Briggs and Williams Part 2
The pump came off the pressure washer. The ATF/diesel (kerosene)/acetone mix worked perfectly.
The objective is to reduce the diameter of the driveshaft on the Briggs to the size of the collet on the TW.
Then it's a matter of dimpling the shaft of the Briggs with a drill and lining up the dimple with the set screw. Alignment here is critical, so you'll want to spin the motor with the pull cord and look for any wobble. If it's not lined up, make a note of which way the collet is out of line, loosen the set screw, and hold it in place while you re-tighten. The goal is as little wobble as possible.
After cutting, you may also have to make clearance on the mounting plate so the engine sits flush on the base. With the metal interface, that meant using spacers, but with the plywood, you can use a Dremel to relieve the surface.
Then, you'll mount the engine to the interface with the collet in place and drop it onto the shaft. What you're looking for is a natural resting point for the engine atop the lower.
Move it around a little and, while adjusting, pull the pull start and see if there's any resistance. Once the pull start engages smoothly, mark the location with a magic marker from underneath.
Six small bolts and nuts hold the plate to the lower...it's a good idea to use washers (and maybe lock washers) to ensure the motor doesn't fall off. It is critical that you line up the mounting plate on the lower WITH the carry handle in place so that all the mounting bolts are accessible. In my case, this meant I had to slightly skew the engine with the front facing a little to the left in order for the 3 bolt holes for the engine mount to be clear. It's purely a cosmetic issue, not super noticeable, and helps get everything lined up properly. Otherwise, you may find that you can't physically insert the three large bolts into the hole.
Once everything is bolted down and secure, it is time for testing. Give it a couple pulls and see how it works. If you hear any strange noises or notice binding or other problems, shut it down and make adjustments and try it again.
Next steps...making a tiller handle and setting up throttle, choke, and idle controls on the front of the engine.
On my previous build, I had the boys at the local high school welding shop make me a steel interface plate. I wanted a way to expedite the process and make the build a little cheaper, so this time I decided on some plywood composite that I found. It totally was not an old road sign.
This is the same material that the previous owner of my boat used to rebuild the transom. It is not wood (not completely anyway) and seems to be completely impervious to weather (like a road sign would be, but it's not one).
This was a hatch cover on the front deck. Since I eliminated the front deck on my boat, the hatch was no longer necessary, so I stored this piece until I found a use for it. In order not to mess it up, I roughed in the mounts on a scrap piece of plywood so I could later transfer the hole locations.
 |
| Not a road sign. |
This is the same material that the previous owner of my boat used to rebuild the transom. It is not wood (not completely anyway) and seems to be completely impervious to weather (like a road sign would be, but it's not one).
This was a hatch cover on the front deck. Since I eliminated the front deck on my boat, the hatch was no longer necessary, so I stored this piece until I found a use for it. In order not to mess it up, I roughed in the mounts on a scrap piece of plywood so I could later transfer the hole locations.
After that, it was going to be necessary to adapt the driveshaft of the motor to fit the collet from the Ted Williams lower. The bottom fits over a spline shaft in the lower and the collet on top is secured with a set screw. On both of the Briggs engines I have converted, the driveshafts were too large. So, out comes the angle grinder!
The objective is to reduce the diameter of the driveshaft on the Briggs to the size of the collet on the TW.
Then it's a matter of dimpling the shaft of the Briggs with a drill and lining up the dimple with the set screw. Alignment here is critical, so you'll want to spin the motor with the pull cord and look for any wobble. If it's not lined up, make a note of which way the collet is out of line, loosen the set screw, and hold it in place while you re-tighten. The goal is as little wobble as possible.
Next step is to finalize the mounting plate. I did this by marking the holes, mounting the engine, then tracing around the outside of the base.
Then, you'll mount the engine to the interface with the collet in place and drop it onto the shaft. What you're looking for is a natural resting point for the engine atop the lower.
Move it around a little and, while adjusting, pull the pull start and see if there's any resistance. Once the pull start engages smoothly, mark the location with a magic marker from underneath.
 |
| Totally not a road sign. |
Six small bolts and nuts hold the plate to the lower...it's a good idea to use washers (and maybe lock washers) to ensure the motor doesn't fall off. It is critical that you line up the mounting plate on the lower WITH the carry handle in place so that all the mounting bolts are accessible. In my case, this meant I had to slightly skew the engine with the front facing a little to the left in order for the 3 bolt holes for the engine mount to be clear. It's purely a cosmetic issue, not super noticeable, and helps get everything lined up properly. Otherwise, you may find that you can't physically insert the three large bolts into the hole.
Once everything is bolted down and secure, it is time for testing. Give it a couple pulls and see how it works. If you hear any strange noises or notice binding or other problems, shut it down and make adjustments and try it again.
Next steps...making a tiller handle and setting up throttle, choke, and idle controls on the front of the engine.
