Art & Inspiration 302 Ford small block, really small.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

There is a machinest/drag engine builder near Seattle by the name of Steve Hansen of Hansen Engineering/Engine Dynamics who builds miniature engines in his home shop, as well. I'm dumbfounded as to the talent required to build these.

The Kustom Falcon Build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734282

 

That thing sounds awesome! Amazing work, I am totally blown away.

 

This is the most amazingly detailed scale engine I've seen. You are vey talented!
How did you stamp the Ford logo onto the top radiator tank?

 

amazing work..i wish i had a quarter of your talent..

 

Hi 1964 country sedan,
I used a conventional vertical mill and an 11" Logan lathe. I started with a round piece of 1144 stress proof steel. The mains were rough turned on the lathe leaving about .02 for finish. The rear main was left larger so 4 flats could be cut on it while milling the throws. The crank was then put on the mill to rough out the throws with a dividing head. The cheeks were cut to width leaving enough for the journal fillets. Two fixture blocks were made, one with a bored through hole to match the front main journal and a center hole equal to the throw radius. This block was split so that a clamping bolt set at 90 degrees would clamp the block to the front main journal. The second block had an offset hole bored into to match the larger diameter on the rear main. At right angles to the bored hole is a tapped hole for a set screw that had been flattened to sit against the milled flats. The blocks are mounted on the crank and the whole assembly is put on the layout plate to clamp and indicate. First the set screw is tightened against the flat and then the front journal block is set parallel and the clamping screw tightened. The setup is then returned to the lathe where it's mounted in a 4 jaw chuck and supported on the other end with a live center. The correct throw offset is dialed in and the throws are rough turned. This is repeated for each throw journal. On my 302 crank I took a narrow grinding wheel and thinned it down so I could get between the cheeks and finish grind the journals. Once the throws were finished the crank was set up between centers and the mains were finished.
gbritnell

 

Thanks. I will digest that.

 

Found a race for you. Chevy vs Ford mini engine shoot out LOL.

Not mine just found it online.

Did you build this one too?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0KtL2hotCY

 

That is awesome

 

What are the spark plugs from....? That is some awesome workmanship.

 

Mind blowing skills!

 

Hi Hotrod33,
Here's a little background on miniature engine spark plugs.
Prior to about 1947 model airplane engines used actual spark plugs. These were actually made by Champion and AC. The thread sizes were 1/4-32 and 3/8-24. As with a lot of inventions they happen through some strange discovery. This is how glow plugs came into being.
With the need for heavy on board batteries and ignition points eliminated spark plug engines were soon replaced by glow plugs so the sources for actual miniature plugs also dried up.
There was one company in the early 70's out of Colorado that made 1/4-32 plugs but they also disappeared so if you built an I.C. engine at that time you had to use a larger plug which was out of scale or make your own.
There are several materials used for home made plug insulators, two of which are Teflon and Corian. The plug shells are machined much like the full sized plugs and the insulators are machined and drilled for the center electrode wire. To assemble the plugs the insulator is placed into the shell and then the shell is crimped over to hold it in place.
My 302 was built when there were no plugs available so mine are home made.
There is a company that has been making miniature plugs in several sizes for about 12 years or so. The name of the company is Rimfire. The plugs are very well made but for mulit-cylinder engines it gets a little pricey, $21.00 per plug.
The first 2 plugs are the originals made by Champion in the 40's
The second picture is one of my machined shells and an assembled plug.
The third picture is one of the new Rimfire plugs.
gbritnell

 

ultimate respect, beautiful ~sololobo~

 

Thanks for the response on the plugs. Your work is that of a master craftsman.