| D-400 series engine | |
| Manufacturer: | Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) Lawn-Boy |
| Aka: | Iron Horse |
| Production: | 1954--1977 |
| Successor: | D-600 |
| Configuration: | Single-cylinder 2-stroke |
| Displacement: | 108.99cc[1] |
| Bore: | 60.325mm |
| Stroke: | 38.1mm |
| Block: | Aluminum |
| Head: | Aluminum |
| Compression: | 4.5:1 |
| Fuelsystem: | Float carburetor |
| Fueltype: | Petrol |
| Oilsystem: | 16:1-32:1 pre-mixed fuel:oil mix |
| Coolingsystem: | Air-cooled |
| Power: | 3.5hp |
The D-400 series engine or the Iron Horse engine was a light-duty two-stroke engine used for powering lawnmowers produced from the 1950s to the late 1970s. D-400 engines were single-cylinder engines designed and manufactured by the Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC; Johnson and Evinrude) for Lawn-Boy[2] and Masport. The D-400 engines displaced 109 cc, generated 3.5hp of power, and operated in the range of 2400-3300 RPM.[1] [3]
The engines have a distinctive rectangular cowling that has created a nickname of brick-top mowers. Another distinctive feature is the two-finger vertical recoil starter.[3] The kidney-shaped muffler and exhaust unit is mounted beneath the mowers' deck and gives the engine a small, low profile design when compared to the newer and more powerful lawnmower engines. The ignition system employs a magneto, points, and a condenser (capacitor) set-up with an unusual spark-advance system which utilised a weight on the crankshaft to adjust the spark-advance amount depending on engine speed. The sprung governor was also unusual with a throw-yoke which operated under the flywheel and was linked to the throttle. The carburetor was a float design and fed into a pair of reed valves.
In New Zealand and Australia, Masport also known in New Zealand as "Charlie Gamble" offered the D-400 engine on their Premier, Premier II, Rancher, Rotacut, and Tornado models.[4] In this Oceania market, the D-400 was called the Iron Horse engine.