What brand or manufacturer is the 301cc?
Good question:
I would say its in the range of the 240 and 270, " not very big blocks ".
I never took one down but there is also a 257 in the family.
It might be a different stroke that's where I think you will find the 301 and the 257 came from.
I keep hearing the word Predator.
Thats just a store brand by harbour freight.
There are many other store brands that use these engines and many different manufacturers.
Maybe you want to ask MTD or General lawn products where these engines come from, who asked for them or if they are something they asked for.
While your at it where is the 223 coming from?
Who asked for that and why does not one talk about it....
Chinese folks have this thing about appreciating a good copy.
Its considered OK in China to make a copy of something if you do it justice or do it better.
SO making a bigger version of something familiar might be better don't you think.....
Look at if from that perspective.......
Also.
Cloning engines is an old habit that goes back a very long time.
Its been the habit of the cloners to try and one up the OEM by making a better clone.
India produces engines descended from Petter, Lister and Villiers designs to this day that still look like the originals but are often very different inside.
This looks like a 60 year old Villliers MK12 but cast in aluminum with a Honda Inspired fuel tank.
https://koelagri.com/product/kpk-n-2520/
Here is a very broad spectrum of engines that are all very much like Petter and son's AV series from the 40s but they are not....
http://vibhaexports.com/diesel_pumpsets.htm
So how do you decide where a clone begins and the OEM design ends?
I don't know.
Is this a Duetz, a Kubota how can you be sure who should be credited with this iteration of a design?
https://www.kubota.com.au/product/rt125/
There was a time when companies made a product formost for the US market ( the biggest ) the rest of the world got an design adapted to there local needs from that template.
Words like " Kohler world wide " used to be stamped on engines... remember that?
Well now there are bigger and bigger markets than that and fewer and fewer people outside the USA are familiar with US brands anymore.
A 301 big block Honda clone might be something designed for Indonesia or Chinese home markets adapted to our snowblowers and generators.
And most certainly there are many companies involved in cloning the clones....