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Old 04-13-2016, 09:03 AM   #1
jg61hawk
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Default Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

If you are new to Model A's and want a great way to learn hands on may I suggest you get an old lawn mower motor (old - NO overhead valves) and take the head off, take the side off and watch and play with it. The Model A engine is basically the same except with four cylinders. You can learn about timing, spark, compression, valves, splash oiling etc. Just a suggestion if you are new.

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Old 04-13-2016, 09:25 AM   #2
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

That is exactly how I began learning automotive mechanics at age of 12. A neighbor gave me his old lawn mower powered by a Briggs & Stratton engine that had a broken connecting rod. I took it all apart and eventually got it running...the neighbor bought the mower back and used it for years.
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Old 04-13-2016, 09:39 AM   #3
BILL WILLIAMSON
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

My neighbor threw away an EXPENSIVE oscillating fan, that wouldn't OSCILLATE. I fixed it, put it in his garage & he was TICKLED!
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Old 04-13-2016, 10:17 AM   #4
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

if you want the true single cyl model a engine experience find one old enough that has points and condenser under the flywheel!

plus you can restore the mower practicing priming and painting skills on the deck, plenty of big round curves much like model a fenders on a mower deck. and in the end you will have a much more reliable and way better built mower than the junk they sell nowadays.
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Old 04-13-2016, 10:21 AM   #5
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

I thought every kid worked on these...until I joined the Navy and found out there was another way of living. LOL
One thing to remember, though, a lawnmower fires when the points CLOSE.
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:42 AM   #6
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

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Reminds me of the time (many years ago) that I had one of my engines opened up and took all three of my boys and walked them through a full cycle of four firings on the A. Put the distributor shaft in and held it so they could see just when the points would open. Unfortunately, only one turned out to love cars and be a decent mechanic, but they all talk about that lesson often when we are together. It is simple enough to be an excellent teaching tool!
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:51 AM   #7
Tom Wesenberg
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When I was in chemistry class the teacher was discussing heat and work and how heat is changed to mechanical energy, so I made a cutaway of a Briggs 4 stoke and a Power Products 2 stroke engines and mounted them on a display board. I brought it in so the class could see how they work.

Now, the bad news....... To my surprise, the next day the teacher had the news crew come to class and take my picture and he thanked me for GIVING this display to the chemistry class for keeps. What could I do!
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Old 04-13-2016, 12:23 PM   #8
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

My Dad was working with my nephew when he was about 10-12 years old. Together they built a cut-away of a Briggs 4-stroke engine mounted on a display board much like what Tom described. A great teaching and reference tool. For a while they had a little small engine repair thing going, even gave it a name "The Lawn Rangers".
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Old 04-13-2016, 12:45 PM   #9
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

I cut my teeth tuning old ford flathead V8"s . It to me was one of the best engines made.
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Old 04-13-2016, 12:52 PM   #10
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

Good luck finding the old mowers in my area!

Most are long gone to scrap. It is amazing about how few you find in the trash today. I have a newer lawnmower I picked from the trash, it sucks. It has some kind of compression lowering thing on the valves, a crappy carb and a funky throttle linkage. The carb has a bunch of rubber that goes bad and so it cant be primed. The seal on the bowl was bad. Also they use some rubber o-rings to hold plastic main jet in place. Plus this on had some issues with the linkage from someoone trying to fix it.

I am in the market for a new one.

Speaking of new. The new new ones have all plastic carbs. You can use a metric hex to open the bottom of the carb to drain the water out. They will need the jet cleaned. Only 2 screws to take the carb off. It was easy to get apart.
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Old 04-13-2016, 01:05 PM   #11
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

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Originally Posted by Kevin in NJ View Post
Good luck finding the old mowers in my area!

Most are long gone to scrap. It is amazing about how few you find in the trash today. I have a newer lawnmower I picked from the trash, it sucks. It has some kind of compression lowering thing on the valves, a crappy carb and a funky throttle linkage. The carb has a bunch of rubber that goes bad and so it cant be primed. The seal on the bowl was bad. Also they use some rubber o-rings to hold plastic main jet in place. Plus this on had some issues with the linkage from someoone trying to fix it.

I am in the market for a new one.

Speaking of new. The new new ones have all plastic carbs. You can use a metric hex to open the bottom of the carb to drain the water out. They will need the jet cleaned. Only 2 screws to take the carb off. It was easy to get apart.
I've had to start using that synthetic fuel for my mowers and weed whackers-the regular gas eats up the diaphragms in the carbs these days with all the ethanol in it.
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Old 04-13-2016, 02:27 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Rex_A_Lott View Post
One thing to remember, though, a lawnmower fires when the points CLOSE.
I beg to differ here. Lawn mowers fire when the points open just like the model A. The only ignition system that fires when the points close is something that uses a vibrating coil like a model T. Then the coil is still firing when the coil points open, it just energizes the coil with the contacts closed.
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Old 04-13-2016, 02:36 PM   #13
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When I was about nine my dad gave me a engine out of an old Reo reel mower. I had no interest in stick and ball sports but was forever taking things apart because I wanted to know how they worked. That engine is the first thing I successfully dismantled and reassembled. Still have good memories of running it nailed to a crate experimenting with different exhaust pipes. My poor neighbors!! The Reo was unique because the power takeoff was the camshaft turning half speed of the crank. We had a neighbor who welded a pulley to my one pneumatic wheel. With the Reo, drive wheel, a collection of radio flyer axels & wheels, cabinet doors, 2x4s, bent nails and a few nuts & bolts, several go carts were fabricated. Except for the Reo engine all my parts were collected from trash within walking distance of my house. This post drug up these good memories.
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Old 04-13-2016, 03:43 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by VFRhugh View Post
When I was about nine my dad gave me a engine out of an old Reo reel mower. I had no interest in stick and ball sports but was forever taking things apart because I wanted to know how they worked. That engine is the first thing I successfully dismantled and reassembled. Still have good memories of running it nailed to a crate experimenting with different exhaust pipes. My poor neighbors!! The Reo was unique because the power takeoff was the camshaft turning half speed of the crank. We had a neighbor who welded a pulley to my one pneumatic wheel. With the Reo, drive wheel, a collection of radio flyer axels & wheels, cabinet doors, 2x4s, bent nails and a few nuts & bolts, several go carts were fabricated. Except for the Reo engine all my parts were collected from trash within walking distance of my house. This post drug up these good memories.
Thanks,
Hugh
I did pretty much the same thing, only my "engine" was a Maytag 2-cylinder with a kick starter. Came off a Maytag washing machine that my Dad had converted to electric. Drove my little go-cart all over our little farm town of about 300 people in SW New Mexico.
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Old 04-13-2016, 05:23 PM   #15
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

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I did pretty much the same thing, only my "engine" was a Maytag 2-cylinder with a kick starter. Came off a Maytag washing machine that my Dad had converted to electric. Drove my little go-cart all over our little farm town of about 300 people in SE New Mexico.
My neighbor had the same thing. I thought that was so cool to have a two cylinder go kart. I never had a go cart, but built a few motor bikes, and also used my 2 H.P. Briggs on my neighbors go kart. We'd run the local side streets until someone would call the cops on us.
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Old 04-13-2016, 05:31 PM   #16
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

Back in high School the shop teacher had an old Clinton mower engine that he ground the crank and cam timing marks off. You had to put it together without the marks and get it running. Great lesson and a great mentor, RIP.
Had a few B&S powered bikes, lots of fun, lost one when the leaking gas caught fire!
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Old 04-13-2016, 06:39 PM   #17
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My first engine was a small B & S. The next was a Whizzer that I added to my bike.
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Old 04-13-2016, 07:31 PM   #18
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What made me post this was the head gasket in my A went bad and my "old" buddy was thrilled to try to explain to my wife how the whole thing worked while she watched the piston and valves work with the hand crank. Reminded me of my youth too; as many here have expressed...BUT and THIS is a BIG but - a lot of newer members have never had to experience these types of engines even if they were hands on go cart builders because of the new overhead valves, electronic ignitions, etc. I'm 58 and,yes, like many here, learned so, so and one more SO MUCH from discarded engines and trash picking as a kid. Fun it was...fun it is!!!
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Old 04-13-2016, 10:53 PM   #19
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Default Re: Old Mower Engine GREAT Teacher

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin in NJ View Post
Good luck finding the old mowers in my area!

Most are long gone to scrap. It is amazing about how few you find in the trash today. I have a newer lawnmower I picked from the trash, it sucks. It has some kind of compression lowering thing on the valves, a crappy carb and a funky throttle linkage. The carb has a bunch of rubber that goes bad and so it cant be primed. The seal on the bowl was bad. Also they use some rubber o-rings to hold plastic main jet in place. Plus this on had some issues with the linkage from someoone trying to fix it.

I am in the market for a new one.

Speaking of new. The new new ones have all plastic carbs. You can use a metric hex to open the bottom of the carb to drain the water out. They will need the jet cleaned. Only 2 screws to take the carb off. It was easy to get apart.
i see them all the time in the trash - none knows or wants to fix anythng anymore in todays society.

yes mowers nowadays feel like their put together with old milk jugs and soup cans. I hate working on them. The old (when i say old i say like 1990- earlier) B&S were some diehard engines. that little 3.5 thing they had for 30 years was a tried and true design where 98% of the problems was dirt in the carb or very rarely magneto died.

I think all of our current mowers were garbage can throwaways...only one we bought at K mart like 15+ years ago. Just cleaned the carb on it 2 years ago due to dirt and such finally clogging it up. Deck has rusted thru in several spots, handle broke and is currently broke again. Been ran outa oil twice. bent the blade/sheared blade adapter at least 9 times. Bent the crankshaft but a piece of pipe on the end and eyeball straight it runs good as new with little vibration. Knocks like a doorknocker under a load though and has for 10+ years. At this point its a game to see how long it lasts

Want to know something funny? The new B&S engines claim they never need oil changed, just topped off... I asked the salesman so how often does it need topped off? How many mows per quart do i get haha.

Also the #1 problem with pushmowers is the handle usually breaks eventually - well theyve sped up that happening by making the entire rear portion of the mower plastic and using 6 screws holding it to the crappily stamped and painted (ones i looked at didnt have anything but overspray on the bottom) thin steel deck. When i say go find a 30 year old pushmower made in the late 80's and restore it DO IT!!!

and FYI if your looking at craftsman mowers and see one that doesnt seem to list an engine manufacturer anywhere on the tag or engine itself im 99% sure its the same Chinese company that supplies the Predator engines to harbor freight. I've heard nothing but good things about those engines.
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Old 04-13-2016, 11:04 PM   #20
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Cut my teeth mechanicly speaking keeping our Ford 8N and IH C tractor running during hay season. Afew years later was helping with a BGN Sportsman series stock car. Finally quit helping with race cars in 1994 as the guy was racing 4+ nights a week and it was starting to feel like a second full time job. Had good fun, but can gaurantee there is more to life than racing. Rod
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