Hey guys, I really need help finding this engine, or the 5hp version preferably. I need it for my MTD trail flite, I want to keep it original.

J

Jinlo8324

New Member
#3
#3
Triley41395 said:
Are you wanting a 1971 engine only or are you open to other years? What part of the country are you located in?
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Open to other years as long as they look the same and work with the 1971 electronics. I'm in Michigan. I also need a kickstand, a belt guard, the headlight/taillight lenses, the original headlight/kill switch, and the left side brake handle. As well as any information on the measurements of the front wheel bearings.
 
Triley41395

Triley41395

Well-Known Member
#4
#4
The charging engines can get expensive especially of that Era. Some of the parts your looking for can be ordered from
Blackwidowmotorsports.net
They did have kickstands but not sure what other they may have.
You could use an HS40 from a snowblower which should be easy to find in Michigan but likely will not run the lights. There are some options to change the bulbs(LED) and use batteries for the original lights. I do not have any MTD's so I'm not aware of all the options.
Post up some pictures of your mini.
Also a post in the wanted section might get you some parts and of course Fleabay
 
J

Jinlo8324

New Member
#5
#5
Triley41395 said:
The charging engines can get expensive especially of that Era. Some of the parts your looking for can be ordered from
Blackwidowmotorsports.net
They did have kickstands but not sure what other they may have.
You could use an HS40 from a snowblower which should be easy to find in Michigan but likely will not run the lights. There are some options to change the bulbs(LED) and use batteries for the original lights. I do not have any MTD's so I'm not aware of all the options.
Post up some pictures of your mini.
Also a post in the wanted section might get you some parts and of course Fleabay
Click to expand...
I'm ok with it being pricey. I've heard from other people that the one from black widow isn't correct. I'll post in wanted, thank you!
 
J

Jinlo8324

New Member
#8
#8
EricD.. said:
They are out there. Expensive. Good option is to find a snowblower. They are usually cheap and be converted over
Click to expand...
If I take an hs40 from a snowblower or something, could I convert it to a charging engine and make it look like the original engine with an original cover?
 
Triley41395

Triley41395

Well-Known Member
#9
#9
Jinlo8324 said:
I'm ok with it being pricey. I've heard from other people that the one from black widow isn't correct. I'll post in wanted, thank you!
Click to expand...
Can't say about the kickstand since I don't have any MTD'S if you do buy a charging engine be aware of who you buy from, there are so great members on here and scammers show up about daily.
 
Triley41395

Triley41395

Well-Known Member
#10
#10
Jinlo8324 said:
If I take an hs40 from a snowblower or something, could I convert it to a charging engine and make it look like the original engine with an original cover?
Click to expand...
Yes you can if you find the correct parts which could be harder than finding a finished engine. There are a lot of differences in the Era of engine you find, different flywheels, shrouds,ect. and I'm definitely not the one to ask about that. You should just get a basic HS40/HS50 and enjoy your bike, while you research what you need and aquire the parts.
Remember without the original engine the bike will never be "Original" but it can still be enjoyed and rode. Have some fun now and spend your money along the way.
Summers coming...
 
J

Jinlo8324

New Member
#11
#11
Triley41395 said:
Yes you can if you find the correct parts which could be harder than finding a finished engine. There are a lot of differences in the Era of engine you find, different flywheels, shrouds,ect. and I'm definitely not the one to ask about that. You should just get a basic HS40/HS50 and enjoy your bike, while you research what you need and aquire the parts.
Remember without the original engine the bike will never be "Original" but it can still be enjoyed and rode. Have some fun now and spend your money along the way.
Summers coming...
Click to expand...
Of course! I know it can never be 100% original but I'll find something to put on there until I can find the type of engine it would've originally had. That would be as close as I need to original.
 
E

EricD..

Member
#12
#12
Jinlo8324 said:
If I take an hs40 from a snowblower or something, could I convert it to a charging engine and make it look like the original engine with an original cover?
Click to expand...
Yes you can but finding a lighting coil and flywheel for an early HS40 is a little difficult and pricy. But they do come up for sale. If you can live with the more square shroud there are more options out there. I’m no expert, But I just went through this. I ended up finding a 1970 lighting coil engine. It wasnt cheap and didn’t run either. But I really wanted the correct engine with the curved shroud. The good news on snow blower engines is the internals are usually in good shape.
 
J

Jinlo8324

New Member
#14
#14
EricD.. said:
Yes you can but finding a lighting coil and flywheel for an early HS40 is a little difficult and pricy. But they do come up for sale. If you can live with the more square shroud there are more options out there. I’m no expert, But I just went through this. I ended up finding a 1970 lighting coil engine. It wasnt cheap and didn’t run either. But I really wanted the correct engine with the curved shroud. The good news on snow blower engines is the internals are usually in good shape.
Click to expand...
I'll probably just stick a stock non charging hs40 on there until I can find the correct engine. Thank you for the help! (Bonus photo of the front wheel after some steel wool and elbow grease)
 

Attachments

massacre

massacre

#16
#16
Black widow lists 2 different kickstands, or at least they used to. The difference is 1 is for 10" wheels, 1 is for bigger 12" front wheel. They do sell taillights/headlights, but they might only sell the complete light assembly, not the lenses separately. For a kill switch, i just used a universal kill switch. The pinrepair website is a valuable resource of information about the Trail Flites. I went through this when building my Trail Flite, i was able to find a suitable HS-50 and rebuild that engine, and found a lighted flywheel and lighting coil and the skinny shroud and starter cup. Like was said there is quite a bit involved parts-wise, maybe go to the Tecumseh section on this site and start reading threads about this. All of the info is here on this site, just gotta search a little bit to find it.
I gave up looking for a factory belt guard, and just went with a Comet torque converter and trimmed the mounting plate and plastic belt guard and it works fine.
 
J

Jinlo8324

New Member
#19
#19
massacre said:
Black widow lists 2 different kickstands, or at least they used to. The difference is 1 is for 10" wheels, 1 is for bigger 12" front wheel. They do sell taillights/headlights, but they might only sell the complete light assembly, not the lenses separately. For a kill switch, i just used a universal kill switch. The pinrepair website is a valuable resource of information about the Trail Flites. I went through this when building my Trail Flite, i was able to find a suitable HS-50 and rebuild that engine, and found a lighted flywheel and lighting coil and the skinny shroud and starter cup. Like was said there is quite a bit involved parts-wise, maybe go to the Tecumseh section on this site and start reading threads about this. All of the info is here on this site, just gotta search a little bit to find it.
I gave up looking for a factory belt guard, and just went with a Comet torque converter and trimmed the mounting plate and plastic belt guard and it works fine.
Click to expand...
It looks like they don't just sell the lense, but they do sell the sealed beam assembly for only about $25
 
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