TOPIC: The spirit of '41

I've been trying to get some time under my belt driving the 1941 Larson Falls Flyer around with the Speedifour. The Speedifour is a real history lesson. First, it has no neutral or reverse. You have to have the boat aimed away from obstacles, so when it starts, you won't hit stuff or the shore. Second, it is rope wind and yank start. For this you have to face backwards while kneeling or standing. (remember, that is the position you will be in when it starts and speeds away) A reminder to passengers in the front seat to duck so as not to get whipped in the head with the starter rope is also a good idea.

When it starts, I have to get my fat butt down on the seat under the steering wheel. I'm sure this is comical to watch from shore. The boat is plowing ahead at 1/3 throttle with the bow high in the air at this point. Once seated, (third) it is time to play with all the manual controls. First, spark advance. I move that to the advanced position and then increase throttle. Now we are up on plane. (fourth) Then I have to adjust the mixture from the rich starting position to the leaner run position. There is an unmarked needle valve with a T handle sticking out of the bottom of the carburetor.

Next week at the Crosslake MN boat show (9:00 to 4:00, "Fly by" at 4:00pm on Moonlite Bay...Be there!) I should have this all under control. We had a great ride all over the west end of the Whitefish chain yesterday. The motor functioned flawlessly and even went pretty lean on fuel consumption now that I remembered to turn the high speed needle in.

Fun Fun Fun 1941 style!

Todd

OMG Todd, I can't imagine having all that to deal with to get underway! Sounds pretty cool, but I think that would exceed my normal capability level and probably end in disaster. I have immense respect for you guys running "dock busters" and multi-lever manually adjusted on-the-go machines. Your description of the events sure brought a grin to my face, thank you.

The scariest thing is if I'm alone, is having the motor not start when I pull, but looking up right in front of me to see a "spectator" has moved right into the path of travel. I'm so focused on starting the motor, nothing much else matters right then so I don't notice them right away. Not surprisingly, they have no idea that I'm going to take off right at them if it starts. If I have someone with me, they will tell me if a boat moves in front of us. I need a spotter. LOL

You know oil is expensive these days. This Speedifour calls for 5:1 fuel mix! 1 and a half pints per gallon! I've been going one pint per gallon or 7.5:1 That seems to be plenty. I might even try one quart in 3 gallons. That would be about 12:1

At the more normal mixes, 50:1 or 24:1 it will over heat.

If you main shaft seal are good you should be able to run a mix of 16 to 1
On most of those old motors the reason for so much oil was there were no main shaft seal and the oil was the seal when it got to the crank ends to seal it. If the main end bushing are good the motor will iddle right down if they suck air those motor wont iddle worth a dam.
I have about 20 of those kind of motors maybe 15 of the bigger motors.
Mike aka the pirate

Thanks Mike. Good to know.

This motor was completely rebuilt by a small engine guy in central Wisconsin and sold to me on e-bay. It seems the "owner" may not have picked it up after the motor was finished. It had been built into a cottage racer motor with a huge carburetor and 1/2" fuel line! I put it back to standard design, mainly because I wanted the decorative covers over the carb and spark plugs. Also the carburetor was right by the back of my head and if the motor would cough, fuel mix would blast into my hair.