JohnBuckner

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Exiting our club meeting last week someone offered up a collection of 'stuff' and I ended up buying the mess for fifty bucks as it did include some nice pieces for my mini-museum.

Also in the pile was this curious mystery engine obviously not a production line engine and either a prototype or my speculation, its machined from someones casting kit. This seems supported by the lack of a ball bering supported main and I don,t beleve its all that vintage.

The points timer is driven from the cam and the all the machine work is rather rough as well as the case casting. The carburator is missing and the plug is definately a spark plug and not an old Champion glow plug. The OS in one photo is a .70FS for scale.

I am not looking for a value and its not for sale, A name is not important either this is just for fun as everyone loves a mystery engine

John

Kmot

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What a score! That whole table of stuff for $50 bucks? Wow!

JohnBuckner

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Yes but in a way its also very scary and I worry how our beloved hobby/sport which is after all is not a mandatory expense in this recession going to survive.

I am seeing these kinds of deals appear far more often these days.

John

fiery

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Including the Graupner/OS mini NSU Wankel? A steal.

controlliner

It looks like a Kalt first generation four stroke. It has a servo adjustable ignition advance on the cam box.

SrTelemaster150

The Spark plug looks just like the present day 1/4" X 32 plugs.

dennis

My Feedback: (90)

It's not a kalt 45. They were/are jewel like in their casting and presentation. I loved mine when I had it but sadly it's gone into someone's collection.

Dennis

controlliner

The last model Kalt .45 was, yes.

earlwb

It is not a Kalt four stroke engine. The Kalt had the camshaft in the rear and also had open rockers, no valve covers. The castings were also much nicer and not as rough or coarse looking.

JohnBuckner

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Wow Have never heard of the Kalt four stroke, what a lovely engine. I even have a Kalt 22cc gasser that I fly on my giant Buccineer, but definately not as nice as that.

John[8D]

flybyjohn

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Pretty sure a watch maker built this one, just look at the rear case cover, what does it remind you of. This one should run like a clock!
!

earlwb

Well that mystery four stroke engine looks vaguely familiar. But I can't place it. Since it has spark ignition and a lever on the timer, it sort of implies it is a RC engine. But that lever may have been a convenience to keep one's hand away from the propeller when it is running. The rough castings tend to make me think it is a home built engine made from a casting kit. So it could be pre-WWII or a little after the war too. If I come across something I'll let you all know.

JohnBuckner

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I to beleve it was from someones castings kit. The arm on the timer does have a nutted dubro ball on it for a rod whether or not a rod to a servo or simply a test stand, who knows?

There are also numerous places with JB weld plugging holes or something which seems to indicate this is not real vintage.

John

Sport_Pilot

I recall a Fredrick or something like that.  Gas fuel, not glow, engine from early free flight days, not long before RC came.  Late 40's or early 50's I think. 

earlwb

Igot the information. One of our viewers kindly reported it to me.

It is a JensonChannel Island Special with a nominal 10cc displacement. It could be a manufactured version or a DIY one made from a casting kit. It was designed for use in tether powered hydroplane boats. I think that was where I saw it, was when one wasmounted in a boat sometime ago. Since you found it in the USA, then it was likely made from a casting kit sold by Octura at the time.
http://modelenginenews.org/cardfile/cis.html

JohnBuckner

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Outstanding EW, what a great piece of detective work and a very interesting artical indeed. Ya know I can recall seeing adds for stuff from a company called Octura How cool is that? Dang now I gotta make a nice little lable for it

But this presents a conundrum so guess I'll have to find something else for the mystery engine cause 'Everybody Loves a Mystery Engine'

So anybody else got a Mystery Engine go ahead and post here if ya like.

John[8D]

earlwb

Octura is still around too. Octura is the big model boat accessory company. For example, if you needed a boat prop for something they are the ones to get it from. Of course they do the running gear too as well as flywheels. So selling the four stroke engine for boats would have been normal for them at the time.
So at the time that they had some of those Channel Island engines to sell at $28.00 US, way back then, it would have cost us about $250 US today.

Of course the real trick is finding one of those cool little float carbs they used to use on the engines. It had a throttle lever and a little float bowl on the side. You need to carefully go through all that stuff you got as you might have it there someplace. Of course the fellow who made the engine may have replaced the float carb with something else too. Especially since he might have wanted to use it on a airplane.

Kmot

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That $50 grab bag keeps gettin' better and better!

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Better N Better.


These are no mystery engines but great stuff and the Super Cyclone is why I bought the pile which was pretty much a mystery to me at the time I only spotted cyc and the McCoy diesel in the dark and what made me pop.

The Cyc is pristene and appears mostly complete including timer and points, heck the points themselves appear new and never run. This engine I intend to use and am certain it will be a good runner to add to my good running Brown Jr.

The Forster .29 glow engine is not new but could perhaps be a runner. This was the second of two in the pile but the other is a horizontal rear intake rather than the slanted rear induction and its missing the Carb/manifold? The pictured one has a what looks to be a home made shaft extension.

The McCoy diesel is also pristene and not run. This is the second prize for me since I will add this to my two other little diesels I have flying .

The Cox is the original series red tank .010 and could be a runner but do not know yet if the glow head is good.

Earl there are no other parts for the Channel Islands engine and an original fuel tank and especially that cood oiler tank would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

John

earlwb

Bummer, but you could always ask the person who had the stuff if they had any other items that might have looked like junk or trash. You never know.  Hoefully they hadn't tossed everything away yet. There might have been a old ratty looking shoe box full of screws and stuff leftover.

earlwb

I forgot to say how lucky you are, that is like finding buried treasure or something.
Congratulations.

earlwb

Since we had the subject started already about the engines being sold by Octura way back then.
Here is different 2 stroke engine being sold as a casting kit too http://www.ebay.com/itm/Octura-1210-...item3f1d385401

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Hey thanks for posting that Earl. What a lovely picture to print and display with the CIS.

Come on fellow go ahead and post any oddities you like that you may have or have found or heck just some old engine that ya like.

Back in the seventies and perhaps a little later the Hobby shack chain out on the west coast (todays Hobby People) use to sell lovely live steam powerplants for boats. Heck OS use to have a line of live steam locomotives that were always listed in their brochures.

Anyone know anything bout that or have pictures?

John

earlwb

Some of the rarest engines can be seen at this website. http://www.onthewire.co.uk/index.htm
Going through the pics of the old time tether boats with four stroke engines in them makes one envious of the folks having so much fun way back then.