Hi all,
Before the Coventry Climax FWM engine was redesigned into the Hillman Imp engine, it was used, first in 630cc form vertically in an outboard motor. Several of these were given to the Marines for testing in Poole Harbour. Somewhere there must be a picture of one and I would love to make a model of one.
If anyone can show a pic. or send me a link I would be very grateful.

Cheers,
Stoo

Well, I now have a picture. A kind gentleman on the Autosport Nostalgia Forum pointed out that there is a picture in a certain book. I have had that book for years!!

Stoo

Seek and ye shall find they say. What shames me is that this picture was in a book I've had for many years!
This is what I shall make for my Hobbyking outboard when it comes.

What is special about this engine?

You really need to be told???
It is wonderfully, classily stylish and it has a Coventry Climax engine inside. Makers of the most widely spread successful racing engines in the world at that time and possessors of the finest graphic ever drawn.
And rarity? It's said only 3 were made, but that doesn't include the numbers built in plainer clothes for the army to test.
And finally. It isn't a Mercury Model 75H. As much as I love the Towers of Power, so does everyone else and I wanted a looker from my own country. I don't do fashion.

Stoo

Sorry, I do not know this engine and Boat Racing Facts I have found nothing

Snake, I only heard about it because of my love of Coventry Climax engines. And because I had two of the engines that these motors used to put in my Austin 7 Special car.
So I had to find out what one looked like and I am delighted.

Stoo

Same with me: I've never seen or heared about this motor. I even didn't know that other outboard racing motor were built in the UK except for the famous British Anzanis.

Can you give us some more details about this engine?

Jo, the Coventry Climax company made engines fr a great many British car companies in the 30s and they also became famous for making fire pumps and electricity generator sets that were always known to be lightweight and to work flat out for long periods from starting cold.
In the 50s they made a range of fire pumps using an engine called the FWP..Feather Weight Pump.
The motor racing world saw the engine and realised it was modern, lightweight and powerful and so begged Coventry Climax to make an auto version of its new engine. This they did and called it FWA ...Feather Weight Automotive. It won races everywhere for years. Then they realised that if they made an engine for the racing class of 1500cc they'd sell many more and this they did with the FWB. Then they combined the bore and stroke of the FWA and FWB and got the FWE, an engine specially made for the Lotus Elite. Some of these engines also made it to Albatross Marine in Great Yarmouth, the famous aluminium speedboats (I had one for a year or so). Soon, the management at Coventry Climax realised that they could get a similar performance from a smaller engine in their fire pumps and so the FWA was redesigned as the FWM...Feather Weight Marine. It was a lot smaller, 653cc and was intended to be the basis for not only the fire pump, but a new English outboard motor to challenge OMC, post War. The money to pay for this was to come from a military deal but that was cancelled in those ever-changing days and very few civilian engines were made eventually.
The American company Fisher-Pierce imported FWB engines and put them with little development into the Bearcat 85 o/b, but it was ugly and couldn't beat off OMC.

I could do a British Anzani engine, but they're not pretty. Seagull never raced and Perkins are too recent. As far as I know they are the only British outboards. So, I am very pleased to see that the Coventry Climax Godiva 40 was so pretty! OK, I am pushing the limits of eligibility, but who can blame me? We are in a world where most outboards look like they are wearing their guts as a suit or like up-turned pisspots, so a pretty o/b is a thing to treasure.

Cheers,
Stoo

Interesting story (especially when it comes to Lotus Elise... I LOVE this car!). There are some notable parallels to the pre-war OMC / Evinrude /ELTO 4-60, which also has been used as a fire pump engine because of its reliability and which also was "resizable" (4 cylinders 60 ci / 2 cylinders 30 ci). After WWII, when all big manufacturers quit the laborious and costly production of the "alky" racing engines, many US drivers bought dircharged fire pumps from the Navy to get spare sparts for their pre-war racing engines. The 4-60 was also used in car racing.

The engine displacement of a Coventry Climax FWM (653 ccm = 39,85 ci) would perfectly fit the raceboats of the VX division (Class DU or DSH).