Tilley SDR Type 3 worth to restore?

Hello Forum,

I found a Tilley SDR Type 3. Is it worth to restore it?
I found out that it is made for the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat in 1954.
Are there still parts to buy for it, like seals and leather? Can I use the same parts as the 246?
I want to restore it and then sell it.



greets Jeanpierre

 

Yes, it certainly is worth restoring! These are hard to find, and over here they are impossible to find!
Fettle box should have all the seals/gaskets you need. It's actually a Tilley X246.
Mind you, seals/gaskets are easy to find but other parts are not. Having said that I think your lantern looks complete - from what I can see.

 

thanks for the tip. I will buy the new seals and hope it will fire up. It looks that the lamp is complete and original.

 

Welcome aboard!
A very lucky find!

 

I had the great pleasure of seeing all three SDR models up for sale this weekend. There was much debate as to their value and of course, condition is king.. but the Dutch SDR (which was a very nice example and painted in pale blue livery) was valued at £300 around 330 euros. So yes, definitely worth some love and affection.
Of course, rarity can trigger a form of bidding insanity so that could well be a conservative estimate.

 

Welcome to this forum. Lots of friendly knowledge here, you just gotta ask.
That's truely a great find, looking forward to your pictures of the light-up.
Cheers
Pete

 

I want to see him light up too :-)

 

It seams it is a rare lamp. I hope to light it up and make a collector happy with it :-)

 

Yes definitely worth it! It will be a beautiful lamp when it's finished.

 

I ordered the parts today, hopefully I get him started up this week :-)
What kind of oil can I use in this type of lamp?

 

Lovely lamp. Use only paraffin (kerosene) NOT petrol!

 

If you are not a collector I would not tough it.
Big change you can use it as it is.

 

I would replace seals and mantles but leave the paint finish exactly as it is. For a lamp this age it is in very good condition and you will reduce the value and the authenticity by stripping the lamp and matching the colour might not be so easy.

 

I agree, let it stay as it is!

 

Yes, keep it original! Please!

 

Why replacing seals before testing ?
I have several oldies which I simply clean fill up and use.

As for value: I thought forum rules state that we do not do evaluations.
Please do not ask for valuations - see site policy.

Thanks to the above given price I can never score a bargain again.

 

Apologise for commenting on the value or otherwise of an SDR, I will gladly edit my earlier post if someone points me in the right direction of the edit button. Without wishing to break any rules it is clear that the scarcity of SDR's means that there is very little to go on and as my father in law used to say, it's only worth what someone is willing to pay! and that sure is true.
As for NEVER being able to score a bargain again...I think that might be a tad melodramatic and of course, makes the rather large assumption that every perspective buyer will have instant access to this obscure post lol and besides, I don't think my estimate was particularly accurate as it was based on hearsay.

 

I think I may have talked about value when I first joined but I survived! Also it's notoriously difficult to give estimates as it depends on so many things, but one thing I would like to say again is please don't clean it too much or remove the paint. It really doesn't need it.

 

Everybody has internet by now, type: "tilley value sdr" in google and voila there is this forum.

 

Actually, no - that was merely the asking price.

I realise that English isn't your first language Wim, so with respect, an evaluation and a valuation are not the same thing. Nobody asked for a valuation - the original poster merely asked if it was worth restoring.

Complete and utter tosh! - and that's being polite.

Were you at Newark, Wim? - I was and I didn't see you. So ask yourself - did it sell at that price? - was it even sold? - do I know what I'm talking about? - have I gone off at 'half-cock' again?

Ponder this; since when has the sticker price on any item determined its value under all selling circumstances, everywhere else in the world for the rest of all time?

It was in a field at Newark - perhaps the seller didn't want to take it home, perhaps he took the view that 'Cash is King', perhaps he'd had a good day selling other stuff and could afford to be a little generous, perhaps he preferred to avoid the bother of photographing and listing it on eBay, contending with eBay prats, boxing it up and posting it off, then waiting anxiously to hear it had arrived intact or potentially have the funds removed from his account by PayPal due to alleged damage or non-delivery. Perhaps he generously passed on to the buyer the savings he made by avoiding eBay and PayPal fees. Perhaps he's just a genuinely nice guy who isn't motivated by greed or profit and just wanted to get back his original outlay on the lamp.

But I'm grateful to you for making so plain exactly what it is that motivates you when it comes to lamps...

 

David..I couldn't have put it better myself, two Lovely SDR's were sold and IMHO all those factors played a significant part in the final agreed price and I know Shaun ' the new owner' was very appreciative.

 

@David,

Well said but every seller nowadays will look on the internet for the value of the item.
If you do so you will find the estamated or aksing price or whatever word you want to use, here.
A asking price is seldom the selling price, yes I know.

I am not sure what you mean here.
But if you referr to the fact that I like a bargain, yes you are right. But that is not why I collect or love or like lanterns.

 

I changed only the seals. The pump works now. I get enough pressure in the lamp. It will burn, but not so bright :-(
I leave the lamp as it is. I cleaned it a bit, but leave it intact. I like the way the paint is this way.

Does anybody have a tip for me to get the light brighter

 

Clearing the air tubes would be my first step.

This model also needs a gap between the top reflector and the hood for air circulation.

 

I agree with @Anthony so check out the air tubes and gap between hood and reflector. If there is no improvement, it may be because the vapouriser is so full of carbon, there is no room for enough fuel to get through so it will need a new one.

Henry.

 

Not too much to go wrong with this kind of lantern. Either air tubes need a good cleaning or you need a new vaporizer. My money would be the vaporizer needs replacement.

 

I had to add some thin washers between the reflector and hood otherwise the burner is trying to suck air from an almost sealed chamber.

 

I will try this weekend the options you discribe..I hope it will work. I can now understand why you guys like these kind of lamps. The heat and fun to the old way of making light.

ge Jeanpierre

 

Jeanpierre, maybe you have caught the lamp bug?

 

Well maybe you can try the lantern without globe first. off coarse not on a windy day.
Put air in the tank and fuel and check if you have a straight line off fuel coming out of the vaporizer (without globe, top and fire)

Mind you: the globe is unique on its own.