Will Rogers' Disston/PP-58

[ted johnson]

Will Rogers has completed his Disston twin bottom-end with PP-58 cylinders like Jack Canady's beauty. Will also did a really nice job of the mill. It has an HR type big carb with a large reed. I'll try to post pix. Nice work! Ted.

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[John Tzortzoudakis]

Tell Will I'll be calling him...
I've got some Disstons waiting for the Will rogers treatment except for the PP heads and cylinder. I'll be going with the stock cylinders but with Merc outboard Hi-comp pistons which are an identical fit to the chainsaw motor. There are lots of tricks available in setting up these motors from outboard websites and books. Very similar to our vintage kart websites/books but a whole different brand following like Mercuy, Quincy Looper, Johnson, Evinrude and of course Konig

Nice work Will!
The engine on the left pictured below is what Will's old motor started with which had a sepparate magneto sticking out like a distributor.
Engine on the right is what Will just completed which has the mag under the flywheel. It's easier to work with when reversing the rotation and has the perfect spot for fitting a good intake.

They are the ugliest chainsaw I've ever seen. But that didn't matter, once I heard the sound of Will's in Vegas a few years ago. Since then I've managed to collect 3-4 of them as most of them are too locked up or missing parts.

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Disston Chainsaws in my Garage

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[ted johnson]

Hey, John. I've seen a couple of Merc Disstons run on karts back in the early days, and I love that sound. Once I heard Jack Canady's PP cylinder job run at Fremont last year, I was amazed. I try to keep up with what Will is doing because I'm a mechanical designer and I admire his projects, not to mention that I think he's a good guy! My pal, Charlie, and I grew up in my Pop's small engine shop in Florida, so we're always interested in innovation. We always try to pit at Fremont next to Jack and Al Klusman. They are good, solid "industrial" guys, and always come up with something worth looking at. They're fun to be around, too! TJ

[Dave Brillhart]

John, I have one of the later engines, and found an old article from '61, will have to dig it out. The jist is the writer was able to get 24hp ! out of a 211A version without touching the ports or compression. The most important mods were a large reedcage, carb, straight pipes (not megaphones) and a smaller fan with custom aluminum shrouds. Would like to ask about the outboard cross over , would assume that the KH/G-7 is the closest and the sources for the pistons you mentioned. Have searched the web and come up empty; and help would be appreciated. Thanks, Dave

[ted johnson]

Will's gonna fire the beastie up this weekend; wish I could be there to hear it! If it sounds as good as Jack Canady's, it'll be memorable. They'll have it at the Turkey Trot in November on Dan's Hovey. I envy the West Coast gang! Maybe next year.... TJ

[John Tzortzoudakis]

Dave,
Here's a webpage I've been working on. Since you brought up the same questions I had about Disstons I thought it was about time to publish it. Here's the link...hope it helps

http://www.mccullochkartengine.com/diss ... gines.html

[ted johnson]

John, great web page! I've read the Quincy Looper website; it's a fun read. I still think the Konigs were better overall, but the Loopers were real competitors. I've never heard of a Looper used on a kart or a micro midget, but I bet it would've howled like the Konigs and the Anzanis. Thanks for the information. TJ

[Dan Rogers]

Hi Guys,
Exciting news, it runs and it sounds really mean. We test fired on a bench and with a little carb adjustment we'll be ready to run. We're now working on the engine mounting, we'll probably use the old Disston motor mount from my Disston. We'll keep you posted. - Dan

[ted johnson]

Great to hear, Dan! I hope I get to see and hear it next year! Ted