Motor to learn on?

I want to buy my 11 year old a motor that he can learn to rebuild while also learning mechanics this summer. When I was in middle school, I took a " small engine repair" shop class that taught me a bunch. Just a simple single cylinder four stroke with points.
I figure I could find an old Briggs and Stratton since we should still be able to get parts. Once it's rebuilt, not sure what he could use it for. *

What other motors am I not thinking of? Newer motors seem to have less "rebuild ability" from what I have seen.

**note, yes he could use it in a go kart, but he has three race karts he drives all the time. And, no, I really don't want him learning on one of his race motors. Besides, I'd rather him learn on a 4 stroke.

-Rob

If you're looking at small engines, any lawn mower engine probably would be good.

If you're looking at a car engine, I would say any American Small Block V8 would be good.

When I was 11 I found a lawnmower in the trash and drug it home to tear apart. That was the first time I had ever worked on an engine and it taught me the most about how they work. I would say find any old lawnmower for cheap and tear into it.

I have a lawnmower engine I would give away, but shipping would make it not worth it for you

I don't know how much lawn you have or whether you already have a nice mower, but I'm sure it'd be neat to see his handiwork fired up and used regularly...

I say get something that he would want to see run again. Take a junky lawn mower apart and fail? "Just scrap it dad, that thing was a hunk of junk anyway!"

My first car was a VW Beetle...doesn't get much more simple than that! I had to go through the engine after it sucked a valve about a year into car ownership. I had turned wrenches helping my dad in the shop a lot, but when I rebuilt MY engine for the first time, I had never been so nervous turning the key for the first time!

Bryce

Get one of those Honda clone GX motors. You should be able to get a used one really cheap, and there's nothing you can't buy for them.

CL is full of $0-15 push mowers. Not good for anything other than leaning engines and cutting grass.

People give non-running lawn mowers away all the time. You may even check with a mower shop to see if they have something in the junk pile they don't want to bother with. Fix, sell, Junior keeps the cash. Would teach him about business at the same time.

If you want a larger engine maybe you could find a Sprite/Midget to rebuild. Small and easy to move around, has all the essential parts of most engines like pushrods, rocker arms, etc and a really bizarre carb nobody knows how to fix. Popular enough it wouldn't be difficult to sell when you're done.

Another for a Breaks & Struggles lawnmower engine. If you want to teach him overhead cam stuff, one of those Chinese Honda 50cc clones would be dirt cheap.

The Chinese Honda knock-offs have already been mentioned, and not a bad idea. Small displacement 4- cycle dirt bikes and mini-bikes in various states of disrepair can also be had for cheap, if they are from the Japanese big 4 and not thirty years old, parts shouldn't be a problem.

A Spitfire engine is very basic and small.

I'll be the devil's advocate and say Chevy 350.

Pick up one of those clear-plastic desk-top-sized model V8 engines from HobbyLobby, build that with him so he has an idea ahead of time what the parts look like and how they go together. Put the model on the workbench in the garage, put the motor on a floor-stand, give him some wrenches and let him go at it. 350's are a dime a dozen at the junkyard, and rebuild parts are cheap.

Once he's got it built up, get him started learning about suspension and chassis work by fabbing up the LoCost frame to go with the engine.

an old one lunger horizontal lawn tractor engine w/ cast iron bore, lotta parts still available, search first tho. do the over bore n let him fit it up. carb rebuild and tune up also. +/- 15 hp be good. let him rebuild, start, run and tune it, sell the rebuilt engine if you have no real use for it.

dollars spent = education IMO

Another good point about Breaks & Struggles: he will learn how to deal with corroded fasteners. That is definitely one of their 'cost cut' areas.

I learned on a 1958 Sea King 5hp outboard. Granted it isn't a 4 stroke, but it was still a learning experience. I also couldn't wait to get it done and running and used it for years after. Two cylinders, water pump, forward/reverse gear box with shifter, for a simple engine, it's fairly complicated. Any water near you?

ddavidv wrote: People give non-running lawn mowers away all the time. You may even check with a mower shop to see if they have something in the junk pile they don't want to bother with. Fix, sell, Junior keeps the cash. Would teach him about business at the same time. If you want a larger engine maybe you could find a Sprite/Midget to rebuild. Small and easy to move around, has all the essential parts of most engines like pushrods, rocker arms, etc and a really bizarre carb nobody knows how to fix. Popular enough it wouldn't be difficult to sell when you're done.

^This. I'd bet my life my local small engine repair guy would give up a couple motors...probably even some literature for that kind of cause. I've got a noisy old tecumseh I'd gladly give up if you were closer. :(

Riding mower. After he rebuilds it he can earn some money with it cutting grass. Or sell it for a profit. Or race it.

^^^^^ Plus a bunch!

Find him an old Indian moped from the 70's. They are 4 strokes so moped enthusiasts shun them and sell them cheap.

Then when he is done he has a 25mph bicycle to cruise the neighborhood on.

While a 350 Chevy is easy to work on, a 2.5 Pontiac will have the same lessons in a smaller pkg.

Since there are few pushrod motors left in the "new" market, an OHC engine might be a more "up-to-date" learning tool. Maybe a Miata or 2.2 Dodge?

VW Beetle or MG Midget or Triumph Spitfire. Simple to work on. And by the time he is 16, he can have it running and driving.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I grew up with the A Series engine, so a Spridget motor sounds great to me, but the costs can add up quickly. Same with any automotive engine. Not that we won't tackle one after he does this, but I'm thinking about walking before running. (Plus, small motor parts are much cheaper).

I think I'm still leaning towards and old Briggs and Stratton motor and maybe a minibike kit as an incentive to rebuild it. I've found a couple of motors locally, but they're mainly bigger (8 hp) or so and I'm thinking of the classic 2.5 horse kind.

Educate me, is there a difference between a 1965 B&S and say, a 1990 one? I know they're basically the same, but my gut says the earlier one is still simpler and easier to learn on.

-Rob

How about an old 125cc dirtbike? Easy to work on and he will have something fun to mess around with when he is done.

In reply to rob_lewis:

Not much is different, they are all splash lubricated and carburated with the "ignition" on the flywheel.