revell visible V8

[madvette74]

I used mineral oil on the crank pistons and cam

[madvette74]

no, it has a battery

[TheXelian]

can it generate electricity and if so how?

[MalcomseXatYaMasHous]

I had one. but Mom walked in on me shoving a piston up my butt. that was the end of that :/

[madvette74]

I bought this as an unopened kit, and built it myself..

[seelder4]

did you have to put that together? like all of it together or was it in pieces that you clip together?

[turboslag]

@seelder4

It's a glue together kit with some parts bolted up and quite tricky to build as the parts don't fit very well !!

[Mrphatbastard1]

This was supposed to be a Chevy, but it's some kind of morphidafied engine11

[madvette74]

yes, the car was about 2 feet long

[TheXcaliber223]

@madvette74 what did you use to lube the camshaft

[DFDalton1962]

Built one of these as a kid in the early 70s. Very difficult for a ten year old to assemble properly, and mine never ran reliably. Revel seems to have "dumbed down" the kit these days as it isn't motorized, but uses a hand crank instead.

Also, I seem to remember the original kit coming with a brochure for a working car chassis kit that this engine was meant to fit into. Is this correct?

[erikblazer13]

not going to lie your harmonic balancer looks a tad off :P

might i ask what caused that, im having the same problem

[madvette74]

@erikblazer13 the balancer is not pushed on all the way, in case i need to remove it, if theres a problem with the timing gears,, I can easily without the worry of breaking something

[andreboy10]

No need to buy from ebay when at Hobby Lobby Revell has come back out with theses visible v-8 engines same size $62.00 wait for 40% off coupon on 1 item it knocks it down to $42.00 that way you are backed up if it is messed up and they give you free parts if you ever need any

[TheFightingTwits]

Can you use/run it if you put it in a model car type of thing?

[SuperLiftedchevy]

im looking at one on ebay for me i love cars and trucks and love to build stuff do you think it would be good for a teen that loves to build stuff and loves cars and trucks???

[madvette74]

@SuperLiftedchevy sure.. I built them when I was a teen..

[Airn4sale]

@SuperLiftedchevy Being just that myself I'd say yeah!

[brent3360]

were do you get these at?

[WarMachineWW2]

IM trying to buld one right now but im on the part when you put in the cam shaft. its not connecting to the back washer where i put it. And akksi uf u try ti turn the pistons and cylinder by hand when you put in the first cog it wont move. i lubricated it and all but im stuck on connecting the camshaft onto the backboard

[madvette74]

@WarMachineWW2

make sure the camshaft is strait, some are bent after being stored for long periods.

you may have to sand each piston, then in stall it, make sure it can move freely in the cylinder

[tlbxqx345]

If you have a young kid who's interested in model engines, there are easier options than this model. Do a search on the "Motor-Works" model that's marketed under the Smithsonian, Popular Mechanics or Edu Science brands. It's only a four cylinder engine, but it has similar moving parts as the Revell V-8, and it also includes an electric motor and the spark plugs light up in sequence. It screws together (no glue required), but be careful not to strip the plastic screw posts. Good instructions.

[mikeytitanic]

i built the smithsonian and it sucked the parts could not stay together the timing belt comes off alot and the motor to turn the parts is weak don't buy one!! the visible v8 is better

[tlbxqx345]

I agree with the author that there is a problem with the bottom pulley coming loose. I completed the new Revell V-8 model not long ago (no electric motor, no lights for the spark plugs) and it has the same problem with the bottom pulley.

I can tell you that completing this model takes a LOT of fiddling around, improvising and filing parts to make them fit. Even with that, fit and finish are not great for this model - you may need to take the model apart occasionally for repairs.

[badgerbuddy]

what engine is it based off of?

[Rakrator]

Seems to be a GM from the 60´s.

[slinky460]

@badgerbuddy It is a Studebaker 289 with a 4 speed GM Hydromatic. But Studebaker never used a Hydromatic, only Borg Warner automatics (Ford o matic). If you look at the water pump, intake and exhaust manifolds they match a Studebaker. Even the 1/4 scale bore and stroke comes out to about 289 cu in. The firing order and cylinder layout matches Studebaker also. Back in 1959 when this model was designed, the Studebaker 289 was a high output engine that was used in the famous Studebaker Hawk.

[rumblestaff0com]

Good idea this for kids or anyone really who learns better Kinisthetically rather than with books and crap

[slinky460]

Most of the cam shaft problems are caused by the binding of the push rods in the cylinder heads. Here is how I fixed this. Drill a small indentation in each rocker arm for the push rod to ride in. Hog out the push rod guide in the head. Now the valve train runs much smoother with less cam shaft flex and takes the load off the cam shaft gear. You may have to put washers on the rocker arm shaft to keep the rocker arm running true. There are many improvements that can be made to this model.

[madvette74]

yea I ran into that problem, cant remember what I did to fix it.. but my camshaft was so warped I had to use a heat gun to get it to the point where I could bend it strait, luckly this worked.

[firebat42]

Okay, Ive got a question if you feel up to answering it: I just bought a Revell 1/4 visible engine (being modern day and what not, it has a hand crank [no battery powered crank] and no combustion light effects of any kind). Now the instructions said for me to lubricate stuff such as the crank shaft, cam shaft, connectors rods, pistons and so forth. If at all, what did you use to lubricate said items?

Bonus question: Would it be okay if I filled the crank case with motor oil? Just for realism :)

[madvette74]

ok, lubricate camshaft, timing gears, distributer gear and shaft, cylinder walls connecting rods and crank journals,

with mineral oil, found at stop & shop.

also you could probably use oil in the oil pan, but use some left over plastic pieces that ( plastics with the part numbers on) and check a couple of days to see if it softens it.. your best bet would be to fil with wesson oil or mineral oil, and just use some food dye to make it look similar to engine oil

[firebat42]

Thank you so much :) I really do appreciate it.

[tlbxqx345]

@firebat42 Whatever you do, DO NOT USE VEGETABLE OIL as a lubricant, as the instructions indicate.  You might as well use bubble gum. I followed the instructions and used vegetable oil and a few months later, the model was a sticky mess and the crankshaft would not turn. I had to disassemble and clean the parts off. Others have recommended using mineral oil, but I tried using a graphite-based oil (the type you use on locks) and that seems to be working OK so far.

[slinky460]

@tlbxqx345 Yes this is true! On the newer kits if you use vegetable oil as the instructions say to do, you will TRASH your engine. I am testing several different oils now to see which ones will not trash out the plastic. In the past, motor oil would trash the Styrene plastic. One thing I know for sure, Soybean oil will TRASH your engine. La Bell makes a plastic safe oil for model trains. you might try that and see how it works.

[HaloSpartan86]

the new ones are a pain to build. i have a new one that is hand operated with a crank. anything that can go wrong with it will. ive had my camshaft break twice the engine block has fallen apart 3 times so now its so glued up it looks like crap a pushrod has broken the little ring that holds the pushrod in place has broken its a real pain ive had it finished twice but then something broke so ive had to take it apart.

[kx80boi678]

mine looks exactly the same. the only difference is that mine works with a crank

[madvette74]

I accidently removed the last post, but I had 2 back in the day that the crankshaft would break, on this ine the camshaft was so warped, I had to get a heat gun and lightly heat it and bend it strait

[Agustin1409]

The one I built back in 1968 had sparking lights timed with the pistons, a working distributor, a water pump moving real cooling water, a small electric motor in the space for a real starting motor, and, it fitted on a visible chassis, with a working transmission, gearbox, differential, and one hidraulic working drum brake. The front independent suspension, full working, had a complete steering system. Lost it long ago. Where can I find the kit again?

[madvette74]

I know what your talking about.. but good luck in finding one, from time to time they have them on ebay.. I seen them sell for $700+

thats just the chassy, you would take this engine I have here and attach it, using the chassy kits transmission... very nice kit. to much for me to spend..

[joh2]

Visible V8 - certainly an interesting approach... I recall (it would be a rare kit this one) Revell (I think) in the early 60s produced a see-thru Chrysler slant six...

[muis001]

the new ones don't have spark lights? Today I saw this model kit in the shop and I'm thinking of buying it, is it possible to make it electric with sparklights?

[madvette74]

I dont think so.. you would need the distibuter, and the camshaft has a timing mark on it so it fires in correct order. plus you would need the bulbs

[nesuprantunk]

8 cilindres ?? :D nice motor

[Volga2402]

put oil in it:D

[graveur123759b]

Who produced the engine and where I can buy

this thing new ????

[madvette74]

revelle makes it.. it's from the late 70's... you can probaly get the same one on ebay or at an hobby shop, but they no longer make them operate by batteries.. they just have a hand crank to turn the motor over

[graveur123759b]

Thank's !!! :-)))

[payday182]

sweet motor . thinkin about byin one

[MAsterDV]

Wow, I have this model, but is not electric, how you do? This light in spark's and the electric engine start you creat the system? How you make a distributor to cordinate the ligths on spark's?

[fordthunder04]

wow , those are neat . im a mechanic and im always trying to explain to people the different parts and how they work . this would be a great thing to have to show them .

im going to check on ebay for one of these !

[verticalflight]

I have one new in box. Looking to sell it. Get in touch if interested. I just put it up forsale on Boston MA. Craigslist. Check it out.

[freddylongone]

I built one of these in the mid-70s...I hooked a bigger battery to it and broke the camshaft lol

[madvette74]

yea, I had 2 of them in the 70's and both times they worked for a minute or so and the crankshft broke in two.. I am told by a few people they made a much bigger version of these.. I think its by the same company, just not sure what year

[madvette74]

thanks.. I tried everywhere on the web to see one of these working.. thought there had to be someone out there that had one of these when they were a kid and would like to see it in working order..

[KatellaGate]

thanks for posting this! I built the same engine model in 1970 when I was 10 yrs old... and I am kicking myself for throwing it away in high school.

The re-issues aren't motorized - you have to hand crank, and the spark plugs don't flash. What a rip. It's already an expensive model, so charge me the extra 10 freaking dollars and give me what I want.