jackson

my very first two builds / overhauls happened same year I turned 11 years old. I had no instructions, manuals or personal guidance for either.

1. a *** 049 golden bee glow-plug 2-cycle motor for model airplane. About as simple internal combustion motor as exists. *** .049 was sort of the small block chevy of the model airplane hobby.

2. a junked rotary 4-cycle lawnmower I'd found tossed down a ditch embankment. Simplicity only second to 049. Dad wouldn't give me a raise because I was using his mower he'd paid for. Me getting my own pos running and working really changed our dynamic for the good of both.

Don't think I could overstate how much those early hands-on lessons helped me; both then and now.

In stark contrast, a bit older neighbor girl discovered me same year; they've been a freakin' mind-numbing puzzle ever since.

Jebbysan

I guess it does....but there is a reason it is 800 pages....and if 800 pages turns a person off....then to me they have will have a half assed point of view on what it really takes to design, machine, and assemble a n engine professionally.
And when it comes to engines....”good enough” is not good enough.

Jebby

resdoggie

I think 'good enough' is good enough for a guy like myself who just used off the shelf bolt-on performance parts. No exotic machining, port matching, extensive carb work, etc. I'm pretty sure my engine is at least over 90% of it's performance potential. I guess I could spend lots more $$$ to get more hp but then it might not be streetable anymore. So, for the street, that's good enough for me. Obviously, for professional racers and ocd types, then good enough doesn't cut it. But most folks in here are street guys who don't need 100% power output from their engine which is darn hard to acieve and darn expensive even for the professional race teams.