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32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

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32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Old 09-05-2011, 12:30 PM
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Benniec
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Default 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

I'm looking for info on what I need to do to convert a 32cc craftsman weedeater into an rc car or truck
Old 09-05-2011, 01:16 PM
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Lars from Norway
 
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Have a look in the large scale section, there is a sticky thread on the top where i have seen some threads about this subject. What car/truck are you aiming to put this motor in?
Old 09-05-2011, 05:12 PM
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Benniec
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Thanks. I'm not really sure. This is something new for me and I'm just looking for as much info as possible
Old 09-05-2011, 08:26 PM
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rangerfredbob
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

The build of the 32cc craftsman is VERY similar to the 31cc Ryobi, so if you find a build with one of those it should give you an idea, but don't mistake the Ryobi 30 for the 31 as the 30 is the same as a Homelite 25/30cc.
Old 09-05-2011, 09:21 PM
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sam123
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Im guessing your engine is a half-crank design (pullstart at the front, on the side of the output shaft). They are lightweight, and reasonably powerful engines BUT, they are not the best choice for rc cars. The clutches on them (if it does have a clutch) are not really designed to take lateral load. I don't want to kill your enthusiasm, but this is what I have gained from personal experience. You may want to find another weedeater engine with a cluch similar to those used on the zenoah engines. You should be able to find a fairly cheap one second hand. If you really want to use the craftsman engine in your project, you may have to consider retrofitting a different clutch...but this is quite hard to do without the appropriate tools.
Old 09-05-2011, 09:48 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Yeah what Sam said.
I'm not familiar with the motor you're talking about but a clutch is a must for starters.


Other things to consider is gear reduction.
Chain and/or sprockets are usually easy to find at scrapyards and similar places.

Are you building the whole car from scratch?
Try not to get too technical to begin with.
Make a simple car with a rigid chassis and modify it from there on.

Access to a lathe is not a requirement but it does help when it comes to mounting sprockets and wheels etc.

When building something from scratch (and using scrap) nothing ever fits and will have to be modified in one way or another.


There's plenty of us here who can (and will) help you along the way with ideas and tips for your project.




Old 09-07-2011, 07:52 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Well I happen to have 2 craftsman 32cc motors. If it can't be done then I will go another route, but was just asking what it would take.
Old 09-07-2011, 08:16 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

It can be done but would take some creativity. The clutch only has one bearing so you would need to integrate a bearing on the nose or drive it with the square drive with the shaft being driven supported with two bearings.
Old 09-07-2011, 08:27 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Of course it can be done but it's up to you how you do it.
It will take time and patience, trial and error.....

I would start with making a chassis from an aluminium plate and work out how to attach the motor to it.
It will need to be secured well to the plate in a few spots.

Once the motor is done work on the rear axle and transmission.
Sprockets and chain is the easiest way.

Are you familiar with gear ratios?
You'll need to gear it down it to about 6:1 to 8:1.
A 6:1 the motor turns 6 times for every turn of the rear wheels.

You may have to replace the springs in the clutch to get the revs up higher before it engages.

Depending on what size wheels you're going to use you'll probably have to do a dual chain and sprocket setup, otherwise the sprockets will be too big.

I've used angle grinder heads a few times as gear reduction, in combination with sprocket and chain.


The steering will be tricky.
Either build it from scratch or use something off an old RC car.




It would help if you posted a couple of pics of the motor and other things you're going to use rather than just asking "How do I do it?" as there's no magic formula for building a home made RC car

What sort of machinery have you got access to?
Welder, lathe, drillpress, benchgrinder, angle grinder, jigsaw etc etc?








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Old 09-07-2011, 08:33 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info



A couple more of my contraptions.


Videos of some of my cars can be found [link=http://www.youtube.com/user/hairyalien]HERE[/link]







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Old 09-07-2011, 09:15 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info



And here's a guy that used a Ryobi motor in his homebuild.


[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7951559/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm]CLICK 1[/link]



[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8397120/anchors_8397120/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#8397120]CLICK 2[/link]




Old 09-08-2011, 08:17 PM
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Benniec
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

Here are a few pics of the engine I have.
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Old 09-08-2011, 08:52 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info


ORIGINAL: Dirty_Vinylpusher

And here's a guy that used a Ryobi motor in his homebuild.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7951559/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm]CLICK 1[/link]

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8397120/anchors_8397120/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#8397120]CLICK 2[/link]
Those are the newer 30cc engines with piston porting and side exhaust, not reed induction and rear exhaust.

One thing about this engine is it could be laid flat on the chassis for a very low profile instead of stood up like everyone does.
Old 09-08-2011, 10:30 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info


ORIGINAL: Benniec

Here are a few pics of the engine I have.


Well... that doesn't have a clutch.....
So it's not gonna be able to idle without the wheels spinning. []





Old 09-09-2011, 05:56 AM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

he took the clutch off, if it didn't have the clutch the shaft would be about 1" long instead of 4". You have to take the clutch off to get the plastics off.
Old 09-09-2011, 06:58 AM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info

It has a clutch- I took it off to take a look at the plastic housing and the pull cord. The pull cord is not working properly. I will take a few pics of the clutch and stuff tonight. The pull cord seems to work sometimes but other times it makes a funny noise like its not catching

The ryobi info was great. This is sort of the idea I have and what I started designing.
Old 09-09-2011, 04:03 PM
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Default RE: 32 cc craftsman engine looking to convert to rc car or truck. Need info



Ah ok fair enough.

Forgive me, but a lot of people come on to these forums and start a thread like this and are never heard from again after a few posts.

The clutch issue had been mentioned a few times and you didn't say anything about it in any of your replies.
When you posted a pic of that motor without one it wasn't clear if you even knew what a clutch was.
See where I'm coming from?



So.


I would try what rangerfredbob said - use the original seup with the square drive and set up an axle separate to the clutch on a pair of bearings and build the transmission off that.
That way you can remove the motor from the rest of the gear easy by just slipping the square end out of the clutch.



Look at using these holes for mounting.
Maybe make up a bracket that covers all 4 holes and then fix it to the chassis.

Take the fuel tank off and mount it separately on the car.
Another thing to think of is to get a spark plug with an "R" in the product number as it will cause less interference with the electronics.



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