# Model Hit and Miss gas engine



## dparker (Oct 29, 2008)

Hello All: This site is making me get back into the shop and have fun again---thank you all!
I built this engine in the late 1980's and took it home on vacation to have my Dad help me get it started as he was restoring full sized antique engines at the time. I never found the right springs to make the governor work correctly and just tripped it by hand to control the speed while showing it. 

The engine has not been run since the very early 1990's and took a little tuning up to make it run again, I guess that's what you get when restoring antique engines! Last week I made up a little kit of things to make my own springs out of music wire, it worked quite well for a first timer. It took a little playing around to get the correct tension to keep the engine slow enough but I am finally satisfied with the speed. 

This engine was designed by Harold Depenbusch and the plans were from a ad in HSM magazine. The bore is 1 1/8" and the stroke is 1 1/2". The plans were pretty easy to follow and the only mistakes I found were mine. The engine is made from stock material and no castings are required. The only purchased parts were the gears, spark plug and Mopar points set. The box is used for this engine or the 6 cycle engine and the engines can be stored inside for protection during transport to wherever I want to show them.












[youtube=425,350]FSCMQyLOpiQ[/youtube]

I am still running the IC models on the battery charger and so far It seems to be working well but one of these days I really should buy a motorcycle battery if they still make 6 volt ones.
Thanks for looking --------don


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 29, 2008)

Very nice work.---Brian


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## rake60 (Oct 29, 2008)

Beautiful little engine Don!

As for you getting back into the shop and having fun again...

_*WELCOME HOME!*_ 

Rick


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## chuck foster (Oct 29, 2008)

that is a very nice little engine ;D :bow:

chuck


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## CrewCab (Oct 29, 2008)

That's a great little engine Don ........... must confess I love the sound of the hit and miss engine's and without a doubt I will build one sometime, thanks for posting the pictures and video  8)

As for a 6 volt battery they are readily available over here in the UK so I don't think you'll have any problem.

Cheers

CC


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## Cedge (Oct 29, 2008)

Looks great Don. I've gotta add an hit and miss to my project list.

Steve


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## Brass_Machine (Oct 29, 2008)

Nice engine!

Eric


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## ghart3 (Oct 29, 2008)

Don, All Electronics has some good prices on lead gel cell batteries.

Have couple on hit n' miss engines. They are running on the 1.3 AH batteries. If youre using a regular car coil you might need to pick one of there batteries with higher amp hour rating.  

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/GC-613/6-VOLT-1.3-AH-BATTERY/-/1.html Gary


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## Maryak (Oct 30, 2008)

Don,

Congratulations on a beautiful model. :bow:

Question do all H&M engines have spark ignition or is/are there diesel versions or hot bulb ??? ???

Regards
Bob


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## deverett (Oct 30, 2008)

Maryak  said:
			
		

> Don,
> 
> Congratulations on a beautiful model. :bow:
> 
> ...



The first 'ignition' type in Internal Combustion engines was Hot Tube. This resembled a Bunsen Burner as a form of pilot light igniting the power fuel. There was almost no timing using this system as the pilot light remained lit throughout the engine's operation.
When electrics came on the scene ignitors were used. These were a mechanical make/break device fitted inside the combustion chamber driven from the valve timing gears.
Then came the spark plug as we know it today.

Needless to say, there were variations on these themes and there was a considerable period of overlap with the various technologies.

Most Hit 'n' Miss engines were 4 stroke, although there were a few 2 strokes. I'm not aware of any diesel powered Hit 'n' Miss engines.

Dave
Saudi-Arabia-On-Sea


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## dparker (Oct 30, 2008)

Maryak: I am no expert on hit and miss engines by any means. My Dad had several engines and some of them were hit and miss and some had a carburetor that had a reservoir that would let you start the engine on gas and when it was warmed up you could switch to kerosene (must have been cheaper then), but all his engines had a sparkplug. There were even fittings on some engines to allow a little water into the cylinder to prevent preignition knocking when the engine was pulling a load. That just about exhausts my knowledge of these engines. 
A site that would be able to answer your question better would be Harry's Old Engine site and go to the SMOKESTACK forum where antique engines are the main focus. [www.smokestak.com/forum/] 
Thanks for your comments and interest------don


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## Mcgyver (Oct 30, 2008)

looks and sounds great!


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## Maryak (Oct 31, 2008)

Don,

Thanks for the information and site. 

Regards
Bob


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## wareagle (Nov 1, 2008)

That is a great little model!  :bow: Those hit-n-miss engines just captivate my attention. I could sit and watch one run for hours.

It's not often that one of these little engines captivates SWMBO's attention, but she has now seent he video, and asked me if I could build her one. I told her if she wanted one, that she could do it herself. After a brief conversation, she has left it with me to know how much a project like this would cost to build.   I told her probably $50-$60, but it would depend on the materials chosen and what I already have on hand. We'll see if she is game for the build...


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## raym 11 (Nov 2, 2008)

Another Depenbush. My first IC eng (2000?). I still run it and use it as a test horse for untried ideas.











Ray M


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