Tanaka 2 speed gearbox

[Thepartsguy]

This transmission I came across local I thought could work on a go kart or mini bike.

Complete suicide shifter two speed.

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

Cool! Japanese right?

 

[Denny]

I hope you bought it. Looks like an interesting experiment!

 

[Thepartsguy]

I hope you bought it. Looks like an interesting experiment!

Yup those are my pictures. I purchased an engine and transmission.

Took all day to get the transmission pulled apart and painted. I’m working on the engine and getting the piston unstuck now.

Second picture is what google translate spits out when I upload a picture of the Japanese ENGINE tag.

 

[Denny]

So cool, id have to use it for something. the clutch on the sprocket is interesting. The primer cup and valve is not seen on American engines since the 1920s. But its a 2 stroke.

 

[Thepartsguy]

So cool, id have to use it for something. the clutch on the sprocket is interesting. The primer cup and valve is not seen on American engines since the 1920s. But its a 2 stroke.

It‘s just like a wartime motorcycle. Suicide shifter hand lever clutch when I first picked it up a guy told me he thought it was a Japan red cross bike parts. It’s probably a Japan farm implement from the 40’s that was never really documented.

The engine tag says 1945 now if that’s the year Japan wasn’t really making anything that didn’t aid the war or I’m not actually sure about that? So it could be Japan military stuff?

 

[Thepartsguy]

Did japan get villers engines in 1945??

 

[Denny]

If they did I doubt the engine tag would be written in Japanese at that time. Also England would not have been in the shape to export much.

 

[Thepartsguy]

Piston out cleaned and the rings are ready to be cleaned and re-installed.

12AM the piston finally let go of the last ring. It should run again. Everything about the engine NOW seems fine.

 

[Denny]

What does the cylinder look like?

 

[Thepartsguy]

What does the cylinder look like?

The jug looks new. I’ve ran WAY worse.

My buddy cracked a joke the only reason this stuff made it to the states was because a guy used it as a boat motor/transmission to escape Japan

I thought that was worth a chuckle

 

[Hellion]

This transmission I came across local I thought could work on a go kart or mini bike.
View attachment 154990

Cool score!

That "snail shell" blower shroud is art. Would look mighty fine in burnished natural aluminum which might mean cleaning up some casting imperfections, but the shape of it is so organic it would be a crime to cover it in battleship gray.

I don't know where you're going with the engine and gearbox, what vision you have, but a natural metal finish would look good-er methinks.

Also, this is far from off-topic good sir.

 

[Thepartsguy]

Cool score!

That "snail shell" blower shroud is art. Would look mighty fine in burnished natural aluminum which might mean cleaning up some casting imperfections, but the shape of it is so organic it would be a crime to cover it in battleship gray.

I don't know where you're going with the engine and gearbox, what vision you have, but a natural metal finish would look good-er methinks.

Also, this is far from off-topic good sir.

The engine is not getting painted.

The plan is to mount it all to a small engine mount plate and use it on a mini bike.

Push off with your foot reach over and push the suicide shifter out of the locked position dumping the clutch in first. Pull the clutch in to the locked position shift into second reach over and smack the shifter out of the locked position dumping the clutch in second.

The gearbox and engine will take up less space then a Tec and a jack shaft that came standard on a lot of mini bikes.

Or mount it all down to a board and just show it works at the big fair engine shows.

 

[Thepartsguy]

So the engine and gearbox are a from the same company. But the engine was built before the company abbreviated the name and the gearbox was built after they abbreviated the name.

Still no pictures of what this powered maybe it wasn’t documented in the first place? ALSO the blower shroud has all these little tiny I’d call them documentation punch marks?

- D with sideways A inside circle?
- Star
- upside down 79
- 4 inside circle
- Capital M inside circle

 

[Thepartsguy]

People think it’s generator parts Honda used to make his bikes before he had cash? It was made in 1941??? Could it be Honda stuff? I doubt it…

 

[Denny]

Honda did use surplus small engines to power his bikes after the war when he started to build them.

 

[Thepartsguy]

I can grab the flyheel spin it and the flywheel will bounce back under compression.

I made the mistake of my arm touching the wire while I was spinning it.. BY HAND that coil lit me up..

 

[panchothedog]

That is way too pretty and rare to use to power a mini bike. ( my opinion ). I think what you mentioned about using it as a display sounds great. Think about it. How much pre WW 2 Japanese machine type stuff is still around. There wasn't even much left in 1946. Eighty years later ?

 

[Thepartsguy]

That is way too pretty and rare to use to power a mini bike. ( my opinion ). I think what you mentioned about using it as a display sounds great. Think about it. How much pre WW 2 Japanese machine type stuff is still around. There wasn't even much left in 1946. Eighty years later ?

I’m starting to realize this myself.

In a way I’m kind of afraid to even try and start it.. But look back at the piston pictures and how the stars aligned and those rings freed up.

I’m afraid it starts and has a bad seal revs to the moon and breaks. So my idea was just to fire it real quick off the primer in the cylinder head.

I don’t really know. If it fires up and breaks it’s a wrap.. As it sits right now I say it’s in a condition that shouldn’t even exist…

How some one hid this from the scrap effort to aid the war they must of buried it..

 

[Denny]

Is there even a carburetor on that thing? I would try to fire it from the primer cup only. Then polish and paint and detail it and put it in my living room to look at.