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YouTuber Mr Hewes got a 102.4-liter Mirrlees Blackstone diesel running after compressed air and a forklift-assisted attempt failed. A ratchet strap around the flywheel, pulled by a Ford F-150 pickup, provided the successful starting method. The engine had been out of use for years and required attention to stuck valves, injectors and its oiling system.
YouTuber Mr Hewes has restarted a 102.4-liter Mirrlees Blackstone JS8, using a Ford F-150 pickup to pull a ratchet strap wrapped around the engine’s flywheel after other attempts failed. The video documents the revival of a diesel engine delivered to the U.K. Air Ministry in 1953, offering a rare look at the scale and practical challenges of bringing a long-idle industrial engine back to life.
The JS8 is a straight-eight turbodiesel with 102.4 liters of displacement. Hewes, who works on vintage agricultural and military equipment, said the engine had accumulated 720 operating hours. Its ownership and delivery history led him to surmise it had served in a generator set at a Royal Air Force base, but the original report does not establish that use as confirmed.
The engine had not run for a long time and showed problems familiar from machinery left idle: stuck valves and injectors, as well as a nonfunctioning oiling system. Water had filled the oil passageways; Hewes manually pumped and vacuumed it out. Although the engine could then turn freely, starting it remained a separate challenge.
According to The Drive’s account of the video, the engine was designed to start using compressed air, but the available supply was insufficient. Trying to turn the flywheel by pushing a handle with a forklift also failed. Hewes then secured a ratchet strap around the flywheel and used the pickup to pull it. The engine eventually fired, producing smoke as it ran.
A Pickup Supplies the Turning Force
The restart shows how the requirements of a very large engine can differ from those of an ordinary vehicle. The JS8’s intended compressed-air starting system was not enough with the equipment available, so the team used a pickup to apply force at the flywheel. That is the central practical detail behind the headline: the truck served as an improvised means of turning the engine, not as its normal starter.
For viewers interested in historic machinery, the episode also makes the restoration work visible. Getting an engine to rotate is not the same as making it ready to run; the water in the oil passages and the stuck components had to be addressed before the starting attempts. The video records one restart, but by itself does not establish the engine’s long-term condition, reliability or suitability for continued operation.
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A 1953 Generator-Engine Candidate
The Mirrlees Blackstone JS8 was delivered to the U.K. Air Ministry in 1953. Given its scale and history, Hewes believes it may have been used in a generator set associated with an RAF base. A genset combines a stationary engine with a generator and related equipment to produce electricity; such systems are used as backup power at large buildings and other sites. The precise location and role of this engine have not been confirmed in the source material.
The comparison in The Drive’s report helps convey the engine’s size: Hewes previously worked with fellow YouTuber Scott Nothing To Do With You on a Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine of 27.0 liters. The JS8 has nearly four times that displacement. Its stated 720 operating hours offer a limited record of use, but do not show when it last ran or how it was maintained over its more than seven decades of existence.
“The engine was supposed to be started with compressed air, but the available supply was not enough.”
— Mr Hewes, as described in The Drive’s report
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Its Original Role Remains Unverified
The engine’s exact service history is not established in the report. Hewes surmises it was used in an RAF generator set, but the available account does not provide documentation confirming that location or function. It also does not say when the JS8 last operated, what work was done beyond the repairs described, or whether it continued running after the filmed restart.
The video shows the engine firing, but no further information is provided about its operating condition, output, emissions, or any remaining mechanical issues. The reported 720 hours are accumulated operating time, not an indication of when those hours occurred or how they were recorded.
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Further Running Tests Are Unreported
The source material does not announce a planned follow-up test, restoration milestone or return to generator service. The immediate documented milestone is that the engine started after the F-150-assisted pull. Any next steps—such as sustained running, further repairs or a fuller account of its history—remain unreported. Viewers can see the restart and the preceding work in Mr Hewes’ video, which The Drive says runs for nearly an hour.
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Key Questions
What engine did Mr Hewes start?
It was a 102.4-liter Mirrlees Blackstone JS8, a straight-eight turbodiesel delivered to the U.K. Air Ministry in 1953.
Why was a pickup used to start it?
The available compressed-air supply was insufficient, and a forklift-assisted attempt to turn the flywheel did not work. A Ford F-150 pulled a ratchet strap around the flywheel to provide the turning force that started the engine.
Was the engine definitely used at an RAF base?
No. Hewes surmised it may have powered a generator set at an RAF base, based on its size and ownership history. The source does not confirm that use.
What problems did the engine have before the restart?
The reported issues included stuck valves and injectors and a nonfunctioning oiling system. Water had also filled the oil passageways and had to be removed.
Does the video show that the engine is fully restored?
No. It documents the engine starting, but the source gives no confirmation of a complete restoration, sustained operation or return to service.
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