1951 Ariel 4G Square Four.

Gui.dorey
Holder of a Waxed Cotton Anorak
Holder of a Waxed Cotton Anorak
Posts: 407
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 7:42 pm
Contact:

Re: 1951 Ariel 4G Square Four.

Post by Gui.dorey »

Wow. Congratulations!
I wish I had your skills.
1951 Ariel Square Four MKI
1954 Ariel NH Red Hunter
1929 BSA Sloper
1946 BSA B31 (project)
1954 BSA C11G
1960 Harley Sportster XLH
1951 Harley WL 45
cbranni
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 7:53 am
Contact:

Re: 1951 Ariel 4G Square Four.

Post by cbranni »

Thank you Gui for the kind comment, I learned a lot from reading your posts, thank you.

Kind regards Colin
Julian Murphy
Holder of a Waxed Cotton Anorak
Holder of a Waxed Cotton Anorak
Posts: 370
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:42 pm
Contact:

Re: 1951 Ariel 4G Square Four.

Post by Julian Murphy »

That looks fab-u-lous, and quick work too.

Like the spray booth.

Mine is similar, poly sheeting in the top, and roll up / roll down sides in poly sheeting.

Means that the area can be used for other things as well.
cbranni
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 7:53 am
Contact:

Re: 1951 Ariel 4G Square Four.

Post by cbranni »

Just as an update on this rebuilt Sq 4 it has now covered about 750 miles and I have to say they have almost been trouble free, I will admit that all the miles were done in short 30 to 40 mile circuits around Gower where I live, never wandering far incase I had problems with the rebuilt engine, too old to push it far and it is heavy
.
But it performs well, the crankcases get hot but no hotter than my T100, it starts hot or cold easily, oil pressure (original pump) when up to temp seems okay to me, at 40 mph gauge reads just under 40 psi and at tickover again when up to temp reads about 15psi. During the rebuild I replaced the head fixings with stainless, used the Otto gasket, followed the instructions to the letter and all seems fine, no blown gasket and no oil leaks.

The few niggles I have had were on two occasions rough idle occurred, cured by carb strip and clean but never found any reasons, ran out of petrol once but there was petrol in the tank, strange, on investigation I found the balance pipe adaptors that had been welded to the front of the tank which I had fitted the balance pipe to had not been drilled through to the tank!!! but it was easy fix.

After reading all the problems that these engines can have I did nurse it through it's running in period, I did once take it to over 50 mph and it survived, don't laugh, brakes are good as is the handling, the torque is tremendous, it laughs at hills and accelerates from 20mph in top without hesitation, I must admit I am very, very pleased with how it has turned out and more importantly I love riding it, I took a huge gamble buying a seized Sq 4 (as advertised) and unseen but luck was on my side (makes a change). Would I want to rebuild another? not sure, the four months it took were enjoyable but always at the back of your mind ..............will it run, will it seize, will it ever get on the road or is it just a money pit, I don't think I will but what I really want now is an early VB600, I think that would be far simpler.

I would just like to say to all who have helped, advised and encouraged me through this adventure thank you very much, diolch yn fawr, and if I can be of any assistance to anyone please ask.

Kind regards Colin
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests