Re: $50 box of engines arrived

Jason_WI Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:52 am

All my Cox engines are cleaned in denatured alcohol. I soak them completely broken down for a few hours fully submerged. Don’t leave any parts stick up in the air or oxidation can occur.

I use a firm tooth brush to clean the parts after the soak. The castor varnish melts right off in the denatured alcohol. On stubborn areas I will take a fine brass brush to do the final areas where castor is stuck. If the aluminum has oxidized I will take 0000 steel wool to brighten it up. Metal back plates will get the brass brush to clean any oxidation off.

On the sportsman above I had to take the glow head to the lathe with 500 grit sandpaper to clean it up after straightening the fins out. The Venturi retaining nut was also heavily scarred with tooling marks. I sanded them out on the lathe just enough to remove them. Then polished all the parts with 0000 steel wool.

For the plastic parts I will soak in warm water with dawn dish soap. It will cut the film off but can bleach out the plastic and leave a white film. Some novus plastic polish can remove the film.

The plastic tank you pictured above has tank rot by the fuel nipple. This is caused by the chlorine in the PVC tubing leaching out. Only a new tank can fix it. I store all my TD .010 and TD .020 tanked engines with the tubing removed from the tank. I have bought lots of replacement tanks from MECOA and at $18.99 and $16.99 each it adds up quick. Maybe that’s why I got a free hat with my last MECOA order.

crankbndr Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:56 am

Pretty unusual .020 stuff you got, worth the dollars alone. Ive never seen that car engine for sale. I didn't know they were throttled??

rsv1cox Sun Jan 07, 2018 1:07 pm

Thanks for the hints Jason.

I don't have a lathe, but I have used a drill press to good results when polishing things. Like you I looked at a Harbor Freight mini lathe but don't know if I could do it justice with my limited experience.

Bob

Jason_WI Sun Jan 07, 2018 2:08 pm

I don’t believe the .020 car engines were throttled. Here are pictures of the car engine. The crank is larger than the standard crank. I have 2 if these car engines and both have the never went into production tanks according to the engine handbook. So either I got lucky or the car engines came with these special tanks from the factory. So the car engine was missing tank screws and glow head. I need to bore out a drive plate for it yet.

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Jason_WI Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:32 pm

rsv1cox wrote:Thanks for the hints Jason.

I don't have a lathe, but I have used a drill press to good results when polishing things. Like you I looked at a Harbor Freight mini lathe but don't know if I could do it justice with my limited experience.

Bob

Here is a early babe bee with a 3 piece piston. I broke the engine down and soaked in the denatured for an hour. I brushed the parts clean. I only used a fine brass brush on the tank and crankcase. Reassembled and added an older glow head.

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crankbndr Sun Jan 07, 2018 6:01 pm

Between alcohol, glow fuel, Hoppes and brushing and steel wool I've never needed an antifreeze boil.

rsv1cox Sun Jan 07, 2018 6:03 pm

Jason_WI wrote:
rsv1cox wrote:Thanks for the hints Jason.

I don't have a lathe, but I have used a drill press to good results when polishing things. Like you I looked at a Harbor Freight mini lathe but don't know if I could do it justice with my limited experience.

Bob

Here is a early babe bee with a 3 piece piston. I broke the engine down and soaked in the denatured for an hour. I brushed the parts clean. I only used a fine brass brush on the tank and crankcase. Reassembled and added an older glow head.

]

It's coincidental that we are both cleaning up what are essentially the same early Cox Babe Bee engines Jason, to my advantage as I may learn something. I may know Enyas inside and out but I am woefully at shame with most Cox engines as to vintage and applications.

Mine was complete and I think all original when I started. I like keeping vintage engines as original as possible, but having a lot of spare Cox drive washers I did replace the plier damaged one on this engine, but left everything else alone. Mine was A/F boiled, Simple Green cleaned and hot water rinsed. I thought about leaving the tank alone but decided to buff it out on a wheeled buffer. The case was scared up pretty bad but I didn't touch it.

I think the glow plug is a Babe Bee original? But I failed to check the piston. I gather from your text that Cox made a three piece piston with a collar around the base of the connecting rod. I pictured what I think is a later piston, and is that the correct head for that engine? Mine doesn't not have that type of reed holder shown in picture 151-1 above. My SBJ does have that type though nor does it have "Thimble-Drome" on the tank, but I have other's that do.

I judge an early Babe Bee as having a tapered case, no starter spring, a screen-less intake, and a different head along with what now I understand is a different piston ???

Bob

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Thanks for any help - Bob

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