DRafalske

Hi guys. To make a long story short, I'm wanting to get involved with this hobby again after being out of it for a long time. I'm in the market for a .60 size trainer and want to use an OS Max .60FP I have on an old model. It was last ran about 19 years ago. It ran great then, but I can promise you NO effort was made in regard to long-term storage. Basically, it was shut down and put on a shelf and there she sat. Anyway - It turns over freely. Seems to have good compression. Carb looks clean.
I'm thinking of disassembling, cleaning, reassembling, replacing the glow plug, and letting her rip. I've rebuilt car engines (like actual automobiles) so I'm not worried about my mechanical abilities.
Anything else I really need to know before I dive in? Would I be better off to just get a new engine? Oh, and is it possible to convert this engine to a remote needle valve?
And to avoid the expected comments, I definitely plan to join up with the local flying club for flight lessons, etc. Their field is like 10 minutes from my house too, so that's pretty nice!
Thanks in advance, guys.

Dave

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Sounds like you have a good plan except you may want to replace the high and low needle O rings right off the bat. After you have it apart you may find rust on the crank if so it can easily be cleaned with steel wool. Use carb cleaner to blow out all the carb passages.

DRafalske

Yeah, I figured there can't really be a whole helluva lot to them.
I had thought about the o-rings, but then I though about maybe converting it to a remote needle valve. Is there a universal kit or something? Seems like it would be easy enough to do. Or maybe find a carb off a newer OS engine with an angled needle valve. I'd really love to move it to a safer location. I've been bit before (by a little ol' Cox .049, lol) and it hurt like hell. Can't imagine what this thing would do to my hand!

D

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Dave very first thing just make sure every thing is freed up with plenty of new fuel and just start it up. Don,t disasemble the engine uneccessarily There are no ball berings to rust. Its likely from your description that it will be no problem and no you do not need a new engine unless you just want one.

The FP's are great engines with the very simple bleeder carbs and plain berings This is about the as good as a receipe for a maintenance free engine as it gets.

Like SRT said you can check the needle o rings but just start it first.

John

52larry52

My Feedback: (1)

Start by pulling the back cover off and taking a peek in there to see what it looks like and go from there. As speedracerntrixie suggests the "o" rings may have hardened with age. Pull out the needle and see if they are still soft, replace as required. Prelube the important parts before firing it up (you know about no dry starts if you have built car engines), put it on a test stand and give it a go, nothing to loose. You didn't ask about 60 size trainer suggestions but here are mine.....that 60fp would fly a Sig Kaydet Sr (the ARF version is again being built) very well. Also the Tower trainer 60 or the Hobbystar 60 would like that engine. The Hanger 9 Alfa 60 is a good choice if you can find one, as H-9 quit making them several years ago. Not sure if Tower still has thier Trainer 60 in kit form but Sig still has the Kaydet Sr in kits. What do you have in mind?

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Forget the modifications especially the remote needle much, much better to learn discipline and never reach over the prop to adjust, its as simple as that always walk behind to tune no matter what type of needle you have.


John

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Here is best trainer possible and it is a perfect match for your sixty. The different colors go in an out of stock frequently. This is the only color right now.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/90a270r-v2-white.html

John

52larry52

My Feedback: (1)

O.S.fp60's were made in both front and rear needle versions so the parts to convert yours to rear needle exist if O.S. still has them in stock. I think they made a "conversion kit" to do this at one time. It may not be cost effective (but then how much is your blood and flesh worth) to buy all parts but price it out and see. Just by looking I think O.S.65la parts may work also. Perhaps a used, cheep, donator engine off Ebay could supply the parts.

DRafalske

As far as an actual aircraft, I'm definitely going to go with ARF. My model building skills are a little rusty. Leaning toward a Hobbistar 60, or perhaps Tower Hobbies' extremely similar looking offering. Still looking around though. Thank you for your suggestions! I'll probably do a more detailed search here or maybe open a thread regarding this as I get closer to making a purchase.
Thanks for the pointers on the engine so far. If anyone has anything else to add please don't hesitate. I'll post back with my progress with it.
Thanks again!
Dave

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I'm surprised it will roll over for you. Usually the castor oil gums them up pretty bad and they require heat to loosen up. Pretty much everything John said. I often just open the back plate and soak the engine in some fuel, close it back up and try starting it to see how it runs. Sort of get an idea what it may need in the way of parts or if maybe it needs a rebuild or replacement?? A lot of time I just get lucky and they run fine. Pretty much any trainer you like will be fine, for the most part they all fly about the same.

DRafalske

Hey guys, wanted to check in. I just spent the morning tinkering with this old engine. I took the back plate off and there was a fair amount of gummed up castor oil in there. Upon closer inspection, I found the carb a bit gummy as well. I cleaned it all up, pre-lubed everything, and mounted it on a basic test stand I threw together. Fueled it up and she started without too much trouble. I'm glad to report it ran as good as I remember and seems to have plenty of power. Responded well to throttle changes as well.
I have a couple more questions though. First is most concerning to me:
There seems to be a bit of endplay in the crank. I'd call it excessive if I was dealing with a small-block, but I'm not sure what's normal for these little buggers. I didn't measure it, but seems to be about 1mm. Maybe it goes away as the engine warms up and the case expands?
I'm also getting raw oil out the exhaust. Maybe it was running rich? It idled well and ran fine all the way to WOT. Needle was open about 2 whole turns.

Thanks guys. Getting excited to be flying again!

Dave

52larry52

My Feedback: (1)

The seamingly excessive crankshaft end play on your 60FP I believe is "normal" on this engine. I have two of them (one front needle and one rear needle) and they both have lots of end play. These 60 FP engines to also have a strange distintive sound (noise) when running and I always thought it was because of the crank end play. I wouldn't worry to much as it sounds like yours is good. Mount it in an airplane, make your final needle adjustments before takeoff and go for it!

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Crankshaft end play is normal and even more noticible with most any plain bering engine such as an FP. Most plain bering engines will exhibit a rattle at low RPM's and it is not piston slap but the crankshaft doing a rattle on its fore and aft axis.

Some years ago I used a lot of the K&B Sportsters in the .20 and .28 sizes. These engines were not even begining to get broken in until at idle you thought the crank was gonna fly out and man did they rattle but they were great. We called them the teakettle K&B's.

John