My first IC engine project

[mayhugh1]

Here is a Youtube link showing one of the first runs of my very first IC engine. It is a Jerry Howell V-Twin with 1" dia bore and 1.25" stroke. The pistons, rings and cylinders are cast iron. The flywheel, and valves are stainless steel and the rest is aluminum except for the carbs which are brass. For all my projects I use only materials that I scrounge from a local scrap yard. (Unfortuantely, they recently quit selling and are now only buying.) I worked on it for probably 400-500 hours over the past year and just finished it two weeks ago. Jerry didn't recommend it as a first engine project and I guess I would have to agree as it was pretty close to being beyond my capabilities. But, I finished it and am quite happy with the result. - Terry

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McRGRD4lQY4[/ame]

 

[gbritnell]

Excellent build. That's one of the best running examples of Jerry's engine. Do you have the belt driving something in the block behind the engine?
gbritnell

 

[nemoc]

Very nice job Terry. It sounds great.

Craig

 

[gmac]

Terry;
Beautiful job - "I like the damned the torpedo's" approach to a first engine. The belt drive really suits the engine.
More pic's would be appreciated

Cheers
Garry

 

[GailInNM]

Very nice Terry. For a first IC engine it is sensational. Good looking and good running.
th_wav
Welcome to HMEM. Keep us posted on your next project.

Gail in NM

 

[cobra428]

Very Nice Terry, I have that one on my to do list

Welcome

Tony

 

[putputman]

Very nice running engine. I am interested in how your fuel system works. I built the same engine and was very unhappy with the gravity fuel system he designed. I did not see a fuel tank in your video. Could you post some more photos of your engine and a description of the fuel system.

 

[rake60]

Welcome to HMEM Terry.

Pretty impressive build!
Congratulations!

Rick

 

[mayhugh1]

Thanks all for the nice comments. I am including two more photos - one showing the bottom of the base and one showing the rear. The transmission housing is just to give the motor a pulley to turn. Its real purpose is to hide the ignition coils which aren't quite to scale with the rest of the engine. You can see them embedded in cavities in the base along with the circut boards for the transistorized ignitions. The fuel delivery system I finally decided on was an electric pump to fill the common carb bowl that Jerry designed and to continuously recirculate fuel to and from it and the fuel tank. I milled a (too small) fuel tank into the rear of the transmision housing which is visible in the photo of the rear of the engine. I bought the fuel pump from a local hobby shop. It consisted of a small dc motor driving a simple vane type pump in a plastic housing. I removed the pump and motor from their housing and milled cavities to house them under the base. My goal was to 'hide' everything in the base that I didn't actually fabricate myself. (There is a clear plexiglass cover over the bottom of the base and the black things in the corners are rubber feet.) Jerry's plan set recommended setting the carb bowl fuel level with the jets in the two carbs which is what I did. Unfortunately, with it at this level the fuel pump pumped fuel into the carbs like crazy. Even still, the engine ran while I was playing with the various carb adjustments. I don't understand how the plugs could have fired as well as they did. Of course, bringing up a brand new engine like this, it is hard to tell what's going on with so many unproven variables - two carbs each with two needle valves and two throttle stops, synch rod, two cam timing variables for each cylinder, and of course the ignition timing, I was pretty much on my own trying to figure how why the engine was flooding out so badly. By the time I had realized the problem with the fuel level, the excessive fuel wash had ruined the rings and filled the shop with oil smoke and its own sump with fuel. Fortunately, fabricating the rings was such a big deal for me that I had made plenty of spares - in fact an entire second set. I changed out the rings, lowered the carb bowl by .25", and the engine has been pretty happy ever since. In fact it seems to run a little better each time it is started - probably the rings are beginning to seat. - Terry

 

[Deanofid]

Spectacular work, Terry. Runs very well!
Quite a project for a first IC engine, and you should be proud of the result.

Dean

 

[Maryak]

Terry,

Welcome to our forum. wEc1

If that's a 1st project looking forward to your 2nd. Beautiful work. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[ariz]

very nice looking engine and great runner too
I like very much also the underneath, well organised

many compliments terry :bow:

 

[CMS]

There's nothing like the sound of a V-twin, 45* or 90*. Very nice build and the idea of hiding the extra componits in a fake trany way pretty cool too. This is probably out of my league for now but where would one find the plans for this engine?

 

[slick95]

WOW, outstanding build. :bow: :bow: :bow:

It sounds Awesome...thanks for sharing.

Jeff

 

[cfellows]

Hey Terry, glad you decided to come over here and have a look around. Hope you'll become a regular and share your considerable experience with the group.

Got any videos or pictures of your compressed air radial?

Chuck

 

[gbritnell]

Terry, I have built the Howell carb for another engine. You say there is a float bowl. Could you explain that a little better because it looks like the fuel lines come from the base directly to the carbs.
Thanks,
gbritnell

 

[winklmj]

th_confused0052 Wow...just wow.

 

[Mo deller]

Quite happy with it he says. If I manage to get anything running as well as that does I'd be positively ecstatic and grinning from ear to ear as I am sure you were really.
Superb job Thm:

 

[mayhugh1]

Terry, I have built the Howell carb for another engine. You say there is a float bowl. Could you explain that a little better because it looks like the fuel lines come from the base directly to the carbs.
Thanks,
gbritnell

Hi,
The bowl I'm talking about is the small brass object on my engine from which the fuel lines tee off to go to the carbs. It was part of the V-twin design and its purpose is to maintain a small resevoir of fuel from which the carbs can draw their fuel. The volume of fuel in the bowl is very small - about .5" in diameter by .1" high. The job of the fuel delivery system is to keep this resevoir filled while the engine is drawing fuel but not to overfill it so as to flood the carbs. So it is just a carb bowl and not really a float bowl. - Terry

 

[Lorenz]

thats a beautifull engine! :bow:

i like the style of the 2 cilinders with the carb's.

nice work!