The only official website. Provided for Vire owners by

VIRE UK, who are the only;

• Vire-specialists worldwide offering free technical and operational advice.
• Official VIRE AGENT in the UK
• Source of online parts sent Worldwide with fast delivery
• Stockists of new and used parts including complete engines of all types
• experienced rebuilder (15 Vire engines rebuilt in the last year and growing since 2002)
• experienced tecnical support, serving more than a hundred owners, parts and support per year. 
• company that is investing time and money into keeping the brand alive with support and finding better parts and techniques to increase owner satisfaction.

Vire UK needs your help to continue improving the brand, please;

purchase your service parts with us and receive excellent free advice

have your engine rebuilt or repaired by us, don't 'DIY and hope' your boat's most important safety feature - it's engine. many parts ruined by bodgers are economically irreplacable e.g. piston and gears.

keep your Vire running nicely, reliable and be proud of it, we can help cure any ills, often with a free phone call.

If you have any discarded Vire Engines or main parts/props etc, please offer them to us, because only by sourcing cheap discarded engines can we operate an effective used/refurbished parts/engines service, for these discontinued engines.

If you found our advice or website a godsend and want to reward our efforts  but arent putting trade our way, please contribute on the paypal button thats on the foot of every page.

Petrol Inboard engines manufactured from 1960s till 2003 and new parts still being made.

Apologies I havent put up pics of my recent well finished masterpieces, because of lack of webspace (hi-res pics take loads of space), but if you want to receive anything specific, just email a request..

Stop Press, on 14 April 2011 See you at Beaulieu Boat Jumble - Red field Stand No 206 (see programme on day under 'Vire'), which is Left of the visitors entrance by the 'information' kisok about half way.

I will be exhibiting a Vire 12 and a Vire 7 both are late model engines, rebuilt 'better than new' - about as good as they get(although i also support/sell all the older models), probably also a Vire 6 and dozens of spares and free technical support. My son will be helping as usual, though now he is 6' tall and 16yo.

See you there...

http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/common/majorevents.cfm?Event=3&Task=Information

I will be exhibiting the full range of refurbished Vires again together; A Vire 12 recently donated from Essex for a small reward; A Vire 7 top spec and a Vire 6 BVR which had been started recently(thats all three types since 1967-date).

Despite what some say, these engines will run reliably for 30 years trouble free if attention is paid to the expert rebuilding, and installing with effective exhaust , and fuel filter, -  only Vire UK meets owners vital needs to set them up with reliability that will last, without it costing more than your boat is worth.

come and see these simple engines, now rebuilt with expert care from £800-£1900 refurbished with new seals bearings, and presented shining and painted having been tested running and ready to install in hours. You can also learn how Vire UK can rebuild these engines to last 20 more years and advise to make the installation on your boat reliable and easy no matter what problems you had in the past.

Visitors will be welcome to chat, hide from the sun or showers under the gazebo, and buy all the main service spares i will bring along, free of postage costs. e.g. champion plugs, bosch points, Tillotson carburettors etc etc.

Please support the brand continuing to develop under my wing, by taking a business card and passing it onto anyone you know who has or migh know someone with a 'VIRE'. its only by the grapevine; donating of old engines i can rebuild/scavenge from; and buying your spares from the ebay shop i set up, that i can continue to support you all.

Stop Press 18th April 2008, Fairways (up till 6 years ago were Vire dealership) are finally history! Bailifs moved in after a year of further losses after the Late owner Dave Pickup died of a heart attack Summer 07 , and also no accounts at companies house since 2005. Hopefully if there were any valuable parts or info left, the family and bailifs will ensure they get used here, not discarded?

Due to popular demand i now have an online shop and full parts service

Nowhere else will you find a story of a complete and systematic general rebuild, which is why i did this one. I find a photo is worth a thousand words, and schematics and sketches not so reassuring as they are not proof positive of a working tested system, which this is.

In order to understand a Vire7, you need to start with just one engine, strip it down, inspect it, appreciate how it works, and rebuild it.

Later on you can find out about all the variations and instalation tips, but if you didnt know one engine completely it would all be irrelevant.

At the end of the day, you are probably here first because you have searched using "vire" in google or something on the web,because you are having problems getting yours fixed. You are reluctant to strip it and have a go unless you can first estimate the complexity/cost and difficulty of a rebuild, or may be looking for expert dealers - you just found the best site!

This site is supposed to answer the frustration of finding 'really useful' information that should be on the net , one day all sites should be 'useful' and not just persuassion. Haynes manuals are costly and marine engine replacements if you cant fix your bust one are too.

hopefully then you will have the confidence to get your Vire7 repaired, either by a freind on the net, yourself or even me (Tel 01202 470184)

The unit above is currently available from me as at 3 May 2005

price guide:(main dealer in brackets for comparison)

Vire 7 rebuilt with stainless mains £900 (£1,200 steel mains, not available anyway)

gearbox £500 (£700 not available)

dynastart £200 (£300)

ALL ABOVE DEAL fitted together, tested running, crated for UK delivery£1200

tel 01202 470184 to check availability/delivery

The Vire 7 from what I can make out is improved from the vire 6 in the following ways:

redesigned cyl head cooling, going down not up

integral expansion chamber internally cooled, avoiding splitter valve

this avoids water getting in the cylinder and quieter running but longer/taller installation

water pump impellor rubber instead of geared type

self-priming but tends to wear out and a fiddle to change in the boat.

7hp instead of 6hp

slightly higher compression.

gear lever simplified by losing slip ring

tripled o-rings and easier to remove shaft with split pin

main bearing simplified by losing circlip/ring

added double seals between gearbox/engine.

front steel flywheel redesigned to do away with vire6 cover and easily chipped pulley, allowing easier points access

++fits into the ssimilar shaft/bed space as the Vire 6, so owners could upgrade with little work? the propshaft would not need to be changed.

 

Above engine arrived having been in regular use with no complaints except it cut out at idle (gummed rings , wrong oil mix, wrong tuning and wrong plug). I soon discovered that the main bearings were typically rough, and the output shaft bearing suspect, being a suitable project I set about restoring it

y

 engine, before and after rebuild May 2005, with new seals, gaskets, flange bearing, stainless main bearings etc. June 2006 this engine had been fitted into owners boat in Eastleigh and running well.

If you are more interested in the Vire BVR 6 engine (older and more bits, with a round topped cylinder) see my other site www.vire6.info

THIS SITE IS UNDER CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT July 2006, and is a modified copy of the Vire BVR6 site, so some of the information (manuals) relates primarily to the earlier engine. When I finish the rebuild of this Vire7, I promise to add the finished photos and polish up this site

7 July Online parts added, update FAQs

Nick 1 Feb 2005

3 May 2005, as promised the rebuild is now complete, and photos included, particularly the gearbox, assembly, carb, cylinder and new electrical sections

I have created this site, because I have found it difficult to find technical assistance in rebuilding and tuning this amazing engine, and I dont want many more to suffer the same fate.

Basically the site is divided into sections.

please click on the left, the section you want

there are loads of photos of stripping it in the how to section

Nick Le Feuvre (B.Eng Maritime Technology)