Cheap Engine for teen to tinker with

[GloriaMummiford]

Hi, I'm not into cars but my 12 year old son is interested in engines etc.
I've looked on ebay and engines seem to be around £200. Is there somewhere else I can get a non-working engine that he can tinker with? If not, what other sort of things could I get instead?

Thanks so much for your help.

[snotrag]

Doesn't have to be a car to stsrt with.


Find a nice old mower that's a no runner and get it fixed up, nice project to start with!

[Baldchap]

Broken mower is a great idea and probably free.

If he wants something a bit cleaner and more project-y, an engine kit for a pushbike is fairly cheap...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Engine-Kit-Motori...

[L100NYY]

snotrag said:

Doesn't have to be a car to stsrt with.


Find a nice old mower that's a no runner and get it fixed up, nice project to start with!

This

Or a non running scooter/moped would be a good idea too.

[Shaw Tarse]

snotrag said:

Doesn't have to be a car to stsrt with.


Find a nice old mower that's a no runner and get it fixed up, nice project to start with!

Good idea, would have the advantage of being smaller/ lighter parts.
He could possibly earn a bit of pocket money?

[DonkeyApple]

2 stroke moped first, then 4 stroke mower. Risk re scooter is that they would obviously want to ride it so find a motor on its own.

[L100NYY]

DonkeyApple said:

2 stroke moped first, then 4 stroke mower. Risk re scooter is that they would obviously want to ride it so find a motor on its own.

Just confiscate the wheels

Edited by L100NYY on Saturday 24th May 16:21

[OldGermanHeaps]

Got a free honda generator he can have if you are near blantyre.

[Robertb]

Shaw Tarse said:

snotrag said:

Doesn't have to be a car to stsrt with.


Find a nice old mower that's a no runner and get it fixed up, nice project to start with!

Good idea, would have the advantage of being smaller/ lighter parts.
He could possibly earn a bit of pocket money?

A friends teenage son made decent uni money from fixing and servicing mowers, strimmers etc.

[paul_c123]

Where abouts are you? I have a Jaguar 2.2 diesel engine with an enormous hole in the side, through which one of the con rods left the party early. Most of the rest of the internals are still within the engine The head is good, but I wasn't going to get too involved in stripping it down, I was going to just weigh it in. I believe it weighs approx 300kg and the scrap price is about £150/ton at the moment.

[Lefty]

You’ll get a no-mot banger for £50-100

I taught my son to drive in this when he was 9, he bought it COR £50 with his Christmas money and learned how to safely jack a car up and change oil and stuff like that before graduating onto pads and discs and other simple stuff.

[GreenV8S]

Get him interested in radio control models. That will give lots of options for electric and internal combustion power as well as leading into STEM if that interests him.

Consider enrolling him in the under 17 car club to scratch the 'big boys toys' itch. You can join from age 11 onwards.

[stevieturbo]

Robertb said:

A friends teenage son made decent uni money from fixing and servicing mowers, strimmers etc.

Many have a full career out of it.

Other than smaller parts, not a bad route to get into some sort of engine work. And as others have said, easier to handle as parts are smaller and lighter.

Full car engine is quite a handful without lifting equipment etc.

[CouncilFerrari]

DonkeyApple said:

2 stroke moped first, then 4 stroke mower. Risk re scooter is that they would obviously want to ride it so find a motor on its own.

I'd go with this suggestion. Two strokes are nice and simple to work on, and parts for older scooters are plentiful.

[GloriaMummiford]

Wow, thanks a million for such fabulous suggestions. I'm definitely going to do the pushbike motor. Super impressed with people finding bangers for £150 and letting their kids loose on them but don't think I'm confident enough for that!

Sorry, I tried quoting but it said I'm not allowed post links yet (which it seemed to think quotes were?) so sorry for not quoting people individually but I'm in East London to the person selling the engine.

Thanks so much.

[catso]

Lefty said:

You’ll get a no-mot banger for £50-100

Will you now though?

Our local breakers will give around £350 for old cars, regardless of MOT/running or not and they collect, I've sold them two in the last couple of years.

As for an engine to tinker with, I've got an old Land Rover turbo diesel engine you can have for £100 but you'll have to collect it and, it might be bigger/heavier/more complex than a teen may want as a first project.

[stevieturbo]

catso said:

Will you now though?

Our local breakers will give around £350 for old cars, regardless of MOT/running or not and they collect, I've sold them two in the last couple of years.

As for an engine to tinker with, I've got an old Land Rover turbo diesel engine you can have for £100 but you'll have to collect it and, it might be bigger/heavier/more complex than a teen may want as a first project.

I'm sure there are places you'd get a car for very little money. However....you'd then need to have the means to transport and store it, and space for anyone to work at it etc. As any non legal banger, can't be sitting out these days

[GliderRider]

The mower engine is an excellent approach as it very basic, simple and manageable. A upright one (horizontal crankshaft) from, a Suffolk colt or similar, is proably easier to work on, although less common than a vertical crankshaft type. Whatever type you and your son go for, make building a sturdy wooden stand the first task, unless you splash out for a proper engine stand from Ebay/Facebook Marketplace.

Another approach is one of the engine kits with a transparent crankcase. Haynes do a range, including a V-twin, a four cylinder inline and a V-8.