Yeh the wiring for the gauges and lights (and the elcetric start) should be a little fun but the whole shebang will come up a treat I think and be well worth it when it's done. I'm gonna have a look down on the parts mowers down the back and see if I can find a decent loom that I can use I think because most of the stuff I wanna fit was standard on similar models of tractor made by Victa anyway.... but yeh failing that, i'll just make one up.
Joe, Grumpy, cheers for the tip about the motor... Being a collector of aircooled VW's means I'm definetley no stranger to valve clearance issues and burnt out valve heads hahaha. But yeh I had initially though that may have been a possibility too but it does still have some compression to the order of about 70psi... is a valve still likely? When I've burnt valves ot on my Cleveland V8 and on my Kombi a couple of times, theyve pretty much gone from full compression to bugger-all in practically no time. The exhaust does look a bit brownish like it's had half burnt fuel in it, however that may be the residue left from the wasps nest that I punched out of the muffler too... malevolant little buggers! So yeh, is a valve still likely or should I look at fueling (which appears ok) and ignition? Airgap seems to be if anything, a little close, but I'd think that'd just equate to a bigger spark wouldnt it?
I picked up a pushmower with a 5hp vertical Briggs on it yesterday that seems to have decent compression and has no big holes in the case, so if I can get that running I'll throw the motor on as a temporary... will be underpowered tho so it's not a permanent solution. I'm on the hunt for a reasonably priced good condition 12ish horse zapstart for this one but would still like to get the 8 going in the meantime if possible, just as a spare if nothing else.
Cheers!
