First things first, it was off to Hit 'n Miss for bits and pieces.
The fuel tank was a piece of rectangular tube steel and pretty rusty, time for a new one. There were several other little things as well.
The fuel tank was a piece of rectangular tube steel and pretty rusty, time for a new one. There were several other little things as well.
The mag bracket had been home-cast in brass. It was a nice job but I'm not sure it's an exact match for the original. I later found out it was also causing some difficulty with the ignition timing. Better replace that too.
Jäegermonsters typically have a second nameplate on it similar to this one. Mine was missing the tag as well as any potential holes for attaching it. Because Jaeger bought these engines from Hercules and rebadged them to sell with their cement mixers, I wasn't 100% sure I had a Jäegermonster without the tag. I posted a note on Harry's Smokestack board and it wasn't long before I had several replies and things to look for. Glenn Karch, Hercules guru, tied it down tight using my serial number. I was good to go.
I also got some assistance from Jim out in Vancouver, WA. Jim took an interest in my engine and it's no-start stubborness. He was convinced that it should run given the description I gave him. I had time to kill before I intended to take it over for sleeving so I decided what the hell. In less than two hours I had the engine completely reassembled and ready to check out. Jim called me at 10 pm my time and walked me through a complete resetting of the ignition timing. So here I am in my garage with the cordless phone in my pocket and the headset on wrenching the Jaeger. You gotta love that technology stuff! It was about 11:30 pm when we got done. He gave me suggestions about putting the piston back in and left me to go from there. I slobbered enough oil in the cylinder to cause a temporary shortage at the local gas station and fed the piston in. Once I got things back together, I had so much compression that it was an effort to roll the flywheels through. The oil sealed things up enough to get some compression back and hopefully get it started. The next night, it took about ten pulls and it fired up and ran like mad! Didn't last long as it I blew the mag bracket gasket out in a squeak of glory. I made another that lasted exactly four strokes. Wrong gasket material.
But so far, so good. At least now I know it will run. Thanks a ton to Jim in Vancouver for all his time and guidance.
But so far, so good. At least now I know it will run. Thanks a ton to Jim in Vancouver for all his time and guidance.
Got a fast connection? Watch the Jäegermonster run for the first time. (9.5 MB)