Winmac
 

I have a control line airplane with an old engine it in. The engine is called a Winmac and I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find a new glow plug for it?

Winmac
 

It's Wen-Mac and I had a few of them in the early 60's. They didn't run worth a poot. I think a Cox glow plug will work on them. I got more enjoyment just flnging the plane around on a string as the engines were not reliable. Seems to me that I saw someone somewhere who is collecting these. Sell it and get soemthing that actually works.

Winmac
 

Actually the wen mac wasn't a bad motor at all. Can you believe that it was designed by Bill Atwood the same man who designed the Cox TD series. At any rate it was made origionally by A.M.F. same company that made bowling equipment and it really wasn't a bad running motor. The trick was that you needed a really hot plug and a good fresh battery to get it going. In those days we all used alkaline batteries and they dropped off just enough to make starting that motor miserable. It runs best with 5-4 props and will turn decent rpm with cox 20% in it. and yes a wen mac in good condition might get $5/$10 on Ebay :cool:

Winmac
 

There were a lot of different variations on the wenmac, but I have never had one that was not a decent runner. Some of them really nice. It came as quite a surprise, as I would have ASSUMED them to be all junk, considering their price. Actually very nice running engines.
If you have one that has a built-in glow head, as opposed to a head with a glow plug, try a cox one. I think they fit. And the more nitro, the better.
Don't bother with fifteen percent or anything. Cox fuel, or even better, cox racing fuel.
They have very little collector value, so run it and have fun with it.
Actually, if you have a plastic airplane by wenmac that came with the motor, THAT is sure to be worth something. Some of them quite a lot. What plane is it?

Fond Memories
 

I remember a Wen Mac Dauntless I recievied as a gift. I was about 10 and couldn't start the engine. My uncle who didn't know anything about model airplanes had no trouble starting it. Wonder how much that Dauntless would be worth. I recall it looked a lot better than it flew!

Winmac
 

Boy, this brings back some memories! My first "real" model airplane had a Wen-Mac 049 on it. As I recall, it was a knockoff of the Atwood Wasp.........or am I having a senior moment? Anyway, mine ran like a bat out of h--- on a Jim Walker Firebaby. The neighbors hated it. I would go out on our screened-in porch to "test run" it at every opportunity. I probably wore it out "testing" it! Dzl

Wen-Mac
 

My parents bought me a Wen-Mac Corsair when I was a kid. Like someone else stated, I too learned to fly control line by swinging the model on really short lines without the engine running.

Later, my parents bought me the Wen-Mac P-38 Lightning. I was king of the neighborhood with that one. It came equipped with the vastly improved Mk.IV engines that I had absolutely no problem starting. My Wen-Macs used a discrete short glow plug. In those days, the Testors glow plug was readily available at the local hobbyshop, as was Testor's "39 Glow" fuel. That is what almost all of us used in Salem County, NJ.

Winmac
 

Ed: I am glad to see I was not alone in being unable to get my Wen-Mac 049 running long enough to fly. I think mine was on a Stuka and a Corsair but I whipped it around on short lines and it actually flew
until I got too dizzy and fell over. I must have had some of the very early poor running versions. I had better luck with my Cox PT-19.

Didn't I buy an OS engine from you ahwile back??

Wen Mac
 

To all those that had a wen mac p-38 a new in box is worth over $1,000.00 and a dauntless is worth several hundres NIB. Not bad for a junk motor and plane made by American Machine and Foundry AMF

Winmac
 

Yep, they made outboards, too. They are worth a pretty penny, too.
I think that a lot of the starting problems with a lot of these engines were due to the kids operating them. I know I had mixed success with engines back then that I have no problems at all with now!
The wenmac P38 is one of the Holy Grails of the gas toy collectors. There are a bunch of guys who collect just plastic CL planes. Condition is everything, though. A battered dauntless may be worth less than $50...one new in a really nice box might be $400. The P38, though, is worth a bundle in any condition. One recently sold for $1500 or so.
Buyer beware, though. There are a lot of skeevy people in the gas toy collector circuit...when you start talking about $600 for a plastic airplane, a lot of times morals go right out the window!
I strongly suggest this...if you DO dig up any of these old planes(or boats, or cars, or outboard motors), don't let anybody talk you out of them. List them on ebay, where you will get a fair price for them. If you give it away for a song, it's almost a guarantee that YOU will see it on ebay the very next week!

Winmac
 

dslstunter, that's a senior moment. The wasp is a totally different engine. A real cutie, too.

Winmac
 

Tiger, I think you hit it on the nose. I got to thinking about it later, and I think what I had WAS a Wasp :D --and it was a honey of a runner! Dzl

Winmac
 

They were and are nice engines, the wasps. Pretty. Not the most powerful, but nice runners, for sure...

Hey ShempHoward
 

I don't sell many OS engines, though I sell many other brands. However, I do not recognize your moniker. Were you an engine group moderator in another life time? If so, I recollect selling you an OS.32F ABC with some accessories.