Villiers Engine Type 982A

[merry1]

Hi, hoping someone can identify this engine for me. Villiers 982A/29550. Fitted with a 4 speed box a long crankshaft extension. Has a decompressor valve fairly big barrel , could be a 197cc. Has half of what was an engine cover fitted. I have attached some photo's which might help. 
Regards
Richard

[R]

That shaft extension would have to be for a starter ?, or the gearbox wouldn't come into play.
Interesting beastie.

982 doesn't seem to be on the list of common villiers supplied types, so we will see if d33 here has it on his more extensive and updated lists ?
We are guessing it is in the geelong area, based on the many queries about it .. ?

[merry1]

Hi, yes I have had the engine for a while & it intrigues me every time I look at it. I have spent hours on Mr Google to see if I could find its twin on something resembling it. I have even put it on Gumtree at a ridiculous price to see if some one might know what it is. Yes I am in the Geelong area, I picked it up a few years ago as it looked like it was heading to the tip & I hate seeing Villiers engines getting broken up, people laugh at them but remember they were fitted to thousands of Motorcycles in their day & gave a lot of people a cheap reliable engine (sometimes).

[33d6]

Well, that is a curious engine and no, I don't have it in my NNIB (Numbers Not In Bacon) list. Its an entirely new one to me. Nothing like a little mystery is there.

I think the blower cooling is a later fitting as is the crankshaft extension. I think that is a blower set up from a Villiers industrial engine grafted on to a normal motorcycle engine. The usual motor scooter/microcar blower cooling completely encloses the engine not just one side plus Villiers fitted a special cylinder head with transverse fins because the cooling air was coming from the side. This one has a standard fore and aft head. Spark plug access would also appear to be a bit odd.

The crankshaft extension also looks half done. I can't see Villiers doing that without at least providing extra support and an oil seal.

Don't get me wrong. The bloke who did this knew what he wanted, used all Villiers parts to get it and did it quite well but I don't see it as Villiers factory issue.

Isn't it nice to have one to scratch the head over.
Cheers,

[murdo]

Looks to me like a bike engine taken from the frame and modified to drive something like a 'Hargan' saw or maybe a water pump with a pulley fitted to the shaft extension, and the cowling used for cooling the now stationary motor.
This was done a lot in Australia when things were tough and money short to 'get the job done'. One of my uncles took the engine from a pre WW1 belt drive Bradbury and used it to power a car generator to power the car headlights in his milking shed. He also turned a Villers 7F lawnmower engine into a horizontal shaft engine to power a saw bench that I still use to cut firewood.

[merry1]

Actually if you look at the cowling it is only one half, the head studs are the the same as the side that has half of the cowling that is there & made to hold the other other half down. The 4 speed box does not have the usual numbers stamped on for the gears & has a clear inspection plate in the side. Unusual to see a decompressor in an engine that size. Also that 982A designation must have been put on for some particular reason by Villiers.

[A10 JWO]

Try posting your photos on a great old Forum called My Old Machine, full of farmers who use these engines and show them. Wealth of knowledge on there. Free to join. The engine and carb look like my F/B Falcon 197 cc and about 1959.