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[KBIO]

Good morning !
To wake up my good British friend , I am going to tell them a fairy tale !
Once upon a time there was a Frenchman who had been dreaming of a Triple ST for a long time.  When the opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it.
Excited as a bridegroom before her wedding night the 'beautiful' finally arrives!


After the pain of paying the tax, the paper fees, the insurance and the carrier’s birthday wife, .... , I opened the parcel !
Opening the box and taking it in hand is an undeniable pleasure considering the weight and what I had seen on the ad.
The first thing I noticed is an unusual difficulty for an engine of this class and the quality of a well machined ST to rotate!

Palsembleu! I said as an aside! Yes! I must admit that I talk to myself sometimes. It changes with my wife who talks all the time and I can’t hear any more!
I plug in the compressed air and try to spin it ! In vain!
And then the disappointments begin! First a hole is leaking between the bottom cover and the bleed off port !

So I decided to take it apart and get an idea !
Then starts the story ! The more I progress in dismantling , the more my eyes filled with bitter tears ! Some more are coming .. Some will laugh, I cry !   But I must admit that I take pleasure to work on it !
The last pic show a pin hole just below the bleed off valve , on the periphery of the bottom cover, the tip of the screw driver ! Drilled crookedly ! All the air passing through , I could not start the engine.
This is just the begining ....

[Baldrick]

Commiserations mon ami.  EBAY purchase ?      Fear not, it will make a nice ornament/paper weight/ door stop.

[KBIO]

Hello !
Not Ebay, No ! A relation who knows a relation who has a relation , … You know ..; !
I am optimistic and you bet that I’ll get this engine running. I know that I’ll have to swet a bit and have to machine down some parts (sliding sleeve, .. ) but 95 % of the engine is already operationnal after a good clean ..
Now let's open the beast!
The first thing you notice is that the previous owner was not stingy with joint compound!
Personally, I ban sealant and Teflon tape on my machines. This is a source of problems: the proof!
Everything is more or less clogged, but there are also broken or twisted parts. Paper gaskets installed above the side plate (??) . …. Missing screws
And it's not over !
You have an expression with is very much in use  to translate my feeling about this purchase  ! It starts with F.. and ends with ...P !
I’ll suffer but  I’ll know what I have when the job will be over !
Let go on :
The first pic shows that the threaded rod holding the top cover  is right on the bleed off valve threaded port ! 
Then , I let you discover ...

 


Let's keep some more for tomorrow !

[KBIO]

Some more !
That's all fun! Athaboy, I am not over yet !

[SteamboatPhil]

Argggggggg, Well looking at the first picture, yes indeed it looks like a very well machined engine, and a must have item....and then....the first clue was the steam chest cover....no not symmetrical, and as for the rest, well the pictures say it all, and as for the hole by the drain valve.....and the top ones are not fitted with nasty big bolts instead.
Good luck Yves it will be worth it in the end.......and how many gaskets and gloop didi they use.


Still it is a great engine


E mail sent regarding the No 8

[rhavrane]

Bonjour,
Yves, a Stuart triple would also be a dream for me and your experience confirms unfortunately my different "FBI" ones as you can see them on my videos because one was not enough and, beside Internet, I also have friends who have friends...   
Hopefully, you have much more skills than I so I have no doubt that you will make this beast live again.

[KBIO]

Hello !
After some work ; plugging hole, redressing steam inlet, and sleeve, ....I finally get the HP running !
https://youtu.be/M48CEJQ0sio

No way to post photos today. I'll try later on !

[rhavrane]

Bonjour,
Yves 1 - Triple 0 

[KBIO]

Thank you Rhavrane,
But I would rather say :-"Yves=1 Triple = 2 more!"
I am not too sure of the size of the steam ports and so of the sliding sleeves. But they look quite large compared to a standard Stuart engine ;
So , maybe someone has an information about those sizes per cylinder.
Cheers !

[SteamboatPhil]

It just gets worse.......

[KBIO]

Apart from the sliding sleeves that I have to work out , it is almost back to shape  and ready to rock and roll !

[KBIO]

Hello !
Having no plan, and looking for some informations on the timing of the middle Pres. Cyl/ Triple X, I always check out the interesting videos  of K.Appleton.
And finally, I realize that the timing of this Middle Cylinder is so easier than I thought if if we stick to the video
https://youtu.be/xIL-Uxi9MPo
See after 8.1 m!
It turns out that I’m not the only one getting screwed over buying that engine.
Well ! It does not help too much , but at least I got the size of the sliding sleeve .
Have fun & have a good day !

[KNO3]

That's really a complex project. Good luck and I will follow with interest.

[xrad]

I rebuilt one of these a few years ago.  It was a mix of good and bad machining and damage. But, the crank and cylinder block were in good shape. Took a bit of finesse to shim the cylinders to the base to get good alignment.   Then on to all the other moving parts. Setting the IP cylinder timing was a bit of a PITA, but overall a great learning experience.  I added a condenser which actually made the triple run a bit better.


Clean everything and take measurements. The plans are very helpful and AFIK, still available from Stuart. I bought a set a few years ago.  Good luck!


 Here is a vid of what you can expect if running correctly (there are some other vid w/condenser):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K-2Ob2kqvQ

[CliffW]

Thank you for posting these photos...shows the potential dangers of buying a complex engine machined by an unknown.