Black Widow Question

NEW222 Fri Apr 09, 2021 6:43 pm

So just a quick Black Widow engine question. Does anyone know when they came with a round brass driveplate, and thick walled cylinders? Outwards they appear the same other than one silver spinner, and the other a red anodized spinner. More curious as I had thought the brass driveplates were used in 'pusher' models. They haven't been used in some time, so will have to wait till they arrive before cleaning up. Bonus is the TD! Hopefully it will be a better year for me actually going out flying! Got a bunch of new things to take to the air!

Ken Cook Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:22 pm

I will say from personal experience that in 1986 I purchased a Black Widow similar to the engine on the left. The following year in late 1987 is when it was a crap shoot whether or not you still received a metal backplate or plastic. This seemed to be the situation into 1988 where anything went out the door to utilize all old stock prior to the newer designs. The round driveplate was still being used up to that year. This was based on purchases from Tower Hobbies in which ran frequent sales of these engines. Towers also offered abundance overstock sales of certain items as well as scratch and dent. I was able to purchase many of the older Cox jewel case version engines such as Medallions and TD's for very little $$$$.

The red spinners was a trademark of the Black Widow hence the red markings on the real spider. The earlier 73 stepped wall cylinders used a small red rubber spinner whereas the later Leisure Dynamics versions used the larger red rubber style. Eventually going to the red aluminum versions. The mill finish aluminum version spinners were offered in a Cox rebuild kit therefore it was very possible that your example was replaced with such.

NEW222 Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:48 pm

Thanks Ken. It was more to figure out the small thick round brass driveplate. That is the most confusing part to me as I could not recall seeing one on a Black Widow before. Thanks again for the great info and timeline you provided.

Ken Cook Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:28 am

A bit irrelevant but some of my best running Black Widow engines were all from the 90's. I went downstairs to take a peek at NIB engines I have from the early 90's. All of them equipped with the hex drive washer and newer starting cam. One new Leisure Dynamics Black Widow from I'm guessing 1979-80 had the brass drive washer as yours does but it's cylinder was a slitted cylinder like a Sure Start. It has dual ports but no transfer ports and it used a red plastic cam starter with the round drive washer.

Longevity wasn't there on the 90's versions but man did they work well.The thick walled cylinders were open in the exhaust outlet with the dual boost ports which didn't utilize the transfer ports like the newer Sure Starts or TD's. I can't confirm this but it also may have been the fuel I was running which was K&B 1000. No fuel made any of my engines run like the 1000 did. The smell was also the best. I can still remember the sweetness. I was also using Missile Mist from Fox. The purple dye however was signature to Missile Mist and it wouldn't come off easily. If on your shoes or clothes, forget it . Cox fuels were more difficult to obtain as the hobby shops only carried a few pints and for the cost made it impractical to purchase.

getback Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:28 am

Good information Ken , Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. I have a few around but can't remember at this time if i have ran one Rolling Eyes

I have one mounted on a combat kitten but i think i put that on there after i had tried a mat release and was not pulling away as it should.

NEW222 Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:45 am

Thanks again Ken for your time and help. I was just curious as to timeline and authenticity, so now I do have something to go by. Now only time and distance seperate me from it. It is in the hands of the postal system now.... My porky Minnie Mambo may just be a good candidate for a power upgrade.

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