This is the earliest villiers ignition system used up to about the mid 1950s although the exact date is unknown. This system was replaced by the villiers system below which even seagull themselves call the mark 1 villiers. The early Marstons and the early Model 102s used this particular system. My Thanks to Charles Large for the picture and the information.
Villiers or Mark 1 System
This system is used on seagulls up to about 1967. The points are underneath the brass topped cylinder and should be adjusted to 20 thou. This system had a metal top to the flywheel originally fitted but this starter plate is interchangable with the black plastic one. Older seagulls had the words "The best outboard Motor in the World" this was altered in 1953 (I think) to "The Best Outboard Motor for the World" I think I agree with both but the first one more !
Wipac System or Mark 2 Wipac
This is the successor to the Villiers system. This system was used from 1967 until 1979. The flywheel was originally painted bronze with this system but be warned that a lot of people either rub this off to leave it silver or paint it silver. The Wipac mk2 was also fitted with the black plastic flywheel cover/starter plate. On some of the earlyer engines the points were contained unter a small black plastic cover but this was discontinued and is no longer available. The points on this system are adjusted to 20 thou. The way to tell this system from the villiers if the flywheel is silver is by the black plastic sparkplug lead socket underneath. The villiers does not have this. The flywheels are NOT interchangable with the villiers but the entire system is.
Mark 3 Wipac or Electronic Ignition
This system was used from 1987 and is fitted to most engines with the "E" prefix in the engine code. Later engines were fitted with the Mark 4 below. This system does not have any points to adjust and is completely maintenance free. The assembly is contained in a dome shaped cover with a starter pully mounted on the top and a blue plastic cover in the center. There was also a recoil starter system available which fitted on top as in the last picture above, the top of the recoil is painted either blue, black or rarely in very very late engines gold.
Mark 4 Wipac
This is the last ignition system fitted. This was fitted to the QB series as standard and eventually to all engines. This system incorporated the facility for a kill switch too. From the outside this system is identical to the mark 3 as pictured in the mark 3 section, the only difference is the coil and the flywheel (see below).
The Flywheel on a Mark 4 ignition has a groove turned on it about half an inch up on the outside. The mark 3 doesn't have this groove. Although the 2 flywheels look identical they are slightly different and using the incorrect flywheel can lead to lower top revs and uneven running. Thanks again to Charles Large for this information.
