New engine arrived - the D4!!!

toxx · New engine arrived - the D4!!!

H'llo, lads! Bought this off ebay (guy ripped me over postage - I'll get that back) - a Wilesco D4! I've never seen anything so small. I can hold the box with one hand, it's smaller than a kid's shoe box. The stack is missing, otherwise it's complete and nearly rust-free. Very sooty. I'm gonna restore her, p'raps install a steam regulator. Have you lads ever seen one like this? I'm aware of the D3, which is a new model, and the D6 with its kit twin, the D5. Are there even smaller ones? Maybe the D1 was thimble-sized ... I'll keep you posted on my progress!
Cheers, Tom

Frasteam

a nice little old d4

Minor1PJG

Never seen/ heard of a d4

Look forward to watching progress.

Nice purchase

toxx

... thanks, mates!

And cheap she was - with postage (got ripped there) 21 Euros. I've got her to sooty bits now. Lots of junk in there: Spider's legs, I think part of a mosquito, a match, wax (!?!?!?) and grime. Somebody stuffed toilet paper into the burner - p'raps as a carburator for crude oil? The soot suggests that ... She has the nice old grey Wilesco base. Metal is very thin (here I can understand mamodman's criticism on Wilesco

), but sufficient for the tiny dimensions. Compare the base with the D24 in the upper right hand half of the picture! Boiler takes water like a whiskey shot glas!

Next, I'm gonna wash everything, then polish ...

John Chapman

That's very nice, and rather unusual

Mamodman123

Nice engine, and a good deal for the cash!

They do run well

Wilesco's that is

Les

That didn't take you long to dismantle it.

Nick

The wax is probably from the solid fuel, esbit leaves a brown wax.

Dampfzauberer

Nice one!
You do not see these engine ofthen: the old ones with 6 Spoke Flywheels

bessytractor

looks a good one!

hope it works ok for you!

toxx

... I washed everything off. There are certain amounts of rust, which I sanded, and will leave unpainted, since I'd never hit the correct colour. The boiler is sound, yet partially discoloured. I tried polishing, but it seems the nickel plating, or whatever it is, wears off, so I'll just have to live with it. Tomorrow, I'll start polishing the cylinder and cleaning the fire box.

Minor1PJG

Good work Tom it's going to be great.

How small is it? Can you photograph it next to something we can all recognise for scale

Thanks

James

Great engine Tom!

Nick

TRAPPERKEEPER

Nice, good luck Tom!

Minor1PJG

Graham-Jilly

thanks toxx now we know what model ours is couldnt find it anywhere
nice you have the box as well but we have a chiney

Nick

Wilescoman_123

Nice buy mate well done ! What other wilesco have you got ?

toxx

... h'llo, lads! The D4 is 998% ready to go.

I polished everything, did some minor repainting (couldn't get the exact grey/silver tone, but that's okay), oiled and put her back together. The missing stack will be replaced, I'm sure the D6 stack will fit. The discolourings on the upper part of the boiler just wouldn't budge; vigorous polishing made the nickel plating fade, so I'll just have to live with that. Funny, that after cleaning the bellyside of soot, where it had been exposed to Esbit flames, the boiler shines like new. Strange ...

I didn't bother restoring the burner, since I won't use Esbit, anyway.
Tomorrow is her big day!
@wilescoman 123: I've got the little D4, a reconstructed D455 'Crematory' and a D24el.

Nick

It looks great!

bessytractor

thats fantastic!

amazing what elbow grease can do!

johnreid

That thing sure looks different now. Cant wait for the operational report.

Les

Les

There is a picture of a D4 chimney on here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Wilesco-...PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

johnreid

Have to add that 998% is a very high percentage.

Nick

Les

Good job there is only 2% left to do.

Minor1PJG

Until it's 1000% ready

Great work - what a little cracker

toxx

toxx

... well, folks, she just had her trial run. Goes off like a rocket! Had to clamp her to the table, or she would have danced right of and spilled meths all over the place. Incredible rpm's!

I don't think I'll keep her, though. It's not much fun, since I you can't control the speed, and you always have to be weary as to how much water is left - no sight glass!
Of course, I could put in a steam regulator, but still would have the water problem.
Which brings me to questions about the Jensen 85, but I'll open another thread for them.
Cheers, mates!

Reid

Oh! This is my first sight of this thread!

Tom, that's a great little engine. I love the tiny size too.

Surely it could be fitted with a regulator--there must be a simple way to put a valve inline.

Say, that ebay link: I think I may bid on that if no-one else minds.
If I bid it goes in at the last second using a bid placement 'bot.

Mirko, do you know when the D4 was made, for how long, or when it was discontinued?

It's so cheap looking, but that big flywheel is appealing.
I don't like puny oscillators, but I make an exception for this model.
A custom burner that can be dialed up or down in heat (gas or meths) could make it a slow runner at will.

Neat restoration, Tom. Me likes!

toxx

Hi, Reid! Actually, it's not cheap at all. The metals used are thin, Wilesco style, but due to its tininess, the whole thing is very sturdy. The long, ouboard steam pipe predestines it for a steam regulator right there - but still! Ach! No sight glass.
Instead of going for that ebay D4, I suggest to throw out your nets for a used D6, or, even better, D5 (kit D6). Practically the same as the D4, but you can see how much water you've got left.

Graham-Jilly

great little engines ours realy flies

bessytractor