first time 4 cylinder engine build (model)

[mac11irl]

so, my auld lad, in his wisdom bought Spud sr a model 4 cylinder engine for christmas... and the time has come to start it..

and i told @Lady Elanoreid start a build thread when we were ready...

last night we got the pistons, and crank shaft assembled, and the oil panseton the model base..

lots of teeny tiny screws...

 

 

 

 

 

forgot to photo the oil pan, ill do that later and put it in post 2.

[mac11irl]

night number 2 -

 

last nights oil pan and stand assembly..

 

then the combustion chambers and pistons said hello, and the big end went into the sump

 

and lastly tonight we assembled he valve stems into the cylinder head 

 

tomorrow night we will get the rocker arms done, and might get the headgasket in place (yes there is one to go in) and get the head on the block.

 

its going okay so far!

[mac11irl]

evening number 3, and we have -

 

rockers 

 

cams

 

a head gasket

 

and the cylinder head in place. now i couldnt remember, and i hope i havent warped the head, but i worked clockwise from the centre out for the (6 screws) head bolts. spose ill find out when we get to the compression test

 

 

stuck the cam gear on for a demo of the valve movements for spud sr

 

wonder what tomorrow will bring! (chocolate mostly.. )

[Liger1956]

Won't the exposed valve gear throw oil everwhere?

 

I had something similar, made by Revell I think, when I was young.

[mac11irl]

25 minutes ago, Liger1956 said:

Won't the exposed valve gear throw oil everwhere?

 

I had something similar, made by Revell I think, when I was young.

rocker cover to go on tomorrow to keep the oil in

 

though i may leave it off for a while to be able to see it all working togwther a bit better

 

Edited 8 April, 2023 by mac11irl

[mac11irl]

Sunday -

rocker cover went on,

timing belt, fan belt, waterpump, fan assembly, flywheel, distributor, and spark plugs and drive motor..

timing set tool in position

 

 

 

nearly there.....

 

 

 

[mac11irl]

and so, last night...

 

 

manifolds and last dressy bits..

and fired it up

 

 

insralled the AR app, and discovered we had misplaced a vital piece.. 

 

the sticker to put beside the start button, which acts as a ref point for the app - without it, the app wont "find" the engine! spud sr found it this morning, so we will try it out later 

[mac11irl]

video was a bit big, had to trim it

 

 

overall a fun little project. age appropriate for an 8yr old? not without a grown up.. for an over 10? maybe but only if the kid has some prior mecanno experience i reckon, its pretty fiddly. 

 be interesting to see what the app does later 

[KenONeill]

10 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

 

 

manifolds and last dressy bits..

and fired it up

 

Aren't the HT leads a bit over-length?  

[J.R.]

On 08/04/2023 at 22:59, Liger1956 said:

Won't the exposed valve gear throw oil everwhere?

 

I had something similar, made by Revell I think, when I was young.

 

I had one that I built, it was all green plastic and a single cylinder, cut away I think with exposed rocker gear, a motor might have been an option but beyond my means so I had to hand crank it, it did not have anything to light up to show the power stroke.

 

I was already mad keen on cars but it really kick started my interest in mechanics, I was in first year of senior school so about 10 years old perhaps? We had to give a talk (as they were called back then) in the Science class, a presentation today, I did mine on the 4 stroke Otto cycle using the model kit to demonstrate.

 

At that age I could not only describe the 4 stroke cycle but also recount the firing orders for 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines not that I had even seen or heard the latter in the flesh.

Edited 11 April, 2023 by J.R.

[KenONeill]

2 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

I had one that I built, it was all green plastic and a single cylinder, cut away I think with exposed rocker gear, a motor might have been an option

One of the Airfix stationary engine kits? If so, then yes a small electric motor was definitely an option.

[J.R.]

I think it most probably was Airfix Ken, it would have been around 1970, maybe later, I could have been older, Airfix was the only manufacturer that the model shop sold, in fact I thought it was the only manufacturer.

 

I was probably encoraged to build model planes, I had done many of them but it was the engine kit that really changed my direction.

 

I hope when Spud Sr is of license age there will still be IC engines around for him to put his knowledge to.

[@Lee]

When's the Dyno test and where do you you reckon you'll gain a few more horses. I doubt porting will help.