[AT] Best of ATIS? ---The D8 story -Karl's last post and his Secret Weapon!

[Mark Sargent]

Folks,
Before the last post--- a few comments,  I'm glad some folks enjoyed it.
Back in the heyday of the list there were quite a few 'adventure' tractor
stories like Karl's (and Karl had a more of them).   Some of you have
analyzed the decline of the list - I'm not sure if any of the analysis I
read is true.    
I kept this thread at the time -because- it was just that good- there were a
couple people on the list that said they were compiling the "Best of ATIS"
threads but nothing ever came of it.    I glad I kept this one for Dad to
read or I wouldn't have it.    Don't know if the Spencer keeps digests in
the archives anymore - but digging posts out now would be chore to skim
through- all of them from the mid to late '90s.    I  was hoping someone
would pull out a post they kept.       At any rate-- my favorite ATIS
posters of all time were :
(my opinion only - you can come up with your own list)

Karl Olmstead-  He did neat stuff and took the time to write about.
George Willer-  He did some great stuff ( like the NFE Cub), wrote well, and
always tried to help with questions-    George was/is a great guy.
Richard Walker-  Early on - he was a reason to tune in to the list.
Bill Hood- Texas guy that just got things done.  He could write, too.
Mike Sloane- he had projects and the time to write-- He was/ also super
helpful.
Cecil Monson- Stories- he had more than a few few good ones!

Don't get me wrong there was a lot of traffic - back in the day and you
could always count on Farmer Robinson, Charlie Hill, Dean Vinson, Dean Van
Perusem, Herb Metz, Bill Strickland, Gene Dotson- to come through with
knowledge or a story every day!  
I know I'm leaving a lot of you out-- not on purpose- I'm  just forgetful.
A lot of time the best threads were stories with only a passing reference to
tractors.   Charlie reminisced one time  about Tobacco selling time on
Tobacco road  in its heyday--- made you feel like you were there.  And there
were others.
Most of the time -- with this list - you felt like you got to know folks --
because you would listen to them over a pretty long period of time-- respect
and sometimes friendships -- naturally followed..

There were a few bad apples- (my opinion only) Like Crispens, Walt,  Acton
- but for the most part the core kept right on pluggin.     The digest of
the list used to be a must read for me.  - It was like a good book.

And Karl if you are listening-- Thanks for the stories and the  secret
weapon!

Take care, 
Mark



Karl's last post  - 
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Tractor Weekend (summary)

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To: "atis" <antique-tractor at atis.net> 
Subject: Tractor Weekend (summary) 
From: "Karl Olmstead" <olmstead at ridgenet.net> 
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 17:12:00 -0800 
Posted-Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 17:18:36 -0800 (PST) 

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When I drove up to Salida to get the D8's starting engine going, there was
almost no doubt in my mind that I would succeed.  I'm not that great of
mechanic, but I know how to stack the deck in my favor.

Talking to the people at the trucking company where the Cat was stored, I
knew that the pony motor had been run within the last year or so.  Then when
the Cat was sold (it sold on ebay), the guys at the trucking company tried
to start it for the buyer.  Three people, taking turns cranking and
tinkering.  Three hours.  They failed, and the buyer took a hike.

>From this information, I concluded that the pony wasn't stuck, and people
had messed with the carb adjustments.  And apparently there weren't any
major parts missing.  Odds were good that they hadn't had the time to louse
up the magneto.

So my working theory was that the carb was full of mung, all the adjustments
were wrong, and the magneto might or might not have spark, but there was
nothing seriously wrong with it.  When I got to the tractor, I cleaned the
carburetor, verified that the valves weren't stuck and that there was
compression, and I made sure that I had spark at the right time.  Once I
knew that the ignition was OK, I went to work getting the carb adjusted
properly.

I took along Karl's Secret Weapon, which I mentioned briefly in the report
last night.  I like to think that I've been helpful over the past couple of
years on ATIS, but everything that I've done before pales in comparison with
revealing the Secret Weapon.

Naturally, I can't just tell you what it is; I'm going to milk this
opportunity and work up to the revelation.  Learned a thing or two from
farmer along the way, I have!

When I was sixteen, (see what I mean?) my very first real job was doing
appliance repairs for a little company called 'B Frank Repair', in Rapid
City, S.D.  Frank would accept any kind of repair job, from toasters to
washing machines to rototillers.  He was a Lawnboy dealer, and did repairs
on other brands of mowers and tillers as well.  Actually, I don't think I
ever saw Frank work on anything; he had me and a couple of other fellows to
do the work.  The most important trick I learned while working 'up front'
was that a 100 watt light bulb in series with an appliance will let you
diagnose most problems without burning anything up.  Motors will run
(weakly), toasters will heat, etc.

Frank had a fellow with a hot-rod '57 Ford who fixed mowers at the back end
of Frank's shop.  Along about midsummer, the mower repairman quit, and Frank
asked me to take over.  I had tinkered a little with gas engines before, so
it wasn't all new to me.  He handed me a few tools and turned me loose.  One
of those tools was a squeeze handle oilcan full of gasoline.

Over the remainder of the summer, I probably worked on 100 gas engines,
mosly lawn mowers, but with a sprinkling of tillers and go-karts thrown in.
During that time, not one engine failed to start while I worked on it.  I
had a standard routine, and it worked EVERY TIME!

First I made sure that the engine had spark.  If it didn't, I cleaned the
plug.  If that didn't help, I pulled the flywheel and cleaned and set the
points.  Once in a very great while, I had to replace a condenser.  After I
had spark, I replaced the flywheel and set the carburetor adjustment screws
to 1 1/2 turns open.  If the engine still wouldn't start, I used Karl's
Secret Weapon (the oil can full of gasoline) to shoot gas into the
carburetor.  You know what?  The engine _always_ fired.  Then, keeping the
engine running by squirting gas into it, I fiddled with carb adjustment
screws until the engine ran by itself.

On really stubborn cases, I also squirted gas directly into the cylinder
after removing the spark plug.  Gas injected that way will give you two or
three good pops before it gets used up.

Some people use ether (starting fluid) and accomplish the same thing.  It's
never worked for me.  Ether evaporates so quickly that I've never managed to
squirt and then crank soon enough.

When I was starting the D8's pony motor Sunday morning, I squirted gas into
the top of the carb (air cleaner removed), walked to the front of the
tractor, and gave the crank a few spins.  I got the first pop on the fourth
or fifth crank.  Then I KNEW that I was going to succeed.  I started
fiddling with carb adjustments, squirting more gas into the carb, and
cranking.  Pretty soon I had pop-pop.  Then three or four pops.  Then enough
so I could get around to the carb and play with the choke.  Then the pony
was running!  Didn't take long to get the idle and main jets set after that.
The engine got stronger and stronger as I adjusted the screws.

I have to admit, Karl's Secret Weapon is a pain to use on most tractors.
First of all, you have to get access to the carb inlet, and that means that
you have to get the hose off that couples the carb to the air cleaner.  Some
times you even have to remove the air cleaner.  But trust me, it's worth the
effort.  You can even run an engine without a carb by giving it rapid
squirts of gas into the intake manifold.

So, that's it.  My secret revealed.  Just don't tell that Cat mechanic up in
Modesto.  Or the three guys from the trucking company who spent hours
cranking their guts out trying to get the pony started.  You learned this
trick because you subscribe to and support ATIS, therefore you deserved to
know.

Karl Olmstead   <olmstead at ridgenet.net>

K&F Engineering     Ridgecrest, CA
Karl's Old Tractor Page:  <http://members.xoom.com/kolmstead>

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