First off, great forum. I've found lots of information about this motor in the last 48 hours searching through these pages. I acquired a 1953 Firestone 7.5 HP motor the other day. I didn't really know a whole lot about it, except that it hadn't ran since the early 90's when it was put in to storage. Searching on here, I've found how to decipher the model number, found links to guys that may be able to get parts if I need them, how to swap the original coils out to something more updated, found a link for a service manual, etc, etc, etc. I also found what seems to be a really great community of vintage outboard enthusiasts.
That being said, I was working on said motor tonight, and noticed that it wasn't getting any spark. I started to the dig down to the points figuring they might be the culprit. Sure enough, they were. All gunked and carboned up from years of not being used. Cleaned them up, regapped them, and proceeded to put the flywheel back on. As I Was tightening the crank nut, something awful happened. The nut was almost down to the face of the flywheel, I heard a snap, and my wrench went flying out of my hand. The threaded part of the crank snapped off, I hadn't even put much pressure on the nut yet to tighten it.
My question is, is there anyway I can drill and tap the crank to hold the flywheel on with a bolt? The threaded part of the crank looks is 3/8". If I drilled and tapped it to accept a 1/4" grade 8 bolt, would this be enough to hold everything in place? Any other suggestions?
I look forward to reading your responses, and I thank you in advance for any input.
That being said, I was working on said motor tonight, and noticed that it wasn't getting any spark. I started to the dig down to the points figuring they might be the culprit. Sure enough, they were. All gunked and carboned up from years of not being used. Cleaned them up, regapped them, and proceeded to put the flywheel back on. As I Was tightening the crank nut, something awful happened. The nut was almost down to the face of the flywheel, I heard a snap, and my wrench went flying out of my hand. The threaded part of the crank snapped off, I hadn't even put much pressure on the nut yet to tighten it.
My question is, is there anyway I can drill and tap the crank to hold the flywheel on with a bolt? The threaded part of the crank looks is 3/8". If I drilled and tapped it to accept a 1/4" grade 8 bolt, would this be enough to hold everything in place? Any other suggestions?
I look forward to reading your responses, and I thank you in advance for any input.
