Do you have any way to measure the thickness of that black sealing ring? Mine must have gotten squished and deteriorated over time. The exhaust collector has a similar material/seal. I didn’t remove the seal from the collector, leaving it on there and hoping it will seal up enough for the shelf...
I finally got the entire engine dismantled. Some interesting observations (at least to me anyway):
the engineering on these early engines is exquisite, noticeably different from the later versions
this one has metal roller bearings throughout, and some of the cages look to be bronze, very nice
piston has 3 large rings
no rubber seals anywhere and no gaskets inside- all the machining seems to be really tighten tolerance (no feather vane gaskets and no little rubber induction case seals. The only thing that resembled a seal is some thin black coating stuff that looked like a thin layer of gasket maker where the feather vane gasket would normally go
connecting rod uses a pretty cool two-piece roller bearing that is made of aluminum
the points are a little different too and have a slotted piece that catches the copper tab
It’s starting to clean up nicely. I can tell by the piston, cylinder and the internals that this thing hasn’t been run much, zero carbonization or anything, just a light coating of dried oil/gas varnish. I’m pretty certain I’m the first one to open this one up, didn’t see any signs of others getting into it.
Yeah, at most I may try to start it but I don’t have any plans to really run this one. Good to know about the clutch linings, I had forgotten about that.
I’m waiting to hear from someone on ePay to confirm the dimensions on the wiper motor cable. If it’s comes back close I may get one to take a closer look at it.
Made a little progress on this just now. Juggling between some paint work and fabricating a display stand for the cut-away engine.
Good news, I was able to free the piston. It’s still a little snug but I think it’s free enough that when I go to remove the cylinder head it shouldn’t snap the con rod (hopefully). Although the gear box was pretty much empty and stuck I was able to get it free. The clutch has the little cork pads and they hand seized up in the clutch housing. I was surprised to see the plastic gear. The recoil was also jammed up but I got that moving too. SO overall the vitals seem good. I’m actually starting to think this one may not have much mileage on it.
! Before I go and do something stupid I wanted to check in with the experts to see if the flywheel nut on the older models are normal thread or if by chance they might be reverse thread!
These older models definitely look different inside, pretty cool (for me) since this is the first one like this I’ve had and opened up.
I don’t plan to modify this cable. I’m open to recommendations on a source for cable this size. I’ve contacted probably a dozen specialty cable suppliers and they’ve all said there isn’t anything this small. I’ve looked at Bowden cables, bicycle cables, aircraft instrument cables, vintage automotive heater and vent control cables, clutch, brake, push-pull, latch release and other similar cables. The closest I’ve found so far is a very specific brand of vintage wiper motor cable that Looks to be very close to the right size but the inner core cable is solid wire and not the typical braided wire used in most of the O&R cables. Do you know of a source?
Please do not paint this nice early engine, I know a lot of you like repainting your engines.
Well, there goes my plan for a fresh hot metallic pink with some unicorn air brushing... Yep - no plans to paint this beauty. I just want to clean it up and hopefully free the engine. I prefer keeping these things as original as possible and only restoring ones where the paint is too far gone. Depending on how the guts look I probably won’t even try starting it - it’ll be a shelf piece for sure.
First check the gearbox as that may be why it won't move because of hardened grease. If it's the engine, Pour or spray some oil in the spark plug hole, let it sit in there for a day or two and use your hand to turn the flywheel. Go back and forth in very short turns and it should free up if locked because of sitting.
Thanks Wallfish- this is exactly the plan. I put a few drops of Kroil into the cylinder yesterday just to give it a head start. I’m hoping it’s just dried grease in the gear box and nothing more serious somewhere inside.
2 hours ago, factory said:
These engines don't have the O&R bird decal on the starter, the starter also doesn't have the oil hole or decal indicating this.
It might not have a hole for an air cleaner, not all the very early engines do.
And yes the condenser looks original to this engine.
Thanks David - this is really helpful, glad the condenser looks correct as well. I’ll double check but I think it has the hole for the little air cleaner screw.
1 hour ago, factory said:
The full range of accessories available in August 1961
Amazing the prices on these original options. As part of this engine purchase I also got a NOS A-32-4 tank, it’s definitely an early version and looks to be identical to the one this engine is sitting on. Now you can’t even find throttle cables that small diameter (trust me I’ve been on the hunt...).
After a bit of searching recently I found a good source for some flexible muffler extension tubing. I have plans to set up an engine with a remote muffler but it’s not original. The flex tubing would also work well for the Aquabug if someone needed to fix or replace that piece.
The condenser is also different from all the other O&Rs I’ve got. Not sure if it was replaced by an incorrect part at some point along the way. Really hoping I can get the engine free.
Ok, got this really cool engine and I know it’s an early one. Might need David’s insights for this one. There aren’t any markings on it as far as I can tell, no model or serial numbers. This is as-received and I haven’t touched it yet but looking forward to giving it a bath. Unfortunately the engine and the gear box are both sieved up. I pulled the plug and the top of the piston looks surprisingly clean. Missing the air cleaner. Has a push-pull throttle cable and a little pulley (probably an add-on). I have no idea of the application, maybe a compressor or something. This is definitely the oldest O&R in my collection now.
I thought I remembered seeing in the recoil rebuild instructions or somewhere the correct length of the pull rope but now I can’t seem to find it. Does anyone know what the length is suppose to be?
Wow, you’ve really jumped in there and gone to town on this one. Fun to see this thing coming apart and all the things you’re discovering. Thanks for all the pictures! Bummer on that hex getting jammed in there, I don’t think I have any helpful suggestions just yet... hmmm
I think in this case the original decal is the way to go, it’s not damaged that badly and it maintains some of the original elements and character of the unit. Looks cool!
I claim Vulture #2, JustO&R can be Vulture #1... I feel like I just entered a warped version of a Dr Seuss classic...
Ohlsson & Rice: how old is it?
in Ohlsson and Rice
Posted
David,
Do you have any way to measure the thickness of that black sealing ring? Mine must have gotten squished and deteriorated over time. The exhaust collector has a similar material/seal. I didn’t remove the seal from the collector, leaving it on there and hoping it will seal up enough for the shelf...