Rare SC3 Arrives in Record Time

flywheel61 · Rare SC3 Arrives in Record Time

I was lucky to purchase this engine recently and it only took 5 days to get to me,

, normally it takes double the time.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mamod-SC3-1...PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I wasn't going to bid on this one but MF's honest appraisal changed my mind. The engine is rare in itself but the fact that it was purchased with out the lineshaft assembly makes it probably unique. Note that the burner supplied with the engine is of a greater diameter than the standard SE3/4 burner and is flatter. I believe that Darren has one like this with his SE4.

It looks like it has a had a fairly rough life but compared to both my SE3 & SE4 engines the cylinder/piston assembly has less wear and runs very strongly.

When I received this engine, the the burner filller plug was in the SV collar and a brass 'riser' was where the burnern plug belonged. Interestingly enough the SV's from the SE3 & SE4 would not fit in the SC3 collar thread and I ended up using a SV from my SE2. it seems that the thread is the SE3/4 collars are longer and are a slight 'v', whereas the SC3 collar thread is straight.

OriginallyI thought I might repaint the firebox, but as I have no intention of repainting the base (due to the original decal) I think I will only treat both the firebox and base with rust converter. The boiler is terribly tarnished, and I'm having a battle deciding if I will polish it or not.

The heavy brass flywheel helps the engine to run very easily and it starts by itself.

There was some discussion about the decal on this engine, it is original, but somewhere along the line a previous owner has had the forsight to put a coating of laquer over it thus aiding in its preservation.

The steam pipe haas been resoldered at the steam dome and needs a little tidying up. Mind you, the soldering on the prewar Mamod engines was never the neatest (a sign of originality)

It runs extremely fast and is well balanced due to the heavy brass flywheel, and would have run faster, except I tried it before replacing the washers on the the oiler and WLP, thus letting some steam escape. All of the prewar WLP's on the Mamod engines I own have a hexagonal end, except this one which has a round knurled head.

The amazing thing about this engine is that it was never fitted with a lineshaft, there are no rebates in the holes where the lineshaft would normally fit and the paint colur is even across the base. If a lineshaft had been fitted the colour where the legs had been would have been darker, due to natural fading.

Apparently a lineshaft was purchased for it the next year but never fitted. The seller has found one leg from it and has sent that with the engine (pic 1), and will send the remainder if the lineshaft to me if he can find it. The big question now is, do I fit it if he finds it or if not, do I get a new leg cast for it and get MF to make the requisite pulleys. Or do I leave it as it it is, a unique engine.

Cheers

Chris

steamyman

Top stuff Chris!

Hope to see it at Petrie sometime.

Manxman

Oh Chris that is a lovely engine. I like it and it's whole story.

My vote, yes get it finished. Get another leg and the pulleys needed to make it into a proper SC3. It's value is in it being a SC3 and so I'd try and get the model 'finished'.

Good luck with that and don't forget we need another set of pics once it have been cleaned and given a little love.

tmuir

Glad you solved the decal mystery.

If you can fit the line shaft without damaging the engine then it would be nice to do it but don't fit it if it will cause any permanent damage.

Cranko

a rare beast you have there Chris, well done mate

Les

That is one nice looking engine, well done.

Wallace

Wow Chris. That is a really nice looking engine. Great pics too

Personally I'd leave fitting the lineshaft and getting new gears for it. Only due to originality. It's an SC3 with a difference

Of course I'd be hoping the seller finds the rest. But not attaching the lineshaft keeps a nice bit of Mamod history about it. ie, had the lineshaft been fitted when it was bought, we would have never known they were sold seperately.

Great buy mate

Atticman

Thats such a nice engine Chris and so good to have its full history.

May be worth keeping the emails youve had about it from the seller as well as part of its history.

Im with Wallace on this, keep it as it is, its surely unique. Great buy well done.

Mamodman123

I think it may look a little bare without the lineshaft. However as Wallace said it was sold like that possibly as just an "SE3" model. It says in the old mamod adverts that these lineshafts fit so and so base etc.

The water level plug is the same as my 46 SE2 a round nut, i think its looking a bit sorry for itself at the moment but I'm guessing its not been cleaned up a bit yet? I'd polish the boiler myself (wouldn't go mad on it though). Base is good as is the engine frame a bit of car wax should brighten that up!

The lineshaft leg is original for sure and this was bought after the engine (no shortage then), puts the one earlier in the year to doubt in my opinion

Cracking engine Chris

Thanks for uploading the pics

Atticman

johnreid

I think that if it was mine, I would leave as is. I think the lineshaft is cool, but for that particular engine the History is without it.

flywheel61

Thanks for your comments everyone, as MM, Johnreid and Wallace said, it is a peice of history which basically proves that the engine was offered for sale without the linesahft. Whether that was by accident due to the lack of materials during the war or design, is a moot point. I have decided, even if the seller sends the remainder of the lineshaft, I will leave the engine as it is.

As far as the remainder of the engine is concerned i will be putting killrust on the corroded areas and only polishing the painted areas. I'm still undecided whether to polish the brass or not.

Perhaps the engine isn't unique as I previously stated, but it would have to be close to being in the same class as the MM twin.

Cheers

Chris

Manxman

Oh, it is rare, and a very nice model. I'm glad it's in your collection Chris and I look forward to more pics once it has been cleaned.

MamodFan

An unusual engine and a bit of a missing link. It would have been nice to knowif it was sold as an SC3 or and SE3, if it was the later then we could possibly assume it was the very last of the SE3's before the war. As a line shaft was purchased later it suggests that the materials were to hand. I could also add that there may have been supply problems with materials and they simply ran out of lineshafts when the engine was made. It may have always been intended to fit a lineshaft to this model but it never had one.
I have to agree with your decision to keep the model without the lineshaft. It is an interesting and important engine why would anyone want to make it into something that it never was?
For me the restoration would be more conservation of what is left of the original finishes. A gentle degreasing using paraffin will give a clear indication of that. The boiler mount may not have much paint as it is rusty. If there was no paint at all I would repaint using a semi gloss finish black. This would protect the metal from further decay. As to the brass, I like the look of tarnished brass so just the degreasing for me. I would tidy up the messy solder joint to the dome as it is not original.

Mamodman123

I would say if you decide to paint the firebox or anything then you would have to polish the boiler as well, otherwise it wouldn't all fit in.

I would strip it down and get a good thick car wax on all the paintwork, that will protect it against the elements. Not sure if there is any laquer left on the boiler to preserve, if there is it's badly burnt.

It would tarnish again over time and runs, but leave as is for now and think about it

All down to personal preference. If I owned it I would poish it to fit in with my other engines of the same era.

Thing about the lineshaft too, the owner has said that it did have one at some point, so if you do get the rest of the lineshaft sent to you, there would be no loss in attaching it to the engine, or leavig it off.It's all up to you. The lineshaft is still part of the history and was fitted at some point, albeit a little later in it's life.

Definatly puts the SC range as a 'Hobbies only' to bed anyway,

Mamodman123

If you see the union nut threads in this picture. These are normally just soldered into the frames after they have been cast. Looks like someone may have re-done those at a later date. I wouldn't touch them though as they are quite fiddly. I had to re-do mine on the SE3 as it leaked. But they simply come out like on the boilers.

Neither would I ever solder up union nuts on these pre-war Mamods. All you have to do is apply too much heat and they will come out. It's also likely the solder will leak through to the thread and you will never get it off again. So when resealing the pipes, use olives or 'o' rings.

It's a really nice engine though! the decal is superb!

Minor1PJG

That is a lovely engine and the history is great.

What sort of finish will you be left with on the firebox after applying KillRust?

I would polish the brass for sure