Nels
09-07-2002, 18:22
This is a bit off the beaten path for this group, but maybe someone can point me in the right direction. I have long been a collector of the David Bradley walk-behind tractors, and now that I have this fine D/A diesel pickup to haul them in, I have decided that I now should have a diesel powered David Bradley. I received today a small Ducati single cylinder air cooled diesel engine. The flywheel side has a mounting flange and the flywheel is machined like a clutch pressure plate. Whatever was mounted here is long gone. The other end has a tapered and keyed shaft with a threaded end, and 6 bolt flange around it, seemingly to drive something from that end as well. I don't know what this engine came out of, but I have a couple theories.
Since there is no starter, or provision for mounting one, I had an idea that maybe the missing component on one side was a DC generator of some sort. It is a common practice to use the generator itself as the starter in this setup. That still doesn't explain the shaft at the other end though. A quick search of the internet yelded another possibility -- I found a classified ad for a catamaran sailboat which advertised that it had a Ducati 11hp diesel for an auxilliary engine, which also drives a generator. This sounds like what I have.
Given the above introductory info, can anyone tell me where I might find more service information on this engine? After adapting some form of starter to it, I need to figure out just what makes this thing tick. Specific starting instructions, describing how the injector pump works, etc. Also some info on what the extra tube is coming off the top of the injector, and how the fuel circuit is plumbed (which draws fuel and which is the return line). You get the idea. A service manual of some sort would be a big help, unless of course someone reading this note has some specific info on it. Any takers?
I suppose I could start with a trip down to the local marina, but I'm not the boating type, and that is completely alien territory to me. Worth a shot though.
Since there is no starter, or provision for mounting one, I had an idea that maybe the missing component on one side was a DC generator of some sort. It is a common practice to use the generator itself as the starter in this setup. That still doesn't explain the shaft at the other end though. A quick search of the internet yelded another possibility -- I found a classified ad for a catamaran sailboat which advertised that it had a Ducati 11hp diesel for an auxilliary engine, which also drives a generator. This sounds like what I have.
Given the above introductory info, can anyone tell me where I might find more service information on this engine? After adapting some form of starter to it, I need to figure out just what makes this thing tick. Specific starting instructions, describing how the injector pump works, etc. Also some info on what the extra tube is coming off the top of the injector, and how the fuel circuit is plumbed (which draws fuel and which is the return line). You get the idea. A service manual of some sort would be a big help, unless of course someone reading this note has some specific info on it. Any takers?
I suppose I could start with a trip down to the local marina, but I'm not the boating type, and that is completely alien territory to me. Worth a shot though.