30s engine numbers.

[Tony Fearn]

As you may know, I'm in the middle of sorting Pre-war Jowett bits in the garages.
Here's (perhaps) an anomaly, or at least a mystery.
I always thought that the engine numbers for the early 30s vehicles were stamped into the aluminium of the engine casing just above the dynamo position.
I've attached a couple of photos which show this, but what about the 3rd photo?
Why has it got a brass plate instead?

1932 casing.JPG

33 casing.JPG

334387.JPG

Tony.

[Chris Spencer]

Tony - Not sure but the brass plate in your last image is identical (bar the number) to the one on my stationary engine - which I believe was of 1937 production - is it just a production line change that meant it was easier just to churn the assembled engines out and attach the id plate once built ? - someone will have the answer out there

[Jack]

Engine from a Bradford that has a plate too - http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/ph ... bf7fdd126c

Paul b identifies it, so he might know more on the subject. But I can't be much more help!

Jack.

[george garside]

Certainly the metal plate for the engine number was in use for the 1936 model year(onwards) as according to the handbook covering that year the instructions for ordering spares draw attention to the engine number being on a metal plate attached to the timing case.

However that does not provide us with the date it was introduced but perhaps reference to the guarantee and ordering spares page in earlier handbooks my throw a bit more light on the matter.

george

[AlanBartlett]

Is it perhaps a replacement crankcase? By guarentee? Or on request of a customer? An earlier 30s one which may have sent back to factory during the time of the later brass plate? And they simply restamped the old number into a new plate? What about the intials on the crankcase of the engine builder, is there some information on when and who built the engine if it was built up back at the factory.

[Tony Fearn]

Is it perhaps a replacement crankcase? An earlier 30s one which may have sent back to factory during the time of the later brass plate? And they simply restamped the old number into a new plate? What about the intials on the crankcase of the engine builder, is there some information on when and who built the engine if it was built up back at the factory.

Now there's a thought Alan.

I'll have another look at the casing to see if there are some initials.

I'm loath to grind the plate rivets off to see what's underneath.

To all intents and purpose, it looks like an early 30's crankcase.

brass plated engine casing.JPG

Tony.

[AlanBartlett]

Tony, you say its an early 30s crankcase? What are the signs which identify it to be one? Other than an engine number? Quite interested if there are any other differences.

[ian Howell]

Tony: -

WAY BACK in 2007 (October 28th) you posted the following: -

In 1980, whilst at the fantastic National Jowett Rally at Middlesborough, in the North East of England, which my friends Dennis Goode and his late wife Margaret and the North East Section organised, we met a former Jowett employee who had worked on the assembly and bench testing of the pre-war Jowett engines.

I reported this in the 'Jowetteer' Vol. 25 No. 6 August 1980.

I know that there are many newer members with pre-war vehicles that perhaps didn't see that edition of the 'Jowetteer'', so perhaps they will be interested in what Wilf Lester told us at that Rally.

Your engine will probably have some initials stamped on the off-side of the engine casing near to the oil level indicator tube.

The initials belong to the following gents who set-up your engine before it left the Jowett Works.

'L' ..................... Wilfred Lester.

'W' or 'VV'........... Jack Wilkinson

'H'or 'HH'............. Harry Holmes

'A' or 'AH'............ Alf Hutchinson

'LT'..................... Luther Tiswell

Doesn't it bring you closer to the past and the people working at Jowett Cars Limited in the 30's when you know the name of the chap that sorted your engine out for the first time?

"Mary Ellen" has LT on its engine. Registered 17th March 1934. 437773

What's on yours??

I don't know about the first time plates were used but if those of us with '31, '32, '33, or say '34 vehicles might care to check their engine numbers we might all learn a little bit more about 'our' company's history!

[Tony Fearn]

'Thanks for the memory' Ian.

I've had a look at the casing again and it's got an 'A' stamped near the oil level indicator, so it must have been one of Alf's originally.

It's also interesting that the tappets are to be set cold at 006", whereas I always thought the early 30s engines had the tappets set to 002" when cold.

This being so, Alan may be correct in assuming that at sometime the engine went back to the works and a later camshaft was fitted.

Tony.

[ian Howell]

Sorry Tony, maybe I'm a bit thick (yes - alright!) but do you mean that Mary Ellen has two sets of initials stamped into the crankcase or that there is a plate as well as stamped initials?

I perhaps also misunderstood that where brass plates were fitted there were no initials stamped into the crankcase.

From what you say it seems that plates were in use at least by 1934.

Are there any earlier examples 'out there'?

[george garside]

the early thirties tapping settings are a bit more complicated than 2thou!

prior to 1930 - 2 thou inlet and exhaust

from beginning of 1930 up to and including engine 130724 inlet 2 thou exhaust 4 thou

after 130275 (1931) inlet and exhaust 2 thou to end of 1935, thereafter 6 thou.

These figures are taken from theJowett Manual all models to 1935
It is not clear whether the years eg end of 1935 are model years or calender years

the tappet settings are further complicated by the possibility of an engine having at some point being fitted with a later camshaft

george