About a week ago my brother and his friend found this old hit and miss engine in the middle of a large are of woods, long forgotten by whomever left it there. After getting it home we discovered that it was made by IHC and then with the help of some great people on Facebook the model was determined. It's a Famous 1HP engine.
As you will notice this engine sat uncovered outside for a long time and there is a lot of rust on it. The bore and piston didn't look very promising either. So the first thing I did was start to soak everything in Kroil. Everything was seized on this engine and a lot still is.
My initial plan for this engine was to keep soaking it with penetrating oil for a few months until I would have some time to work on it. Well that plan lasted about a day. I got bored and decided to pull the head to check the condition of the top end. I had low expectations because the exhaust had been open for water to get in for years. To my surprise all of the nuts loosened very easily. After I pulled the head off I was also surprised to see that the top end was not rusty, it was mostly dirty with a lot of carbon and oil buildup.
Next I decided to pull the crankshaft and flywheels so I could see if the piston would move at all. I made a wooden block from a 4x4. After a few smacks with a hammer the piston started to move and soon it was out of the bore. The bore is actually in decent shape, it should clean up decent with a good honing. The crank and rod bearing will need some attention though.
This past weekend my brother, his friend and I went back to the area where they found the engine and searched for some of the missing pieces. We got lucky and found the original oiler and what is left of the igniter box. The box isn't salvageable but it will make a good template for when it's time to build a new one.
I've already started to clean up some of the parts. After a good soak in purple power, the oiler and cooling hopper drain valve cleaned up nice. Then some time on the buffing wheel and they were looking great. They are far from perfect but they are good enough for me.
I will continue to update this thread as I make progress on the engine.