Starting Engine... and a stroll

Friday was Good Friday, so I had the day off.  Pam and I decided to have a day out driving somewhere and spending time together.  Where better to go than a kart shop!

I had decided to order Hoosier tires from John Copeland at Fox Valley Kart in Lafayette.  The tires were going to arrive this week at his shop and be shipped to me.  BUT... with a lovely day.  So we headed across country to Lafayette.  Of course, we stopped at a couple antique stores on the way.

John was very busy with people connected with Purdue's Grand Prix, but I bought the two tires the size I needed and spend a few moments talking with him. He showed me his lay down kart and his latest vintage project.  He was one of the first karters I met at Putnam Park in 2010 when I started this journey.  He has given me some great advise and has a wonderful kart shop. I just wish it wasn't two hours away.

John in 2010 at Putnam Park

I chose Hoosier tires for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons.  Of course, they are an Indiana product, but are very kart friendly and want to grow in this sector.  The big kart tire companies like Dunlop and Bridgestone have had supply problems.  

I also have decided to use the original wheels instead of getting new, modern ones.  It will be more keeping with the vintage look and experience.  The old Goodyear Blue Streak tires are 11/4.5 - 5 which means they are 11" diameter, 5" tread, and 4.5 diameter of wheel.  John suggested using 4.5/10.0-5, but they are only 10" in diameter... Meaning my rear is 1" closer to the ground than Dad's!

The new Hoosier tire... very soft!  R60A compound

inner tubes... a must have for two-piece wheels

So Saturday was the appointed day to try the engine again.  I anticipated taking a ride around the circle, but I needed to air up all the tires and add a new inner tube to one of the vintage tires.  I have already described the process, but here is a photo in the mids of it.  The drill makes it go so much quicker.

 

As I was working with the engine temperature thermocouple, a wrench slipped and pulled back my finger nail.  Yes... OUCH!!

So I called Official Starter Pam down and took a crack at it.  A lot of time has been devoted to getting the engine prepared.  Nearly a full rebuild, but I learned a lot about it.  Here is a video of the experience:

It RUNS!!  No air leak causing high revving.  No clogged pulse holes causing high revving.  Just good old kart sounds.

There is one problem I need to look at... the clutch.  I had the kart on the stand to allow the wheels to turn and give the engine something to pull against. But after I shut it down, the clutch was smoking and suuupppperrrr HOT!  Maybe some was the gas spilled on it, but it was sizzling!  I think I saw tiny, tiny bubble of clutch oil bubbling out... it smoked for 5 minutes.  

The clutch engages at higher RPMs after slipping at lower.  But the arms are still in contact with the drum during that time.  Once enough RPMs are achieved, the arms apply enough pressure due to centrifugal forces.  Each arm has a bolt holding a number of small washers.  Add more washers to have less slip (engage at lower RPM) and take some away for more slip (engage at higher RPMs).  Dad talked about these clutches engaging at higher RPMs to get batter torque to get moving.  So I will be looking into any changes.  This was a test with lots of WAP WAP WAP.... alternating high and low RPM.. instead of constant high revs, thus constantly being engaged.

just a fun photo.  

There is also some paperwork to be done before the racing begins.  To run at WKA events I need to be a member.  So that will go out soon.  I get magazines, and even a card for my wallet!

 

The pre-entry blanks are out for the May Grattan Nationals!  I have that filled out and ready to go.  I will be in a Dart Kart Club local option class: Vintage USA.  Basically, that is a vintage kart with an American made engine.. most will be McCulloch.  My Saturday race is Race 6 - the last of the day.  So I will have Friday for practice, then morning practice, and the big wait until late afternoon.  OH, yea.. that is a day at the races.  However, the race on Sunday is first, so I will be all done around noon.  

I have also been working on something else this week as I waited to start the kart.  Since I have never been in a enduro kart as an adult.. OR ever been to Grattan, I am creating a 3D model of the track to be used with the Red Devil Kart I created for the racing simulator rFactor.  Hopefully, this will help me get to know the track.  It won't have all the bells and whistles of the IRP, so its pretty quick and dirty.  

This is a Google Maps print-out with notes on walls, elevation, and points of interest like trees

This is the track in Bob's Track Builder, software dedicated to creating tracks.  

This is my set-up in my office

 Speaking of my office.... it is all finished.  It has taken a about a year and a half to think through everything, purchase furniture, paint, and build shelves.  But I think it turned out pretty well.  I love the 'hanging' book shelves and desk.  The desk is an antique door, with hinges, that I got for $20!

 

The antique dentist cabinet has some of Dad's car collection on display.  During May, they all go on display as we celebrate the Indy 500.  Pam and I will be watching LIVE... from a very special location.

Back to first base

From feedback from vintage mentors and the forums, the "screaming revs" may not have been from an air leak.  The engine was holding good pressure, it may gave been from the copper coat sealant blocking the pulse holes.  My understanding now is much better... won't get into the details here. That is good news!   

One of the most experienced Mcculloch carb experts, Steve O'Hara, responded to my 'screaming' entry with good, solid, common sense advice. Thanks Steve!

I spent the week working on the carb, mostly cleaning off the sealant and paper gasket.   I found the two pulse holes and paid close attention to cleaning them.  The gasket came off with a putty knife.  

Dad and I had filed the stuffer flat for the gasket there, a technique I did not know about.  It ensures the surface is flat and clean.  It is even more important for the carb since it does not take sealant.

I taped a piece of 220 grit sand paper to an old mirror with thick glass.  This gave me a flat surface to sand the faces of the carb flat.  Dad had shown me it is good to use a marker on the surface first, so that when that color is gone, the surface is ready.  Good advice since I found that suggestion several times on the kart forums.

all flat and shiny!!  I did go back and do more on the carb body (right)

Ready for the gaskets and engine

The first carb build, I just put the dry paper gaskets on the carb.  BUT... now I know to soak them in oil or WD40 to help prevent air leaks. I used a zipper bag to let them juice-up over a few days.

 All was going smooth until I was tightening the allen bolts on carb.  As I tightened the one on the top left, it stripped.   I almost hurled my lunch!  

 Took the carb plates off and found the threads were stripped, but just the first couple.  A HA! But I had purchased some longer bolts for another area... they fit!

The middle bolt is the old one which stripped the thread. On the right is the new, long bolt.  But I needed a star washer.  HMMMM... so I looked in Dad's kart parts cabinet and BINGO!  a 40+ year old box of star washers.

 Dad had also gathered unused gaskets for carb and stuffer into separate containers.  These new gaskets are from that collection. Without them I would be up the creek.  I told Pam, "Bless Dad's heart!"  I can't know his thoughts, but is almost like he know I would need them and was thinking ahead. I am finding that out a lot.

Here is the first gasket to go on.  The four holes are very similar, but not exactly the same... smaller ones go on the studs.

 Next the reed cage... two or the four reeds can be seen.

 Then the gasket with the diagonal cut-outs for the pulse holes.

 And DING!  The BDC14 carb is back and ready to go!

 Well... Not quite.  I did a pop-off test.  Tested out at about 20lbs, so may go in and lower the fulcrum arm a tad.  (if you click on the photo you will see new markings on the new gauge. I dropped it on the bench, so the needle does not go to ZERO. Still works though)

Then the pressure test.  So I had to take the carb off and attach the plates for the pressure test.

Zero to start

Add pressure and wait.  It started at 14lbs.

After 10 minutes it was down to 12lbs.  Not bad!!

I decided to mark the long bolt.

 So the carb is done.  Now to the ignition system.  There was no spark after dunking the engine since I was not able to blew the water from behind the flywheel.  I bought a $10 steering wheel puller (just like Dad's) at the local NAPA and a couple 1/4" bolts to attach to the flywheel.  A little Blaster, more tension and a tap from the hammer... POP.. it came off.

I took all the ignition parts off and tested with the volt meter and got some strange readings.  I am not an elect guy, so did some research on testing them, especially the coil (large yellow thing the spark plug wire comes out of).  But I found out the readings were correct.  I couldn't get a reading on the condenser with my volt meter, so I went to forums and Youtube for help.

I found this video tutorial which I first watched late last summer.  It is an excellent tutorial, but the guy is so entertaining to listen to.  He probably is a great guy with some great stories.  NOTE: he is working on a Maytag clothes washer with a gas motor!!  From before prevalent electrification!

 I just used speaker wire and a 9-volt battery.

9-volt battery with speaker wire to each lead held on with electrical tape

speaker wire on the stationary points.  Notice the card board between points

speaker held in the spark boot with an allen wrench.  notice the paper booklet separating the block from wrench.

NOTHING!  NO SPARK!  crap!  must be the coil or the condenser.  So I pulled out the extra engine and popped its flywheel off.. with the puller, but needed a good second tap with the hammer.  Tested with the volt meter and pulled off the condenser. Put the different condenser on... NOTHING!

I was getting frustrated and tired since it was 10:30pm and I had been working on it for about 8 hours (Did take a date night pizza break with Pam at the Upper Crust Pizzaria.  YUM!)

Then I looked down and saw it.  The wire from the points/condenser was not attached to the coil.  Plugged it in.. and ...   IT SPARKED!  That meant the coil and condenser were OK.

Time to set the points to the proper gap, put the plug in the boot, HOLD IT TO THE BLOCK, and spin the crank.  SPARK, BEAUTIFUL SPARK!

With that behind me, I can move on to the timing, then put it back on the kart, and try starting again!!

The Grattan test is 3 weeks from today.  Need tires, helmet, and possibly a new brake master cylinder o-ring.  :-(

Finding the Leak

As the last entry shows, the engine had a bit of a hard week.  I was so afraid I had ruined the engine that I put this post on four forums: 

I started this Red Devil Enduro restore with my father a year and half ago. Sadly, he passed away last May, but I kept the project going.

http://kartrestoration.blogspot.com

Today was the first time to start up the rebuilt MC91b1. Don't want to be long winded...just letting you know the facts.

After getting some gas in the cylinder and case, I set the LO needle to 4 half turns; HI to 3 half turns

Cranked it over to get fuel line full and it popped. Hit it again and it started. it ran slow for but changed to higher pitch and settled. Reved it a couple times all seemed well. I choked it to shut it down, but had to pull the plug wire.

waited a few minutes. Set the needle to the same place, cranked it, but it did not even pop. thought it was flooded, so waited a bit.

Cranked it over, it started and ran faster than the other times, then quickly went "super screamer"!! I pulled the plug wire-NOTHING; choked it-NOTHING; finally turned off the low speed and it shut down.

I have not changed the idle in the restoration. 

IT IS MY FIRST TIME STARTING/RUNNING A MAC. I have been gleaning info on this and other forums. You guys are a wealth of info. 

ANY THOUGHTS/HELP/ENCOURAGEMENT IS MUCH APPRECIATED. post here or PM me.

Thanks a ton!

Thankfully, there is a very active community of vintage karters with tons of knowledge being shared on a few discussion forums online ( http://www.ekartingnews.com; http://www.vintagekarts.com; http://vintagepowersport.com/vka; http://www.rearenginekarts.com )

I spent a couple hours last night reading replies and doing searches on the forums for info on air leaks, pressure checks, carb testing, etc. 

Today, I did a pressure check and it held 12lbs pretty steady for 15 minute ... maybe loosing 1-2lbs. 

One of the forum moderators suggested (with caution) dunking the engine in water while doing the pressure check.  So... this is how you never want to see a Mac engine: UNDER WATER!   No bubbles, until I turned the crank a bit and a few came up from from behind the shroud and flywheel. See the video below.

I blew the engine dry so none of the steel parts would be harmed.  But I didn't grab Dad's wheel puller so wasn't able to check for the leak or dry behind the flywheel.  (Yes, I tried to use the screw driver and brass hammer technique, but it did not work.) the bubble was coming from around the points. 

OH Crap!  Electronic parts... made of ferrous materials... OH Crap!  Later I checked for spark... NONE... GRRRRRR (more on that later)

After the first rebuild, I did a pressure check and found the original seals were toast. Rebuilt and added new seals and added silicone. 

Will pull the flywheel and check/reseal all the screws/bolts on that side.

here is the carb with reed cage at the top

When I rebuilt the carb (first time doing it... and without Dad)  it all seemed very easy.  We had sealed the crank case with copper coat on the gaskets, so I put copper coat sealer on the paper gaskets between the intake/reed cage and reed cage/carb.   That meant removing the carb would destroy the gaskets.

the reed cage

intake manifold - the rod and crank can be seen inside

Here is the destroyed gasket.  Copper coat can be seen.  AND I found out there are these little holes in the end of the carb.  They are called pulse holes and it is MANDATORY they be open and clean for this carb to run correctly.  Rookie Mistake :-(

Next will be doing some more research and figure out the next steps.

Gentleman, Start your Enngggginnnnne

Yes!!  the day finally came!After almost a year and a half a major milestone was achieved in the restoration of the Red Devil Enduro kart.  The engine started!With the clutch and brake tether done, I couldn't think of anything else that needed to be done.

So on Friday I injected some gas/oil mix into the cylinder and crank case to give some lubrication.  All I wanted to do was turn it over to get gas up to the carb... BUT IT POPPED AND STARTED.

Totally surprised me.  Surprised Pam.  Surprised the cats and dog (we cleaned the carpet)
Pam quickly ran out and started shooting video.  Here is a short video on youtube: 


Pam was very excited.  I was too, but thinking about a lot.  She suggested I take it for a spin on the circle.  So I donned Dad's helmet of for the ride.  But that didn't happen for a variety of reasons.. not the least that the engine needed to be broken in properly.

So I went back to warming it up steadily.  However, my ignorance of the engine got the best of me.  I was fiddling with the carb needle way too much too quickly.  Or there may be an air leak.  Here is what happened: 

I tried one more time and it "screamed" again, so I reset everything, including the idle speed screw to be away from the throttle arm. Set the HI needle to 2 full turns and LO to 1 1/2.At first it would fire ONLY with the starter turning. And lots of flooding. over several starts moved idle speed screw in a 1/4 turn and it would fire with full throttle and fingering the fuel dump tube. Leaned out the LO needle to just a full turn but still would flood with out fingering.at this point it will start with: throttle at pumping or full, fueling lean by fingering. But would die if any were stopped.
At least it wasn't  "screaming"..... and did not explode or stick.  I did go back an re-torque the head bolts.

I thought it thru a bit. Idle speed screw was "in" a few turns (I had not touched it in the restoration and did not count how many turns.).

I will be doing a leak check, and other tests.  There are some insights on carb settings by Steve O'Hara and others that I need to go back and study.  

Dad would be so emphatic about being careful turning the needles.  "Only 1/8th at a time and wait."  And he counted one half turn as ONE turn... since the needle can't be turned a full 360º.  So one turn he would count as two and that 1/8th would actually be a 1/16th.

I really wish he could have been here to see this...it would have been so much easier.  But it was still a good day.  

Tires and helmet will be ordered soon.  The Grattan test day is in 4 weeks so this better be resolved soon. 

P.S.  Yes, next time the kart will be either outside or aimed out the garage door.

Now I Can Tinker...

Last week I finally brought the kart home.  The winter weather had kept me from heading down to Dad and Ann's to work on it since November.   Finally, on my spring break I went down to do some chores for Ann, work on the kart and pack it up.  The temperature was about 35º, so even with my woolies on I got chilled quickly.  I tried to get the clutch working but to no avail, so I loaded up and headed home.

It has been wonderful to be able to tinker on the kart.  Especially, since I am on a time crunch. I have paid reservations for a test day at Grattan Raceway in Michigan on April 13.  About 25 karts will be there; most will be shifter karts, but will be a handful of 100cc Yamahas and then me... the total rookie with a vintage McCulloch. Call me "Milka."  Pam will be going... everyone else is invited.  SO EXITING.

Here is the kart where we have worked on for the last year or so.  Room to move around and leave tools.  

Dad purchased the Red Devil kart from Pete Evans in the early 1970s and many of the parts are in the original boxes.  I filled two blue RubberMaid tubs with the parts I might need.  Ann is letting some parts stay in the barn for now.

(one part I will need soon is the tire balancer.  I forgot to pack it.  It is the bent sheet metal piece behind the tire.  Ann!!  don't do anything with it. PLEASE!)

I was a bit afraid the kart would not fit in the bed of the truck, but had room to spare for the starter.   

Here is the set up at home in the garage.  Thankfully, the garage is long enough for the car to be in its normal place and still have room for the kart.  This photo makes it look spacious... it's not.  Just enough room to work.

One of my first tasks was to get the starter in working order.  When Pam and I tried to start it back in November the starter wires popped and cracked and smoked.  I found the insulation on the wire between the frame and the solenoid had melted.  So I removed the insulation and taped it up.  No more pops.  A new battery and box were also purchased.  It works very good now.

Then it was on to the brake tether.  This a recent mandatory safety feature implemented around 2009.  All karts must have a cable connecting the master cylinder arm to the brake pedal incase the brake rod malfunctions.  About $10 in parts and there is a bit more safety.

The cable is 1/16" galvanized steel with two cable locks on each end.  This is the pedal...

...and the master cylinder.

The biggest task was getting the clutch to work.  The pulley cup has the bolt that holds the whole thing together, BUT when it would be tightened the whole clutch would bind-up.  That is not what a clutch should do.  The large drum (and chain and tires) should move free of the pulley (and crank shaft) until the RPMs get high enough to engage the clutch, sending power to the tires.

This has been bothering me all winter.  I asked a couple vintage mentors back in December and they suggested two things: 1)  the half-moon key must be .02" below the shaft on the engine side.  NOPE: mine was sticking up above the shaft.  This probably kept the clutch from settling onto the cone;  2)  the   clutch may be too wide, so grind down the shoulder at the shaft hole.  

One of my mentors said he probably would be able to figure it out in a couple seconds if he had it in his hands.  That couldn't happen.  I had to visualize it.   So I measured and measured with a compass and drew up a reasonable representation of the Hartman Insta-slip clutch in Adobe Illustrator.  I understand it pretty well now.  Yea, its a bit nerdy, but its what I do. (the bar is 1" divided into 1/8th)

Here is the crank shaft coming out the engine

Here is the crank with the clutch drum on.  The half-moon key can be seen on the top of the cone.

Here the key has been ground down to allow the .02" 

Even after fixing the key, the clutch still bound up, so I moved onto testing the clutch hub. The clutch hub is attached to the crank and has the clutch shoes which swing out with centrifugal force to press against the drum  The drum is attached to the chain sprocket which turns the tires.

It seemed the binding was caused by the should hub being to thick. I did some testing by putting Sharpie marks on the cone then tightening the clutch together.   Ah Hah! the ink was not disturbed, thus the hub did not press or engage the cone securely.

The shoulder is the circle in the middle of the hub. It is only about 1/16" tall.  So I started filing it... still binding.  So off to the grinder... GRRRRRRRiiiiiiinnnndddddddddd.

Before Grinding

Before Grinding

Here is the shoulder after grinding.  It is basically flush with the hub.  The marks are where I tested to see if it touched the drum.  NOPE.  Put the whole clutch back together and it all worked!!  So now the hub presses onto the cone and the drum moves freely from the pulley/crank

This is the other side of the hub - it faces away from the engine.  The crank would protrude through the central hole and the pulley screws onto it. Even with the grinding the pulley would touch the clutch cover (third photo).  So I put a washer on the crank to move the pulley out. It worked. 

Now that the hub sits properly on the cone of the crank, I will "lap" the hub and crank with some grinding compound.  Another new piece of info from Rick Chapman.

The next job will be to put the clutch back together  and add the clutch oil to it.  Here is the 40+ year old Hartman Clutch Oil.  Should still be good.

I also brought home the second engine which probably last was ran by Pete Evans.  I would like to tear it down and get it running as a spare.

This is the little chest which contains a lot of the little things needed for karting.  Dad had this on the bench all these years.  Under it I found the homemade cover and lock (coat hanger) for traveling.  I love  finding stuff like that.

In the bigger boxes were many special finds...clutch parts, brakes, exhausts, sprockets.  And these:   Autolite spark plugs in their original packaging from ~1974.  The boxes are moist and falling apart but the plugs are perfect.  So the question is: are today's plugs better?

The last thing I did was test the carburetor for the pop-off setting.  I had not heard of this before about a month ago.  But it is very important for proper fuel pumping.  I looked all over for a gauge in Dad's tools, but found none.  I could purchase a new gauge at a kart shop for $40-65, but saw some homemade ones on the kart blogs.  So I spent about $30 on parts to create my own.  Yea, sort of like creating my own bench, shelves, and lightsaber(star wars reference).

Proper pressure should be 12-18psi, but Steve O'Hara says he uses 28psi on Macs. My carb popped at 25psi

Another piece completed was adding zip-ties to several areas where parts might vibrate out of place.  One of the most critical were the keys on the axle.  Originally, Dad only had electrical tape holding the keys.  Sometime I saw a kart online with zips on the keys, and thought it was a great idea.

The next step is to start the engine.  I am learning a huge amount about details.  :-)

Wheels 

I had to make a decision on what wheels to run.  A couple mentors suggested I put away the original cast aluminum wheels and get new, modern spun aluminum wheels.  That would add a lot of expense, so with a counter suggestion from another mentor, I will be using the original wheels. That means lots of time bolting the wheels together and the need for inner tubes.  I have decided to go with Hoosier tires.  Should call to order those on Friday.  After that will be the helmet in early April.

To-Do List

Brake safety tether (KISS)  3' 1/8" CABLE  / 2 CABLE CLAMPS /A LOC-TITE

3-5GAL GAS CAN

CONTACT HOOSIER TIRE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS - Fox Valley  (and tubes)

ADD FUEL FILTER TO FUEL LINE

Replace brake pin with bolt with locking nut/cotter pin

Buy gasoline (which grade?)  sunoco or shell premium (called Hi-test in past)

Mix gasoline and oil  (20:1 or 16:1) (10-12oz Burris castor:1gal gas//using Stihl chainsaw oil)  Shell & Stihl oil (add stabilizer for end of day flush)

Clutch oil --  old Hartman oil should work

Review first start procedure ( 1-2oz. fuel mix in carb and .5-1oz through plug hole to cylinder):  idle for 10 minutes until warmed up on horses/stand; repeat 3 times; re-torque head bolts)

Remove engine swing mount to fix rubber gasket

Place fixed swing mount

Place locking collar on Swing mount on axle (use punch to tighten then set screw)

Place engine on swing mount

Tighten engine mounting bolts to torque limit (loc-tite)  CHECK

Attach clutch to PTO side (half-moon key, clutch housing and ring, shoes, gasket, cover, tighten pulley         bolt, hex bolts with loc-tite, fill with oil) MORE WEIGHT= LESS SLIP

Align sprocket/oiler to drive sprocket (oiler not allowed.  put lube on sprocket)

Fill oiler at track(~70weight gear oil)(holds enough for one hour of racing)

Connect throttle cable to carb; attach to frame with zip-ties

Connect brake tubing to frame with zip-ties

Put on pipe (torque wrench)

Battery to starter and test (Check correct direction!!)

New belt?

Put on fuel line ( need a loop? PROBABLY)

Add gas/oil mix

Open the fuel valve

Set carb needles per manual before start

After start, set carb needles per manual

Buy new tires (Dunlop SL4) and tubes

SAND BLAST WHEELS???

Balance tires

Put on tires SWITCH FRONT TIMES SO COTTER PINS CAN WORK

Balance frame with a scale under each tire (what then?  tire pressure?   frame?)

Put temp gauge on spark plug (gauge is in helmet bag.  where is the plug end?)

Buy strong rod bolts (Bonbright)

Set clutch at high rpm

Inventory all kart parts and tools

New boxes for parts

catalog what tools are needed

table for pits

tent for pits (UMMM... BREAKING DESTRY TENT DID THAT)

Start wiki of info

EAR PLUGS



and much much more