Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Miniature Model Motors!!! Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Check out the International Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad CA: http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/facility.htm It is located in an industrial park located on the site of the old Carlsbad Raceway
There is a Model Engineering show in Wyandotte, MI every spring. There are 6 to 8 of these small scale engines there each time. The owners are happy to start them up and show you how well they run. It's amazing the talent these people have.
I am subscribed to the gbritnell YouTube channel. He's made all kinds of tiny engines. Also transmissions and rear axles. Here's a menu of just a few of his creations: T5 transmission: T5 internals: Cutting gears for the transmission: 9 Inch Hogshead: Entire 9 inch rear axle. Pay attention to the model motorcycles in the background on this video.
@Jive-Bomber Jay - Great stuff! ... Thanks for sharing! I shot that first video (of Ron Bement's ARDUN) back in 2011 ... as well as this short video of Mr. Bement’s scale OFFY: Ron Bement = Ruler!
Ron Bement's 1/3 Scale "ARDUN V8": Ron’s passion for early hot rods and engines led him to build this miniature 1/3-scale V8 with the ARDUN overhead valve conversion. These overhead conversions were developed by Zora Arkus Duntov (1930s) for use on the Ford V8s to prevent persistent over-heating caused by “valve-in-block” flathead designs. Placing the valves overhead within hemispherical chambers also allowed for dramatic increases in the V8s power; often in excess of 300 hp. Ron designed and built this engine from scratch. It is machined from aluminum and steel bar stock and there are no castings used. He comments it took over 70 hours to complete each valve cover on his CNC machine. Other parts that appear to be castings were skillfully produced on his EDM machine. It measures 13 inches wide, 14 inches tall, 18.5 inches long and weighs in at 40 pounds on the stand. The engine supports two water pumps, dry sump lubrication, high efficiency aluminum radiator, and his custom designed fuel injection system: Of course it would not be a Bement engine without his signature-trademark "MOON" accelerator pedal. Mr. Bement says it took 5,000 hours to complete.
Ron Bement's "Challenger Flathead V8": Ron’s Challenger Flathead V8 includes several innovations and modifications not found in conventional Challenger engines; he eliminated most of the castings and replaced them with his custom machined parts. This one includes a custom made 6-blade fan with airfoil blades that he produced on his EDM machine. The new gear case in front not only supports the distributor drive, but also the fuel and oil pumps and a robust water pump bracket. His high capacity water pump delivers an even flow to both cylinder banks and through his custom aluminum radiator; and the finishing touch was the addition of his signature trademark “MOON” accelerator pedal. The engine has a bore of 1 inch and a stroke of 1 inch for a total displacement of 5 cubic inches. He finished the engine in 2006 and demonstrated it at many model engineering shows and hot rod events. In 2011 he disassembled it, added two main bearings for a total of five, and fabricated a 90 degree crankshaft to replace the standard 180 degree crankshaft. It is a strong runner and produces a notable cadence much different from other Challenger engines.
Ron Bement's "4-Port Riley" Model A Ford with Overhead Valve Conversion: In the early 1930s George Riley produced 2 and 4 port over head valve conversions for early 4-cylinder flat head engines in an attempt to increase performance, horsepower, and speeds. They were commonly used on the Ford model T, A, and B engines as well as a few other makes. The lack of good metallurgy combined with increased horsepower created reliability issues with the heads during long grueling races. As a result Riley heads were better suited for short races and became a standard for small oval track racing. Ron’s model “A” engine includes his miniature example of the 4-port Riley conversion and his custom designed fuel injection system. On the stand it measures 14 inches wide, 13 inches tall, 18.5 inches long and weighs 25 pounds. The front gear case supports a water pump, fuel pump, and two oil pumps for dry sump lubrication. The engine burns gasoline on electronic ignition and displays Ron’s signature-trademark “MOON” style accelerator pedal.
Ron Bement's “OFFY” Offenhauser 270 with Fuel Injection: The Offy engines were originally sold for marine use until 1930 when one was installed in a race car and set a new world’s speed record of 145 mph. Over night they became popular in racing circuits and were commonly used in midgets and sprint cars into the 1960s; they were available with carburetion or Hilborn fuel injection. Highly modified versions of these compact 4-cylinder DOHC engines could produce as much as 3 hp per cubic inch. Ron experimented with several combinations of carburetion before finally developing his own fuel injection system. His model burns gasoline on spark ignition, sports a pressurized fuel system, dry sump lubrication, an aluminum radiator, and his signature-trademark “MOON” accelerator pedal. On the stand it measures 13 inches wide, 12.5 inches high, 20.5 inches long and weighs 25 pounds. Ron comments it took 3,500 hours to complete.
many of these custom built motors, and more, are often on display at Goodguy's Shows held in Pleasanton, CA - as amazed my these mechanical accomplishments as I am about those in electronic world - as I have always said, my best talent is taking a brand new bolt and nut, with same threads, and stripping them
Just yesterday I was thinking about my Visible V8 model I had as a kid. Always been amazed by these running scale engines. I'f I had lottery type money, I would have to own one or a few.
@HEMI32 Has Mr. Bement built any "full-scale" cars? If so, I bet they're just as beautiful as his 1/3 scale models.
Yes ... In the mid ‘50s, he was a member of the ... and had a hand in the building of the club's Drag Coupe (known as "The Doorstop"): In the late '50s, Mr. Bement began building dragster chassis in the back of John Bandimere's shop ... and by the mid '60s, was a well-known Denver-area Drag Racer & Fabricator: ... and (obviously) a Master Machinist. Ron has been a member of the since the '80s ... and built a really Bitchin' Deuce Hiboy Roadster that he drove for over 20 years.
How come the flathead model is the only one with evidence of an oil leak below it? Maybe Ron is a bit too accurate?
I just posted about this a few days ago on the tether car thread, but the tool and die maker made his engine by hand. He poured the molds and did all of the engineering to make it possible. I sat there and listened, enjoying every minute until I looked up and it was several hours later. Will I ever be able to pull off that feat? No, but I learned that day about processes to make parts that have helped me in multiple hobbies. The cost of learning = several hours and on multiple occasions.The value of this knowledge=Priceless.
^^^ look for old Leroi "Tex" Smith articles - he was all about applying basic metal shop practices to rod building, in the most basic but usable ways. Off the top of my head I remember articles about casting aluminum in a tin can, gun-bluing a shifter arm, making one good fender out of 2 etc
I still have my visible V-8, but I got a little board with it, so I thought it would look cooler with two carbs on it, and tried making a firewall with a wiring on it. I'll see if i can dig up a pic of it.
There is a thread on the HAMB where a member builds a mini ford 300 6 cylinder and I think a transmission or diff. But it was awhile ago and can't find them now. But he hasn't been on the HAMB for a long time.
Those are truly amazing pieces of art and workmanship! I remember seeing my first miniature V-8 engine in the little pages of Rod & Custom back in 1957. Can't remember the guy's name who built it but it initially had some running problems and they finally corrected them. It was an OHV about 8 inches long and originally ran on natural gas. When they re-configured the heads they got it to run on model airplane fuel. The next time I saw one was when Gary Conley developed his miniature V-8 back in the mid 1980's. They were designed to fit in 1/4 scale cars and a man named Frank DeSimone of Nashua NH built 1/4 scale cars designed to fit Gary's engines. They were called New Era Models. I was fortunate enough to acquire one of Frank's 1/4 scale Corvettes but it has a Zenoah 2 stroke engine instead of the V-8. I wanted to get one but they were about 3 grand at the time and that was too much for me. The last miniature engine I saw was several years ago when I went to stripe a vintage car for a client. He was a retired engineer for Oldsmobile and when he first attended GMI(General Motors Institute) one of the criteria for graduation was to build something automotive related. His project was a miniature V-8 made by machining a crankcase and then affixing 8 model aircraft engine cylinders and heads. It ran but the crank broke when it was run without pressure lubrication. He still has it sitting on his bench. Bear in mind this was built nearly 50 years ago. Here are some pics of the engine and my New Era Corvette.
Amazing, these people are so talented!!!..I wonder how the price of the Ardun compares to a real one?....very interesting......Mark
At the trade school I went to they had a one cylinder GLASS engine That timing and rom could be controlled manually to show us the combustion process And yes it really fired and ran Just amazing what some folks can put together I can have issues trying to thread a 3/8ths bolt at times and these guys are dealing with the smallest of detailed parts. Just amazing
That is Bad Ass!!!, be nice to have complete scaled cars to install these motors and do burn outs and some drag racing! The Hemi would be cool in a sling shot.
A model kit made in 1960. Price when new $ 10.95 Hello, We were quite busy with school and our backyard, C/Gas Willys coupe during the time this motor model came out. My dad thought it was a good thing for budding, teenager, hot rod guys to build and put on display. When he got it home, of course the two brothers were battling about who would put it together. What a commotion ONE model kit made. So, we figured out that if one guy glued and bolted everything together, the other would not get the chance to do the same. What to do? We did not want two motors, either. My brother and I thought about it and came up with a solution. Whatever parts were pressed fit together would be done that way. The real screws, nuts/bolts helped in the solution. So, we decided that the motor would never be put together completely with final gluing. Any time one of us wanted to mess around with the motor, it was putting whatever we could together bit by bit. It was just like what we were doing out in the backyard garage with the 283 into a 292 motor for our 1940 Willys 671 SBC coupe. Over the next months, it lost its luster as it would go together, but we could not make it run for long periods of time as the loose/not glued parts would jiggle loose. So, back in the original box and put up in the upper shelf of the garage. Over the following 57 or so years, it sat unloved and dusty until I saw it in a cabinet. In looking at it again since the teenager years, it did lose its attraction. So, we gave it away to a car nut relative. (Wife’s old adage…if you haven’t used/played with it for a year or so…out it goes. and it went...) Jnaki But, it did last all of those years, starting out as a gift from our dad. But, with two teenagers, one model kit project did not do it, so innovation was called into play.
This guy had a build thread for this engine on the HAMB sometime back and the trans but I can't find them now.
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