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| :: Starwood Gallery :: Hirobo 1/5th SA-315B Lama |
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Zenoah Z23H gas engine left beside the OS BGX-1 glow engine. |

Custom built motor mount, cooling fan and clutch hub. |

Final decision for the Zenoah G62 gas motor conversion. |

Another shot of the motor in the frames. |
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Apart from my basic preference for gasoline powered models. The Lama always felt underpowered, now this
maybe how the model was originally intended to authentically duplicate the full size but my gut just told
me that the glow engine was too finicky and sensitive to relative temperature and humidity changes to provide long term consistent
performance. So I started looking for an alternate engine from Zenoah. The G62 had the right specifications
for power and rpm which were similar to that of the BGX-1, but was larger in physical size.
Getting the motor installed was straight forward with several custom machined parts to mount the engine and
adapt the clutch to the model. Normally clutches for gas motors are different than for glow but the shear
size of the clutch led me to think that it would work resonably well and it if didn't then, I would look into
retrofitting and Xcell gas clutch. Fortunately, the stock clutch was sufficient to handle the new gas motor.
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