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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2014 20:34 Post subject: Gipsy Major |
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A new project for the new year. An old friend of mine owned, maintained and flew a DH82 Tiger Moth for over 40 years, sadly he passed a little over a year ago. I'm helping his son with the aircraft bits of the estate. The airplane was sold several years ago but the hanger is still a very interesting place to poke around. The Gipsy Major was found on a shelf with it's cylinder heads removed but pretty much complete otherwise. I suspect Roy was using it as spares if he needed them for the Tiger. We have found log books with the first entry in 1947 and removal from the Tiger in 1964 with 1200hrs. The engine will eventually be up for sale but we want to open it up and see what we have, maybe even run it if possible. It's been sitting since 64 in an unheated hanger and it's not seized or even corroded, won't be nearly as big a project as the 2600 but should be fun.
http://www.enginehistory.org/BBimages/WilcoxJ/GipsyMajor/P1100083.jpg
http://www.enginehistory.org/BBimages/WilcoxJ/GipsyMajor/P1100084.jpg |
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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vbentley
Joined: 15 Sep 2014 Posts: 10 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 21:53 Post subject: Re: Gipsy Major |
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Do you have the engine manual? I am across the country in Langley BC so could copy/loan you a manual. How about gaskets and lock washers? - rare items that you need to run the engine. You need to align the exhaust port faces with a straight edge before tightening the heads. Maybe you have all this info.
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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vbentley
Joined: 15 Sep 2014 Posts: 10 Location: Surrey, BC, Canada
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 00:33 Post subject: DH Gipsy |
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Good to hear. Keep us posted on progress. |
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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tfey
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 104 Location: Arlington Hts., IL
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Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 20:03 Post subject: Gypsy Major |
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Jerry, fascinating stuff. Thank you for the great photographs. So the rocker arms and valve stems are lubricated only by by splash? How is the oil scavenged from this inverted engine? Thanks and keep it coming. Tom |
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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tfey
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 104 Location: Arlington Hts., IL
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 18:32 Post subject: Gypsy Major |
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Jerry, thanks. How do you fill the valve covers with oil? I guess the covers could get some passive (re)filling by crankcase splash running down the push rod tubes, and I guess it doesn't matter if the valve covers and push rod tubes overfill. Kind of interesting. |
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 18:48 Post subject: |
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Tom, I haven't done that yet, it sounds messy, the attachment bolt in the centre of the cover has a leather washer/seal, the bolt stays in the cover when off. You fill to a mark in the cover and then install on the head. I was looking at the push rod/lifter arrangement today, I do not think any oil could leak by and get to the heads, if it could it would be very little. Perhaps just enough to lube the top end of the push rod. The valve covers actually do have a stand pipe/vent tube that would just dump oil overboard if it did overfill. The lifters are not at all like modern aircraft or auto but look exactly the same, a bit bigger, as in my old BSA motorcycle. I have some in a drawer will post a photo.
Jerry
http://www.enginehistory.org/BBimages/WilcoxJ/GipsyMajor/P1100549.jpg
http://www.enginehistory.org/BBimages/WilcoxJ/GipsyMajor/P1100550.jpg |
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tfey
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 104 Location: Arlington Hts., IL
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 18:58 Post subject: Gypsy Major |
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Jerry, thanks, all quite interesting. I'd guess they'd have to jack the tail up to wings level to install the valve covers. Tom |
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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jwilcox
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 87 Location: Fredericton NB Canada
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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 06:44 Post subject: Gipsy Run |
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With a lucky day of warm weather and a few sore muscles our Gipsy Major fired up. I didn't have a clue as to how much to prime (tickle) it, after a couple of short bursts we got the carb filled and away it went. The short video was taken by a fellow enthusiast who has helped a lot on the clean up and refurbishing of the Gipsy parts and also the R-2600 last year.
The engine ran well and sounds fine, had oil pressure from hand propping even before it started. We intended to only run it a few minutes but it shut down due to fuel starvation, the small tank has an AN fitting cap that I just loosened to act as a vent, the centre of the cap is floating and as the engine used fuel it pulled the cap in and closed the vent, vibration and angle probably assisting.
http://youtu.be/KRDeJtylAV4 |
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