Look what I found!

[wdfifteen]

While packing up my shop to move to the new place.




I haven't seen this in years, let alone used it. It's in really good shape. Hate to send it to metal recycling - but I will.



I bought this 60 year old brand new REO inboard boat motor for $25 about 30-40 years ago. It has never had gas in the tank.



I had a go-kart when I was a kid that was powered by the lawnmower version of this engine. I hot-rodded the heck out of it. I sanded the head down with a piece of emery paper on a pane of glass - I didn't have any idea how much. Took a drill to the carburetor to get more air and gas into it. That kart eventually gave way to a two-wheel drive racing kart with a Mculloch chain saw engine.

[herr_oberst]

I was at the swap meet a cuppla weeks ago and someone had about 30 or 40 of those oil spouts strung up under the awning at his booth as decorations.
The self-opening oil spout was the perfect design to meet a particular need, ubiquitous once, useless now. Much like the church key.

Nice story on the boat motor.

[tevake]

That oil spout put a smile on my face. It deserves a place on the shop wall for old times sake.
Neat new old motor you have there, cool story of when you got started wrenching.

Cheers Richard

[Scott Douglas]

I would not be scraping that oil spout, but I save everything. Just ask my wife.

The engine reminds me of my brother's and mine first go-kart engine. It was a Westbend 2 stroke washing machine engine that someone turned on its side and canted at an angle about like yours. Carb had an adapter fashioned out of pipe too. We hot rodded it by packing the reed plate with bondo. It didn't have a removable head, but we ported the intake ports by grinding them larger. Used a straight piece of galvanized pipe for the exhaust since we knew nothing about extractors at the time. Ran really well with the mod's, at least until it put the rod thru the side of the case. Not sure how much Dad paid to have it fixed at Lebow's welding in Venice. We knew it'd be a bunch, but when we went to pick it up he said it was gratis. Maybe he liked the fact that we were hot rodding as best we could afford. We couldn't get our driver's license's for a couple more years.

[porsche930dude]

Nice Engine those are cool. Theres only one lobe on the cam that works both valves and the pto is also driven off the cam if im not mistaken.

[Por_sha911]

3,000 years from now archeologists will think it is some sort or phalic symbol involved in pagan ritual.

[asphaltgambler]

Good stuff all! Any here remember when there was a metal oil fill adaptor to a mason jar? You would: A) Already have glass mason jars for canning ( your mom) B) buy this metal oil pour adaptor C) pour oil from the can into the qt mason jar, screw the metal adaptor onto jar.

Then when adding oil to your engine use the set up above, as the adaptor was an inverted funnel - way back machine!

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I was at the swap meet a cuppla weeks ago and someone had about 30 or 40 of those oil spouts strung up under the awning at his booth as decorations.
The self-opening oil spout was the perfect design to meet a particular need, ubiquitous once, useless now. Much like the church key.

Nice story on the boat motor.

I used my church key today. Opened a 30 year old paper can of ATF. Ive been storing a couple cases of oil for someone since 1989. Recently decided he is not coming to pick it up.

[wswartzwel]

There are a bunch of still full can's of oil in my deceased fathers shop.. Along with some of those spouts. I have often wondered if you could use one on a can of beer.

[dad911]

i used to 'stick' a magnetic can opener under the hood of my car for those oil cans.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

Nice Engine those are cool. Theres only one lobe on the cam that works both valves and the pto is also driven off the cam if im not mistaken.

True. REO worked hard to over complicate the engine. The cam operated two rocker arm like things that were situated so that they opened the correct valve at the correct time. And the output shaft was the end of the camshaft. This was the first engine I had ever seen the inside of and I had no idea how unconventional it was.

[Evans, Marv]

Hey if you ever need a funnel to use with that spout, you can borrow this one. I have no idea how old it is or how long I've had it.

[rattlsnak]

Those oil spouts are still in use everyday in aviation as they still have metal oil cans.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I would not be scraping that oil spout, but I save everything. Just ask my wife.

Ha! I know. I still regret getting rid of my big torque wrench. I bought it at a government surplus auction for a few bucks. It had a 1 1/2 inch socket drive and was 8 feet long - four feet on each side of the socket drive. Took a good strong guy just to lift it and at least two men to use it. I measured up to 3000 ft lbs or something ridiculous like that. After keeping it for 10 years or so I scrapped it after realizing I had no earthly need for it. In retrospect I realize that was a dumb idea for getting rid of something so cool.

[Rednine11]

someone please save that engine dont let him scrap it.

[Icemaster]

Seriously, you want a couple bucks for that can spout? Nostalgia thing.

[dafischer]

I smile every time I see one of those spouts. When I was in college, over the summer I worked at the local Texaco station. There was a rack of oil cans at each pump island, and we had to ask each gas customer if they wanted their oil checked, and of course if it was low, sold a quart of Havoline. One night, at closing time (6pm in those days) the local police dept called and said they were sending a cruiser over to have some oil added. I drew short straw, and got the pleasure of taking care of it.

So up to the pump roars Smitty, the most despised local cop. I grab a can of oil, and the notorious leaker of a spout that was on the rack. You had to know how to hold that spout. Smitty says, I'm in a rush, I'll take care of it, and grabs the can from my hand. He jams it in the valve cover, I barely got "But.." out of my mouth, and the spout comes off the can. All the oil went on the hot exhaust manifold, and there was Smitty , standing in a cloud of blue smoke, spitting and sputtering with a red face. I had to try and stifle a big laugh, and luckily the owner had seen the whole thing and came out to sooth the ruffled feathers. We all had a big laugh after he left.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

Good stuff all! Any here remember when there was a metal oil fill adaptor to a mason jar? You would: A) Already have glass mason jars for canning ( your mom) B) buy this metal oil pour adaptor C) pour oil from the can into the qt mason jar, screw the metal adaptor onto jar.

Then when adding oil to your engine use the set up above, as the adaptor was an inverted funnel - way back machine!

Yeah, Dad had one of those too. I think my brother has it up at his shop. Used to use it when doing an oil change on Dad's IH Travelall as he used to buy 5 gallon cans of bulk oil. It was easy to use as there's a small hole at the base of the spout to let air in so it won't 'gulp' as the oil drains out.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Hey if you ever need a funnel to use with that spout, you can borrow this one. I have no idea how old it is or how long I've had it.

Have you ever seen one of those with a can puncturing device like the spout shown in the OP incorporated into the funnel?
Now those were really handy but you had to know how to use them right or you'd have oil all over the place. It helped to have a good sized thumb.

[Evans, Marv]

Yes, I remember those. Haven't thought of it in many decades. When I worked nights & weekends in a Richfield station in the late '50s, we had a rack in the lube area we kept filled with bottles of oil with screw on tops that were like inverted funnels. We'd fill them from an oil tank with a hand pump and use them for adding oil to customers' cars out in the driveways or doing an oil change in the lube unit.