The Homelite Kart engines

mcbob · Post by **mcbob** » Fri May 08, 2009 4:36 pm

Being a simple fella from the bush and smelling of gum leaves can some-one offer a little info on the Homelite range of Kart engines i have seen both the KL92 and is it the KL100 but was there similier in the chainsaw engines and does anyone know for sure which ones were used in the kart engines .......... what were the crank pto sizes for clutches and the clutch types used.

Mc Bob.
Don't get too worried i'm not suffering from Homie-phobia.

Jeff Troy · Post by **Jeff Troy** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:28 pm

Hi, McB,

Homelite kart engines in chronological order were the KL and KR 82, 92, 95 and 100, although I have never actually seen a KR (right hand) 100 anywhere.

Homelite Zip saws share a lot parts with the 82 and 92, and possibly the 95, although I'm exactly sure which ones at the moment. The 100 is unique to karting.

I have several Zip saws, one 82 (kart) and a pair of 92 kart engines. All are presently disassembled, but I can't do an A-B right now. The 92's are here (Pennsylvania) and the Zips and 82 are in Fort Wayne. I hope to have two good sets of matched 92 pairs when I'm finished. I also have three KL-100's, two on my Spitfire and a third in reserve.

Zip saws and Homelite kart engines share the same clutch innards. Only the drums are different. The PTO is stepped (memory says maybe 9/16" to 5/8"). The clutch guts have two keys to the crank, and the drum rides on a bushing over the smaller-diameter end. Six shoes and two springs are in the clutch.

These are interesting engines, but not really up to running against MACs past the MC-7. I'd guess that Homelite was probably out of the kart scene by 1962 or 63. The karts weigh approximately 140 pounds each less engines. My live axle Spitfire weighs 174 with the dual KL-100's and a full tank.

I'll have more in a few months, but that's the best I can do right now. Pearl Gamble might have a lot more reliable information.

BTW, my hobby trade magazine just hooked up with a die-cast publisher from your neck of the woods, Matt White. He publishes The Diecast Magazine in Australia.

Warmest regards,

mcbob · Post by **mcbob** » Sat May 09, 2009 12:54 am

Thanks Jeff well now i know a little more than i did this morning as when i googled the Homelite Kart Engines ............. well next to nothing appeared.

Bob.

ted johnson · Post by **ted johnson** » Sat May 09, 2009 8:41 am

Hi, Big Bob! The only slight correction to Jeff's info is that the KL95 is the exact same engine as the KL100 except that it's 95cc rather than 100cc. I believe the bore was smaller, but can't remember for sure. It had the kart specific crankcase and engine mount, as well as the 100's dual reeds with the manifold necking the 2 reeds down to one HL carb. The ones we saw also had the single thin ring piston. There was one on eBay recently, but I got outbid as always! Built for a VERY short time and extremely rare! The Wiz saws were similar to the Zips with the Super Wiz 77 and 80 having 5.8 cubic inches. I have never seen either of these units, so can't tell how they relate to the KL95 as far as the cylinder and innards are concerned, but the case is totally different. My dad sold Homie saws, but got out of it in the mid sixties. The conversion I'm running is a combo of the XP1000 and XP1050. This is a totally different beast with 100cc, laying down like a Mac, with the 2-bolt exhaust, larger ports and having an actual inner port wall. Same clutch hassles as the kart engines, only made worse by the clutch hub screwing on the crank! We still don't know how well it will run, as I had fuel flow problems last time out. Sorry for the length of this! Ted

louie figone · Post by **louie figone** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:14 am

Ted, I have a Zip saw but it has the flat reeds, do some of the Zip saws have pyramid reeds?
The clutch on this saw has three shoes with the double spring but has provisions for three more shoes and the pto is the same as my KL100, 9/16 stepped down to 7/16 with two .125 keyways 180* apart from one another.

Louie

ted johnson · Post by **ted johnson** » Sat May 09, 2009 1:52 pm

Louie, I'm anything but a Homelite expert! We sold a few, but I always ran Macs back then. According to Mike Acres, the regular Wizes and Zips had non-pyramid reeds except for the Wiz 55 after a certain serial number, when Homeboy switched to a pyramid. All the Super Wizes had pyramids except for possibly the Super Wiz 66. Mike Acres just says that it has reed valves, and that's how the Zips are described also.... Mobs of the 600; 700; 900 series saws have pyramid reeds, and some of them are 5.8 and 6.1 cubes. I'd like to get hold of one of these. I would guess that, since the kart cranks are much like the upright saw engine cranks, that you might be able to klooge the kart clutch to work. Of course, you'd need to either fab a mount, or use a K82 or K92 one. I had to use the saw clutch on the XP1000, and have a #35 sprocket welded on. The bushing situation was a P.I.T.A., but I hope we've finally solved it. The clutch innards look fine with 6 sintered shoes, but Man, that L.H. thread screw on hub!!! We fabricated a wrench to handle installing it. Homelite once made one, but they're hard to find. All the 1000, 1020, 1050 and 1100 series saws had 4 reed pyramids, and the 2000, 2100 and 3100's all had 6 reed pyramids (and 7 cubic inches...). TJ

mcbob · Post by **mcbob** » Sat May 09, 2009 5:10 pm

Well fellas this is great this old fella is getting smarter so i take the model number denotes the engines size ... i have added some of this info to my site in case some-one else is digging around to find a bit on the dreaded Homie's ... anyone have anything on the bore and stroke sizes ?

Mc Bob.

ted johnson · Post by **ted johnson** » Sat May 09, 2009 5:43 pm

McBob: K-82: 2.0625 bore, 1.500 stroke; K-92: 2.1875 bore, 1.500 stroke; KL-100: 2.1875 bore, 1.609 stroke. I don't have the info on the short-lived KL-95. Any help on this? Ted

ted johnson · Post by **ted johnson** » Sat May 09, 2009 5:58 pm

Bob, I just found something: Homeboy once offered a 1.538 stroker crank for the K-92 engines, bringing them to 5.78 cubic inches. I'd imagine this 2.1875 bore/1.538 stroke was used on the KL-95 as well. No proof, but logical! TJ

mcbob · Post by **mcbob** » Sat May 09, 2009 7:17 pm

Now were cooking with gas fellas thanks Ted and the rest of the gang it will be kinda nice to see something on the old Homie's up on the net and i have started a page on them off my Mac site now if i can get more pic's and a little now on the other engines like photo's of the 82 and 100 and along with that obscure 95 then i can start really putting something together.
Any help you fellas can muster up will be greatly appreciated and i'll add credits as needed.

My email address for any pic's you may have of the engines themselves or hotup bit's or if you have any IPL'S Now that would be great.

ozflea@bigpond.com.au

Mc Bob.

The Homelite Kart engines

The Homelite Kart engines

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