Veco .19 query

[Oldenginerod]

Hi.  I just managed to pick up three incomplete/damaged Veco .19s and was after some advice.  These are the bushed version, unlike those currently available.
One looks to be in pretty good condition apart from a crack through to the mounting hole in the venturi housing.  This is an R/C version without the carb.  It turns over nicely, looks really neat and has little evidence of being mounted.  The other two crankcases have enlarged mounting holes but this one looks great in that department.
No.2 engine has a similar crack, but apart from the enlarged mounting holes seems ok.  No carb.  Still turns over ok, although stiff.  Haven't oiled it up and fitted a plug to try comp at this stage.
No 3 is a C/L version and looks rough.  Enlarged holes and missing most screws.  The venturi appears to have been filled with JB Weld to try to reduce the diameter.  Does it have an insert originally?  On removing the two remaining head screws I discovered that the top flange of the liner has all but been completely snapped off, probably by trying to lever it out with a screwdriver.

My questions are, first of all, are these decent engines? 

Is it worth trying to get one mobile?

What's the best way to remove the liner without harming anything?  Obviously this has to come out to remove the piston & crank.

Are parts available? MECOA has parts for the BB version, but does anything interchange?

I'd appreciate any advice/opinions.  They only owe me $10 the lot, so it's not a big investment if you think they're best relegated to the parts draw.

Cheers.
Rod.

[Steve Lotz]

They are decent engines; I have a couple of them. The best way to get the liner out is to stick a popsicle stick in the exhaust port and turn the engine over to pop the liner up. The wood won't damage the piston/liner. If the engine is really glued up with old castor oil you may have to gently heat the case to soften it. The engines did use venturi restrictors; I may even have one in my stash.

I don't know if any of the parts interchange with the ball-bearing version.

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

I'm glad someone else mentioned the piece of wood (not metal) as a lifter, as there is a slight risk of creating a burr in the liner. 

And also glad for the mention of heat.  I'd advise heating the whole engine 10 minutes at 225 F.  The idea there is the aluminum expands at a greater rate than the steel, freeing the liner.  And bearings, if equipped.

Peter

[Oldenginerod]

Well the 3 VECOs all came apart fine today.  A small amount of heat from a small gas torch was easily enough to loosen up the liners on all three, even the broken one.  I really don't know how they could have broken the flange off the top.  It came out easy once heated.
All three got a good boil in antifreeze today so now it's time to pick the best crankcase and see if I can do something with the crack in the venturi.  It looks like they're prone to people overtightening the carb mounting screws, causing them to crack the grub screw hole.  It wouldn't be hard to make up a venturi insert and use a suitable NVA.  The crack probably won't really matter then.
Interestingly, I did find that one of them has a different crankshaft, with a full-circle counterweight, wheras the other two have the webs cut out each side of the crank pin.  It does look like two are RC cases and one is a CL version.  I didn't see for sure, but I'd pretty much bet that the circular crankshaft came from the CL case.  I'll have to check the port timing to see if they're different.  I really don't know why the balance weight would need to be different between the two.

[ericrule]

Try looking on Model Engine Collectors (MECA) web site for parts for the Veco .19. For the most part this is a very good stunt engine. Years ago I was able to get one. Sent it off to Glen Wells and had it chromed to make it even better. Ran so well that Bob Whitely got it from me and put it into one of his models to compete in Old Time Stunt at the NATS.