Putting a Panther together

sparkwizard

sparkwizard

#21
#21

Have I already said I suck at painting and that I hate painting? I blasted, degreased, sprayed with carb cleaner and I still have fish eyes.
Now, I will wait for it to dry a couple of days, spray, scrub, and spray again before I can put more paint on anything. At some point, I will need to deal with a few F***ing runs, too.
Just for the record:
" I can't paint because I drink " is not true.
" I never could paint even before I started drinking." Is true.
 
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sparkwizard

sparkwizard

#23
#23

I went on a scavenger hunt this morning. I need to find bolts to put this project together. I took an A400 Panther apart last year to blast and paint. I knew all of the parts were in the blast cabinet or in the tote on the floor beneath the cabinet. I decided to put this 500 Panther together because it was already blasted and packed in a box by the previous owner (Markus). I took the crankshaft, muffler and probably the governor and carb from the A400 because the 500 was a generator engine and had a tapered crank in it, and some weird adjustable governor that somehow sensed the electrical load in the generator head or something. I'm sure I can figure that out, just not today. The air vane for the governor looks like some kind of butterfly wing that can extend and contract with some linkage I haven't found, yet. My more immediate dilemma is that I have not found either one of the little cams that slide onto the crank and operate the points. I came inside to get away from the paint fumes, think about where I was when I took my engine apart...The cam is not in the tote with the bolts and the rest of the engine.
I have not found a cam in the box with the generator parts, either.
 
sparkwizard

sparkwizard

#24
#24

I did find one cam the other day and I found the other one today. You four stroke guys might not know what these cams are. On four stroke engines, most have this cam machined as a part of the crankshaft, because they can only spin in one direction. Two stroke engines will run in either direction as long as the spark plug fires before TDC. These little cams are what opens the points to fire the plug. They were available in CW or CCW versions, and I remember seeing some that had more advance built into them for kart racing.
IMG_20250209_120833.jpg
It goes right here before the flywheel is installed. The engine will not run without this piece. IMG_20250209_120919.jpg
 
sparkwizard

sparkwizard

#25
#25

This is the aluminum flywheel from the 900 watt generator. The big, heavy generator armature was mounted on the tapered crankshaft, and I am sure it acted as a flywheel to keep the engine running. I hope this flywheel is heavy enough to allow this engine to idle. I do have a heavy cast iron flywheel, also.
IMG_20250209_121641.jpg
This engine is a model 500, which some information rated at 3HP. I have decals for my A400 that say 2 1/2 HP, and I would like to use this lightweight flywheel so it will rev up faster than the heavy iron flywheel on the A400. Kind of a sleeper.I do plan to use the A400 decals on this engine.
 
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sparkwizard

sparkwizard

#27
#27

It does run. I ran into some breathing issues while blasting the mounting base and took a break from it.
It started right up with an old chainsaw Tillotson on it, I would like to put the original carb back on with the governor.
 
sparkwizard

sparkwizard

#29
#29

I have seen that illustration before. If I decide not to connect the governor, I will probably use a diaphragm carb from a chainsaw that has cable connections already. This engine idled pretty high and "raspy" with this aluminum flywheel. With the iron flywheel, I could get a nice, steady slow idle. Do you know if there is an aluminum flywheel that might have more weight?
While you are here, @scrambler1 , do you have a crank that is not tapered that you would sell to me?
I do have another one that only needs a crank.
 
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S

scrambler1

Member
#30
#30

Crank for A400, or A490?
I can look.

A Clinton boat motor flywheel should be heavier.
There are several on ebay. Weigh yours and have an ebay seller weigh theirs before you buy.
Should look like this one. boat flywheel.jpg
 
sparkwizard

sparkwizard

#31
#31

I will need a crank for an A400. Thanks for the tip about boat flywheels. I was looking at chainsaw parts.
 
S

scrambler1

Member
#32
#32

sparkwizard said:
I will need a crank for an A400. Thanks for the tip about boat flywheels. I was looking at chainsaw parts.
Click to expand...
Chainsaw flywheel fins go the wrong way on a normal (CCW) Clinton engine.
They also have a different keyway position.
Boat flywheel should bolt right on.
 
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