The quest for an engine

The search for a restored vintage engine was quite a challenge. There are basically only a small group of people who have the skills and knowledge to take a corroded and rusty pile of junk and lovingly bring it back to showroom condition.
Added to which, with the exception of Russell Newbery, they don't make old engines any more! Which means there is an ever diminishing supply of derelict engines for these guys to work on. The more popular ones, such as the Gardner 2LW's are getting rare and are fetching quite a premium.
I was very much in two minds, as to whether I wanted a 2 or 3 cylinder engine. Now don't get me wrong, I love the sound of a 2-cylinder. It is simply 'the sound of the canal'. I especially love hearing other boats with a 2-pot. But I wasn't sure, especially after speaking to a guy on a coal boat, whether I really wanted to listen to it for 8 or 9 hours at a time.
A 3-cylinder engine, although a little less 'trad', was that bit softer and more balanced. The kind of exhaust note I really could listen to all day.
So that was pretty much 'decision made' - then there was the question of which make. Lister and Gardner were the ones which seemed most possible. But where from and could I get the right engine, at a price I could afford, within a timeframe to suit the shell build - which I had already committed to.
In between all of this, conversations were going on with Crowthers, the prop specialists. The choice of engine and gearbox affected the prop size, which affected the draught of the boat and so on.
I was just about to place an order for a Lister JP3 with the ever-helpful and knowledgeable Marine Power Services when they told me that my preferred build slot had just been taken. The earliest I would get the engine would be 4-5 months after the hull completion date. This experience showed how much more difficult it can be to build a very bespoke boat.
Finally, an engine was offered at something fairly close to what I had hoped to pay, to be fully restored with my choice of gearbox. Importantly, it would be delivered to fit in with the hull build.
Another deposit sent on its way and I had bought an engine! Well, a pile of scrap parts at least, but which will hopefully be transformed back into a beautiful, living, breathing Gardner 3LW with a spanky new PRM 500 1.5:1 gearbox.
The choice of gearbox will enable me to use a 22" prop. A 2:1 box would have needed a 30" prop, resulting in a 3 foot draught boat - far too deep for many of today's badly-dredged canals.
Hopefully, when it's finished, it will look something like this (obviously with a different gearbox).

Update! See http://nb-calbourne.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-engine-ole.html