vauxhall

I was going through some obsolete parts at my LHS yesterday, and came up with some Cox goodies. A Texaco crankcase and shaft set , two Cox mufflers, some cheap reed petals and a couple of Cox glow plug clips. I had an 051 with the usual broken plastic cankcase cover, can't buy those anymore, so I put the piston and cylinder on the Texaco case , and the plastic backplate of a Killer Bee . For good measure I fitted one of the mufflers. It's a little screamer ! The muffler has a bit of throttle effect if partly closed off. Must experiment with it . So I used up a few old spare pa rts and created a Cox Texaco Killer Bee 051. Another one on the shelf , its better than collecting stamps!

BMatthews

Ah yes, Cox, the Mecano set of model engines.....

I'll have to dig out and photo my 290 Special with the TeeDee carb fitted to the back plate. It was easy. Just cut the tube off a little shorter and then drilled and tapped for 1/4-28 (or was it 32?) and screwed in the carb. For a reed engine it was a hot runner even though it was only on suction.

vauxhall

Hi Bruce, I though about the rear induction carb also,but,I considered mounting the engine in a plane might be too difficult.My 051 had an R/C carb, so I may still try fitting it. The thread on the carb looks like it could be glow plug size, and, I have a tap that size . Yeah, I'll give it a shot just for the hell of it. That'll use up a few more bits from the parts bin! This thing has so many bits and pieces I'm going to call it Frankenstein !

Tim Wiltse-RCU

Vauxhall,

Get your hands on a cylinder/piston set with no sub-pistion induction and pick up some more power. With the TD cylinder and a muffler it is sucking it's own exhaust!

Later,
Tim

DICKEYBIRD

Hi vauxhall (that name brings back memories....I used to work on several '59 Vauxhall Victors in my apprentice days; they were like miniature Chevy clones with the clutch disc installed backward...don't ask how I remember that!) The TD carb housings are still available from Estes/Cox for less than $4.00 US, no red ones, only the black. Also, here's a pic of one of my frankenstein (pronounced the Mel Brooks way: Fronck-in-steen) engines. Reedy .049 with non S.P.I. cyl., throttle sleeve, homemade rear mount/reed/bushed down TD venturi assy. that bolts right on to reed bolt pattern. Runs great and idles @ 5500 rpm with good fuel draw and throttle response but that crank was never designed to run that slow; it vibrates and rattles at idle.

DICKEYBIRD

'nudder pic:

RobStagis

Did the same thing: I bought a couple 1/2A C/L planes from Mike Ogren (Plastic Fantastics) and didn't have engines - good plan, eh? I asked around and a couple friends dug through their drawers. One was sort of a TD clone and the other looked like a 'normal' Cox - what fun! They were both stone-reliable, though one liked to start backwards - so I got a pusher prop and let it run that way

BMatthews

Nice mod there DickeyB'. I know what you mean about the crank bouncing backand forth. I've seen that when it's running too rich or whatever just before it quites. Could you not shim it to minimize the end play?

William Robison

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Bruce and D'Bird:

The TeeDee carb running into a reed intake is the old "Space Hopper" engine.

In 1/2A speed the SH was THE engine until the regular TeeDee 049 came along. The SH had a very short production run, so they're rare.

The real Frankenstein though was a TeeDee to which I added a SH backplate and carb - Yes, an 049 with twin carbs. Definitely not worth the effort.

Bill.

DICKEYBIRD

Probably could Bruce but it wasn't too bad really. It wasn't that it ran unacceptably rough; it's just that I put it together before I'd stumbled onto the TD combination I'm using now. The TD's run so well and smoothly for me that I just dropped all my reedy tinkerin' and concentrated on TD's. It gets put on the front of a plane once in a while just to stir up the "peanut gallery".

DICKEYBIRD

Yup, When I was a kid I used to lust after a certain Space Hopper that sat in the LHS glass case for a couple years. Couldn't afford The $5.95 so I ended up with my 1st Babe Bee.

I posted a pic somewhere on this forum a couple days ago showing the Bill Atwood prototype twin carb TD .049 that was shown in the latest Engine Collector's Journal. The caption doesn't mention whether it's a reed setup ala S/Hopper or rear rotor valve like the RR1. I 'spect it was a reed though. Here's the pic again:

William Robison

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Milton;

Your posted picture looks just like mine. And the mechanical description does too.

Years ago I tried the Space Hopper in the ball bearing crank version, don't have any idea what ever happenedto it, the plain bearing engine was faster so I didn't keep it.

A version I've never had, or even seen, is the rear rotor. I didn't even know there ever was such a thing until recently, seeing the posts and searching the web.

Bill.

vauxhall

Thanks everyone for your edifying comments. Hey Dickeybird, theres someone in the USA who knows what a Vauxhall is. My other toys include a pristine 1963 VX- 490 {look that one up}, and my 20 year old son Chris races a pretty hot little 1964 Viva in historic saloon car events and supersprints. Those 59 Victors you spoke of were shockers! You could see them rust away while you watched . That handmade alloy mount looks really great,but, have you tried mounting the carb on the end of a short length of neoprene tube that goes through the firewall . This should simplify mounting the engine,and, save a bit of weight. I'm going to give it a try in a few days time. Theres no thing new under the sun, so some of you guys have probably been down that road already.

Tim Wiltse-RCU

I have a project that I'm working on and trying to make a Cox .049 rear rotor disk intake. I have the engine 95% done, really just need to mount it and see if it will run. I also have 2 REAL Cox RR-1's, one is pretty beat up but runs real good. Power is on par with TD's. I need to get a new radio and then build a plane for it. Jaws will drop seeing on fly for sure. I make RR-1 clones that are reed valve intake and have the power of a Black Widow.


Later,
TIm

William Robison

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Tim:

Pictures? Please?

Thanks.

Bill.

Tim Wiltse-RCU

Bill,

Which do you want to see?

Later,
Tim

William Robison

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Tim:

Anything you can post. A stripped RR-1, showing how Roy Cox did it would be very interesting, your version also.

And your reed conversion?

In other words, any and all pictures. If possible, in the order mentioned.

Thanks.

Bill.

DICKEYBIRD

Wm, here's a pic of the RR-1 innards that Martin Hepperle shows on his website. Looks like the hat shaped rear drum valve spins in the forward section of the fuel tank and is driven by the crankpin. The venturi and needle look like they are the same as a regular reed engine. Very cool stuff but apparently not worth the extra production costs involved vs. additional power output. Wish I had one though!

Strykaas

Hello,

Can U tell me what kind of fuel these Cox little engines are using ?

Is it something like 20% nitro, 20 % castor oil, 60 %methanol ???

Thanks for answering this newbie question !!!!

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

D'Bird:

Interesting. I wondered if it would be a drum valve, but I definitely thought one of the design goals would have been to eliminate the attached fuel tank.

Any more pictures?

Bill.

DICKEYBIRD

Welcome Strykaas, the mixture you mentioned would do just fine in a Cox engine. Depending on prop size and climactic conditions, you may have to add an extra gasket or 2 under the head to reduce the compression if you find that your mixture setting is too sensitive.

Strykaas

Are these extra head gaskets packaged with the engine when u buy it ?

Thanks

DICKEYBIRD

Unfortunately not, Cox engines and replacement glow plugs each come with only 1 gasket. Just run your engine before worrying about extra gaskets. If you're mixing your own fuel, 15% nitro is generally pretty safe for stock engines.

Tim Wiltse-RCU

For those that haven't seen one this is a Space Hopper .049. Reed valve intake. Very strong engine!

Tim Wiltse-RCU

This is one of my RR-1 Clones. It's a reed valve intake unlike the real RR-1 which is a rear rotor intake. Notice on the picture Dickybird had that the crank pin is longer than a stock .049. One good thing with the RR-1 is that the rotor timing will NOT allow it to run backwards unless you bought a rotor for reverse rotation!