1944 Righter 4-0-34A Engine Restoration to Running Condition
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- Опубликовано: 14 июл 2022
- This Righter 4-0-34 engine, one of nine total built, was intended to power radio-controlled gunnery target drones and post-war, self-launching sailplanes. It is a four cylinder, two-cycle, simultaneously-firing (in opposing cylinder pairs) engine of 34 cubic inch displacement (554 cc) that made 17 horsepower at 3,800 rpm. Ignition was of the battery-points-dual coil type. The 4-0-34A with top-mounted, unthrottled carburetor was test flown in 1944 in the one-off, experimental Radioplane RP-9 aerial gunnery target drone which achieved 133 mph in flight. The 4-0-34A, with a low-mounted, throttled carburetor and pull-starter, was also used in the post-war, 1946 Nelson-Bowlus Bumble Bee, a two-place, retractable landing gear, self-launching sailplane. Video of the Bumble Bee can be found here: • F 3520 The Nelson Bumb...
At only 17 horsepower, the Righter 4-0-34 provided minimal flight performance in the Bumble Bee and was replaced with Nelson-built engines of 25 and 28 horsepower in the follow-on, limited-production Nelson Dragonfly aircraft. There are six known surviving Righter 4-0-34 engines, however as of July 2022, this is the only running example. Based on the geometry of the nose thrust bearing retainer, the rear case machined from aluminum billet, and the absence of a data plate or any evidence that a data plate was ever attached, this engine may have been an early experimental or development model. The internal condition of the engine indicates it had been refurbished before being sold as government surplus in 1945. 
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Great job Tom, bringing another of these almost forgotten and very important engines back to life.
Great Video! That engine looks a lot like the ones they used in the drones they would shoot at the White Sands, NM range when I was in the Army, 1966
Thanks for your comments. The Righter 4-0-34 has one third the displacement and one-quarter the horsepower of the McCulloch 0-100's in the post-war target drones, so perhaps the Righter is the diminutive grandfather. They are built to, and operate on, a shared basic design.
@@tomfey6020>>> I was wondering how this engine compared to a McCulloch. I thought it looked smaller.
@@tomfey6020 Thanks for the info. At first I thought it was a waste to shoot them down and let them rot in the desert, then realized it was for the country's good.
@@PineValleyDigital , thanks for your service. Over 76,000 of the Post-WWII, McCulloch 0-100 powered Radioplane/Northrop target drones (OQ-19/MQM-33/BTT series) were produced and consumed by the US and multiple other countries.
What a gorgeous little engine.
Thanks for your comments. I was very lucky to acquire it and even luckier to find it in the excellent condition it was at purchase. I knew I had to run it.
Man that little motor sounds good!
Thanks for your comments. It is a fun little engine and not as angry/terrifying as the 4-cylinder, 72 horsepower McCulloch 0-100's.
Beautiful job!
Thanks. I got lucky with this engine and it is a joy to see and hear it run.
Tom i subscribed to your channel, i find those engines fascinating, we made the modifications to your engine stand in my welding shop ,the history of these engines is very interesting, thanks for taking the time to show us these on videos
Peter, Colfax does quality work. Thanks for that.
Excellent video!
There are plenty of cars running around today with only sixty one cubic inches. 1000 CC. I had a 2 cylinder May Tag washing machine engine. This four is cool beyond measure.
Thank you. It is an oddity. Righter had been making a very successful, mass-produced 22 horsepower, 2 cylinder, 2-stroke, 45 cu. in. engine (0--45-1) for 2 years, so why they decided to make a 17 horsepower 4 cylinder is a bit of a mystery.
@@tomfey6020 I grew up in the 1950’s and the first engine I ever “made run” with a round gas tank that held about a quart and a carburetor from a generous neighbor was a Briggs and Stratton W washing machine engine with a vent in the upper side of the crankcase opposite the exhaust. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen with a factory crankcase vent. I was about nine years of age. Great history. Thank you.
@@karlelliott9254 , thanks for your comments. Old engines of any type have their quirks and fascinations. Getting any of them to run is extremely satisfying.
The pony motor on a John Deere model R Tractor is a two cylinder opposed, rope/electric start engine. Reminds me of this one.
Thanks for your comment. I had to look that up. Looks like the pony motor is 4 stroke. Pretty cool: ruclips.net/video/CEyQyZXi0F0/видео.html
@@tomfey6020 The later ones are not so much part of the main motor, but sat on top and was removable.
Ottimo lavoro
I just bought one of these mcculloch 0-15-3 (non righter) 2 cylinder with plate, all original parts (missing the propeller but has the hub, carb cap, spark plug leads) but it def needs a full restoration... it looks like you've done a great job on your restorations!
Thank you and congrats on a nice find! The 30 x 30 propellers come across eBay fairly often., part number 44D10908. ruclips.net/video/npX-PWSFieQ/видео.html
Wow! Great job..... Want!
All in all : this is the base for the first version of iranian SHAHED drone engines !
Thanks for your comments. The MADO MD-550 drone engine is a reed valve engine, not rotary valve like the Righter 4-0-34 and McCulloch 0-100 engines, and is derived from the German Limbach L550E.
Nice job, I would recommend a exaust next, I enjoy the older stuff myself
Thanks! The engine is used only for short duration demo running, and the noise is part of its charm. It is used as a siren call at Oshkosh to draw spectators over to the Vintage in Review program. I'm also reluctant to alter any of the engine's originality beyond items required for safe running.
WELL DONE!
Thanks for your comments. It is satisfying for me and all this within a quarter mile to see and hear it run.
amazing little engine. no gearbox? such a small form. factor and yet big power. beautiful.
Thank you. No gearbox, rated 17 hp @ 3,800 rpm when it was new, swings a 30 inch diameter propeller x 32 inch pitch targeted for +/- 140 mph.
@@tomfey6020 i can't get over it's design, and power characteristics. A modern 500 ohc gives maybe 50 hp max, but the motor is enormous. One of 9? lucky fella.
🙏 😊
@@nothinghere1996 , lucky indeed. In 1946 Kiekhaefer made a twin-cylinder, two-stroke 0-45-35 drone engine that made 35 horsepower and weighed +/- 40 pounds: www.enginehistory.org/Piston/WW2Drone/WW2Drone5.shtml
@@tomfey6020 outstanding. are you going to put the motor into a real plane? would it have enough power, or is for model aircraft?
@@nothinghere1996 , no, this engine won't be flown in a model or full-scale aircraft. It is too heavy for its power for model aircraft and not powerful enough to safely fly a full-scale aircraft. Modern engines are better in every respect except they don't have the oddball history of the Righter 4-0-34.
Well done all round, guys! I live in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa, and we have one of these engines on display in our Air Museum at our SAAF base at Ysterplaat. It doesn't look as good as yours, and I'm certain that it does not run. Repairing the coolant leak on our Shackleton, Pelican 22 took up much time, but she is running wonderfully again! Next job - maybe the drone engine!
Thanks and congrats on Pelican 22. I''ll neve have a Griffon 57 engine, but I do have a 1943 Righter 2-GS-17 CRP drone engine: ruclips.net/video/HruyTW7c_4o/видео.html
Me hubiera gustado ver el sistema de escape de gases. Es esencial en los motores de 2 tiempos, porque su volumen y velocidad de evacuación de gases son precisamente lo que determina el nivel de descompresión (la cámara de descompresion) si , como parece, no tiene válvulas de admisión.
This engine, like the other WWII target drone engines (all 2 stroke) had no exhaust system. They were cheap, expendable engines built on the chain saw and outboard motor technology of the late 1930's and early 1940's. www.enginehistory.org/Piston/WW2Drone/WW2Drone1.shtml
bewtifull it was, I like it very mutch !!!
Thanks for your comments. It is an artifact that is fun to share.
you should make an adapter and run a modern carb on there to see how it reacts
Thanks for your comments. My goal for this engine, as well as my other WWII drone engines, is to run it and preserve it in as close to the original state as safe running allows. Hot rodding or pushing the only runner of its kind tempts failure. But if I had five of them, or access to parts, you bet, tweak-city...
The plans I had for an original Benson gyrocopter had an engine like this , two stroke , and I think it was used to power target planes!
Thanks for your comments. The McCulloch 0-100-1 and -2 engines used in the gyrocopters and the post WWII Radioplane/Northrop gunnery targets were 100 cubic inches displacement and made 72 or 90 horsepower, respectively. That is quite a bit more displacement, horsepower, and weight than the Righter 4-0-34A.
SHAHED Drone engines was made on this base .
Wonderful!!! I have all models you have pictured at the end of the video, but none are running yet.
I have a two cylinder one of these purchased 20 years ago, it's pretty beat up, but the propeller is ok. Never have run it.
You can find run videos on the 2-cylinder engines (2-GS-17; 0-15-3; 0-45-1) elsewhere on this channel (ruclips.net/video/npX-PWSFieQ/видео.html; ruclips.net/video/QLB6Yia8rJY/видео.html) and details on the engines here: www.enginehistory.org/Piston/WW2Drone/WW2Drone1.shtml.
Very good!
Just wondering, what you gap the spark plugs at? St.Paul,Minnesota.
The plug specified in the manual is Champion 6-COM-62 gapped to 0.020 inches.
I used to see these engines in war surplus stores when I was a kid back in the 50's. Always wondered if someone would power a motorcycle or go cart with one. Were cylinder fins not adequate for cooling engine was used in a motorcycle?
Thanks for your comments. The two-cylinder Righter/McCulloch 0-15-3 engines (one half of the 4-0-34) are fairly common and they made about 8 horsepower when new. They are very loud, relatively low torque, awkward to start, awkward to mount, would need a flywheel, they vibrate like crazy (simultaneously firing) and idle rather high. I doubt they would cool adequately unless baffled and moving at least 60 mph or so as a guess. Wide open throttle at 3,800 rpm they pulled the OQ-3/TDD-2 drone at 102 mph for up to an hour before fuel ran out.
Don't know why this has suddenly reappeared but it is interesting. The power is very low. The Velocette company made a horizontally opposed two stroke twin of 250cc with a reed valve which produced around 15BHP, so an engine like this could surely have been uprated to at least 30BHP. Perhaps they were worried about the cooling of the back row but then that could easily have been fixed with a ducted cowling.
It has two very obvious benefits over a twin: first, redundant ignition; two coils and contact breakers mean one row will continue to run if the ignition fails on the other, and second, twice the power strokes possibly reducing prop vibration.
Thanks for your comments. These rotary valve WWII drone engines were built on outboard and chain saw motor technology of the late 1930's and designed for mass production at low cost. They were low compression, expendable, and non-man carrying. Righter already had in production a 2-cylinder, 2 stroke 45 cubic inch engine (0-45-1) that was making 20 to 22 horsepower. The choice to make a small displacement, 17 hp, 4 cylinder is mysterious. And yes, the 4-0-34 is quite a bit smoother than the opposed twins. www.enginehistory.org/Piston/WW2Drone/WW2Drone5.shtml
😎 cool
All fun for me.
What gas to oil ratio do you use on you engines? 20:1, 40:1 ? Just curious to know.
The manuals for the earliest WWII drone engines state 6-to-1; the later WWII engines used 10-to-1. I use 8-to-1 of 90 octane pure gasoline with modern 2-cycle engine oil of most any brand.
Impressive engine. It's odd to me that such a large engine (554cc) would only have 17 hp. My motorcycle engine for example is 998cc and produces 118 hp. Seems like even an older engine that large should produce more. Any way to check it?
Thanks. The 17 horsepower is accurate and based on Righter literature. The WWII drone engines were based on chain saw and outboard motor technology of the late 1930's/early 1940's. They were low dynamic compression (4.2 to 1), ran on 71 octane fuel at 6 to 1 fuel to oil ratio, spun only to 3,800 rpm, designed to be rapidly and cheaply produced (wide tolerances), easily maintained in harsh environments by semi-skilled crew, and ultimately destroyed. The 4-0-34 is essentially a doubled 0-15-3 (277 cc) engine which made 8 horsepower. A later WWII drone engine, the 0-45-1 (747 cc) made 20 to 22 horsepower, and the hot rod 1946 0-45-35 engine (747 cc) made 35 horsepower on a 6.2 to 1 compression ratio using 91 octane fuel at 6 to 1 fuel to oil ratio. www.enginehistory.org/Piston/WW2Drone/WW2Drone6.shtml
What oil:petrol mix-ratio does it require? What was the petrol octane number?
This engine has a relatively low true dynamic compression of 4.2 to 1 and the manuals for the progenitor 0-15-3 engine specify AN-F-23 = 71 octane fuel with a 6 to 1 fuel to oil ratio. I use 91 octane, 100% gasoline with modern 2-stroke oil at 8 to 1 ratio for longevity and theatre. The spark plugs don't care.
@@tomfey6020 Thanks for that info Tom. Are you on the lookout for a McCulloch H.O. 2-stroke drone engine? I bet they're equally thin on the ground.
@@andrerousseau5730 , the 8 hp, opposed twin, 277 cc, 0-15-3 engines made by McCulloch or Righter, and the 30 x 30 propellers, are relatively plentiful, but are found in varying condition and completeness, and come across ebay a few times a year. The propeller hubs and Tillotson YC3A carbs are getting ever harder to find. I have a resurrected Righter 0-15-3 in my collection: ruclips.net/video/npX-PWSFieQ/видео.html
Is its possible to make at home by lethe machine?
I do not think it would be possible to make this engine with typical machine shop tools. The crankshaft, crankcase, and rotary valve assemblies would be difficult to make. And there are no engineering drawings that I am aware of.
What was that 'pop' at about 05:05 in the video?
I haven't quite sorted that out as it is intermittent and I don't like it. I think the miss is likely caused by the ignition system (fore cylinder points; aft cylinder points, or both sets of points) misfiring one or two revs, then coming back online. It doesn't happen at speed, rather at mid or low idle. The timer assembly is directly grounded, the point condition, point gap, and ignition timing spec out correctly, two new condensers have been installed, the (vintage) spark plugs are in excellent condition, and the plug wires and dual coils are new. If it keeps up I will change all four plugs to eliminate that possibility, then change all 4 spark plug wires. However, the misfire has not occurred in the last three runs on the current equipment. Go figure. Thanks.
Lean pop maybe has air leak somewhere
@@cheeseandpickles98 , thanks. The crankshaft has new, modern seals at both ends replacing the old spring-loaded leather seals and new gaskets all around. But if it is lean issue, I can just ritchen up the mixture, see it cures the stutter. The stumble only happens at idle, never when above 2,500 RPM.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Now some very long expansion chambers
Why not use a smooth disk as a flywheel?
Thanks for your comments. It is an air-cooled engine which requires significant air flow over the cylinders to dissipate the combustion heat. That and my desire to keep the engine and operation as original as possible dictates the use of a propeller for both engine cooling and the necessary leverage for hand-starting.
Why not use a smooth fly wheel rather than a propeller?
Thanks for your question. The is an air-cooled aircraft engine which requires significant airflow over the cylinders to prevent the cylinders from exceeding proper operating temperatures.
What are you going to repower with that?
I have done demonstration runs at Oshkosh and that is the extent of my plans for the engine. It is too rare, too low power, and too heavy for much else.
@@tomfey6020 I bet it would work on a go kart, which would make it easier to load/unload at an event 👍
@@Iowa599 Thanks. The whole running stand assembly weighs around 120 pounds and the intact assembly fits in the back of a Honda Odyssey van. The engine would never cool itself without a propeller and it is the only runner of its kind. It needs to be babied until the next caretaker.
Did you cut the roof off the Odyssey & make a snub nose pickup?
i would.
Fuel tank? Made, or purchased?
Why could you possibly need to know ?
@@tonywright8294 because I’m thinking to make one myself?
This tank was purchased directly from Boyd Welding: fueltankparts.com/
@@tomfey6020 thanks. I’ll look them up.
0:49: strange way to number cylinders - unconventional
Thank you for your comment. The numbering is organizational, only to keep track of where the original yet mismatched cylinders were found when the engine was acquired. You are correct in that McCulloch 0-100's are conventionally numbered 1 (front port), 2 (front starboard), 3 (port rear), 4 (starboard rear).
This is McCulloch?
No, the engine in the video is a Righter 4-0-34A engine, not a McCulloch. Although the designs are similar, the common 4-cylinder McCulloch engines have 100 cubic inches of displacement and make 72 to 90 horsepower while the Righter 4-0-34A has 34 cubic inches of displacement and produces 17 horsepower.
The guy with the back support on must have done one hell of a fart to rip his pants like that 🥴💨💨💨🇬🇧👍
Those are my "first start" shorts. Sexy beast...
I am in south East of Germany. I have that engine with 2 pistons. Please send me a contact mail for vídeo.
Tks
Tom Fey can be emailed at doolittlefey@aol.com. Also: ruclips.net/video/npX-PWSFieQ/видео.html
too stroke ??
Yes, two-stroke, simultaneously-firing in opposed cylinders. Aft cylinders fire 180 degrees after fore cylinders.
Some were run on alcohol
Thanks for your comments. There is no specification for the use of alcohol fuel in the manuals for the for the production WWII drone engines (0-15-1, 0-15-3, 0-45-1, post war 0-45-35). The post-WWII McCulloch 0-100-1/-2 manual specifies 115/145 octane gasoline mixed 10 to 1 with two stroke oil. Once 115/145 gasoline disappeared, alcohol would be a potential alternative although the engine would be down on power, range/duration on the same fuel tank would be diminished, and corrosion would rear its ugly head despite the oil content.