Vintage J-Model Whizzer

[Mike Notigan]

Hi Ray,
New York State? Nice catch, Ray! Looks good in that bright red, too. Mine still has only 3 miles on it since I bought it new; I really don't dare take it on the road in this state I live in and with me luck being what it is, without an MC license.......

Meanwhile, I look forward to how Paula tackles the frame and fender paint. Looks like her motor overhaul and rebuild is almost, but not quite, done yet......

 

[mason_man]

I'm looking forward to seeing more too. Thanks Paula.

Ray

 

[Paula]

Engine Assembly

Thanks, Ray. I finally got the engine put back together this past week. (Has it really been two years already? Yes.)

I followed the process outlined in the "Whizzer Facts" manual, and it went pretty well. Since I don't have one of those gadgets to check for crankshaft spacer thickness, I had to use Quenton's method of pre-assembling without the crankcase cover gasket (there should be some binding when rotating the crank -- and there was), then reassembling with the gasket (the crank should turn freely -- it did.) One thing going for me is that the roller crank has a hole through the needle bearing end, so that the bearing can get plenty of oil that way.

I ran into an issue in adjusting the exhaust valve: there wasn't enough clearance to get the required .012" dimension! I ascertained that it was due to several factors:

1) After installing the cylinder sleeve, I took a cleanup cut on the top and bottom faces of the cylinder. Not much, but enough to bring the valves and camshaft closer together.

2) Both valves were ground and the seats re-cut, causing the valve stems to protrude further into the block.

3) I replaced the tappet adjustment screws, and these came with a new hardened washer for the compression release. I didn't notice it at the time, but the new washer was significantly thicker than the original one.

All these clearance-reduction factors added up to the point where I could only get a thousandth, or so, clearance on the exhaust valve. My solution was twofold: replace the new, thicker washer with the original, thinner washer, and shorten the exhaust valve stem slightly. The latter was accomplished simply by chucking the valve in the lathe, and removing about .040" from the end of the stem with the toolpost grinder.

When reassembled, there was ample clearance for proper adjustment, and enough also for future valve service, should it be needed.

I set the ignition timing using the "beep" function on my Fluke, and it should be right on the money. I set the magneto clearance with a .010" brass shim, and I'm getting good spark. I took the additional (probably sacrilegious) step of doweling the magneto frame to the crankcase, using a couple of 1/8" dia. dowel pins. I'm sorry, I just don't trust that flimsy aluminum casting, particularly the repop one I used, to transmit enough clamping force to maintain the magneto air gap reliably over the long run.

Here's a right-side view of the assembled engine:

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the aluminum points cover with the Whizzer logo. I think it adds a measure of class to the engine. Here's the left-side view:

One troubling thing I've noticed since reassembling the engine: a small amount of oil seepage around the periphery of the needle bearing in the crankcase cover. And this is before even running the engine! It's just incidental oil that was applied during reassembly. Rats. I should have used some sealer when pressing in the new bearing. I'll have to remove the cover and do it over. Not a huge deal, though.

I'm still planning to (possibly) replace the MT8A carb with something closer to original, but this carb will do for now.

Next step: put together some kind of test stand for trying out the engine. Stay tuned...

Paula

 

[mason_man]

It just gets better and better Paula!
That is sweet!

Ray

 

[Paula]

Update

Hi Folks,

Not much progress to report, I'm afraid. Things have heated up at work again, and problems with my job have been eating into my free time. I'm home sick today (just a cold), so I thought I would take the opportunity to update this thread.

As mentioned in the last installment, I intend to put together some kind of test stand to give the assembled engine a thorough test run before installing it on the bike. Perhaps an unnecessary step, but one that I believe worthwhile in my case, given my relative lack of experience with the Whizzer engine. And when I'm finished, the test stand could be passed on to someone else who could get some use from it.

My initial concept for the test stand was to mount the engine stand to suitably-sized board, along with a "pony motor" (salvaged from an old South Bend drill press), some kind of fuel tank arrangement, and a throttle control. Something along the lines of Whizzer Rick's impressive arrangement:

I've since decided to try and come up with a more compact, less sprawling layout. It occurred to me that I could attach everything I need to the engine stand itself, and rather than utilizing an electric motor for starting, devise some kind of clutch device that would permit easy starting with an electric drill. I've seen others use a standard socket in this regard, but I would think that it might be difficult to disengage the socket once the engine starts, and may result in some damage to the flats on the flywheel bolt.

Here is a 3D CAD rendering of the design so far:

The fuel tank is a new Tecumseh unit with a built-in filter screen. I designed a bracket that bolts to the side of the engine stand, and holds the tank securely at a sufficient height to feed the carburetor. The small 2-hole bracket just below the tank is for an aftermarket throttle control. I've also come up with a way to mount 3/4" size small engine muffler to the Whizzer exhaust elbow (to maintain good relations with the neighbors ).

So far, I've got most of the parts made for the fuel tank bracket, ready for welding. The next installment will cover fabricating all the needed parts for the test stand. Stay tuned... (Your patience is appreciated.)

Paula

 

[BlueWhizzer]

Paula, great work on the engine it looks great!

i just rebuilt my Whizzer H engine with the help of a friend that is an engine guru of sorts but... he insisted that it was safe to start the engine on a stand using the flywheel bolt and strongly urged him not to...i told him there is no way he could pull the socket off when it starts and he did it anyway and sure enough the engine started, the bolt came loose and the flywheel wobbled around and fortunately the engine stalled. So, starting it from the pulley would be much safer.

Thanks for sharing all of your photos and work.

 

[Mike Notigan]

Paula,
Great to see you back, however brief the time may be! I'm hoping the problems at the job aren't too problematic for you. Looking at all this wonderful work you've done, it's sure clear to me that your shop must be doing amazing work. Just hope it isn't another round of 60 plus hour work weeks for you. You must be a valued member at your shop. And a tired one, to boot!

Many belated thanks for the engine stand design and dimensions; that's a terrific way to work on the motor when it's off the bike. I like your idea for expanding the engine stand into a test stand.

So there you go, an ingenious engine/test stand; a great CAD drawing showing everyone how it's going to be put together, and finally, an avatar revealing the nice person behind all this superb craftsmanship! We'll be standing by until the next installment. In the meantime, be well! This is going to be one cool bike when it's done.....

Best Regards,
Mike

 

[Paula]

Paula, great work on the engine it looks great!

i just rebuilt my Whizzer H engine with the help of a friend that is an engine guru of sorts but... he insisted that it was safe to start the engine on a stand using the flywheel bolt and strongly urged him not to...i told him there is no way he could pull the socket off when it starts and he did it anyway and sure enough the engine started, the bolt came loose and the flywheel wobbled around and fortunately the engine stalled. So, starting it from the pulley would be much safer.

Thanks for sharing all of your photos and work.

Hi Scott, thanks for the comment!

I have seen the socket-on-the-flywheel-bolt method work, but as your experience confirms, it's a bit of a risk. I'd just as soon come up with a better method. In fact, I see it as part of the fun!

Paula

 

[Paula]

Paula,
Great to see you back, however brief the time may be! I'm hoping the problems at the job aren't too problematic for you. Looking at all this wonderful work you've done, it's sure clear to me that your shop must be doing amazing work. Just hope it isn't another round of 60 plus hour work weeks for you. You must be a valued member at your shop. And a tired one, to boot!

Many belated thanks for the engine stand design and dimensions; that's a terrific way to work on the motor when it's off the bike. I like your idea for expanding the engine stand into a test stand.

So there you go, an ingenious engine/test stand; a great CAD drawing showing everyone how it's going to be put together, and finally, an avatar revealing the nice person behind all this superb craftsmanship! We'll be standing by until the next installment. In the meantime, be well! This is going to be one cool bike when it's done.....

Best Regards,
Mike

Hi Mike,

Things are improving at work. We are starting up a packing line at a customer's facility, and it's taking much longer than anticipated (I design packaging machinery for a living.) This is a actually a flavor-mixing line for beer. Our customer receives cases of discrete flavors of beer from the bottler. Our equipment sorts the cases, removes the carton tops, uncases the bottles, and combines them to make a "multi-flavor" 12-pack. Today we had our best preliminary run so far. We are supposed to start full production on Monday, so it looks like the end is in sight.

Thanks for the kind words. That avatar picture is a bit outdated -- it was taken in '06 -- but it's close enough that I could be picked out of a lineup.

Paula

 

[Mike Notigan]

Hi Mike,

Things are improving at work. We are starting up a packing line at a customer's facility, and it's taking much longer than anticipated (I design packaging machinery for a living.) This is a actually a flavor-mixing line for beer. Our customer receives cases of discrete flavors of beer from the bottler. Our equipment sorts the cases, removes the carton tops, uncases the bottles, and combines them to make a "multi-flavor" 12-pack. Today we had our best preliminary run so far. We are supposed to start full production on Monday, so it looks like the end is in sight.

Thanks for the kind words. That avatar picture is a bit outdated -- it was taken in '06 -- but it's close enough that I could be picked out of a lineup.

Paula

Hey Paula,
You're quite welcome! This Whizzer rebuild must be a nice diversion for you to turn to as a way to kind of gear down. I'm glad to know that the problematic issues you mentioned the other day are coming to a happy end, too. The way we've all seen you work through the standing issues and problems with your vintage Whizzer motor does not make me surprised that a happy conclusion at work was in sight! I wish you all the best on that start up on Monday.....go out and celebrate with a "defective case" or two of the packaged goods that might have failed final inspection! With all those long hours put in over the past months, you deserve it!

In the meantime, we'll be standing by for the next installment!

Best Wishes,
Mike