[AT] ATIS members

[Will Powell]

A relative of mine lost his job and got a job in a small equipment dealer as a repairman. I asked him what he did when an engine came in with gelled gasoline. He said they never tried to clean out or rebuild the carburetors, always ordered new ones. 

I've been repairing small engines for about 40 years now. I clean my own carbs, and I've seen some bad ones.... Though, if I was going to make a business out of it I would surely have the customer get a new carb if it was an option. 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Sloane" <mikesloane at verizon.net> 
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com> 
Sent: Thursday, November 8, 2012 7:57:57 AM 
Subject: Re: [AT] ATIS members 

Here is my "word of advice" on your endeavor: enjoy working on those old 
engines, but if anyone shows up with an older 2-stroke that "won't 
start", show them the exit. I have a barn full of chain saws, string 
trimmers, leaf blowers, etc. that look like new but won't run. They can 
be fixed up, but it usually means replacing the fuel lines, gas tank 
filter, and overhauling or replacing the carburetor - all the result of 
running ethanol laced gasoline that the machines weren't designed to 
handle. (Most of the old 4-stroke engines seem to manage the ethanol, 
but not well.) While I don't mind puttering with these things for my own 
amusement, there is no way you could do the work and charge less than 
the cost of replacing the whole machine - a brand new chain saw can be 
bought for $100 or less at one of the big box stores. I just brought 
home an older Husqvarna 40 chain saw that cleaned up very nicely, but, 
of course it won't start. Now I have to partially disassemble the saw to 
get at the carburetor/line/tank and see what I can do. If the Husky 
wasn't such a nice machine, I would send it right back to the town 
Clean-up day where it came from. 

Mike 

On 11/7/2012 9:17 PM, Ben Wagner wrote: 
> Here's one of the younger folks in love with his antique machines! 
> 
> 
> On another note, I plan to be working with antiques for a long time. 
> I received a reputation as "that guy who works on those old magnetos 
> and hand cranked engines" among mechanics and "that guy who bothers 
> me every week about Grandpa's tractor behind the barn" among everyone 
> else. As a result, I am starting a small business working on antique 
> equipment, and buying/repairing/restoring/selling anything old with 
> an engine I can find. Any advice is still (and will be) greatly 
> appreciated! 
_______________________________________________ 
AT mailing list 
http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at