4 H.P. Novo

Page 3 - Restoration cont.

Updated 12/23/01

Once I got the gas tank cleaned out I poured in about half a quart of Lee Pedersen's gas tank sealer. I sloshed it around really well and it covered the entire bottom as well as the soft plug (which looked really rusty to me - what I could see of it through the small holes). I poured about 1/3 of that back out and let the rest dry in the tank. About two weeks later I decided to to the acid test and put some gas in the tank and see what happened. I put the drain plugs in and poured in about 2 quarts of gas. No immediate leaks! As of this writing it's been in there for almost two months and no leaks except a small seep around one of the drain plugs which can be remedied with some teflon tape. Ahhhh.... Here's one last picture of the amount of crud that came out of the tank. It's abut 3/4 inch deep in the bottom of the shop vac!

Well, after I got the gas tank cleaned out it was time to se if the 'ol girl would run. I didn't have the fuel pump on yet (or gas in the tank at this point) so I just poured gas into the bowl of the mixer until it was up to the overflow. I had timed the mag some time ago (after spending until about 2:00 in the morning taking it COMPLETELY apart and cleaning it) so it was ready - I had spun the engine over with the spark plug out and had very hot spark. I put the choke on, made sure the timing was retarded, and spun her around with the crank. Nothing. Hmmm, now what. Spun it again with the choke slightly open and she fired! BIG puff of blue smoke, it hit about 3 or 4 times, then suddenly coasted to a stop - compression gone... After some quick investigation I found that a cotter key that held part of the govenor together had not gotten put back in which resulted in the engine continuing to "miss". Replaced it, set the choke again and spun it. Nothing. Opened the choke a little and spun it again, she fired off! BIG, BIG puffs of smoke. It kept right on firing and I wondered when the gov. would kick in. It finally did but the engine was running really fast. However, I didn't want to shut it off until it cleaned itself out somewhat. There must have been a LOT of oil in the cylinder. The man I bought it from put oil in the cylinders of his engines once a year to keep them free. This must have had about 30 years worth! Anyway, it kept running, and I soon thought that i better not let it run too long as there was no water in it. The exhaust pipe and muffler were smoking from getting hot, and the oil that was in the cylinder was now sprayed out on the floor, the side of the engine and the [newly cleaned] mag. GGGGGGGEEEEEEEEERRRRRRR. Oh well, such is engine life! Here's a couple of pictures my daughter took shortly after it started.

I told you there was a LOT of oil in that engine when I started it! This is just a few hits after it started.

Within about 2 or 3 minutes the shop was so full of smoke that you couldn't see more than a few feet...

TOLD YA!

<<< Click here for Novo Page 4

<<< Back to the engines page

Last Update: 02/03/02