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Guy hand-makes functional miniature V10 engine

Have you ever found yourself obsessing over making a miniature version of something? Even as an adult, I never quite grew out of the remote-control-car phase, and still have a collection of RC cars, boats and helicopters that probably cost the same as a "sane person's" daily driver.


Maybe that is why when we came across this incredible little 1/3 scale hand crafted V10, we were spun out! We have lifted some pictures from Keith's build thread, and as we glanced through over two years of updates, we were in AWE of the amount of detail and sheer work that this project required.

THE BASICS, AT A GLANCE:

  • V10, 125cc, full cooling system, wet cylinder liners, 1" bore.
  • 3 stage dry sump oil system, 2 x scavenge, 1 x pressure.
  • Block drilled for oil passages, centre oil gallery and feeds up to camshaft spray bars. runs mobil 0-30 synth.
  • 10 degree split offset crank so block "V" angle is 82 degrees rather than 72, to allow more room for supercharger, which never got fitted in the end.
  • 11mm dia valves with stem seals. shims for adjustment. I think I need to fit oil control rings on pistons as it still smokes a bit.
  • Regular pump gas. Tungsten heavy metal front crank damper.
  • Single weber fuel injector in upper plenum. Walbro fuel pump. 40psi fuel pressure.
  • Hydraulic triple plate clutch, operated by cycle brake lever.
  • This will be changed to a centrifugal clutch when the engine is fitted into the car.
  • Full sequential ignition system controlled by modified Megasquirt MS3 ECU. Tuned with Tunerstudio mapping software, via Bluetooth to Macbook.
  • Sparks from 10 x coil-on-plug coil packs.
  • 5mm cycle hydraulic brake lines used for oil. all Aeroquip style connectors home made.
  • Anodising and dyeing setup in my shed.
  • Needs built in starter still.
  • Homemade spark plugs with ceramic insulators and 1mm dia. tungsten centre electrode.

So we will step through a few of Keith's updates, and at the bottom of this article is the VIDEO of the little rig running, and a link to his build thread.

It all started with making the rods. Ten very tiny rods...

Then came the crank..

Then the flywheel.

What good is all of this without a little block to house everything.

We have skipped forward months at a time during this, but the full build-thread link is at the bottom of this article.

Keith even designed and built a very tiny little functional oil pump!

A pair of miniature extractors was next..

Now, after assembly, we can see the engine taking shape.

Keith even considered the idea of BOOSTING the engine, and started at this point to make is very own TINY SUPERCHARGER!

Unfortunately the supercharger part was not finalised, so Keith went back to putting together the rest of the build.

Yes, that's right, as if this wasn't complicated enough already, he milled up a triple-plate clutch!

And now we see the engine in its final form, all together.


WHAT'S NEXT?

Is this not enough for you? Well Keith tells us he is building a 1/3 scale car to fit this monster to!

"1/3 scale car is being designed at the moment. spaceframe type. 5 speed gearbox with 2 speed transfer box. spiral bevel diff unit with adjustable limited split diff. adjustable height suspension, proper cv joints if I can figure out how to machine the slots. hydraulic disc brakes all round. watch this space."

Massive thanks to Keith Harlow! We have spent a few short hours examining this build and it's absolutely on another level! We can only imagine that he put HUNDREDS of hours of work into this labour of love.

You can check out Keith's youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Keith5700

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