Lee Custom engine mystery

[Jim Hoffman]

Can the Stunt Hanger community help identify this engine and it’s heritage?

•   There are no markings on the engine except "Lee Custom" embossed on one of the mounting lugs.   I suspect it’s a Clarence Lee engine

•   About the size of a 60. 

•   Baffled piston, no ring

•   Purple anodized head, ball bearings, Champion plug. 

•   Exceptionally clean case casting. 

•   RC carb is barstock with linkage to restrict exhaust.   

[Steve Helmick]

It could be a .45 or .50. I'm pretty sure all the .61's were ringed, as were the .50's, possibly Dykes rings at the top edge of the piston. If it's ringed, there will be some "windows" in the exhaust and bypass port. The .45's were lapped, iron piston. Of course, they started out as Veco, became K&B & then became RJL/K&B.

Early Veco's were made by K&B under contract and were basically early Greenies. Clarence Lee was the guy that designed the later Veco engines, after Veco took over production from K&B. I don't know if he designed the "Series 200" Veco engines, but did a prototype speed .29bb I recall seeing pictures of, plus the .45 and .61. Maybe the .19bb, too.

Mr. Lee still advertises occasionally in that AMA magazine's classifieds.  Steve 

[Dave Hull]

Ok, I gotta ask--if that is a Champion plug, I assume it is a sparker and not glow? And if that's true, where is the timing pickup?

Beautiful engine....

McSlow

[Reptoid]

Did you pull the plug and check it? There were Champion idle bar glow plugs

[YakNine]

You could just ask Mr. Lee himself I believe he is still involved in the hobby

[Dave_Trible]

It looks nearly identical to my Veco .50 except for the exhaust going out the other side like a Torp.  I'd bet it's a prototype from Mr. Lee.  I'm not sure CLARENCE Lee is still with us.

Dave

[Jim Hoffman]

Thank you everybody for your help.  It really is a beauty.

Attached are photos of the Champion plug, hopefully they are clear.  It is an idle bar glow plug, the idle bar is a wire, not the traditional rectangular bar more commonly seen on modern plugs

[bob whitney]

Champian made glo plugs .they worked pretty good .looked neat they used to give them away at the KOI the same as they gave spark plugs to the racers at daytona back in the day. .I have an old tie clasp with a champion glo plug on it that I won at one of the early KOI's

[FLOYD CARTER]

Champion glo plugs are clearly marked "VG2" or "VG3".  Spark plugs are simply "V1", "V2" or "V3"  You don't have to take them out to identify them!

I don't think there was a 3/8" glo by Champion.  You could buy an adapter to reduce 3/8" down to 1/4" to use the smaller glo plug.

I have several Champion glo plugs.  I put them in old spark ignition engines just for looks, while I keep the spark plugs for actual running.

[Dave Hull]

Cool. Never saw a Champion glow plug before....

Dave T--The ad for Lee custom engines and repair work--by K&B 61 designer, Clarence Lee--are in the July Model Aviation magazine. So it's a pretty good bet that he is not only still kicking, but actually working.  You could call him up at the number given, but I probably wouldn't ask him whether he is still with us....

[Steve_Pollock]

According to information regarding Lee custom engines on the craftsmanshipmuseum web site [ https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Lee.htm ], these purple-headed engines were .51 in displacement, and there were ten (10) of them assembled by Mr. Lee.  The parts were made in 1964 and the engines were sold or otherwise distributed in 1965.  You won't see many of these floating (or flying) around.  Clarence Lee is in his mid-'90s but still hand-assembles the Veco-Lee .61 engines for R/C and C/L.

[Roy DeCamara]

Hi Floyd     Yes, Champion made a 3/8 glo plug.  I have one and on the ceramic in red letters====Champion  MADE IN USA  VG1.  I've had this plug since I was a teenager. Long time ago!!  Never used it.  Cheers, Roy.

[Bill Mohrbacher]

Those Lee Customs are the immediate ancestors of the Veco 45, 61, and 50s.  Clarence designed them all.  The  Champion glows were designed with the bar across the bottom and were produced long before RC idle bar plugs.   

[BOB ALLAN]

Another interesting Lee Custom here - https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1402733-Vintage-Glow-Engines#post17625297

[Steve_Pollock]

Here's the story on the last engine, also from the craftsmanshipmuseum web site:

Danny Claes of Belgium owns one of the Lee 51's. In fact, it is the last one made. He sent the following note along with these photos:

"Here is a little more info about the Lee 51 that I have in my collection. I have been corresponding with Mr. Lee by letter for some time. He noted that all of the parts for the 51's were made during the later part of 1964. The completed engines were sold by January, 1965. All the parts of this engine (SN #036) are ones made at that time. Clarence had saved one 51 engine (this one) in parts all these years just in case some old engine came along that he was looking for and the owner might be interested in trading for one of the 51's. Some 15 years ago he decided to sell the last 51 to me."