Errol

[Daryl]

Hi all just new to this site my name is Errol 

I live in NSW Australia and have just recently come across this early AEC

would be interested in talking to anybody with any information on or where to source parts

Not sure how it landed out here . front tailshaft was removed and was used to operate a winch in a quarry

unit is quite complete 

have read they had Tylor JB4 engines

this engine has magneto running parallel with crank on left hand side 

most of the engines I have seen on line, magneto comes out at 90 degrees from crank at front of engine on right hand side

any info would be greatly appreciated 

cheers Errol

[Tomo.T]

Hi Errol, 

Nice find, I'm sure you will find  AEC experts to help identify your remains. In the meantime I will chuck in my two pennyworth, which is the brush bar and towing hooks mark this out as ex military and WW1 era.

Magneto is in the standard position by the sound of it.

Can you post more pics of the engine please?.

Regards

Tomo.

[lynx42 Rick Cove]

G'day Errol,  Welcome to the old solid tyred truck mob.  Nice find but I do not think it is as early as WWI.  The AEC 'Y' type trucks of WWI had a fitch chassis.  That is two bits of metal with timber in between.  Your chassis is a proper 'C' section chassis from a bit later.  The WWI trucks did not have that curved scuttle, just a flat plate.

 

Any way it is a nice find but tyres will be a trial and expensive.

 

Here is a photo of my WWI 1916 Albion Chassis No. 361A.

 

Regards Rick.

[mammoth]

Greg, located at Orange NSW, has a bare AEC chassis and is looking for parts as well as trying to discover it's provenence

[mammoth]

Greg, located at Orange NSW, has a bare AEC chassis and is looking for parts as well as trying to discover it's provenence.

Stand to be corrected but it appears to be a type 501/505 which was introduced in 1920 and used the AEC A109 engine. 

[nz2]

Welcome to the solid rubber tyre group. Can you check about the chassis for other ID plates. The Diff and front axle should have then ( unless removed) Also on the front wheel bearing caps should be a series of numbers and the letters AEC stamped.  On the plate you have photographed, the top line is series no., the centre section is part no. ( which in your case is blank) and the lower line is date. Trying to collate the AEC chassis I have seen ( In NZ) and from any publications of the time, it does appear the date sequence at times was in a code of letters and numerals. The other problem occurring is the use of spare parts from another AEC and as a result dating sequences don't match.

 Lets compare those other data plate numbers and see how they relate.

 Doug W

[Redherring]

A useful book is: AEC Vehicles Origins to 1929 - by Brian Thackray.  

 

[mammoth]

Here is the link to to ebay where Greg has posted his AEC requesting information. As can be seen it has a conventional channel frame rather than timber sandwich which makes it either a YB or YC depending on the differential. According to Thackeray a batch of 4000 of these were built commencing July 1917 with Chassis 7915 (Greg's is 8620). It would have been fitted with a Tylor engine.

www.ebay.com.au/itm/A-E-C-Y-type-lorry-world-war-one-WW1-old-truck-vintage-truck-army-truck/332677717776?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

[Daryl]

Thanks everybody for your replies

I have purchased Brian Thackrays book , It has a lot of information that relates to what I have found

firstly I have uncovered a chassis number 16285

the engine is a aec engine ( not Tylor)   A109  181  W6

the gearbox id plague is dated 1.12.18 (have to question that) if engines started in 20/s

the id plate on chassis and engine have one common set of letters W6 ?

notice dates on cylinders  (cast in) 8 5 24

engine was left on TDC and cap was of points on magneto,  Cap and screws where still sitting on top near spark plugs

assuming there was a spark problem when left

currently engine is stuck 

assume it will be pistons

can anybody recommend a way to get it turning over

it has had a broken drive wheel at one stage   not sure which one is correct

would also question radiator which is cast iron not aluminium

is this possibly one of the vehicles aec re-purchased after the war and repowered

PS: notice condition inside valve cover

cheers Errol

 

   

[racer]

Hi Errol,

 

I recently bought a 1913 Chalmers overhead inlet engine that had sat for 60 years and became stuck, luckily this engine and probably yours had cast iron pistons which is better in stuck terms than alloy, I poured in kerosene in all the bores and was able to apply a constant load on top of the piston with visible water ingress and rust, after a few days I was able to add further load as the piston had stated to move.

 

Due to the overhead inlet it was fairly easy for me but if you can bolt a lever arm to the flywheel and add a load by maybe a jack or ram and then leave the engine for a few days you may find it has moved, the cast / cast sticking seems to be overcome better than the alloy rotting scenario.

Good luck with your great find.

 

Andy

[nz2]

Errol,

    Can you photograph that chassis number again shown where on the chassis rail it is. That gearbox could be a replacement box, or the use of old stock hence the earlier date.

 Doug W 

[Old Bill]

10 hours ago, Daryl said:

can anybody recommend a way to get it turning over?

Hi Errol.

If you look at the Thornycroft thread, pages nine and ten, you can see what we did. If you pull the engine right down and remove the pistons individually, you won't risk any of your precious and irreplaceable parts. I used to keep a can of penetrating oil on top of the Thorny engine and give it a squirt every time I walked past. This did absolute wonders and we managed to break very little getting the thing apart. If you do that for six months or so, it really will make a difference.

Good luck!

Steve

[lynx42 Rick Cove]

The engine in my Albion was locked solid when I first found it, as I was not in a hurry to start the restoration for 6 months or so, I placed a jack against one of the flywheel bolts and lifted the engine so that there was little weight on the front axle and plenty on the flywheel bolt.  I then soaked the engine in diesel, giving it a good drink through the plug holes weekly. After about 5 and a bit months I came home to see the Albion sitting back level on all 4 wheels.  I thought that the flywheel bolt may have sheared or the jack slipped, but no, the engine had freed up and turned over. It was an easy job then to strip it down and I found that No .1 piston had been stuck at top dead centre but there was little bore or piston damage. 

[Redherring]

How likely is it that this is the original engine?

[andypugh]

I pushed the seized pistons out of my Ner-a-Car engines using a grease gun. 

Obviously this is easier with a 221cc 2-stroke than a several-litre 4-stroke, but if you can close the valves this might be an option if more conventional methods fail. 

[Tony B]

By chance, mainly because there was a drum of it sitting at the yard and I needed something oily, I poured a mixture of burnt gear oil and disel into a stuck engine, Cleared it very rapidly, a couple of days, as a benifit it also took the rust off. Don't know why, but no old gear oil now goes to waste. By the way, don't Aussies have a tendency to soak anything rusty in Mollases?

Edited July 19, 2018 by Tony B