Hi. I am getting back to model plane building & flying after almost 50 years. I was told by a guy on BrotherhoodOfTheRing to talk to you about my old VECO .35. It was way stuck. It was given to me many years ago by a guy that had been given it by an uncle; its history is unknown. I apologize to the mechanics out there who might guess that I severely neglected my engines since the sixties - life happens, you know. I did manage to rehab my old ENYA .29 by soaking it in various solvents without having to dismantle it, but that process didn't work for the VECO. I had to remove the head & back plate, destroying the gaskets. Does anyone make gaskets for this engine? The VECO's piston, connecting rod & crank are now free, so I expect that with new gaskets I will be able to use it on the Ringmaster (really old Sterling kit) that I am now building.
I have the original owner's manual, which has an exploded view & parts list; the VECO part number for the pair of gaskets is 163 (the price on the parts list is 25 cents - things really change, don't they).
I would like to remove & inspect the piston, but can't slide the connecting rod along the wrist pin enough to free it from the crank pin. That can probably wait - I'll see if it runs strongly enough to fly the plane before I worry about compression.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!