Not your Father's riding mower

[Roger S]

An idea of what goes on at E.C. where some of us get briggs performance parts. This is a Tecumseh, very potent and 1/2 the price of a vanguard. Guys like this, and Whipper, who get paid to do fun stuff.. I'm jealous.

Another EC motor going on a mower

[Meinfield]

That Tecumseh looks mean! I like the billet flywheel.

[jpswift1]

Hey guys, I wonder why Tecumseh never got into the horizontal shaft V-twin engines like Briggs, Kohler, and Kawasaki. I think the last higher horsepower horizontal shaft engines that they made were the Oh160 and OH 180 16hp and 18hp motors.

[Roger S]

The mower guys posted some race weekend results.. here's a pic and a vid of George testing the track. Looks like a 50 cubic inch vertical shaft Tecumseh.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/GoldsackFamily/Stonehouse054.jpg

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v302/GoldsackFamily/?action=view&current=Stonehouse080.flv

[hydromike]

Holy..... friggen..... crap....

That sounds absolutely amazing. I'm stupid about Tecumsehs. Is a 50ci vertical a single or a twin? I simply have no idea. It sounds like a big single to me....

I mean... GD!
~m

[Roger S]

I know Mike, it's jaw dropping. Wonder what it's like to pilot the thing All I know about them is what I read on the internet The first post in this thread has some pics of a tecumseh twin.. a little different than the tecumseh on my mini bike decades ago..

[mudbug3]

Roger ,


I had no idea that a tecumseh twin could run like that down a straight away . That riding lawn mower was SMOKIN FAST ! I,m very impressed !

[Jeff t-boss]

I didn't watch the video (Dial-up takes too long to d-load) ,but I saw the picture. That thing IS TOO COOL! Jegs' actually sells high performance parts for these motors. Around here (Somewhere in Wisconsin) they actually have tractor pulls and drag races with these things. I've gone to car shows where 8 and 10 year olds had rear engine dragsters run by these little motors. Actually watched one run down the 1/4mile. THEM LITTLE THINGS WILL DO 50MPH!!! Like you said" alot different than the tecumseh that I had on my mini-bike years ago.

[boncrshr]

Hey guys,

Thanks for those links.....they were pretty helpful, there's quite a few guys modifying Honda motors...could come in handy

[chapy]

i'M AWAY FROM HOME FOR THE WEEK AND HAVE HIGH SPEEEEED INTERNET FOR A CHANGE AND THAT IS ONE OF THE FIRST VIDEOS i HAVE SEEN AND THAT MOWER IS SMOOOKIN FAST. VERY COOL. i HAVE AN OLD WHEEL HORSE THAT I PLAN ON TURNING INTO A PULLING TRACTOR SOMEDAY BUT IT WON'T BE THAT FAST.. SETH

[Roger S]

Another short one, an Ontario guy who builds Vanguards for rpm. As in 10,000

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e276/speeddemon0308/WOO%20Races/Woodstock/?action=view&current=RyanQualifying.flv

[brushcutter]

Allright, who dubbed the Daytona audio over their lawnmower vids? LOL!

My question is how durable is an engine that is tricked out like this? If these motors will last as long as a "stock" engine, then it would definately be worth looking into, You gotta love the sound of this thing!

[Roger S]

This particular guy is an rpm fanatic. That means 23 heads even on a 14 hp block. Other guys like the lower rpm torque of the smaller 14-20 heads due to port velocity. With my 1100 lb woods crawling argo, I've resigned myself to making power at 3-4 grand and not exceding 5 or 6. With a CVT you have to pick an operating rpm and live with it. If you're going over that, you need a billet flywheel and roller rockers at a minimum.

The stock vanguard crankshaft and pistons will handle any rpm you can turn. The guys that rev to 8-10000 will break occasionally.. a valve seat comes loose, drop valve, break a roller rocker. If built right, a vanguard turning 5 or 6 is as solid and long lasting as a high revving japanese bike.

They also modify and run briggs flathead twins. No one makes a billet rod for it, so that limits rpm. But they are torque engines anyway. One guy machines stock rods and the crank for bearing inserts. There's about 3 different rod lengths and pistons that they use to up the compression. Porting, exhaust and other stuff makes them pretty potent. Is it worth it rather than swap in a vanguard? I don't know. If you love flat twins it could be. How many of these aatv engines are pressure lubed? That's preferable to start with.

[Roger S]

I think this is the little blue machine, under the hood. Anyone for a 4 stroke conversion? you can even use the two stroke clutch that engages at 5 grand. And I thought Whipper's headers were big.. I expect him to message me so he can order one of these.. err, George wanted a Vanguard didn't he?

http://www.rykerracing.ca/bigpics/products/headers/header4973.jpg

Edit: Well, I don't think thats the same blue car, but he does make the header.

[6X6]

Allright, who dubbed the Daytona audio over their lawnmower vids? LOL!

My question is how durable is an engine that is tricked out like this? If these motors will last as long as a "stock" engine, then it would definately be worth looking into, You gotta love the sound of this thing!

REALLY! I never heard a 4-cylinder Japanese car sound that good!

Really, no motor thats modified for high performance will last as long as the stocker, as everything is stressed so much more, but if it's built well and not pushed to the limit it may go for a good portion of the lifespan. (Mild mods make very little or no difference, I'm talking serious stuff like on the video) If there is a weak point in the motor not addressed, thats when you blow stuff real often