Reply To: Ransomes engine carb improvement

[sidevalve5]

Hi David,

Great that with some more work you managed to get the carb to work well. From what I could see of the pictures you posted it looked like there were potential faults in the design. The float may have not moved freely up the central column, it could twist and then stick. How it pivoted against the needle meant it would not hit the needle square every time. Causing it to not operate as reliably as it should. But you have fixed it, brilliant.

Have often thought of fitting an aftermarket modern carb to an older engine. Was always concerned if I could fine tune it. You post rekindled my idea and after 5 minutes on the computer I found that there are a huge range of cheap carb jet kits available. May give it a go when I have time one day.

Fully concur with both your grandad and Andy about old stuff. If set up well, they are a joy to use. But if not, they are hard work to put it mildly. At times I used to hate using my Trusty until I got it sorted. Your tale of the MG6 putting your grandad up against a wall reminds me of hearing of someone killed by a Trusty. It put a chap using it through the side of a greenhouse, he died from blood loss. Find it really satisfying that often with a little tinkering, what some may regard as scrap can be used again. Operating in a smooth controlled manner.

Best wishes,

Grahame