[AT] ATIS members

Richard Fink Sr rfinksr at verizon.net
Sun Nov 11 08:03:46 PST 2012


Mike that is why many shops now won,t start unless they have up front money 
[estimated cost]
R Fink
PA


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Sloane" <mikesloane at verizon.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2012 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] ATIS members


> Update on the Husqvarna 40 that I referred to below: I spent about 6
> hours on it - downloading the manuals, partially disassembling,
> cleaning, going through the carburetor, fixing kinked hoses, adjusting
> the mixture, etc., etc. (The air cleaner screen was askew, and there was
> sawdust in the diaphragm area of the carburetor!) To make a long story
> short, it now starts and runs like (almost) new. It needs a new chain -
> the teeth look as if the PO ran it into the dirt or found a nail. The
> lesson here is that I could not possibly make any money doing that kind
> of work for a customer (but I got a very nice saw for the price of a new
> chain).
>
> Another story: A local guy who makes his living fixing up high end reel
> tape machines for recording studios and universities had a guy come to
> him with an antique Ampex portable (from the '60s). The owner said that
> he didn't care how much it cost; it was his machine from new, and he
> want it to work. The shop put about $400 worth of billable work into it,
> but when they called the owner to fetch the machine, it turned out that
> he had died! And the heirs were certainly not about to pay $400 for an
> antique that is worth maybe $50 on a good day. So there it sits.
>
> So, no matter what the customer says when he brings the machine to you,
> if you start in and discover that the repairs are going to run into Big
> Bucks, give the guy a call and verify the commitment before investing
> your own money into it.
>
> Mike
>
> On 11/10/2012 6:53 PM, Ben Wagner wrote:
>> Mike, thank you for your comments.  A while back, I read that  the
>> pioneers of two stroke invented them to last just as long as four
>> stroke, but now companies such as Poulan won't even support the engine
>> components on their equipment.  Considering the price of a new trimmer,
>> for example, a Poulan can easily be totaled just by replacing the fuel
>> lines and doing a general service for $25 labor.
>>
>> Thanks for sharing.
>> Ben Wagner
>>
>>
>> On 11/8/2012 7:57 AM, Mike Sloane wrote:
>>> 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
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