Upshur Vertical(s)

[scottyp]

I never really had a lot of interest in this engine, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it and thought it would be a very worthwhile project. Since all of the parts are relatively small and easy to do (so far) I figured why not do a couple of them while I was at it. Then, I started thinking...

 

[scottyp]

Makin' a mess...crazy how the volume of shavings is so much bigger than where they came from.

Is was something like -20 deg F this morning so I thought I'd stay inside today and try to accomplish something in the garage.

 

[scottyp]

Makin' a bit of progress on these little guys.

 

[scottyp]

Fun with the Touch DRO's Circle Bolt Pattern function. Worked out awesome!

 

[Jones]

They're coming along really well!

 

[scottyp]

These guys have been sitting neglected from being sidetracked with other engines and other home projects. I since have the start of a Hoglet, Open4, Upshur Twin crankcases, not to mention my new path of CNC and have some parts cut for a Demon. I actually did finish my Boll Aero glow recently. So I wanted to get one of these Upshurs put to bed so I could move on with my life and the Hoglet, most likely. I plan on making the 2nd one an overhead cam version. Well, recently I made good progress on the remaining pieces of the puzzle so I could get it running. All cool, except for the fact that I can’t get the &@-“&$!? valves to seal. When I made my Webster, the valves were a piece of cake so I figured I knew what I was doing. The exhaust valve was pretty good but the intake would not cooperate at all. For what seemed endless, I made new valves, faced the seats, made new valves cages/guides and yea, still no dice. Need a break from it for a while. Anyway, this is how it sits currently until I revisit it. The gas tank was just going to be a temporary, but I think I like it.

 

[mnay]

These guys have been sitting neglected from being sidetracked with other engines and other home projects. I since have the start of a Hoglet, Open4, Upshur Twin crankcases, not to mention my new path of CNC and have some parts cut for a Demon. I actually did finish my Boll Aero glow recently. So I wanted to get one of these Upshurs put to bed so I could move on with my life and the Hoglet, most likely. I plan on making the 2nd one an overhead cam version. Well, recently I made good progress on the remaining pieces of the puzzle so I could get it running. All cool, except for the fact that I can’t get the &@-“&$!? valves to seal. When I made my Webster, the valves were a piece of cake so I figured I knew what I was doing. The exhaust valve was pretty good but the intake would not cooperate at all. For what seemed endless, I made new valves, faced the seats, made new valves cages/guides and yea, still no dice. Need a break from it for a while. Anyway, this is how it sits currently until I revisit it. The gas tank was just going to be a temporary, but I think I like it.

A very experienced model builder friend of mine told me his secret for his valves to seal. He made bores for the valve stems loose so they could wiggle around and seal easier.
It works for me. Some may think this is blasphemous.
Good luck
Mike

 

[scottyp]

Well, after a little break, I made 2 new valve cages slightly larger in external diameters to match for the new clean holes I made in the head, made a new seat cutter and the stars seemed to have lined up. Nice piston bounce and no sign of leaks, yeah!
I think all I need now is a spark plug. On that note, the business end of the spark plug does seem to be a ways away from the combustion chamber, I hope fuel does get to it under compression. Maybe I'll make the electrode nice and long so it is more directly over the piston?
More to come, hopefully soon.

 

[scottyp]

Well, here is the more to come. I made a spark plug, starter dog, made some time and put some fuel and spark to it. It popped off right away and I thought this was going to be too easy. But the carb was super touchy, and after some time of trying to keep it going, I had a few other issues. The set screws on my starter dog and flywheel loosened occasionally and I had lost spark and hadn’t realized that. But the main issue was getting the mixture right. Within less than a quarter turn of the needle I had too little or too much fuel. Today, I made the needle valve much more of a needle rather than a cone and took care of the set screw issue and gave it another shot. The carb is still rather touchy, but decent enough to allow the thing to run alright. I will probably try an R/C carb on it at some point in the future.

 

[scottyp]

Here’s a little proof and enjoyment! Sorry about the garden tools in the background, I need to work on my video skills.