A vintage model diesel engine by Taplin for marine model boats.

It was packed away in working condition about 20 years ago.

On it is stamped,

W4056

It's fitted with air cooling but the original water cooling jackets are included, an exhaust manifold has been fitted.

The rotor turns freely, it could do with a clean and a polish, there is some corrosion damage to the chrome. Included is flexible disk drive shaft. 

A great motor in rare to find condition.

From  the  www.model-engine-world.co.uk website :-

Taplin Twin 8cc Mk.2 Marine (1962)

The Taplin Twin 8cc Mk.2 was the first complete Taplin Twin diesel engine produced by Colonel Taplin's own company. The previous 7cc green headed engine had been partially manufactured by E.D. However, following an arson attack by two teenagers on E.D.'s production facility in early 1962 they could not continue undertaking part manufacture for the 7cc Taplin Twin as three necessary tooling was destroyed in the fire.

In response to this setback, the Colonel decided to undertake full engine production himself, first however he chose to enhance the Taplin Twin design before creating new tooling. Subsequently, he established a new company, Dinton Engineering of Margate, Kent, UK, to undertake engine production. The resulting engine being marketed as the Taplin Twin Mk.2, it was visually different from its 7cc predecessor by the use of distinctive red anodised cylinder heads rather than green as had been used on the original 7cc Mk1 Taplin Twin..

The enhancements to the new Taplin Twin’s engine's design included an increased capacity and chrome-plated cylinder bores, along with improved porting and timing, these changes resulted in a significant boost in power output. For reliability a new crankshaft was designed which featured improved bearing support and was chrome plated to protect it from corrosion.

A total of around 2,000 Taplin Twin 8cc Mk.2 engines were manufactured, with 65% being marine variants. Despite the advancements in the second generation "Red Head" engines over the original green head 7cc engine, they never achieved anywhere near the same level of sales success. This can attributed to the ever increasing popularity of glow plug engines, which offered ease of use and a relatively lower price point.

A 'Deluxe' Marine variant of the Taplin Twin 8cc Mk.2 marine engine was produced, positioning the flywheel at the rear of the engine while maintaining the drive output at the front. This modification eliminated the necessity of threading the starting cord beneath the propeller shaft before attempting to start the engine.

Initially Taplin Twin Mk.2 air cooled engines were assigned serial numbers ranging from 5000 to approximately 5140, after which the numbering system restarted at lower figures. The initial air-cooled engines featured conjoined cooling fins, but this design was later altered to separate cylinder cooling fins after the production of approximately 35 engines.

• Type: Alternate firing diesel twin

• Capacity: 0.4875 cu in (7.99 cc)

• Bore: 0.705 in (17.9 mm)

• Stroke: 0.625 in (15.88 mm)

• Power: 0.42 BHP @ 9,000 RPM (0.313 KW)

• Induction: Side port

• Piston/Liner: cast-iron piston / chrome plated liner

• Ignition: Diesel (compression ignition)

• Recommended propeller: 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch