IHC Model M

[Ian_Timshel]

I spent yesterday working to make this old model M run. I hadn't ever had a go at one of these before so it's all a bit foreign to me.

Aside from prettying it up some I hadn't even figured out the electrical until yesterday. Most of the original ignition is missing so it's simply a make and break engine now.

The only way I could get enough compression to fire it was when the piston had an overly healthy coat of heavy oil. It burned a lot of oil this way and made quite the white cloud of exhaust. Obviously I'd like to have it run as well as it can but what to do first to ensure this is still a mystery to my newbie eyes.

I'd like to think something could be done with it the way it is but maybe not. It appears to me that the seal isn't good for the piston. Now whether it's rings, cylinder or piston I don't know. I suspect rings and cylinder are easiest to deal with.

Are ring expanders something worth investigating? I want to play before I commit to any major restoration.

I read quite a bit about setting up a buzzbox to serve up the spark. I think it's delivering a good enough spark to do the job.

The fuel I dealt with by closing the overflow back to the tank and filling the carb reservoir as needed.

It often seemed starved for fuel. I had it running for about five minutes once but other than that I got tired of choking on the smoke.. lol

How do I best help this old timer? If I can get the compression up I'll consider some ignition parts to help get a bit closer to original. I have two others coming in early June. One is big I think. That should be fun too.

Any suggestions are welcome. Ian.

[Orrin]

Your best bet would be to go to the Smokstak forum, register, and post your questions. Dave Reed is a regular, there, and he can provide you with piston rings.

The IHC "M" engines used a pot metal siphon inside the carburetor. Usually, the bottom of it is corroded away, leaving it too short to reach to the bottom of the carburetor bowl.

There's only one way to check to see if that's the case: open up the carb and take a look. That darned pot metal swells when it corrodes, so it's usually impossible to remove the siphon/jet assembly without breaking it.

I make new jets out of brass and make the siphon out of small diameter brass tubing. A bit of soft solder holds the siphon in place.

Hit 'n' Miss Enterprises may sell reproduction siphon/jet assemblies. Ed Deis is a "regular" on Smokstak. He's the proprietor of Hit 'n' Miss..

Here's the URL for Smokstak

http://www.enginads.com/smokstak.cgi

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif"%20alt="[/img]Orrin

[Ian_Timshel]

Thanks for the link Orrin