senFeb 21

Back at the shop today, trying to sort out why the speeder still won’t start. After extensive testing it looked like there was a severe exhaust restriction somewhere, so we started disassembling the exhaust system and found one! Sorted that out, replaced a fouled spark plug while we were at it, and it fired right up despite having been sitting outside at around 0°C all day! So happy to hear the putt putt sound again after all this time.

Now it’s on to all the smaller stuff. Sort out the rusty fuel tank, alternator issue, some lights, replacing some wood, and a bunch more. #choochoo

Show threadsenFeb 21
I haven’t posted in ages given the broken ankle that kept me from the shop for the last few months, so as extra context: This is one of my projects at a heritage railway, restoring a Fairmont M14 speeder to good running condition so we can both use it as a maintenance vehicle, and also give the public rides and stuff on it. His name is Franklin, and he turns 73 years old this year. He runs on a 5 horsepower 2-stroke engine that the company making the vehicle made themself. It’s more or less the simplest possible two-stroke engine you could make, everything including mixture and timing are fully manual. #choochoo
Show threadAndrewFeb 22
@sen Something I really enjoy seeing, across multiple disciplines, is restoration of the "unsexy" equipment. Old budget cars or crappy 90's PCs or things like that. It's just fun watching someone get the most out of something nobody else sees value in.
Show threadsen
@cinebox I hadn’t really ever thought of that as a thing common to multiple disciplines, but this is 100% me across multiple disciplines haha.
Feb 22 at 2:35amWeb