Das ugly engine contest.

jsesere wrote:

That's not ugly, it's a diamond........in the rough

I don't want to miss out on the fun...reckon I'll go find that photo of "War Dog" !

Since the pictured Cox is a common one I suggest that it be kept "as is" as visual evidence of the neglect that many have suffered over the years.

A parellel would be the Ford 1930 Model A coupe that John Dillinger used in an escape from the law. It was riddled with machine gun bullet holes and was severely trashed.

When this car surfaced a number of years ago an IDIOT restorer bought in an put it though a complele restoration. It now looks like thousands of other finely restored 1930 Ford Model A coupes.

What a sacriledge! And the same goes for the pictured abused Cox engine if it were to be restored to "as new" condition.

I got these both in a lot of crap that also included a Pee Wee. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220868293525 Both .049s appeared to have been forced to turn over as they have a few scratches on top of the pistons and the driveplates have pliers marks. The .020 was fine with only a busted mounting lug.

Since the potential is always there, its hard to keep myself from cleaning one of those long abused engines up to make it run again!

SuperDave wrote:When this car surfaced a number of years ago an IDIOT restorer bought in an put it though a complele restoration. It now looks like thousands of other finely restored 1930 Ford Model A coupes.

I still remember an NPR 'Antiques Roadshow' from years ago, an exhibitor had an early American dresser he had 'restored by an Englishman' who removed 'some sort of tacky red finish'. He was quite pleased with himself when the experts said it was worth somewhere around 100k.

But the look on his face was priceless when they told him too bad about the 'tacky red finish' because that was the original, mahogany color, fashionable at the time. With that still on, it would be worth around a cool half mill!!

But then...some DO get a second chance !!!!!!

Nice discussion. I have another hobby: Vespa Scooters. And it is the same. Scooters in original paint with patina are more valuable than restored ones. Most Vespas are repainted during their lifetime. Enthusiasts strip off the the repaint and try to recycle the original paint.

Patina is history, every scratch and tic tells a story.

I'm on vacation, but here is my entry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgfomtZn4rY&sns=em

I don't have the entire engine, but I found this crusty cylinder in a pile of parts. Single port with small threads for the glow head. Must be really old.

lousyflyer wrote:I don't have the entire engine, but I found this crusty cylinder in a pile of parts. Single port with small threads for the glow head. Must be really old.

That is an old one, 1950's. It is probably worth a bit if you can clean it up with some rust remover.

Does this mean that I don't have to buy lottery tickets anymore?

lousyflyer wrote:I don't have the entire engine, but I found this crusty cylinder in a pile of parts. Single port with small threads for the glow head. Must be really old.

You have a pre-1955 Space Bug Jr. cylinder! Depending on how deep the rust really is, it could possibly be used again. Another neat option would be to stick it in a little clear plexiglass cube on a nice finished wood base with a brass plaque that reads something like "PRE-1955 SPACE BUG JR. CYLINDER SHOWING YEARS OF NEGLECT". Would make a nice desk piece.

It's not salvageable. Too bad. It's older than me. Not many things are.

Saturated with Bernie's Xenalube after-run oil, it now has it's own baggie.

Not absolutely sure but I THINK that cylinder was only used in 1953, then they went to the larger glow head in 1954.

Anyone know for sure?

Got my first new engine, a Space Bug Junior, in 1953 and it had the small glow head.

George

Edit: To add pics...First are my current SB Jr's, although all three are now sporting Bernie's Acorn prop nuts. Second pic shows cylinder with small glow head.




George

gcb wrote:Not absolutely sure but I THINK that cylinder was only used in 1953, then they went to the larger glow head in 1954.

Anyone know for sure?

Got my first new engine, a Space Bug Junior, in 1953 and it had the small glow head.

George

Edit: To add pics...First are my current SB Jr's, although all three are now sporting Bernie's Acorn prop nuts. Second pic shows cylinder with small glow head.




George

I'm not 100% sure but I always thought that they begun to make the head diameter larger in 1956 with the introduction of the Babe Bee. I'm sure the idea of it was thought of well before 1956 while the Babe Bee was in development. Mud and Mark will likely know for sure and confirm the dates.

your correct, the new cylinder/head came out in '56 and I'm pretty sure they stopped manufacturing the early style at that time, but I think they had older style cylinder/heads in inventory till used up. After the Babe Bee was released, production continued for the Space Bug and Space Bug Jr., I think Space Bug Jr. ended in '58 and Space Bug in '59.

Mark Boesen wrote:your correct, the new cylinder/head came out in '56 and I'm pretty sure they stopped manufacturing the early style at that time, but I think they had older style cylinder/heads in inventory till used up. After the Babe Bee was released, production continued for the Space Bug and Space Bug Jr., I think Space Bug Jr. ended in '58 and Space Bug in '59.

That makes sense. They also produced the Thermal Hopper until it was replaced by the Space Hopper.

Between the Space Bug Junior and the Babe Bee came the Strato Bug. Unfortunately I never had one of those. I understand it was to market between the more expensive Space Bug and the less expensive SB Jr. by using a SB front end and a SB Jr. backplate with a metal stunt type tank in the middle.

I guess Cox was trying to fit every budget.

George