Some new engines

Oldenginerod Tue May 05, 2015 4:10 am

Thanks to Rene (marleysky) and his visit to the Toledo model show, I have now added two more engines to my collection. Here's the before pictures.
Some new engines Toledo10

This is a DC (Davies-Charlton) Wasp .049 which has just arrived down under. Apart from the incredible amount of "gunk" plastered all over it, it looks to be in excellent condition. Just need to clean it up and figure out what British thread the prop screw might be.

Some new engines Toledo11

This one's an Anderson Spitfire .049. Not a "Baby" .045 or a "Royal" .065. I already had both of these models.
This also is filthy but looks to be in excellent condition. It is only missing the two backplate mounting screws.

I will post my "after" clean up pictures when they're done. Currently have them stewing away in some anti-freeze. Very nearly cremated them. Affraid or WOW!

My normal practice, in the absence of a crock-pot, is to sit the engines in a can just covered over in the anti-freeze and place it in a small toaster over overnight. I found an old aluminium spray gun pot I thought would be good and stuck them in the oven at about 200°C to get them started. As I was leaving my shed tonight I went to make my way to the oven to turn it down and "POOF" went the oven, with flames coming out the door. No!

Turns out the old paint disolved and floated to the top, reaching its flash point. Smothered it out easily and turned the temp down to simmer.

Heck, better go back out & check it's safe. Got me worried now. Sad Goodbye

Marleysky Tue May 05, 2015 7:27 am

I was just having my 1st cup of coffee this morning and wondering "I wonder when Rod will receive his engines" Then, much to my surprise, I find your post on the CEF! I'm so glad you received them safely, and concerned that you almost burned down Devil

your work shed trying to get them cleaned up. Be safe and enjoy them.

Oldenginerod Tue May 05, 2015 10:20 pm

Oldenginerod wrote:

This is a DC (Davies-Charlton) Wasp .049 which has just arrived down under. Apart from the incredible amount of "gunk" plastered all over it, it looks to be in excellent condition. Just need to clean it up and figure out what British thread the prop screw might be.

This one's an Anderson Spitfire .049. Not a "Baby" .045 or a "Royal" .065. I already had both of these models.

Well there you go folks. The only difference between the before and after shots (apart from the before being taken in the USA and the after being taken in Australia) is a night's simmering in anti-freeze, a scrub with a toothbrush and a squirt of WD. I would have to say it's worked pretty good. Both were locked solid with the piston up top, but after the soak they both freed up with very gentle persuasion. Scrubbed, rinsed, blown dry, a squirt of WD and a drop of oil. Feel like brand new again. Thumbs Up

Rod.

Theo Kleynhans Wed May 06, 2015 2:12 am

That is awesome man. Looks like brand new engines!!

Theo

1/2A Nut Wed May 06, 2015 4:13 am

Great job on the clean up, these lil guys are ready for a plane hope you get some spare time to run them and enjoy! Very Happy

Greeenie for you well done!

roddie Wed May 06, 2015 5:12 am

Lookin' good Rod! I'll bet that paint cup is nice and clean too! Is that now going to be your official small engine bathtub? lol!

Oldenginerod Wed May 06, 2015 7:27 am

roddie wrote:Lookin' good Rod! I'll bet that paint cup is nice and clean too! Is that now going to be your official small engine bathtub?

Yeah, now that the paint's gone and I shouldn't have any combustion problems I'll certainly use it again. My nice clean coolant came out as brown sludge.

Thanks for the Greenie 1/2A Nut. Just thought is was worth sharing the results when it worked so well. I need to track down a 6BA prop screw for the DC and some backplate screws for the Spitfire & I'm ready to test. Unlike most old engines I get, these both had needle valves.

Marleysky Wed May 06, 2015 7:44 am

Rod, those engines look fantastic! I guess I'd better get a tin can or "clean " aluminum cup to soak the rest of the bunch in to make them look like yours! You also did a fine job of matching background colors for the engines...it is rather difficult to match the faded paint of a '89 Mercury Marquis, but your fabric selection works.

Oldenginerod Wed May 06, 2015 8:01 am

Marleysky wrote:Rod, those engines look fantastic! I guess I'd better get a tin can or "clean " aluminum cup to soak the rest of the bunch in to make them look like yours! You also did a fine job of matching background colors for the engines...it is rather difficult to match the faded paint of a '89 Mercury Marquis, but your fabric selection works.

Yeah, even managed to get the shadow at the same angle, even though we're in the opposite hemisphere Thumbs Up

I still think the use of a Crock Pot for the cook-up would be better, but I just don't have one. I'd better start searching the local thrift stores. (called Opportunity Shops out here). Cooking in an oven is certainly not recommended in the house as the fumes can be toxic.

I was really lucky with the engines because they were in top shape under the gunk. Engines that have corroded finishes usually get the brass wire brush treatment after their soak, but I prefer to have an original factory finish if I can.

getback Wed May 06, 2015 8:09 am

WOW those really turned out nice !! I will have to try this method , ii know George has been doing it with good results , are you using straight anti-freeze ? The DC looks a lot like a FROG ,,.. Some new engines _1210

well the cly. anyway Cinco de Mayo

Marleysky Wed May 06, 2015 9:19 am

Rod, that's just too cool...you did get the shading to match!!
BY THE WAY....I was so concerned about packing the engines in a way to not have the needle valves bent or broken during shipment, I forgot to include the prop screw, as it stuck out further than the NV. Did not realize it was a special thread either, until I read your post. Keep watching your mail....I have an envelope on its way to you.....so you can run that engine.

Marleysky Wed May 06, 2015 10:38 am

getback wrote:WOW those really turned out nice !! I will have to try this method , ii know George has been doing it with good results , are you using straight anti-freeze ? The DC looks a lot like a FROG ,,.. well the cly. anyway

Yep, according to history of Davies-Charlton ltd:
Throughout the 1960's Davies-Charlton continued to maintain their position in the marketplace with their established D-C and Frog line-ups. Bill Callow began his career with D-C Ltd during this period, starting as an engineering apprentice in 1968

I just stumble along, learning as I go. Cinco de Mayo

for more history...or the rest of the story read this:
http://modelenginenews.org/people/dc_ltd.html

balogh Wed May 06, 2015 3:55 pm

[quote="Oldenginerod

Well there you go folks. The only difference between the before and after shots (apart from the before being taken in the USA and the after being taken in Australia) is a night's simmering in anti-freeze, a scrub with a toothbrush and a squirt of WD. I would have to say it's worked pretty good. Both were locked solid with the piston up top, but after the soak they both freed up with very gentle persuasion. Scrubbed, rinsed, blown dry, a squirt of WD and a drop of oil. Feel like brand new again. Thumbs Up

Rod.[/quote]

Beautiful metamorphosis.. If it only takes a trip to down under to get so fresh and crispy, I will get myself a return ticket on Quantas... lol!

GallopingGhostler Wed May 06, 2015 4:22 pm

getback wrote:WOW those really turned out nice !! I will have to try this method , ii know George has been doing it with good results, are you using straight anti-freeze? The DC looks a lot like a FROG .... well the cyl. anyway

Eric, regarding what antifreeze mix and proportions, one will just have to satisfy themselves on what's best. I used the "mixes with all antifreeze" solution good for 5 years, which was a couple years old. I can't vouch for the newer antifreezes. That which I used, yellowish green in color with warnings of toxicity and the older toxic ethylene glycol mixtures work. Some say the propylene glycol mixtures work, but I haven't tried them.

It is amazing what a good soak in heated antifreeze will do. It turns the dirtiest engines into show pieces. It does such a nice job, that I "blasphemously" left my two Testors McCoy .35 Red Heads with natural aluminium heads. My reasons were for improved cooling whilst running and as an art form to denote that these have been altered somewhat (Evo 40/46 remote needle valve).

But those are beautiful engines to behold after being cleaned up, will really dress up a good model if they decide to use them. Thumbs Up

And that nice looking DC engine, if you can't find an original needle, nice thing is that one can replace the spray bar with another like the right sized Enya NVA. Very Happy

Oldenginerod Wed May 06, 2015 5:13 pm

Marleysky wrote:Rod, that's just too cool...you did get the shading to match!!
BY THE WAY....I was so concerned about packing the engines in a way to not have the needle valves bent or broken during shipment, I forgot to include the prop screw, as it stuck out further than the NV. Did not realize it was a special thread either, until I read your post. Keep watching your mail....I have an envelope on its way to you.....so you can run that engine.

Rene.
The original pictures of the engines you sent showed that this DC didn't have a prop screw and the other one did. I purchased it knowing I'd need to find one. If there was one that you can send, that's great thanks, but I might take ffkiwi's advice and try to locate a socket head screw to use when I run it, for added security. Having the original will be great as well so that I can display it in original form. I think I will find it far easier to find BA screws out here than what you could in America.

By the way, your packaging was excellent. Short of getting run over, those puppys were never gonna get damamged.

In conclusion folks, regarding the cleaning in anti-freeze, I'd be very careful if your engines have painted or anodized finishes. As George shared, this method took the paint off the McCoy heads. I don't know how coloured anodizing would go. I don't have something to sacrifice for a test, but I may try to find a small coloured aluminium part from something that's not precious and test it to see.

Rod.

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