[66case930]

At somepoint i plan on buying my grandpas old hesston 220 sp swather and restoring it, my main concern is replacing all the drive belts and getting the engine running, its a wisconsin vg4d v4 gasoline air cooled engine, i think it will run if i get the old gas outta the tank and lines, from what i know it ran when parked, but i dont know how long ago that was, best guess is 20+ years. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[66case930]

Anybody?

 

[exalta]

Run a Versatile 103 for 21 yrs, rebuilt the V4G twice ,1964 model ,yours might have the hand crank assembly. The needle valve in the carb would get a ridge in it after awhile, will run okay with the choke pulled out a bit 240 grit emery cloth will tune up the needle valve. Remove the plugs & run penetrating oil in cylinders. Look at dist cap for cracks & rust on inside,check the rotor for rust,cracks ,make sure it fits tight on the dist shaft. Check the points ,should have a clean contact end. If the motor really knocks when you get it going ,there is a couple of 1/8th pipe plugs on the intake manifold remove one 1 & pour water into it, will get the carbon out. These old girls like 90 + octane leaded gas.

 

[66case930]

How would i go about finding leaded gas? Is there an additive i could use or somethin?

 

[redpainter]

Back in the 60's we had an old Case baler Wisconsin engine (4 cylinder) that had been put on an old IH 45 baler. Remembering grinding the valves. Can't remember if it ran before we did that. That was a lot older motor than your Hesston probably has. Had to start with a crank. That thing roared like a dragster when it ran. I remember Dad working with the needle valve.

 

[66case930]

I believe its an electric start, dont recall ever seeing a hand crank, and i dont doubt it being loud as crap, air cooleds are always louder.

 

[albertabuck]

The V4 Wisconsins were notorious for the valves sticking if they sat for any length of time. They are valve in block, and can be freed up most times just by removing the head above the appropriate cylinder and use a bit of WD40 and oil and work things back and forth. If you are careful, most times you can reuse the head gasket, though not something I overly recommend.

Ignition parts for both magneto or distributor ignition could be hard to find in some areas so be careful when you are cleaning up the points ect.

With a muffler, they are nice and quiet, most were run with straight pipes as they ran cooler that way. You will need to add a lead replacement additive. While it is something that should be used on all older gas engines, this is very critical on valve in block engines, which were commonly referred to as flat heads.

The crank is a short handled one, with a slotted bushing that fits over the end of the crankshaft thru a hole in the center of the air screen on the flywheel side, and engages on a roll pin driven thru the crankshaft. All Wisconsin engines used the same crank.

 

[66case930]

I did find a place that has magneto parts along with other parts for this engine, but im mostly concerned about the belt drives and where to find new ones, if available or if i can just pull them off and see if someplace has ones that are the same length and style (if i remember right they were v groove belts).