It  gets in the way of the mounting screws !  

someone was whineing about the screwdriver chewing it up , etc & so on . So they got rid of it at some stage .

I think all the Chinese ones , even the oes with made in Italy on them , have a 4 number stamping on the edge of a mounting lug .
Brian Winch  here says he ' advised ' them to use softer rings ( says Italian ones were hardened ) to ease break in . says he told
them a carb mod for the R/C carb too . Now you know .

So the lump was eradicated  for screwdriver clearance , if you don't use socket head screws .

Hi Jose

The picture will show up when you log into the Stunt Hanger Forum website. I have attached another picture which shows the backplate removed. I have came across horror stories of the conrod being placed backwards. How does one tell whether a conrod is placed backwards?

Perhaps someone can point out the "operational" differences between the Italian S.T. 51 and the Chinese version.

From a user perspective, which one, if at all, runs better?

I only have one ST51, and don't know where it was made;  I only know it was modified by Tommie Lay.  It's a great engine.

Floyd

I've run a couple Italian G51s and a couple of the Chinese G51s.  My Italians ran better than the Chinese.  The overall fit and finish is comparable, but you can see that the Chinese cut corners on things like the finish of the venturi as the Italian version is machined and polished like chrome and the Chinese version is grainy, for lack of a better description.

The issue I had with the Chinese engines were the rings that went bad.  I picked up a pair off Ebay for parts, one is like new but the ring seal is crap, the other shows evidence of more running but not alot, and it too has a shot ring.  I bought one new, and it ran decent until I got it hot one time and it's never been the same since.  

If I were going to run the G51 in something important, I think I'd try to get a group together and have Brian Gardner make a run of drop-in ABC setups for them.  A good ring would probably fix the problem, but an ABC set should solve it permanently.

That bar cast on the case was always in the way, especially with 6-32 bolts.  It's nice they stopped doing that, and also started drilling the cases through for the muffler bolts.  It's too bad the G51 will probably never be available again, for the money they were a nice running engine.

If I were going to run the G51 in something important, I think I'd try to get a group together and have Brian Gardner make a run of drop-in ABC setups for them.  A good ring would probably fix the problem, but an ABC set should solve it permanently.

This would be a WONDERFUL thing, especially if we continue to see ST's made in China. From the looks of the stocks at Tower Hobby, I have some doubts about that. A lot of "Order Pending" notices...reminds me of ST's from World Engines.  Steve

A Brian Gardiner ABC set would be magic. My experience is that the Chinese versions are not as good as the Italian ones. the rings are quite dreadful on the Chinese ones, Only some rings are bad on the Italian engines! The Italian fits and finishes are in my experience, much netter than the Chinese ones.
Having said that, I have an Italian one that has good everything and yet it is a dreadful stunt engine. I have tried all and I DO mean all, of the standard fixes and it still will not run well. Hence my vote for a BG ABC set u. How about it Brian?

Andrew.

CHINESE ones with ' MADE IN ITALY ' cast in , have a four didgit number stamp on the Side of the Mounting Lug .

as do all off chairman maus favourites . 



and YES , this one DOESNT have made in Italy on it , but it DOES have the four number STAMP . so NOW You Know !

as said , brian winch , the ' airboune engineer '  says he was askewd to advice them off any improvements required ,
being more of a genius than Garifiori , he advised then NOT to HARDEN the PISTON RING . So made in china chinese rings are differant spec
to gen u wine eyetalian PISTON RINGS . according to brain winch .