Elto Handifour 9.2 ownership?

[rapier]

Not wanting to overstay my welcome, but I’ve been offered a project ’37 Elto Handifour that I’m interested in running. The parts that I need are readily available, but I wanted to know if they’re easy to own and run and if there are any foibles (over and above the usual..) that I need to know with this model? I notice the Handifour was dropped after ’37. Was the Lightfour 9.2 it’s replacement?

[PM T2]

Elto Handifours are few and far between. I’ve only seen a couple of them in over 25 years as a collector. When I asked about buying one of the few that I’ve seen in person, the owner started beating me about the face and head with sticks and clubs, which I took as a firm "no".

At any rate, they are a pretty rare bird. I would think they aren’t any more difficult to run than most other antiques from its era.

I do have a 1937 Evinrude-Elto parts list at home that I can scan, but I bet Garry Spencer will beat me to it. Oh wait, I just remembered, I CAN’T UPLOAD THINGS FROM MY COMPUTER TO THIS SITE!! Oh well, you were that close to getting a copy eh…….

In lieu of the real thing, here’s a link to a Fleabay auction where one is for sale

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1937-Evinrude-Lightfour-Elto-Handifour-Outboard-Motor-Parts-List-Boat-S-/361331773077

So you can see that the parts book has both the Lightfour and Handifour on the same page(s). Infer from that what you will.

To the best of my knowledge, the powerheads were similar between the Lightfour and Handifour, but I do know that the Handifour has its own cylinders that are not a match for the Evinrude parts. Might be the same bore & stroke, but the exteriors are quite different, as the Handifour cylinders have no provisions on them for mounting and covers or shrouds.

The Handifour was one of the rare Elto’s motors that was not supplied with battery ignition, the ones I’ve either heard about or seen were fitted with a flywheel magneto.

That’s about all I can tell you until I get home and have a look at the book. Hope it helps anyway.

Best,
PM T2

He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...

[PM T2]

OK, I dug into it some more, and here’s what my ratty old book tells us.

Looks like I was right on the cylinders, as the book lists different part numbers for Lightfour cylinder blocks versus the Handifour parts.

There are also differences between the two on mufflers, exhaust pipes, and water pipes & associated fittings.

Other than those notable exceptions, most other powerhead parts (internally at least) seem to be interchangeable between the two.

There are also different magnetos and flywheels used, depending on where the motor falls in the serial number sequence. Handifours with serial numbers 0001 to 0500 use flywheel # 194571, and from 0501 and up they used #195086. The part number for the complete magneto Assembly for the Handifour is 194693, the corresponding part number for the Lightfour is 195060, so there must have been a difference, but I’m not going to pretend to know what the difference(s) might have been.

The book also lists different part numbers for the lower unit housings, props, and a few other items.

Rewind starting was available on the Lightfour, but NOT on the Handifour.

I suspect the Handifour was deemed to be redundant and discontinued after 1937, as it did have so many similiarities to the Lightfour. The Handifour did ont offer the typical Elto trait of battery ignition, so in fact to me it was more like an Evinrude than it was an Elto. I don’t think the Lightfour necessarily replaced it, I believe the decision was just made to drop the Elto and keep the Evinrude version in the line-up, possibly as a cost-cutting measure.

Garry Spencer might be able to provide some insight into the rationale behind the decision, but this pretty much wipes out whatever I got in the tank.

Hope this helps.

Best,
PM T2

He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...

[rapier]

Thanks PM T2, much appreciated.

[eltoquad]

I have a 1934/35 Elto Lightfour 9.2 h.p. . I wonder why they changed the name from Lightfour to Handifour in ’37?? My ’34 also has the Elto battery ignition. The listing in "The Old Outboarder" only says "LightFour" for my model 4044, not Evinrude or Elto. The tank decals are Elto.

[rapier]

Here’s a pic of the project.

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[garry-in-michigan]

Those are Lightfour Imperial cylinders. The Handifour was dropped because it was thought to be taking sales away from the more expensive Imperial. Mechanically they are identical. They also share some parts with the Midget Racer. The Lightfour Imperial was good enough to take our AOMCI treasurer, George Emmanual, on a 100 mile cruise up the Suwannee River a few years back. . . 😆

[PM T2]

Garry is right, those are Lightfour cylinders on the motor you’re working on.

I dug out some images of a Handifour that I have on my hard drive. You can see the physical differences between Lightfour and Handifour cyclinder castings

Hope it helps.

Best,
PeeEmm TeaTwo

He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...

[rapier]

Definitely helps, thanks! Nice Handifour.

[rapier]

Interestingly, the Elto Handifour project has matching core plug and saddle model numbers – 4219, with serial number 00074, so the addition of the Lightfour cylinders is a mystery. Probably a later modification..it being UK too, not many of either the Lightfours, or Handifours around.

[Author]

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