Pissed off...

[Bluethunder3320]

well i already got the new gasket in today along with a new head bolt. i need money for other projects so i dont think i will be able to buy much stuff for this motor for right now. i will definately go back to it when my other projects are done... i just cant keep up right now with school, homework, and after school stuff too. so basically i get 1/7 days to actually work on what i want to a week and that day is saturday. im so tired i usually sleep in too, so i dont know what to do. i just need to take this slow. i will buy a torque wrench eventually and a valve spring tool so i can clean the valve seats, or if i get a lot of money i will buy a rebuild kit!!!
like 60 bucks though and i still need to spend about 30 on a pull start and 90 on a starter motor.

FML i have like 10 cents

 

[redsox985]

Have you ever considered a HF 6.5 instead of toiling over this and spending good sums of money?

 

[newrider3]

No thats an invalid argument. with aluminum the mapp burns almost twice as hot. with coppers melting point being 1984 degrees f its only a 200 degree difference

Go melt an engine block then. Take pics, and let's see it.

 

[devino246]

Go melt an engine block then. Take pics, and let's see it.

Id like to see that.

DustinWolfe, theres VERY little change that a mapp gas blow torch would melt the cylinder. The cylinder would act as a heat sinc and suck heat away from that spot. It would take half a bottle or more of gas to even get close to melting point.

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

You guys may be talking about ifferent mapp gas setups. You can get the little canisters that you use alone as a torch for sweating copper tubing and such, or you can use it in place of acetylene in an oxy/fuel torch setup. One would be capable of melting and/or cutting through the block/ the other...not so much

 

[Bluethunder3320]

ok im thinking of just drilling it out when i can get enough money for a drill press. see i am just 14 so my tools are limited, i spend all the money i get on tools and parts.

lets see......
i still need a flux core welder, drill press, valve spring compressor, torsion wrench, and probs a bunch more.

 

[slideways]

Ok so i'm still not getting all this. You've spent so far the money on the motor itself, a new head gasket, a new head bolt, the wrong pull starter, various drill bits and such things, hours and hours of your labor (you're young what do you want to be paid $9/hr??) and now your talking about buying a welder, drill press.... how much money should be spent on an old 8hp Flathead that has who knows what else wrong with it?

I just went to Harbor Freight today and bought another clone for $80 out the door. I have 2 now that are just going to sit in my basement until i decide i want to replace some other thing with one. Last week i put one on a Doodlebug i bought for $50. Took 2hrs start to finish and i basically now have a brand new 6.5hp Doodlebug that cost me about $150 including clutch. Its powerful enough to pull the front wheel and almost throw me off the seat at 240lbs... and it will continue to do so for years and years because they are built to last.

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

Ok so i'm still not getting all this. You've spent so far the money on the motor itself, a new head gasket, a new head bolt, the wrong pull starter, various drill bits and such things, hours and hours of your labor (you're young what do you want to be paid $9/hr??) and now your talking about buying a welder, drill press.... how much money should be spent on an old 8hp Flathead that has who knows what else wrong with it?

I just went to Harbor Freight today and bought another clone for $80 out the door. I have 2 now that are just going to sit in my basement until i decide i want to replace some other thing with one. Last week i put one on a Doodlebug i bought for $50. Took 2hrs start to finish and i basically now have a brand new 6.5hp Doodlebug that cost me about $150 including clutch. Its powerful enough to pull the front wheel and almost throw me off the seat at 240lbs... and it will continue to do so for years and years because they are built to last.

Ok, we get it. you like to take the easy way out. "Lets just slap on a brand new chinese engine, **** the briggs i've put time and energy into."

This may be hard to believe, but some people enjoy the satisfaction of fixing something all by their self, putting effort into something and fixing the problems, rather than taking the easy way out and slapping some POS chinese honda knockoff on their go kart.

 

[redsox985]

I see both points, but whenever you are 14, money is tight and sometimes finances out weighs quality. I for one, had a Honda XR100 motor that needed a head gasket and who know what else but I sold it for what I paid, $50, and bought a HF 6.5 for simplicity's sake. Not to mention the unknown costs of fixing up the 10 year old Honda. It surely would've been better, even at half the cc's, but money is LOW and out of the box simplicity is more valuable. With an extended warranty, I feel the 6.5 is well worth it. Especially because all Honda parts fit and are readily available when needed.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

well i dont have anything to put it on at the moment anyways.

i was thinking of building a go kart and once the motor came up, i couldnt resist.

i need tools for other things too not just one time use. a drill press isnt disposable.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

by the way.... my income

mowing the lawn... not much anymore.
may rake neighbors lawns.
may work as a counselor at a kids day camp next summer.

 

[slideways]

It just seems much more fun.. which is what go karts are supposed to be about as they are recreational vehicles.. to have a nice running piece to bolt on that i can do mods to and learn about starting with a new slate. Most people on this forum are kids and what better way to learn how things work than having a good fresh example to start with instead of some 30 year old motor that needs who knows what and has thousands of hours on the internals and seals. Even when you do fire it up who knows what will break next. For the old guys that love the challenge and have the time and tools to screw around with old stuff that's fine. But most of the people on this forum want to either build a go kart to have fun or find out how they can ride their kart this weekend with their friends. Fixing a destroyed and gouged flathead block is sort of backwards progress in that department.

 

[redsox985]

Slideways, you're right. He's gotta decide whether he wants to ride now or have a learning experience. The learning experience will cost more but it will result in a better quality motor and invaluable knowledge. Riding now will cost less, good for tight budgets like mine, but you will get a lower quality motor and not the knowledge. Each has its positives and negatives.

 

[r_chez_08]

i dont see how that would loose much compression. surely the head gasket will hold it?
if it was me, i would put the head back on, and tighten the bolts up, and check the compression. also check the valves. if that doesnt work, i would earn some money, buy a cheap (ish) corded drill, and drill it out.

 

[porsche930dude]

i dont see how that would loose much compression. surely the head gasket will hold it?
if it was me, i would put the head back on, and tighten the bolts up, and check the compression. also check the valves. if that doesnt work, i would earn some money, buy a cheap (ish) corded drill, and drill it out.

x2.
you dont need a drill press but a compression tester is good to have. You dont even need a valve spring tool. A couple of screwdrivers will get the job done. You dont really need it just to clean up the carbon. get a little brass brush and some carb spray and clean it up as best you can without pulling the valves. You can check the valve clearance and grind the stems without even removing them just get a flat thin metal file.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

It just seems much more fun.. which is what go karts are supposed to be about as they are recreational vehicles.. to have a nice running piece to bolt on that i can do mods to and learn about starting with a new slate. Most people on this forum are kids and what better way to learn how things work than having a good fresh example to start with instead of some 30 year old motor that needs who knows what and has thousands of hours on the internals and seals. Even when you do fire it up who knows what will break next. For the old guys that love the challenge and have the time and tools to screw around with old stuff that's fine. But most of the people on this forum want to either build a go kart to have fun or find out how they can ride their kart this weekend with their friends. Fixing a destroyed and gouged flathead block is sort of backwards progress in that department.

yes, i am known to not take shortcuts on any project. i always go for quality over price, but sometimes theres a line to draw.

its not like im stupid and i dont know anything other than gas is go brake is stop, ive taken apart so many motors and i know close to everything there is on a 2 or 4 stroke. im not buying a clone or anything im gonna make this motor work. i dont even know what to use it for yet so no rush.

@porsche930dude
good to know i can do it with screw drivers i feel better now.

 

[Ibanez616]

Head bolt issue - It looks to be beyond the point of unscrewing, so it will have to be drilled out, not really an issue. afterwords, tap it.

Block issue - If you can get it welded, take the excess down with a file, check it with a straight edge.

Compression issue - Try lapping the valves so they seal better. Also make sure your using the new head gasket, I dont think the old one would hold.

Btw, why did you have to buy a pull start?

 

[Bluethunder3320]

Head bolt issue - It looks to be beyond the point of unscrewing, so it will have to be drilled out, not really an issue. afterwords, tap it.

Block issue - If you can get it welded, take the excess down with a file, check it with a straight edge.

Compression issue - Try lapping the valves so they seal better. Also make sure your using the new head gasket, I dont think the old one would hold.

Btw, why did you have to buy a pull start?

i bought the motor from a hardware store for $50, both the pull start housing and electic starter were missing, i only found out it was electic start when someone told me the flywheel had a gear on it.

im just buying old stuff off ebay, briggs sells a new srarter for $110 and pull start is $40 i think.

 

[Ibanez616]

You DO NOT need a starter. I would not recommend it, Its just extra weight and more money spent.

 

[DustinWolfe]

you know what, im not wrong very often but when i am ill be the first to admit it and i tried to melt a block down with mapp and couldnt so i apologize. although heating a block is bad because of warpage it probably doesnt matter with a single cylinder so maybe its worth a try