factory

Nice find, looks to have been well looked after too. The gearbox looks very similar to that used on the earlier Drillgine drill or the Comet version, I never noticed before that the later ones are slightly different. Does it still have the instructions that the storage box refers to? David

I thought I had some more saved pictures on the computer but I don't, possibly because I've never seen one for sale. Hopefully someone with one of these can share some more pictures of the mechanism. David

Looking through all the info I have, the best estimate for date is that the engine was produced sometime in 1962. Hope this helps. By the way there are other tools with carbs that have no air cleaner fixing holes, the Aquabug is one. David

The original Bike Motor Kit (below), Chicken Power and Pony Express were all advertised as being capable "of up to 18 mph". Above quote is from this thread: https://myoldmachine.com/topic/3757-chicken-power-bicycle-assist-engine-kit-silver-1973/ David

Could it be for a Wright 100 blade saw (made by Poulan) or one of the re-brands? You can just about see the end of the blade shaft in one of the pictures here for the Dayton 2Z464 version, also it looks small enough in the video too, but 59cc is nearly double that of a O&R 20A (approx 32cc) though. https://www.thisoldchainsaw.com/2z464-dayton Wright 100 Blade Saw article from May 1969 in Popular Science magazine here; https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GSoDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA134#v=onepage&q&f=false David

Ah, maybe that tank would benefit from repainting, I was referring to the original paint on the starter housing being in good order. David

The SN #803xxxx gives an engine production date of March 1978, so your Pony Express was made in the last year of AEP Ltd. (formerly known as O&R). David

Interesting find and nice to have to history from the guy that made it into a weed wacker. I have pictures of three other engines exactly like the one fitted to your weed wacker (I can see Type 110 on one of them too), they also have no hole in carb for air filter, a full coil cover, a side needle valve in the carb and a push button stop switch (picture attached). The lack of fins on the crankcase is typical of 3/4HP Compact I engines. As for engine dating, I can only give an very rough estimate of early 1960's without knowing the serial number. I strongly suspect that these engines (Type 110) were intended as spares for the Comet C/Saw, have a look through the recent C/Saw thread and you will see how they used a short tube to connect the carb to the handle, which would have had the air cleaner foam inside. The coil covers used on the Comet tools have small piece cut out for the pump, a larger piece cut out for the chainsaw and a full cover for the C/Saw (your pictures confirm that last one). As far as I know the simplified cylinder side plates are only found on Comet engines too. David

If anyone comes across one of these 13B starter mechanisms that is seized don't try to force it, this maybe caused by dissimilar metal corrosion between the steel centre of the starter reel & the alloy housing (which is used as the bearing). The alloy housing is a bit fragile due to the four thin sections for the starter reel bearing, it's very easy to crack these. I got this one apart using a hairdryer to heat up & expand the alloy housing, a gas torch would probably be quicker. David

It wasn't really a question, John found some starter cord that looks similar to the original type used by O&R, i.e. a diamond braided cord with no stripes. Also Stens don't actually make the cord themselves, they source it from Germany & re-brand it. I was trying to find a European brand that have the same type available, as it can't be very cost effective to ship it from Germany to the US then the UK. I have had a look at the Hi-Level website but they don't seem to give prices, do you need to register to find out? Are they the same diameter as the original ones? I bought some similar (but slightly larger) wooden balls a few years ago, I only ended up using one as Webhead surprised me by including some original ones with some parts I bought from him. David

I can't see how it would have saved in production costs as they are using two different paint colors, plus the engine & gearbox were never painted on the older bike kits. I'm curious as the the age of your bike kit, what are the first three digits of the SN? If it is branded AEP it will date from the mid to late 1970's. David

Looking very nice, personally I would keep the original paint on the rest of it as it's still in quite good condition, plus the repro decals don't look quite right. For reference here are some pictures I took of the coil cover from my Comet pump (I meant to add them a while ago but never got round to it), no idea if the bottom section has a bit cut out of it for the pump as I haven't got any of the other tools to compare. David

That's interesting to know, as I had no idea that the Wright saws used the piston to drive the blade directly. I've not yet seen any O&R Series 20A engines used on a blade saw, there doesn't seen to be anywhere near as many 20A engines out there compared with the smaller ones, I sure more tools will turn up that we haven't seen before too. David

Well I give up, I couldn't find any German made 7/64" (2.8mm) braided starter cord over here without stripes, nor could I find the OEM Stens buy it from, there was some similar looking stuff from the Shenzhen Market if you don't mind the long wait. Anyway I don't like using them but Bezos.com have it for £12.11 including shipping & customs fees from the US, not a bad price, so it's been ordered. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OK8J1W/ David

I've recently been working on replacing the missing & damaged plastic spacers originally used for the Aquabug covers. I did initially test some plastic spacers I had in my spares, but they were a bit too large in diameter to fit properly and also didn't react too well with fuel. Anyway I quickly gave up with those and started looking for something better, eventually I found some brass tubing from Albion Alloys at a model engineering supplier. https://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/info-BT5.html Here are the finished spacers after cutting to size, together with the fixings (I've since had to order some longer screws), the second picture shows where they are used. David

Looks good and as it's German made we might actually be able to find some over here too. David

I'm sure you will have a much better chance of finding another Auger than we have over here in the UK, keep looking you will find one. You also missed the running Lancaster (or rebrand) 20A chainsaw, that went for very little on ePay, I hope it went to someone on here. And as you found a Pony Express so easily, I had to borrow this award from another forum for you, I've not seen one for years (edit: I've only ever seen one sold before). David

I've not seen one of those advertised for sale for years, the 'Chicken Power' to 'Pony Express' name change seems to have happened after O&R became AEP. All the late AEP produced tools I've seen are painted all over, the paint doesn't seem to stay attached that well though. David

If the information in the link is correct the Homelite has a much bigger engine than the O&R, which probably explains why it's more powerful. http://www.acresinternet.com/ Homelite XL100 You probably can, McMaster even make them to order, their website has information to work out the size required (which is useful if the original has stretched with age, is broken or completely missing). https://www.mcmaster.com/drive-belts And yes SN #007280 is the 7280th engine they sold, probably produced around 1961. David P.S. I probably won't be on here much today or tomorrow, as I'm off to a show on Sunday, hopefully it will stay dry.

Probably too late but here are some pictures of the carb I found today, the screw is 1/2" long after the spring washer, the needle will be useful as I have an early engine that needs one. If the screw is of any use I will find out how much it would cost to send over. The fine toothed blade looks a much better choice than, is belt the original? I guess it still works well because the Comet C/saw doesn't use a gearbox, the early gears were made of cast alloy which quickly ended up with stripped teeth, probably not helped if the gearbox oil escaped through poor gearbox seals, O&R changed to using grease later on, anyone rebuilding one should use grease too. Because they don't work that great and the lack of power. Not to mention the carbs suck (except for gas and air) so I'm sure many people just gave up. Certainly good for us collectors many years later! I have a Homelite XL100 saw that will power through a 4x4 easily with an aggressive blade at full depth. Fun to use but it's heavy. Does the Homelite have belt drive? The Orline circular saw also has belt drive and I noticed the advert showing a similar aggressive blade (one of two blade/disc types supplied with it). David

Just be aware of any engines produced before June 1967, these will have a SN from 000001 to approx 142000, these numbers do not have any date code in them. Another common problem, maybe I need to start a new thread to help people identify the age and/or type of engine used on the various tools. David

Ah, that is why I wanted to confirm it as the bulletin didn't say what type of screw/bolt it was. I have found a slotted screw with a spring washer the correct length on a parts carb, the screw isn't black though, let me know if it's any use. David P.S. I have added some samples of the slotted head fillister screws to my order from Accu.co.uk, I won't get them till the 29th August as some of the parts are made to order.

Possible alternate screw is #26-93, listed as #10-32 x 1/2", need to find one to confirm. I would suggest that if there is a minimum order of 50 or 100 #10-32 fillister head screws to buy some that are longer & cut them down, as they maybe more useful later on. Some other common #10-32 screws used on these engines include: 9/16" thread length for tank mounting and gearbox covers screws with thread lengths of 1 1/8", 1 3/8" & 1 5/16". David

Glad I could help, not many people ask about engine serial numbers & dates, but I have been collecting any information on serial numbers & other historical information for quite a long time, hence all those magazine articles I found as a result. Engines produced before June 1967 are harder to date, but it's not impossible to give an estimate. My Drillgine is a very late one, type 13B403 SN 8080307, which dates from August 1978, produced about a month before AEP was dissolved. David P.S. Those plates with the serial number on frustrate me because they are sometimes missing, something O&R thought would be "seldom, if ever lost".

Well the short answer is no. For a start I can just about make out in the picture that the serial number is stamped into the cylinder plate (cooling baffle), they didn't start doing this till August 1969, they also stopped stamping the number into the crankcase at this point. Secondly from September 1970 all engines had the new model identifications i.e. 13A, 13B, 20A. Thirdly and this is where it can get very confusing if the serial number is interpreted incorrectly (without checking the first two points). All serial numbers from June 1967 have the year & month codified into them, the format is YMSSSS or YMMSSSS, first number identifies the year, second (and third) number/s the month, the remaining four numbers are engine S/N which restarted at 0001 each month. There is potential for some numbers to have been used twice in the years ending in 67/77 or 68/78, but the first two points will confirm the correct year. After Aug 1969 the only SN format used is YMMSSSS. Engine 13B403 #6092030 will have been made in September 1976, it may also carry the AEP name instead of O&R. Hope this helps. David