While on a hunt for hit and miss motors, I came across three Delco Light Plants. I had no idea what they were, but they looked interesting, and the price was right. The owner said they had been sitting outside for about 15 years before being moved into the barn. (pretty sad sight, no?)

Work began quickly on the least rusty one(a Model 1250), being the only engine that wasn’t stuck. I took it apart to check the condition of the engine and begin cleaning parts.

The cylinder and head were pretty rusty but everything cleaned up well with a little time in the glass bead cabinet.

The crankcase was layered with a thick coating of sludge, but I suppose that’s to be expected when the crankcase oil does double duty as the air filter.

The piston is made of sand cast aluminum, and has a primitive oil control ring. The piston pin is a full floater, being held in place by aluminum caps. These caps wear out, allowing the piston pin to make contact with the cylinder walls, scoring them badly.

My Delcos are air cooled, cast iron finned, overhead valve, exposed pushrod, throttle governed engines. They were all built between 1911 and 1925. I was able to find all the needed parts to return the Model 1250 to it’s original configuration. It needed a governor, mixer and the ignition coil repaired.

I also now have all the parts I need to repair the Model 1278, pictured below.