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East and West - 1. Allbon Javelin Mk. 2

For the "West" contender for the 1.5 c.c. division we have an Allbon Javelin Mk.2. Made in England, probably between 1952 and 1955.

This example was made just after Davies Charlton & Co reached an arrangement with Allbon to manufacture the engine. The box, which is original, gives the manufacturering address as Rainhall Road, Barnoldswick, Lancashire.

It presents very nicely and is a very low time example.

The only non original feature is the DC Sabre spinner nut. The shaft extension thread is 2BA. It has the correct nut, but the prop washer is undersize and clearly not original. I will have to make one up. Prop washers fitted to early FROG and many other British engines were delicate and could distort or shatter in service.

The Good:

Nicely turned out pressure die cast case, left in natural finish. Script with the manufacturers name and 'Made in England" on the under flanks of the case is very well executed.

Piston fit,bearing fit, and connecting rod fits are as expected. Very good indeed and as nice as may be expected from a 'consumer' diesel for sport and perhaps competition use. No scorch marks. 'tram tracks' , or shiny ring at the top of the piston. A nice even light grey all over the skirt. All appear well and a long life may be expected.

Weight is 80 grams with spinner nut, or 78 grams with prop nut and washer. Light, but surprisingly, heavier than the OTM Swift.

Alloy parts including the beautiful red re-anodised cooling jacket are very well turned and polished.

Contra piston fit is perfect. The compression screw is not 'wobbly' in the top of the jacket, and the tommy bar does not get too hot. It is a pleasure to manipulate.


The Bad:

Far too much shaft fore-aft play. Over one millimetre. The prop driver does not seat perfectly on the matching part of the shaft extension. I sorted this before running it by installing a suitable spacer shim. Now float is 0,2 millimetre. This is not typical of the brand. I have other Allbon's including another Javelin which are fine in this regard.

I can't unscrew the back plate using reasonable force and a well fitted steel washer. Again, not really a 'fault', but it must be screwed in ridiculously tight and then gummed up with old castor.

Needle looks of "cottage manufacturer" standard, with solder everywhere. That said it has been finish filed to a pleasing profile and has no blobs. I would normally guess a home "re-solder" job by a competent previous owner to mend it when the needle came loose, however I have other Allbon's with copious solder applied to the needle. At least this one will never come loose in the holder.

Delicate prop washer as supplied. Missing on this example and likely to have been damaged or destroyed in the engines earlier life. No doubt due to the short-ish length of the crankshaft extension.

The cooling jacket came loose on the third run and was nipped up hot. This is commonplace with 'screw-on' cooling jacket engines.At least there are flats on the Javelin's top fin allowing tightening to be safely undertaken with plenty of bearing area to accept the load from the spanner. Procedure carried out with no bruising to the anodising. I prefer that arrangement to a pin spanner where all load is taken by two small drilled holes in the top fin.

The ugly:

Nothing to report. All machining nicely done. Lug holes tidy and well spaced.

The Verdict:

A quintessential "classic" British 1.5 c.c. diesel, dating from the time when English engines were hugely competitive (if not world leaders) and the manufacturers were proudly turning out quality work in a competitive market place.

It starts easily and adjusts readily on needle and compression. Maximum RPM on a nylon 7 x 4 prop was 12,400. Not too shabby. Compression still held fairly well hot. As such, hot re-starts were not an issue provided correct prime was applied. A keeper.