West Bend Kart Engine

[stihl #1]

Magnus if this needs to be in off topic go ahead and move it there.
I got two West Bend kart motors the other day. This one is fairly complete. Notice the GEM clutch guard and mount plate, as well as the exhaust deflector; I dare not call it a muffler.



This one is missing a lot of parts but check out the transfer ports:



There are seven on each side, plus two open slot transfer ports opposite the ex port, with vents in the piston skirt to open them up early. I haven't studied it yet but I don't think the piston comes down far enough to open the lower holes, so what are they there for? It has three ex ports. I suspect the carbs are alky. I doubt I will put any effort into trying to get it to run, but it is an interesting example of how far this motor could be taken to flow as much fuel and air as possible through it.
I know some West Bend engines were used on saws but I suppose they were nothing like this.

[mcbob]

The lower 4 holes are for better lube of the piston and it sounds as if some-one has cut some boast grooves in the back face of the cylinder

McBob.

[Magnus]

You hang on to those!
It might get interesting one day, if not it is a great part of history.

I move it to accessories/Attachments, easier to find later.

[Sven Johnson]

Can't see the exhaust ports but actually there isn't much done to the transfer ports.
We used these engines for chainsaw racing in the Whitehead saws for years.
We had much more exotic porting arrangements which evolved over several seasons of racing.
We drilled pistons to feed extra ports which were ground into the rear of the cyl. Later Wiseco made special
8 port pistons for this purpose. As many as 4 carbs were used. The best setup with the most hp was with 3
carbs.
Sven