Casting Kit

[solek]

Breisch/Peters had some kits that I thought would be nice to build, but they no longer in business. With that started checking out what kits were available. I sent 15 letters to address’s found on the web sites saying, they sold casting kits and received six replies. Two of which said they did not have any castings at this time.
Cliff Schrock have a web site and a store in Portland, which listed a number of engine kits. He had a stroke and has closed the store.
Pacific Model Design was not at GEARS this year, and web site no longer works.
A person liked the F-M , made from Tom Stewart’s castings, and made me an offer to good to past up. Can always make another. Emailed Tom about buying another kit, and found out that he has had to go to ductile iron to replace the cast iron, in his kits. He can not find a foundry to do the cast iron parts.
Bought an English kit “Robinson”, which is hot tube model. Could not find the burner call for to heat the hot tube, and asked for help on this site. Got one reply to date asking where I got the kit, as he wanted one. The English supplier of the kit can not find a place to cast the kit. Looks like England also has a problem with foundries.
As it looks like the makers of casting kits is getting smaller each day, have started stocking up on what kits, I can find. If I don’t get it make, out of production kits bring a good price on E-Bay.
If you want to build a kit, buy it today, may be gone tomorrow!

My thoughts on some kits made:
Randy Rockwell’s Vertical R&V
Good kit, casting are good and has very good drawings. The cam works both the exhaust valve and ignitor, and is ground to shape. Little tricky but it works.
Engine runs well, but using camp fuel with WD 40, had problem with fuel being blown by the ring, which raised the oil level in the sump, making a mess. Change the fuel to propane, to cure this problem. When the ring seats, may go back to fuel.

Richard E. Shelly’s Little York
Good kit, first set of brass castings were full of voids, set one back to Richard, his wife call to say they were sorry for the problem, and would send a set of replacements, as soon as they could get them. Second set was good. You get a letter with the kit that said “ Measure the drawings if there is no dimension”
Engine run well, but the governor is a balance act between two .030" spring wires. Still don’t have this working right. Exhaust valve lifter, and points to cam, brass castings are tricky it get bent just right.

In Process
Bob Herder’s Air Cooled Domestic
Castings are fair, and drawings are poor. Some examples: No dimension on the ignitor block, but you know it has to fit in the hole in the head, which does have dimensions. Same with rod big end, you know it has to fit crank.
This kit will take a lot of time, to make, as you have to figure out what the part being made has to do and how fits into other parts.