Sold February 2009 Back to Archive

This engine has been sitting in the workshop for the last few days shown to all and sundry who've walked through the door, discussed by Geoff and I over cups of tea and lusted over by Karl (who builds, services and races Porsches two doors down). I am more than a little in awe of the workmanship in this piece - if you remember the little engine that Keith Stewart carries around the world with him in Nevil Shute's "Trustee from the Toolroom", this is exactly how I imagine it.

A freelance design OHV V4 engine, entirely scratch-built without any castings - the heads, crankcase, sump and variety of ancilliaries have been hand chiselled, filed and shaped to the finished shape you see here.

Workmanship is to an extremely high order throughout, fit and finish of all parts is superb. It is incomplete although turns over smoothly with pistons moving up and down. There is a box of bits with it including the other exhaust header (silver-soldered stainless steel construction), a spare oil pump (there are a pair of pumps for feed and scavenge shaft-driven from the camshaft) , a part-built brass tank complete with aluminium former block and an ignition unit. There are no drawings as such, although several pages of builder's notes.

Length 7 inches
Height 6 inches