Summer is here.

The hay at the flying field is 3 feet high and rising. I got in a flight this morning and called it quits. I've been trying different things to get the engine running properly and finally installed an unmodified head and the metal tank I made. The engine ran like it should. The El Camino is running much better since the rear float bowl stopped leaking. I had to lower the float more to get the fuel level below the sight hole. When that happened the engine ran rough in gear as the idle mixture was way too lean. It's much better now.

The small mower engine that Roy threw away many years ago has finally shit the bed. Every year the first time it was started it took less than 4 pulls to get it running. This year I've had to prime fuel into the cylinder to get it going. Priming the carb. wasn't enough. Yesterday it wouldn't start no matter what I did. I put another mower into service and got the lawn cut. Today I removed the old engine and installed one I got from the dump several years ago. I primed the carb and 4 pulls got it going. Then I noticed I had installed the engine 180 out. Another 15 minutes to set it right. I need the spark plug pointing to the front so I can short it out when I finish mowing without getting off the rider. The fill in mower did a good job and has a bigger cut so the job is quicker. I also adjusted the wheels to get the slop out. I had to use a washer as a spacer and then cut the wheel boss to get the right clearance.

The big stump is still cooking as smoke still rises from the ashes. When that stops I'll set the real big one on fire. I got 3 bags of briquets left.