Scuderi engine

[ariz]

hi friends

unfortunately I'm here only to report that all my attempts to get the engine running are miserably failed :-

as I mentioned in another post, I was unable to solve the problem with the TIM-6 ignition system, probably I damaged the coil leaving the system in an 'open' state (or whatever is called: as when the breacker points are open) and I never saw it working

so I bought an ignition system from Apache, a CDI system this time
it costs less than the TIM-6 + coil, and it worked immediately
the spark, also with the plug that I built by myself, was nice and strong

at this point I was enough optimist and I started to believe that a running engine was near to be seen

I spent several time to check the timing of the engine, a very critical point for the designer J. Ridders

but today I surrendered myself: I'm not able to get this engine to run
so I declare finished this build, and I enumerate it as a complete failure
it was fun to build anyway, and surely I learned a lot, but it doesn't run :-

here there are the pics of my last attempts, today afternoon:

now I will spent some time in the shop to make tools and reorganize the shop, and after that I will start the build of a simple IC engine (plans by Ron's modelenginenews.org)
probably the Scuderi was not the ideal choice for my first IC engine: another lesson learned, be humble, be humble, be humble and go ahead step by step

 

[ksouers]

Ariz,
Sorry to hear things are not working well.

Perhaps just setting this project aside for awhile will help to rethink what is happening with this engine. Glad to hear you plan another project, perhaps that will give you some insight to get the Scuderi running.

 

[kendo]

HI Ariz,
Its not a complete failure at all, Its still a great build and a beautiful
looking engine.
You Never know, if you leave it or a while and go back to it,you may
get it running some time in the future. You just need a break from it
that's all.
I'm pleased to hear its not put you off future builds.

Best Regards

Ken

 

[Philjoe5]

Hi Ariz,
I'm with Ken and Kevin. You've built a nice looking engine plus you shared your efforts with us so a karma to you. Many (most, all ?) of us have had similar engine builds that just refuse to run. With experience or just talking to other modelers you may gain some insight and get it to run yet,

Cheers,
Phil

 

[cfellows]

Ariz, I don't see any air mixer in the fuel line? Do you have a mixer between the tank and the engine to allow the introduction of air? That type of tank requires extra air since the mixture coming straight from the tank is too rich.

Chuck

 

[Maryak]

Ariz,

Listen to Chuck, :bow: and it's a beautiful piece of machining. :bow: :bow:

Best Regards
Bob

 

[zeeprogrammer]

I'm glad others have chimed in...

My immediate thought was that it is NOT a complete failure. Not only have you learned a lot....but you gave the opportunity to learn to others as well. Thank you.

It's a great looking engine...and I'd place a bet that you'll return to it....in some form or another.

I'm very happy you will 'go ahead step by step'.

 

[Longboy]

...........Dead and burried I don't think so! This is just a time to stand back and refresh oneself. You put so much time into these puppys and when ready for the premier they sit in silence. You get madder and madder to the point of overlooking something simple to something deeper and become reluctant to disassemble and rework the problem cause "it'll take me a month to get there". Maybe its the fundamentals, where TDC, fuel, spark, and a free turning flywheel stopped holding hands. So take your break Ariz, there are no time limits here, no shows to run it to. As you clean up around the shop Scuderi will be there, you will glance at it, it will be on your mind :-\.............and thats where we want it, where the solutions are Dave.

 

[arnoldb]

Ariz, I agree with what others have said before.
This is a very good build you did :bow:;
Take some time out and do some other projects and then come back to this one to get it running!

Kind regards, Arnold

 

[SAM in LA]

Ariz,

You made a fine looking engine.

Step back, take a deep breath, think about it and I believe that you will get your engine running sometime in the future.

This is supposed to be fun, no deadlines.

SAM

 

[putputman]

Ariz, that looks like a very complicated engine so it is not too surprising that there would be problems getting the timing, fuel, etc. to all work together in the end. You have come too far to declare it a failure. If it was easy, there would be a lot more of those engines on this site. Yours is the first one I have seen.
Sleep on this one for awhile and you might be surprised when you wake up with the solution.

 

[ariz]

thank you very much, all you: ksouers, ken, phil, chuck, bob, carl, dave, arnold, sam and arv

your words of encouragement are important for me, and I may agree that the build isn't a complete failure
I'll follow your suggestions and I'll take a break, working around the shop to fix and improve many little things that can do the future jobs to be more pleasant and easy
something here and there that I had never had the time to repair or improve

then I'll take a deep breath and start the build of a new engine

in the meanwhile, when the scuderi will look at me (or the opposite?), may be that a new idea, or just a new feeling, can bring me to the solution
thank you again

chuck, there is an air mixer between the fuel thank and the cylinder, but in these pics it is covered. but your comment was very useful anyway, I didn't think that the mixture was too rich

 

[Tad Wicks]

I hope you don't give up now, you are almost there. It took two years to build my hit or miss and a year to make it run, It had fuel, it had compression and it had spark, obviously not in the right quantities or at the right time, it would not run, and almost went in the trash more than once, I guess it brought out the stubborn in me. I was finally successful and you will be also, hang in there, it will be worth it. Tad

 

[Blogwitch]

Ariz,

I have had this happen to me in the past. I think it is a combination of all the work you have put into it, then at the very end it won't run. Then the frustration sets in, and you won't have a chance in hell of getting it running in that state of mind.

Put it on a back burner for a while, and when you have a spare hour or two, just go thru it all very logically, starting from the very beginning of the setup.

You should find you will have a lot more success.
I still have on my shelf the last ever ic engine I built, and even though it runs, I just can't bring myself to finish off the cooling system.

You are not the first to be in this situation, and you definitely will not be the last.

Lovely build BTW.


Blogs

 

[NickG]

Ariz,

listen to all these people speaking from experience. I've had 2 engines that were difficult to get to run now but i got there in the end with both of them - keep at it.

Nick

 

[ariz]

thanks fellows

well, I'll try to get it to run, but not now...

there is a time for every thing. the time for the scuderi isn't arrived jet ;D