Half Scale Ford Quadricycle Engine

[vascon2196]

Thank you Steve and Ross!

Well, it's not running longer than a couple of seconds because I am only testing it with starter fluid. Hopefully this weekend I can get it running longer with some gasoline!

I'm wearing gloves because I'm not sure if I have the wiring 100%, I have been shocked too many times during this engine build so I'm just being cautious.

Here is the video...not much but I consider it a success. Merry Xmas!

http://youtu.be/mMAKBYX1LLE

 

[vascon2196]

Attached are a few pictures of the Maple box I made to hide the Coils and Battery. The engine base nests inside the box and rests on four wood blocks. The wire colors were chosen because I thought they looked cool.

After several test runs on starter fluid and Coleman fuel I noticed several mechanical issues that need to be fixed before I mount the gas tank and water cooling tank.

I need to make 2 new connecting rods and 2 new crank pins. The solder joints on the connecting rods are breaking again and the brass crank pins are getting destroyed. Yes, someone early on mentioned they were get ruined and they did. I should have made them from steel long ago. I cannot use shoulder bolts because I have a 5/16-24 thread in the cranks and shoulder bolts only come in 5/15-18...unless someone knows who makes fine thread shoulder bolts.

I am going to ditch the soldered connecting rod all together and make them out of a solid piece of flat stock. I now have Oxy/Acetylene capability but I'm through with fussing with solder until I get more practice.

I also need to make a carb for the engine and will probably use the original Quadricycle carb details just scaled in half like the rest of the engine. I will be using the same drip oiler for fuel like the Henry Ford plumbing engine.

Almost there...

 

[stevehuckss396]

Cool deal! Can't wait to see her finished.

 

[vascon2196]

Thank you Steve!

Attached is the finished Steel Crank Pin...I'll make the other one tonight when the kids go to sleep.

I'll have to make the Connecting Rods next weekend when I have time.

 

[vascon2196]

I machined both pieces of the Carb and soldered them together last night. I added a small 1/4-inch radius using an end mill so the smaller brass piece could nest in place. I held them together with a small 1-inch C-clamp.

Today I plan on cross drilling for the fuel intake. Ford made this piece a casting on his Quadricycle & George DeAngelis made it from brass stock.

My oiler will be feeding fuel to the carb, and then fuel and air will be mixed accordingly before it gets sucked into the engine.

 

[stevehuckss396]

Looks familiar.

Took a ride by the ford Mack ave plant site. Nothing but a empty field but the light pole behind the RR crossing arm is still standing after 100+ years.

 

[vascon2196]

Almost there!

I finished both new Crank Pins, machined, soldered, and mounting my fuel tank, and am almost done making new Connecting Rods. I have decided to make the Connecting Rods from a solid piece of flat stock instead of soldering. I finished the Muffler too. I saw a piece of Chrome plated tubing in the plumbing section and thought it may look nice as a Muffler.

I am also testing different O-rings for the pistons.

 

[stevehuckss396]

Can't wait!

 

[vascon2196]

Still fussing with the Carb. Too much snow and not enough patience! I'll keep at it while I'm on February vacation!

 

[vascon2196]

Since the beginning, my timing rod has been un-threading loose and I have had to stop and tighten it every so often. It would have been ideal to have made it with a left-hand thread. I ended up adding a #8-32 set screw to keep it from backing out.

While I had the engine apart (again) I decided to check how well it spun without the connecting rods attached. It spins great without the pistons connected.

Next, I connected just 1 piston to see how it spins and check compression. It spins great and has a ton of compression. I disconnected the right piston and hooked up the left hand piston and that spun great and had great compression.

When I connect both pistons there seems to be a ton of drag, even with the exhaust valves wide open.

Not sure where the problem is coming from but I was hoping to get all the bugs out before I fastened it together for the 12th time.

Oh, I cracked the damn wood block that holds my ignition timer...that sucked.

 

[vascon2196]

I put it all back together this morning...its not running. It feels like the exhaust timing is a bit off. More fussing around with it later...we have been getting snow dumped on us every other day and the temp won't go above 25-30F.

 

[vascon2196]

I double checked the timing and everything appears to be timed correctly. Testing with Starter Fluid works great...the engine wants to shake itself apart it runs so strong.

I soaked a small piece of paper towel in Coleman fuel and stuffed it into the intake opening and the engine ran great.

When I hook up the fuel line from the tank it sucks in too much fuel and floods the whole thing.

I'm also noticing puffs of smoke sneaking past fasteners and a few other places which means I'm loosing compression.

If I have patience later I will add a video.

I may end up using a vapor fuel system and see if that works.

 

[stevehuckss396]

Waiting patiently. Hope all goes well with the new fuel system.

 

[barnesrickw]

Is it getting fuel?

 

[radial1951]

I double checked the timing and everything appears to be timed correctly. Testing with Starter Fluid works great...the engine wants to shake itself apart it runs so strong.

I soaked a small piece of paper towel in Coleman fuel and stuffed it into the intake opening and the engine ran great.

When I hook up the fuel line from the tank it sucks in too much fuel and floods the whole thing....

Hi Chris

Could the fuel flooding be caused by the "oiler" fuel tank needle valve being open too much? I assume as soon as you open the valve it dumps a load of fuel (gravity) down to the carby and floods it.

Maybe adjusting it to get a drop very few seconds or whatever might provide a steady flow. Just letting a few drops out while starting might give a clue if the engine does fire.

I have that type of oiler on my old lathe and they can be adjusted to give a drop of oil every couple of minutes. Perhaps petrol (gas) lacks the viscosity for fine flow control with that type of valve?

How does the full size quad engine regulate fuel flow from a gravity feeding tank?

Regards, RossG
radial1951
____________

 

[vascon2196]

Thanks for the feedback guys. There is a couple of small screws on the Carb that can be used to limit the amount of fuel going into the intake. Yes, I also have the needle valve on the oiler. I cracked the oiler valve just enough until I saw fuel being sucked down the clear tube I'm using. It would turn over once or twice but never stay running.

I did have some success using the oiler as a vapor fuel tank though! I stuffed one end of the tubing in the top of the oiler and the other end of the tube to the Carb. The engine kicked over several times and there was a lot of movement happening in the fuel tank.

I'm very close but just have not found the correct mixture yet.

Today was the closest I have come...thanks again and keep the suggestions coming. I try them all!

 

[vascon2196]

http://youtu.be/qk6FcBor71s

Here is the engine running on a squirt of starter fluid.

 

[vascon2196]

The engine runs strong without the carb installed. With a wide open hole I squirt starter fluid directly into the intake and it runs great. If I stuff a gasoline soaked paper towel into the intake the engine runs strong.

Once I install the carb and add starter fluid/gas it does not run. I'm thinking it needs more air. When I cut all the original numbers in half to make my half-scale version perhaps the air hole was not supposed to be cut that much.

A co-worker of mine has built several Red Wing engines and said his 1.25" bore has a 3/16" hole in the carb where I have about 1/32".

I'm not just sharing this information to vent my frustration (maybe a little), but also for others who are having issues with their small gas engines.

He also said the Flywheel should have a counter-weight.

 

[Steve J]

I built a gas engine and doubled the size bigger. I also had trouble with carb and found that it was too big. It would run with my finger partially covering the intake of carb but not without the restriction. I found that when you double the diameter of a pipe the volume increases something like 8 times. I believe if you look up the formula for volume in a pipe or a cylinder you may gain insight into what is going on. I found the formula in my machinerys handbook.

 

[vascon2196]

Thank you Steve...I'll take a peek into my Machinery's Handbook.