A company called Vogel's Electro Source in Milford, New Hampshire displayed the surplus engine (said to be manufactured in the early '90s) to the aviation industry recently. The little 4-cylinder 4-stroke engine has a dry empty weight of 63 pounds. The 32-cubic-inch (524-cc) displacement engines are military standard model #4A032-4. They come complete with electronic radio frequency suppression, waterproof ignition and shielded spark plugs, and put out about 18 to 20 horsepower with the standard carburetor.
"Our dyno tests have shown these stock engines to be in the 18- to 20-hp range," Vogel's Electro Source says. "We will offer affordable plans and kits to safely increase power to 40 horsepower." And although the displayed engine weighed in at 63 pounds, according to Vogel's, "further weight reduction is possible," the company claims.
But according to David Vogel of Vogel's Electro Source, with just a little reworking of the heads and a larger carburetor, the engine can reach more than 30 horsepower. When fired up on the "test stand" (two blocks of wood bolted to the bottom of the engine), the engine ran like a top. In fact, even with no rubber mounts at all and revving up to nearly 5,000 rpm, the engine didn't move.