it was run again after 1927?

Funding, as ever, remains the principal brake on progress but there are many engineering firms throughout the UK that are actively providing components and the results I have seen are truly superb.

[Renegadenemo]

The scale of the work on the two Sunbeam Matabele engines is immense and, due mainly to having retained Castrol R in them since they were last run, meant that it took some 18 months just to free off each one.

Strange, that... When i was there a few years ago I remember them telling me with a nudge and a wink that they'd had those engines out the back and fired up for laughs. They were on a rack at the back of the workshop looking very clean and complete, as I recall.

And you have to ask, 18 months to free up an engine? The only bits that might need a bit of gentle persuasion in such a simple lump would be the pistons in the bores and even the worst case will soon move with some heat, penetrating oil and a block of wood and a hammer. I've freed off and dismantled many a seized engine and I'm yet to see one that has taken longer than an afternoon to pull down.

I suspect a smidge of artistic license going on here...

[Pullman99]

And you have to ask, 18 months to free up an engine? The only bits that might need a bit of gentle persuasion in such a simple lump would be the pistons in the bores and even the worst case will soon move with some heat, penetrating oil and a block of wood and a hammer. I've freed off and dismantled many a seized engine and I'm yet to see one that has taken longer than an afternoon to pull down.

A bit more complicated than that...I too have seen the engines both in and out of the car and I have also seen the work in progress. This whole project began as part of the assessment for conservation purposes of all the NMM's LSR cars a few years ago. The main problem has been a combination of corrosion and solidified Castrol R which Ian Standfield described as "Loctite". The freeing off process had to be done really slowly to avoid damage and in order to actually remove the conrods (master and slave) and, prior to that, allow the engine to turn so that TDC could be determined and the timing gears (a bit like a Swiss watch) to be marked. I hope that he produces at least a magazine feature on all of this, and certainly a lecture, as it all - much like The Bluebird project - deserves the highest recognition. These engines are the only survivors of just 19 built but, perhaps surprisingly, the new parts - mainly to replace what had been removed in period - are relatively few.

[Richie]

Ah the sweet smell of Castrol R40.... the oil I rapidly learned was not the best to use in my Rally x car being Hygroscopic and all.

Seized pistons..... I am with Bill on this one, last one I did had been sat outside seized for some 70 years.

I left the engine soaking in AT fluid for a day, it came apart like it was brand new ! Then poured hot oil down the bore with the seized piston and pursuaded it out of the bore with a wooden drift.

All good fun

[Renegadenemo]

TDC could be determined and the timing gears (a bit like a Swiss watch) to be marked.

You can mark up timing gears without turning the engine. As long as your marks line up when you put it back together again the valve timing will be correct and finding TDC is a straightforward job with a protractor bolted to the nose of the crank and a fixture (usually a spare plug with a rod brazed in if the cylinder head is on) to prevent the piston reaching TDC. Turn one way until the piston hits the fixture and note the degrees then turn it the other way until it hits, note the degrees over there then subtract one from the other and half it to give you TDC. So far we've done about a morning's work if you include making up the tools.

[Black Knight]

I'm sure i read that the damage to CN7 from it's leap off the end of Debdens runway was fully repaired by Leo & that all subsequent damage was done by NMM? Overheard a conversation between a couple of guys & 1 of the original design team members about restoring CN7. He said he'd love to of seen it run again as he was confident it'll do 600 with the other gearbox. It's just the Araldite will be too brittle to risk touching it now. Surely the moist salt from Oz didn't do it any favours???? Does the other gearbox still excist?

[mtskull]

It's just the Araldite will be too brittle to risk touching it now.

I don't know whether Araldite was used extensively in the construction of CN7 but the main structure was bonded with Redux (Hidux used where things were likely to become a bit hot).
I wouldn't be overly worried: a few years ago an old Comet airliner was scrapped after a long and hard life and the opportunity taken to destructively test some of the structure. All of the Redux bonded parts still exceeded their design specification after 30+ years.

[Renegadenemo]

The salt will be the big enemy. When I was there a few years ago talking with the guys (and pulling off every hatch we could loosen to see what was inside) they said they still had to occasionally sweep up corrosion product from underneath. We offered to completely strip and clean and remove every trace of salt at no cost to the museum as our follow-on project to K7 so long as we could repair and run the engine too. You can guess the rest.