Russel, It was most  impressive to have not been led astray by the confirmation of fuel delivery at the injectors.
Nice work, both you in the supporting role and your non-posting friend of the forum.
Bruce

I bought an engine vibration- hours meter from McMaster.
Part # 8678 T64  (Thanks to Cranelift/Steve for this much appreciated tip.)  I think it was $23.

Perfect for my use since I'll just be running the air compressor for my shop sometimes. 

I use an RC model airplane optical tachometer set to three blade mode for a tach, and point it through the flywheel spokes.  RPM is half the indicated value. 

The rubber friction drive on the flywheel works well,there's  no need to add a belt. I actually started with a belt during initial design testing and then when to the rubber wheel for simplicity.

Yes, I will automate the starting at some point. The sequence: Decompression piston activate, starter valve open, wait till up to cranking speed (or just wait), Decompression OFF, starter off when up to speed (or just wait).  I haven't decided how to do engine rpms.  A favorite thought is to put some reflectorized tape on the flywheel spokes, then use an IR emitter and photodiode and transistor.  The time between  pulses can be integrated to an analog rpm voltage level and compared to set levels for cranking speed, running speed, overspeed.

 I'm an old computer geek and was embedding microprocessors in flight simulators back in the late 70's when a Z80 at 4 MHz was hot stuff.  The sequencing and logic really calls for a simple processor chip, though a quad 555 timer chip and some logic would also suffice.  The tachometer function could also be done digitally by the processor.



 

Thanks Darren,
The mounting bracket appears to be solid enough as is-  1/8" steel bar.  If I see stress cracking down the road, I'll just weld in some webs at the bend.

I just looked up sprag clutches. Interesting clutch, interesting idea.  It would allow the air motor and drive wheel to be fixed mount, though the starter rubber wheel would continue to ride on the flywheel after starting. 

Any idea how much one of these for a 1/2" shaft might run?

Bruce

I just posted a complaint to our good moderator moments before this came up.
Bravo to our moderator(s)!  What a great forum this is!

Thanks Shipchief!
My big concern was getting a tooth off on the process.  I'll make sure I get some alignment marks on the crank and cam.  It's reassuring to know there's not "gotchas" in the process.

On my 6/1 there's no crank weights- they're on the flywheels. The idler is easy to reach. The idler shaft seems to have a threaded socket of it's own on the crankcase close to one of the main bearing studs.

My MB 300D doesn't have hydraulic lifters, and it doesn't have valve clatter like the Lister.

It has an overhead cam (with rocker arm) so has no pushrod or valve tappet weight.

Sure would be fun to turn composite valve tappets and see if it did the trick.  Maybe test the idea by adiding a spacer under the present springs and see how it affects clatter.

Nice find on Ebay, John. 
You inspired me to look and I did find and buy a surplus Metrix vibration switch in an ebay store for $59. 

Ever since Shipchief gave us the lead on Murphy engine controls, I've wanted a vibration switch for auto shutdown.  It seems cheap insurance.

I checked on 35-45 lb force door pull solenoids-  they aren't rated for more than a very short duration.  And a puller is a bit of a pain so I opted for a Grainger single action, spring return 3/4" air cylinder with 1" extension. They're only 3.5  inches long.  With 12V air valve it's under $50. 

I'm going to mount the air piston on a bracket to the IP mounting bolt to just push straight on the end of the rack with a rubber? foot of some kind screwed on the output shaft.  I'll use 1/4" OD PE tubing to the mini air valve. Eventually I can use a similar arrangement for the air starter "pressor" against the flywheel instead of the present springs, and again for the exhaust valve decompression lifter, too. 

I'll post a picture and report on it when I've got it built and tested.