bowtiebutler956

I thought I'd post another project I'm working on. Most of you already know I have a love for the old cast iron Briggs engines, and especially the Model N lineup. There are so many different variations of the Model N, it can make you dizzy. I've been working for years at trying to get as many good examples of the different variations of the Model N as possible. I have acquired yet another one that I didn't have yet. This is a 45 Briggs NR2, and has a 2:1 gear reduction built into the block. It funny, I purchased this believing it was an NR6, which is visually identical to the NR2, and are more much more common the the NR2. It didn't have an id tag, and the seller had no clue what it was, so I was very surprized when it arrived, and the engine rotated twice for every rotation of the pto.  Needless to say I was very pleased, as these are much harder to come by.    
 The engine was in rough shape, but still had lots of potential. Once I opened it up, I found it had a .020 over piston in it, a .010 under crank, and replacement valve guides had been installed. Both the piston, and cylinder looked great, but the rings were wore out. I tried finding .020 piston rings for it, but I never did. Eventually, I found a complete Briggs .020 piston assembly, which came with new rings, so I went that route. The crank, and the .010 undersized rod were in perfect shape, so all was good there. The valve guides were still in decent shape, but the intake valve had already been cut one to many times, so I located a new new valve. I cut both seats, and then lapped the valves back in. I'm currently working on getting it all painted up. This engine should run very well, as it tested at 120 psi on its compression test as you can see in the video below. Thats amazing compression for these old engines! Its magneto is also putting out a very strong spark, as you can see in the video. The OE carb was very corroded, but I had a good rebuildable core on the shelf that I used instead. The original PTO oil seal can no longer be found, but after taking some measurements, I found a modern seal that fit perfectly. 
 I'm very thankful to have other good friends that are Briggs collectors as well. Thanks to Den, a good friend who has a much larger collection than I do, I now have the correct Briggs Type # for this engine, so I can get a new ID tag made. 
I decided to replace this engines original shroud with an identical one thats in far better shape. Aside from the rust, someone had done some horrible welding to the original shroud!   While it could have been repaired, I had one on my spare parts shelf, thats in much better shape, so I took the easy way out! 
 Here are a buch of pics, and a video of where I'm currently at. Thanks
 
Matt 
 
 

looks and sounds great Matt   only one thing i'm worried about, my horse sounds just like that at idle, is that normal

Maybe you could start a new trend Matt. Custom painted hand tools.. Any color you like as long as it matches what ever else you were spraying at the time

Indeed, I'm very proud of those screwdrivers Ian! 
 
Matt

Indeed, I'm very proud of those screwdrivers Ian! 
 
Matt

I bet it was a lot of work to get such a good paint finish on the screwdrivers Matt

Thanks Chris, and I wet the trash can down before using it as my paint station. 
 
Matt

Thanks Chris, and I wet the trash can down before using it as my paint station. 
 
Matt

Have to say you lay a good coat of paint Matt, i'm surprised you don't get a load of crap blow out from the dustbin, {sorry trash can}

Thats great news! Your getting closer all the time. 
 
Matt

A little more progress..
 
  Side panels and foot plate wear pads fitted. The reason I've fitted pads to the rear of the plates, is to stop boot heels marking there. My C-125 has quite a worn area on the left one.
 

 

 
  Fan/flywheel cover prepped and primed.
 

 

 

Cheers guys!
After some rather nice weather, it's all painted...
And here's a looking finished shot, though it isn't - it'll be ready for Newby

Good to see it running Matt, yep the open valve gear does look cool

Alright, I have videos.   I haven't been able to get it running quite right, and it turns out its missing some parts in the mixer. The compensation valve, spring, and pin.   There is just a little rusted off nub in there, so I'll be ordering the parts soon, and get it running properly. In the parts diagram below, you can see the parts I'm talking about. I'm still very happy it runs, and here are a couple video's, and pics.
 
Matt
 

 

 
 

the bore isn't scored nor is there any massive wear marks - so it will stay standard. However the piston has quite a bit of sideways movement and the oil ring is non-existent! 
 
Given it's been split at some point and the gaskets are junk, I just want to stop it burning oil and dribbling, spitting out of every orifice. A 550cc displacement causes a lot of crank pressure and pushes oil out of places you'd never imagine. I once took the dipstick out when it was running and
 
It's not going to be a massive worker, more of a show piece - but it certainly will be put through it's paces and I will test the whole 16hp

Well she wasn't a Hog or a Hot Rod, but I brought the old girl anyway, oh yeah, I brought the tractor too

Well done Matt, runs well, i see your dog made a hasty exit in the first video

My parts came in, and it runs!    I painted the gas tank, lapped the valves, and assembled it. The paint still isn't dry on the gas tank, so I used a jar with some fuel in it to start it. It started on the second try. I didn't run it very long, but once I have the tank back on it, I will. Here are a few pics, and I'll get a video soon.
 
Matt

Looking at it this far, i guess another day will be worth the wait Matt

My valves still haven't arrived, so its not running yet.   Hopefully soon. I did however pick up a reproduction cart to put under the engine, and I must say, its very nice to be able to move the engine around by myself!   I'm very pleased with the cart, and it appears very well built. 
 
Matt

My valves still haven't arrived, so its not running yet.   Hopefully soon. I did however pick up a reproduction cart to put under the engine, and I must say, its very nice to be able to move the engine around by myself!   I'm very pleased with the cart, and it appears very well built. 
 
Matt

My valves still haven't arrived, so its not running yet.   Hopefully soon. I did however pick up a reproduction cart to put under the engine, and I must say, its very nice to be able to move the engine around by myself!   I'm very pleased with the cart, and it appears very well built. 
 
Matt

Nice!

My valves still haven't arrived, so its not running yet.   Hopefully soon. I did however pick up a reproduction cart to put under the engine, and I must say, its very nice to be able to move the engine around by myself!   I'm very pleased with the cart, and it appears very well built. 
 
Matt