OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Question on Digging Equipment Rotary Hoes & Tillers Repowering a Masport Home Gardener Tiller

I am needing to repower a 1979 Masport Home Gardener tiller that was fitted with an L head Briggs & Stratton 3.5 HP engine.

There does not seem to be sufficient room between the wheels for an OHV engine to fit.

When Masport updated the tiller with a 3.5 HP OHV Briggs & Stratton engine, was the frame altered to enable this OHV engine to fit?

Does someone have a picture of the frame of the updated Masport tiller with an OHV B&S engine?

Has someone repowered an older model Masport tiller with an OHV engine?

The Mk 2 Home Gardener was a complete redesign, using metric dimensions all through. The original Mk 1 was all done in Imperial dimensions, i.e. an 'inch pattern' design.

So it would be no surprise if the Mk 2 was designed around the OHV Briggs.

That said, it might be possible to modify a Mk 1 for the OHV engine, but you'd need to have some design and fabrication skills - not a job that would be worth having done commercially.

LRT,

I can not see it being an issues as the Briggs and Stratton engines are still imperial not metric. The engine mounting holes will be the same and the shaft size will be the same. All you should need to do is mount the new engine on and the old coupling will fit.

hi lrt
I have converted two older masport tillers for costumer's with the cheap Honda copy ohv engines.
the mud scrapers for the wheels had to be removed
the rocker cover just clears the wheel.
crank case bolt Patten is the same, you will need new mounting bolts metric m8 x1.25 pitch
if you need more clearance between the wheel and the rocker cover you can pack the engine crank case out a bit from the mounting bracket with some nuts as spacers and longer mounting bolts.
you can pack the motor out quite a lot and the coupling adjusted to cope with this movement
the handle bar brace needs to be modified and new brackets made welded in place
the Chinese Hondas are a tight fit but a good cheap conversion
just make shure any motor you get that the crank shaft size is the same to fit the coupling

Thanks Gadge and Bruce for your prompt response. I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks Freebird.

I haven't been able to source a 3.5 HP Chonda replacement engine, but I have on hand a 6.5 HP Millers Falls Chonda that I'll try to fit as you recommend.

Thanks for the detailed advice. I'll let you know how I get on.

Hi Freebird,

The engine doesn't fit without the mounting plate being extended out 6" as the dipstick and the cylinder fouls the wheel.

If I made up a new mounting plate that extends out 6" from the original position, I presume this will upset the balance of the machine and will then require more weight over the tines to prevent it falling over backwards.

See the attached pictures:

Caleb, might be easier to move the wheels forward but that may still bring up a balance issue, might have to put a counterweight over the tiller. Only other way would be to spread the wheels further apart to clear the motor but this may also bring up an issue with checking the oil

hi lrt
I think norms idea of extending the axel and moving the wheels out a bit might be worth a try.
I would move both wheels out the same amount on each side so as to not up set the balance of the machine.
a wider track would help handling with the larger engine
to change the oil you may have to pull a wheel off
i would remove both wheels and bolt the motor up then you can measure how much the wheels need to be spaced out.
i would then remove the axel and fit a longer one to suit new wheel spacing's
you will need a angle grinder and welder to remove and refit axel
the smaller ovh chonda 3hp engines are a tight fit and just clear the wheel.
its a shame you already had the 6.5 chonda and not the smaller engine but I guess you are trying to fit what your got on hand
no way would you want to pack the motor out 6 inchs a small amount if you had to for extra clearance say 10-15mm at the most
i will go through my pictures and i think i have picture of one that i converted .
i will try to post the picture for you as it will show the handle bar brace brkt that has to be made

i think you are close to getting it fitted

Thanks Norm & Freebird for your advice. Widening the axle seems like the way to go at this stage.

However, the 6.5 hp Chonda motor I have on hand will no doubt wreck the old gearbox even if I can get the machine to balance right. I'll see if the owner is happy to have the original engine restored or replace it with a new 3.5 hp Briggs & Stratton OHV.

Removing the wheel to change the oil is a great idea - sometimes the obvious isn't always apparent! Thanks for the tip.

Just came across this thread and I am in the same boat - picked up an early Masport Home Gardener from facebook marketplace with a blown engine.
I have decided to fit a Baumr-AG 6.5hp from Edisons (as I can't find any 3.5hp units) at a cost of $121 delivered.
I will simply widen the axle by welding on some 15mm rod to suit some puncture proof wider wheels which will ride over the dirt easier (added bonus of having sealed bearings).
I'll post some pics once I get around to doing when I return from holidays.

Sadly we never got to see how the one LRT was building as shortly after he posted this he lost everything when a huge bushfire went through where he lived.

Im doing this currently....same style chonda 6.5hp copy.
I hadnt seen this thread but came across the same issues.

My solution was to make some "droppers" from 50mm x 6mm flat steel and a new axle from 16mm round bar. A 20mm axle spacer is also required. Mine is a stack of m16 washers at the moment.
The droppers bolt onto the outside of the existing frame through the handle bolt holes. I removed the original axle and used it's hole as a third bolting point.
It could of course be welded.
This drops the wheels down by 20mm and also spreads the left one by an additional 20mm. A quick test run shows no induced balance or handling issues.

No pictures yet I'm afraid as it is still a prototype mess.
An additional issue I have is that the internal drive shaft and coupling end is worn. It seems to run wobbly and clatters off the inside of the tubing/boom.
I believe this, in combination with some cracks in the main mounting plate allowing the boom to move is what killed the previous engine.

I have welded the boom back in place but there is still noise so that is my current point of investigation.