BMW R35. Spare engines: #1

With BMW R35 we also received two spare engines for it. Here is one of them. According to its number it was made by the BMW factory in Eisenach in 1951. As you may see it comes along with an early type gearbox which has a hand operated gear switch lever. That’s  good news cause that’s what we wish for the BMW project.

However, there is bad news: both the engine and gearbox are in most pitiful condition. Aluminum parts are oxidized and all steel and iron parts are heavily rusted. Here is a “walkaround” set of photos so you may see the engine and gearbox from all sides:

BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearbox BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearbox BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearbox BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearbox BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearbox BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearbox BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearbox BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearboxAnd new feature: animated walkaround (click on picture to activate animation):

BMW (EMW) R35 engine and gearboxIt definitely was abandoned and exposed to open skies for a long time.  All its shafts stuck dead. The only things that could be slightly moved are the gear shift lever and kick pedal.

Clutch lever also stuck.

From the look of the engine and gearbox I could make a guess that they were used to propel some agricultural or household machinery. There are some modifications that indicate such usage.  Here you may see the pulley welded to the gearbox output shaft fork.

And the battery compartment was cut, presumably to accommodate a larger battery.

Front engine cover was broken. Nothing remained from the original ignition system and alternator.

In place of the alternator you may see this rusty bracket. I could assume that it was used to hold some other kind of alternator.

That other alternator was propelled by this makeshift sprocket.

This cavity under the broken cover is a compartment for the tool kit. It  was not unusual for early BMW motorcycles to have toolkit compartments integrated into crankcases or transmission cases.

There is a funny fact about this particular gear switch lever  knob. It is a wooden counting piece from soviet abacus. Abacus is an ancient calculating tool also called counting frame.  Abacus was largely used in the USSR for the first three decades of the 20th century.

Dismantling this engine promises to be hard work. Taking into account the condition of exterior parts  and presumable usage of engine there is not much hope that a lot of parts could be saved.

However I hope that at least I could use a gearbox case and assemble a gearbox with a hand operated gear switch lever on its base. Parts for such vintage motorcycles are rare so it would be hard to find replacement for cases.

 

 

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