1958 Ruston stationary engine and compressor set

[mrstuart143]

isnt that a wolsley ??

[mileybob]

@mrstuart143 Read the description & previous comments.

[steamwally]

Stuart, the engine is a Wolseley WD8, but was sold to Rustons who removed all traces of the engines maker, and then put it on one of their compressor sets for air starting large Ruston diesels.

The WD8 and the ruston PT are pretty much the same engine so it is easy to get confused, but this is still a wd8!

[mrstuart143]

@steamwally arrrrr thanks for the help i was quite confused.

[macfletcherhotmail]

@steamwally but didnt ruston change the water hopper and a a few more of the castings?

[steamwally]

No I believe the engines came fromm Wolseley with the smooth hopper and blank crankcase cover. They supplied engines to agricultural engineers/dealers so you will see some Wolseleys marked as "VETSAK" and such like, these companies put there own covers on.

[macfletcherhotmail]

@steamwally ok but i was led to believe that the early wolsleys had smooth hoppers but i know for sure that ruston pts had square hoppers and different castings because they are on google images

[steamwally]

Yes the WD1 has a smooth hopper, this was also available as an option on the WD2 and they were fitted to a very small number of WD8's.

[DragonFlyback256]

Nice smooth run for this low RPMs.

[tomellis281]

Thing is that I have a set up like this as well and mine is an original set up with a Ruston pt engine driving a Ruston compressor with a brass plate on base yours on the other hand you have got the original base and compressor but at sometime someone has mounted a wolseley engine in it's place. I have a few pt's and every time I been to ray hooley for dating he has said Ruston and wolseley have nearly the same design but never used each others engine has they had a design of their own.

[mileybob]

@tomellis281

I seriously doubt that you have spoken to Ray. I have discussed this set at great length with Ray. And it has also been noted by Patrick Knight in the A-Z of British stationary engines and by David Edginton in both his old and soon to be released new Wolseley book that there was a tiein with Rustons and that they did use each others engines.

[mileybob]

Read the previous comments and all will be revealed :-)

[tomellis281]

Nice set up but why have you got a wolseley engine driving a Ruston compressor

[steamwally]

Nice video, it was good to read about this engines restoration in SEM, well written article and showed restoration progress well.

All the best,

Phill.

[Bidone1967]

Looks and runs very nice :)

[steamwally]

Very nice set up!

I bet that cast base is heavy!

When I first saw this I thought it was a wd like mine but I was interested to find it's not, reading the comments.

Keep up the good work,

Phill.

[goldie103103]

That is a Wolseley. The crank case up to the hopper are not Ruston PT. That is a wolseley with a smooth hopper from the WD1. The petrol tank is deffently not a ruston one.

[mileybob]

You obviously know better than Myself, Ray Hooley, Phillip ThorntonEvison and the people at Internal FIre.

Read the previous comments and you may be enlightened.

PS where does it say its a PT?

[goldie103103]

Then why the flipping hell does it look exacly like a Wolseley WD 2 or 8 with a WD 1 head on it?

[mileybob]

Read the previous comments. Its all mentioned in them.

Also it is not a WD1 head.

[goldie103103]

It is. Its a Wolseley badged as a Ruston. Its a WD8 with a WD1 head.

[mileybob]

Yes it is a Wolseley WD8, rebadged as a Ruston. One of 1700 sold for use on compressor sets, few of which seem to survive in the UK. However the hopper is not a WD1 hopper. This is genuine to this engine and is different to the WD1 hopper.

Regards

Mike

[goldie103103]

But WD8s userly have a ribed hopper.

[mileybob]

The thing to remember with this engine is that it was never sold as a Wolseley, so therfore normal Wolseley rules dont apply. The hopper is similar to the WD1, but is actually a special made for the ruston's contract. It is much thicker and has the square bits in different places to the WD1.

Also no where on this engine are there any marks to id it as a wolseley, persuambly removed at Rustons request. If you are ever near Hull you are welcome to come and view the set up.

Regards

Mike

[goldie103103]

Oh, Thanks for the info. That had been confusing me for weeks. Im after a Ruston PT or a Wolseley as my next engine.

[petrolhead1985]

i have 2 wolseleys up for sale in need of some love! a wd2 and a wd8 let me know if youre interested

[goldie103103]

I would be interested. How much?

[petrolhead1985]

im looking for £75 each they are both complete and were restored about 10 years ago but havent been run and could do with a lick of paint and a clean if you message me your email address ill send you some pictures of them

[goldie103103]

Ive got a Ruston PB

[steamwally]

Found it!

[goldie103103]

Thats a Wolseley WD 1!!

[mileybob]

I can assure you that it is definately not a WD1.

[goldie103103]

Its a Ruston PT with Wolseley parts?

[mileybob]

The engine is in fact a Wolseley WD8 with a smooth hopper, but it has been re-badged as a ruston. Ruston's bought in approx 1700 of these engines and fitted them to compressor outfits, once production of the PT range of Rustons had ceased.

Regards

Mike

[tangyedan]

I have an identical set, and the engine is a Ruston WD9, rated at 2hp at 1000rpm, dating to approx 1963. Regards, Dan.

[steamwally]

This is verry similar to the wolseley WD 8

(I am the owner of one!) Are they based on these?

[mileybob]

It has no spec plate on so im not too sure really.

Would guess it's a 1.5hp at 700rpm.

[cornishadz]

Hi there!

Whats the rpm on this and the hp?

Adam