Set the timming

I haven't posted for a while, the Christmas season and just plain laziness is to blame. I received some kind words about my blog from members of the Old Ski Doo Forum and it's motivated me to update my progress.

Really close to finishing, good thing because there's a ton of snow and I seem to be the only one not on it.

Set the timing today, I was worried about this because I thought it would be to technical for me, I was wrong, Bones on the forum held my hand all the way through it and I realized that it's not so scary.
Here you can see the stator plate with the lighting, brake and generator coils, the funnel shape on the crank shaft is the breaker cam, this is what opens and closes the points, to set the point gap, take the fly wheel and breaker cam spring off, slip the cam back on the shaft, now spin the cam on the crank until you see the points open, continue spinning the cam by hand until you see the points close, now spin the cam to the position approx. in the middle between start open and close when the points are fully opened. this is where you set point gap.


Now to set the gap on the points, in this picture I have the feeler gauge in the point between the contacts, just to the right there is a screw, loosen this screw then tighten it when the correct gap is set, on mine and most single rotaxes it's .16 of an inch.


Now your ready to put the flywheel back on, In the above picture I've place the breaker cam where it should be located, the 2 small tabs on the cam must fit into the advance lever, this is the lever with the large screw attached to the flywheel, this lever is spring loaded and will advance the timing when spinning at high revolutions centrifugally,

Once you've installed the fly wheel back on it's time for the timing, I bought a tone tester but found it useless the best and easiest way is to take a light bulb, this case my head light, attach one wire to the wire comming from the points to the ingnition coil, mine was blue, the othe wire from the light bulb to the positive post on the battery, then ground the battery to the motor. When you do this the light will work, spin the motor, when the light is dull the points are opening when the light is bright the points are closed. To set the timming You must have the piston at Before Top Dead Center (BTDC), for my motor with the 1971 TNT 292 cylinder and piston it's between 3.55 and 4.06 mm, with the points beginning to open.

I bought this dial gauge and magnetic stand, first find the highest the piston will go up or top of the stroke, this is called Top Dead Center (TDC).

Then spin the motor with you finger pushing down on the timing advance lever through the inspection holes on the flywheel so the timing is fully advanced. Pictured above (not so clearly) is me moving the lever to advance timing with a screwdriver, if you look into the large sloted hole to the left you can see the lever to push down. While pressing against the lever spin the motor, when the light goes dim and the points begin to open check the dial gauge. If it is not within the timing spec, mine are 3.55 to 4.06 adjust the stator plate, There are 3 set screws on the plate in sloted holes if the light dims before your within your spec turn the stator plate to the right to advance the timing, if the points open after or late, turn the stator plate to the left to retard the timing. Make sure you measure the BTDC while holding down the advance timing lever. I lost a few hours scratching my head over why I coulded get the timing right until I realized I wasn't advancing the timing.
After tighten the set screws on the stator plate, you should have a correctly timed motor, I was really pround of myself until I realized I had to pull the flywhell again to get the fan shroud on, No big deal, only 1/2 hour wasted. But the motor is timed!!

Get er done

I haven't updated the blog as much as I've should, but the project is still moving forward. I ran into a few stumbling blocks but as you will see all came out right in the end. Started to get worried about finishing the project before the snow comes, been hunting down parts and trying to solve problems

As you know I'm swapping the cylinder and piston from the 247 to the 292 tnt, since the motors share the same stoke you can use all the bottom end and just change the cylinder and piston, a machinist at work match the combustion area in the 247 head to the 292 head so I can use the head with the spark plug hole in the middle of the head. Above is he motor completely disassembled all parts that can be seen externally have been glass beaded, I think it looks great!! But I very knowledgeable member "Bones on the old ski doo forum see this picture and told me that the jug is from a 69/70 TnT and won't match my crank case.

Of coarse "Bones"was right, maybe you can't see it on this picture, but there are small differences that meant the cylinder would not seal on the crank case, I was devastated to say the least.

But Old ski doo forum to the rescue once more. One member "Elanmen" had a 70/71 jug that was right for me, and he needed a 69/70 jug so we did a swap, also my good friend "Goose" who sold me the first jug but didn't know that you had to have that particular year made me a good deal on another jug and piston, Unfortunately the jug and rings got damaged during shipping, top fin on the jug broke off, but the welder welded it up good as new and I' waiting for a replacement ring now.

I have painted up the frame skies and other small parts satin black to hide the small dents, did it outside with spray cans, came out ok I think.

I will start to put the track on the frame, I have got all new rubber wheels and bearings, need to de-grease sand and paint the chain case and secondary clutch, by then I hope the pistone will be back from glass beading and I can start putting the motor together.

GOT TO GET ER DONE!!!

More engine work

Been working on the yard and waiting on some tools to remove the fan and the shaft on the clutch side, got the machinist to make up the puller here below, worked like a charm, pop off came the fan.

Under the fan is where the lighting and brake coils and points, just 4 caps screws and the plate comes off easy, there a spring some washers and a key so pay attention when you remove them. Once the plate was removes, wrapped it in clean rags and removed back of fan shroud.

Once the back of the fan shroud was off, I could get at the head of the 247 jug, but before I could remove head and cylinder I had to remove a shaft on the clutch side, I learned if you stuff a 1/4" piece of rope down the spark plug hole it will stop the motor from spinning so you can put some pressure on the shaft.

I have heard that sometimes these can be a bear to get off, the tool I made had a big nut on one side to put a pipe wrench on and a socket at the other end to put a impact gun on if the shaft gives you a hard time, I was told by forum member Bones to keep close to the bearing because you could bend crank shaft, I was lucky, just with a little pressure it came off easy.

Then the 4 nuts on the top of the head, just tapped with a piece of wood and it came off, taped the cylinder and it lifted off, graped the studs near the bottom where they threads go in the crank case with a pair of pliers and they came out easy, don't know if that was the right method, but it worked for me. On the piston where the wrist pin goes in there are 2 spring clips that hold the wrist pin in on either side. There is a small groove in the hole where you can put a small screw driver in to pry out the clips, once there out I used a brass shaft and tapped out the wrist pin, bearing in the connecting rod that rides on wrist pin was in good shape.

Here is the crankcase ready for the 292 cylinder piston and head, First I thought to split the case and inspect the crank so I could glass bead the cases, but with some WD40 and some clean rags, it cleaned up pretty good, put a post on the forum to see what the guys says about splitting the crank case.

292 cylinder swap

With the last post I showed the 292 cylinder head and piston, I planned to change it from the 247 for some additional HP. I have been struggling with the problem the spark plug hole on the 292 head, because the hole is in the back and angled, it would come in contact with the handle bar support. Again a member on the forum had the answers.

Elanmen, who has lately, been very helpful, said if I just put another piece of flatbar under the front motor mount to tip the motor back a little, the spark plug will not contact the handle bar support.

Here is a better shot of what he meant by adding an additional flat bar on the front motor mount.

And here you can see the results, spark plug clears the handlebar support. This is good for me, now I can keep my 247 piston, cylinder and head. I may want to put it back to original one day, my next vintage sled will be a little stronger so I can pull the family up to the cottage, But 3 things about my next sled are certain.

1. It will be vintage
2. It will be a Ski Doo
3. It will be yellow this time.

Still waiting for the tools to get the motor apart, and some parts have not arrived from Canada and the States. The back yard and garden this time of year is using my time, so not much work done on the Elan, got to get my butt into gear soon or the snow will be here and the Elan will still be scattered around my garage.

Motor work

Got the cylinder head and piston from the 1971 Ski Doo TNT 292 from member goose, thanks goose. After I change it, I'll double the Hp to 22. If you notice the spark plug hole on the head is facing back at an angle, this could cause a problem. I have heard that it could hit the steering support. I'll have to wait and see after I put the motor back in if there is not enough room.

Here is the picture of the original 247 Rotax that came with the Elan, ran great, but I felt I needed a little more HP, that the reason for getting the 292 TNT jug. But here on the head the spark plug hole on the head is in the middle straight up. People have said that this would result in better combustion. Since the stroke is length is the same for both the 247 and the 292 and the studs are in the same position on both motors I can use the original crank case. I want to try to use the 247 head on the 292 jug, so I would not have the problem with the position of the spark plug. Where I work we have a very modern machine shop with some very talented machinist. once I can get the 247 head off I will bring both heads to work to see if they can match the combustion areas.

I want to glass bead the motor and to do this I must remove crank from case. To do this I need some special tools, in order to remove the crank on the clutch side, you need a sleeve that fits over the crank with hole at the end so you can put a bolt through. Once that's on you can put a pipe wrench on the sleeve to turn the crank in order not to bend it, if it's too hard to turn you can weld a 1/2 drive socket on the end and use a impact gun with some heat and it should com off.

To get the head and cylinder off I have to remove the fan and the back of the fan shroud. The front of the fan shroud with the recoil started came off easy, but to remove the fan I need a pipe to thread on the area I circled on this picture then weld a cap on the end put a bolt there and tighten the bolt to the end of the crank until fan pops off. Waiting for these 2 tools before I can continue on the motor, should get them this week

Proud owners of Elan's

I have been on sick leave from work for about 7 months now, all is good now, almost 100%. But because I have a lot of time on my hands my lap top is my best friend!! As I have mentioned earlier I have join a vintage ski doo forum, this is a must for anyone that is involved in snowmobiling no matter age or make of sled, Snowmobilers tend to be all around good guys, eager to lend a hand and help out with information and parts, down to earth and love nature ( because there out there all the time) don't go south for the winter, celebrate snow, never complain about it.
This particular forum has a thread dedicated for Elan owners called "Elan Chat" a place for guys to talk about a great little sled, spread a little B.S and have fun doing it.
The other day I got the courage to start a topic, Called "Members with Elans". I asked members to post pictures of there sleds to see how many there was in our forum. Results were amazing over 35 replies in 277 views , Lot of proud Elan owners out there. Here are some of the pictures.
It seems I'm adding pictures everyday!!!!




Here is member 775's, 1975 300 SS, clean sled
775 just added this sweet 1973, man that's clean!!

Member Luckyketch 1971 first year production

Luckyketch's 1977

Luckyketches 1978, all nice sleds!!

Member elanmen, he's got it bad, and he admits it.

Elanmen on the road, he just told me he has 90 sleds, 75% are Elans, and he will pick 10 more Elans soon.

Elanmen sent some more pictures, not knowledgeable enough to tell you what year they are but they are all nice, I've asked him to please send years of the pictures but they are all pre 80's for sure!!

I like this 76, it's the same as mine. Elanmen Dad in the saddle.

This is a 77

This is Elanmen Monster Elan, you know I'm new to this game, so at first I thought when people talked about monster Elans they were stock sleds sold by Ski Doo. Man was I wrong!! Elanmen took this 73 SS and drop a 503 FA in it!! He's told me the skis are new because they never touch the snow. Oh by the way, the console, he made that, Ski doo don't have a 503 emblem so he used a 440. The man is magic with fiberglass, repairs boats for a living.

Another angle of Elanmen's monster, not much room left under that hood, he said he would like to put a liquid cooled motor next time. This is like putting a hemi in a VW Beatle.

This is members goose's 1973 Elan SS Nice machine!! Goose got me the 292 cylinder, piston and head for my Elan, he's always happy to help out with parts or information,

Member OlyGab 1971 first year Elan, He paid 50 bucks for it!!! Goes to show that deals are out there.

Member Ski doo man's 73 twin, work in progress, if he's like me he'll have a blast cleaning that one up!! Ski doo man has made a comment about how these beauties cut the trail for the fast guys, first up the hill with 2 feet of powder wins!!

Skidooman said...
My Pic in your Blog there of the Elan beside a Polaris and two Skidoos in the back is a good one. The Elan made it up the beast of a hill very slowly while the other three just powered ahead. But I had to break trail for the two skidoos.

Here is member Sledder Al's pack, he's doing an 74 ( I think that's the year ) for his wife. Al is the guy that got me started with my Elan, he's the reason why I'm on paypal and ebays Christmas card list.

Member Vintage Elan Guy's from left to right 1973 Elan 250, 1975 Elan 340F/A, 1975 Elan 300SS, real quality there!!

Member Vintage Elan Guy's 1972, 292 with turf wheels, sweet!! I got to get a set of those wheels.

Member Hermit's really clean 1974 Elan


Hermit's 1974 Elan 247 Rotax, The one lung thumpers do it for me, this is a fine example of how a stock clean 247 should look like.


This is Vincent's beautiful Elan.

Vincent's motor, nice chrome. Note that Vincent's Elan has the 73 SS secondary with disc brake. Only year for that

Members 1970 TNT's, 1973 twin Elan

1970 TNT's 1974 single, looks all original, really like the look of a untouched barn find.

Member Banoe's 1972 Elan he uses for ice fishing, I love fishing so this unique paint job really touches a soft spot.

And if you want to see some more check out Poidy's site here.

http://www.poidyselanpage.50megs.com/

Another award winning site dedicated to the Elan, made by Swedish member Elanmanen.

http://www.geocities.com/elanmannen/indexE.html

Member EricR 1971, the is a member that lives in Savannah Georgia, I don't think they get much snow there. He plans to put a wheel kit on and have some fun!




This is member 86 Elaner, 1986 Elan. This is the youngest sled on this post, very rare to find any Elans for sale above 1980, their owners won't let them go, because they never stop!!!!


86 Elaner is a hunter, fisherman that uses this sled the way it was meant to be used, bushwhacking off the groomed trails where those big lugs that go 60 mph can't go. Thanks for sharing!!


Member Jax's 1978 Elan, sweet!!

I don't know if it's Jax showing everyone what these rugged little machines can do. Kids and everyone in general, safety first, wear a helmet!!!


Member 73ss tribute to the Dukes of Hazard's General Lee. Some guys have got great imaginations.

Member lowtekrednek, new project, a monster Elan with a 44o F/A in it, clean engine, notice shop made tuned pipes. Nice job!!!

Member Zooman's 1981 250 single, That style has not change much in 36 years, but if it aint broke why fix it.
Zooman's 78 twin, sweet!

Member Vintage Elan Guy, (VEG for short ) just to make me envious has sent me a picture of his monster, I'm not Kidding, when I find the money, time and motor (in that order) I'm making one. And I know the guys that will help with the know how, they all got there monsters on the blog, Nothings free guys!!!

Many thanks to the members of the forum for letting me share these pictures of their Elans, thanks guy's!!!

I don't have to much to report on the progress of my project, thought I needed a little more Hp because I will use my Elan to pull a sled and I'm not so concerned with keeping it original, so I bought a cylinder, piston and head from a 1971 ski doo TNT. Stroke and studs are same as the 247, so I can use the original crank case. Boost Hp from 12 to 22. I think that will be enough to get the job done. Parts have not got here yet but I started tearing down the original 247, to remove fan and cam shaft on clutch side you need specialty puller and tools, got the guys at work making them form me. When They get here I'll post some pictures.