1959 Enfield Constallation crankcase pressure

[dave st cleer]

adm edit: split from Re: Another new member

Hi everyone Not sure how to use the site although have been member since I bought Chris F's A10, no problems with that one. My main worries are fixing my 1959 Enfield Constallation that suffers from excess crankcase pressure has anybody any ideas or knowledge of the modification kit I believe to be available. Would appreciate any comments

[groily]

Hi Dave, There are several mods I was advised to do when I got my Connie to try to keep the oil in, its pressure up and the engine and oil tank vented. A big oil tank top breather direct to atmosphere being pretty well essential, I was told. The 2 disc engine breather on the drive side case is inadequate for a 700cc twin, and a pcv (or maybe a Bunn type breather, see threads on this forum) helps. The head steady needs to be as mega as you can fabricate to avoid the separate barrels and heads moving and leaking oil from barrel base and all points north; the brass end feed for the crank is best replaced by a plastic or nylon one which maintains pressure better; Comex head gaskets instead of copper are good things too, at a price. It's not the easiest beast in the pantheon to keep right.
Your best bet is to talk direct to Alan Hitchcock, and try to get close to big Oilfield twin owners in your neck of the woods. I was lucky to have a mate who's run Connies and Interceptors all his life and set me on the right road. Superb spares and tech help from Hitchcocks and Burtons, they are quite robust if put together right, but an A10 they ain't! It was only really with the true wet sump Series 2 Interceptor that RE got the big beasts right, but by then it was a bit late in the day. Powerful, though, and with fantastic torque. Good luck.

[dave st cleer]

Hi Bill Thanks for advise i am waiting to hear back from hitchcocks regarding a set of pistons for this beast which have been sent   two different sizes , replacements on there way shure there will be no problem as they have always been excelent in the past.I owned one of these connies  in 1961 but dont remember any problem with crank case pressure . Will let you know results as they occure. PS I am very pleased with the A10 i have, put togeather by chrisFi I guess you must know it as he put a lot of pictures on this forum

[groily]

Hi Dave, reckon you've had more Connie-owning experience than me then, I've only had mine long enough to do most of those mods and a few thousand miles, still with minor oil dribbles despite best efforts. I like it well, but not the easiest beasts as I said. I'm running Boyer ignition, a regulator from Paul Goff on a big single phase alternator and the original twin Monoblocs with the rh one chopped and bottom-fed. If you've got piston issues, then hopefully sorting them will eliminate your pressure problem, especially if you do domething about the drive side crankcase disc breather. Under no circs should any original breather venting the crankcase into the primary case be retained if you've got one - my RE mentor and guru told me of three major disasters caused by the explosion of unburnt fuel in there, one of which destroyed the drive side crankcase, the others of which 'just' did for the chaincase. Don't quite know why, as my AMCs vent happily via flapper valves in their drive side crank axles, but 'tis certainly true nonetheless - and decent castings are parts that aren't easy to get.
Hitchcocks is the standard by which I have been judging all other suppliers these past few years - I'm sure you'll have no hassle. A local non-English speaking friend is restoring a Super Meteor so between us there has been a massive traffic in parts through here, and not a single problem, with new or second-hand bits. Very Impressive - and also of course for most things Amal.

Be very interested to hear how you find it compared to the very excellent A you have got. Personally, I find my A smoother and easier to ride, vastly better transmission of course, and that it is just as quick A to B for most purposes. My Connie, which is a typically uncomfortable café-racer, has short roadholders per later Interceptors and a tls Commando brake, so it does actually stop better by far than anything else in the shed. That's it's strongest suit, along with being pretty if you like that sort of thing!