Snow Tandem Engine

[gbritnell]

Hi Joe,
Everything is looking great! It won't be long now and you'll be hearing some music from it. Your thread has been great. I have followed it from the beginning and have learned more than a thing or two from it.
George

 

[joe d]

Dean: Right back at ya!

Garry: Thanks! I'm the second last of 6, so I know it from the other end... my youngest is 22, so the trouble is of an entirely different order! The parting tool came as is from Lee Valley, but it doesn't seem to be listed in the current catalog. Might be worth calling them, they sometimes have things in the warehouse that aren't listed, for instance, they stock the drive belts for the Taig, but I've never yet seen them listed.. Les Nessman, eh? You rat... now I'll be hearing "WKRP" in my head for weeks :big:

George: Thanks to you as well. Your assistance has been invaluable.

Joe

 

[Deanofid]

now I'll be hearing "WKRP" in my head for weeks :big:

Remember, Les Nessman always had a Bandaid on him somewhere. Always! Wouldn't want him in
my shop. It would be a bloody mess!

I'm getting ready for you engine music too, Joe. I've really enjoyed this thread from the first post!

Dean

 

[joe d]

Hi all

A little lack-of-success yet report to be going on with... got it all assembled, so far have got spark on all four cylinders, but NO put put put... so, I think that next I've got to make up some kind of adapter to get a pressure gauge on each cylinder to see if I have compression. If that's OK, then I will be soliciting advice as to what else might be the issue...

Here's what it looks like :

Cheers, Joe

 

[Deanofid]

Wow. But you gotta give us more pictures than that, Joe!!
Ya big tease.

Dean

 

[kustomkb]

That's quite a good looking rig you have built Joe.

Hope ya get it sorted without too much trouble.

 

[gbritnell]

Hi Joe,
It's really hard to get a pressure reading on these little engines. A more realistic idea would be how it feels when you crank it over. If it feels like it has compression, then it does. With the quality of work that you've put into this engine I wouldn't think that compression would be an issue, at least from the cylinder. It's possible that a valve might not be sealing all the way but then I assume you checked them out prior to assembly. Let us know what you find.
George

 

[Rustkolector]

Joe,
If the flywheel rocks at all when you spin it, you should be good to go. You don't need much compression to get it going. Use Coleman camp fuel with about 5% #10 wt oil. Don't use 2 cycle oil, or automotive gasoline. I don't know anything about your carb, but if the throat diameter is .150" or less, you should be ok. Keep it nearly closed on starting. If the throat is larger, close the throttle until the air going through it makes a "hissing" noise, or just barely open. Any more open, and you likely won't have enough air velocity to vaporize the fuel. This engine seems to do better with a very small carb. Keep the fuel level about .50" under the carb jet elevation. The ignition wire should be rated 5kv or higher. Turn the lights out and look (and listen) for ignition shorts, especially in and around the distributor. Late intake valve opening works well on this engine. As George has said any leaky valves will always cause problems. I vacuum test my valve cages. Pump up to 25" Hg. They should lose vacuum slowly with light oil on the guides. You are at the fun stage. Good luck.

Jeff

 

[joe d]

Wow... haven't reported any progress since last September... I'm proving the theory that 90% of the build is construction, followed by 90% being tweaking (and that the math doesn't work is the least of my issues ;D)

Still haven't heard that magic music yet, it's on carb #3, I've re-built the fuel tank stand to move the level of the fuel below that of the carb, and in the photo, I've just started re-assembly after fitting new pistons that both fit better, and have a tighter tolerance for the ring grooves.

Now however, things will shudder to a halt again, as of Monday I will be out of town (work) until September.
Don't give up Snow Fans, I will be back!

Cheers, Joe

 

[Speedy]

good to hear from you Joe.
love the update, wish their would be more.
work hard, but leave some energy for the snow when you get back 8)

 

[joe d]

Michael

Good to hear from you, Bud! If you won't mention how long the Snow is taking, I won't ask any questions about the jeep :big:

Have a good summer,

Joe