can someone tell me what the original engine was for this rupp please

ianmanning26

ianmanning26

New Member
#1
#1
i bought it and it had a 3.5 clinton on it that i have since torn down cleaned and got running great. anyway i need to know what the original engine was on the bike from the factory. i know it was a tec but dont know which one. also what year was this made, the bike i mean. i have been told this is either a tt500 or an xl350 which is really no help at all because they look identical in the pics i have seen. thanks. the clinton is for sale by the way. not sure on a price yet, let me know if you want it, like i said it runs now.
 
ianmanning26

ianmanning26

New Member
#2
#2


heres the rupp with the clinton on it.
\the clinton is all cleaned up now so no grease on it anywhere. however there is still some rust as in the pic. it cleaned up pretty well and runs great
 
middleoftheroad

middleoftheroad

Member
#4
#4
If you look under all that muck on the engine plate, there might be some tell tale signs of the original engines mounting placement. Big blocks mount far right on that bike for alignment.Your bike also has disc brakes,upper end bikes had the big block.
 
ianmanning26

ianmanning26

New Member
#5
#5
So big block tec? Hs50 Mabye, or hs40? unfortunately I cannot tell what was on it by looking at the mounting plate. from what the guy I bought it from told me the original engine was only on it for about a year before they replaced it because some kid blew the engine up and he doesn't remember what the original engine was. I know it's definitely a tecumseh with the lighting coil and I have the head and tail light with t. but honestly I have no idea I know someone out there has 1 of these originalhis bike it's just not in the picture. that makes me think it was an h s 40 or h s 50
 
oldfatguy

oldfatguy

Active Member
#6
#6
hs40 or hs50 are small blocks, the h50,h60,h70 are considered big blocks. Rupp used Tecumseh engines on all their bikes but don't give up on that Clinton because they have some value to an engine collector.You may even find someone willing to trade you a Tecumseh for that Clinton. Almost any Tecumseh engine would look correct on your bike once you decide how you want to build it. That's a real nice bike, congratulations on the score. I vote for putting an h60 on, they are my favorite Tecumseh engine. It probably had an hs40 with a lighting coil originally but they go for big bucks if you can find one.
 
The Restore Kid

The Restore Kid

New Member
#8
#8
Yup.. H50 big block... You're lucky on that front sorta.. Being H50's are petty common motors for snow blowers and rototillers.. Even if ya find an H60 6 horse or 70 7 horse to put in there, it all looks about the same...

There actually is a tell-tale little diamond shape that will give you away to a trained eye...But for the most part, H an HM50 is an easier to find Tecumseh..



:laugh: thats pretty sad we are OldMiniBikes and can't provide a niced detailed pic of any engine you could need to know what they look like... It should be a sticky thread, ID'ing your engine...

Heres one in a Monkey Wards I had..... Should look just like this motor..

 
ianmanning26

ianmanning26

New Member
#9
#9
that's an awesome looking a little bike I would love to have 1 just like that. I got lucky today and met an old man that owns a lawn mower and small engine repair shop just like me I went into a shop in he has literally hundreds of horizontal shaft engine ranging from 1950 to present. he sold me a couple of honda aluminum flywheels 1 from a gxv 140 and 1 from a g c v 160 for 5 bucks a piece. he was even nice enough to give me the coils to go with them so I'm going to try those out on my clones and on my g x 200 to see if any of them will fit. hopefully they do. anyway I definitely spotted some old tecumseh's in there I didn't get a close look at them but I know he has them so that's where I'm going to get my engine from as a matter of fact he had 1 that looked exactly like the 1 you just showed me in the picture, same color size in everything so I'm probly going to pick that up for him. I'm sure I could easily throw a clone engine on this rupp, but then what's the point the way I see it it's not just a mini bike it's a piece of american history. that's why I want to make it all original
 
mlanzoni

mlanzoni

#10
#10
Judging from the single engine mounting plate, the single speed, and the size of the headlight bracket, I would say its a 68 rupp XL500, which had a Tec H50, with lighting coil. Take out your wallet and calender if you plan on replacing parts. Good luck :thumbsup:
 
jmbmini

jmbmini

New Member
#12
#12
If you would read the brochure picture I gave you in the what is it section you would under stand the differeces in the models and what engine they came with new. So here you go.
 
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jmbmini

jmbmini

New Member
#13
#13
Here is a picture of a big block Tecumseh H50. To give you a Idea of what one looks like which H40-H70 all have this style throttle hook up for minibikes.
 
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