[SEL] Engine friends are the GREATEST !!

[Jerry Evans]

"I love it when a plan comes together". (Hannibal Smith  - The "A" Team 1983).

         In early December I wrote to the SEL List and Oldengine List about 
needing a carb for the Ruston & Hornsby PB (1 1/2 hp) I had just found. 
This engine had been on my wishlist for some time and eventually found its 
way on to the back of my pickup in November, but was without a carb. I was 
offered one locally but when I went to collect it, it was not the correct one.

         Well, Christmas was a bit late but it found me today.

         I visited my old friend Neville Botha today and, (unbeknown to 
me), he had been looking out for one for me. He had found the carb but it 
was missing the air shutter so he had removed one from one of his own 
engines and had a replica cast for me. Today he handed the whole lot over 
to me. The only thing missing is the swivelling brass lid to the float 
chamber and I can quite easily replicate this myself. The other part I was 
concerned about was the brass float itself but I needn't have worried - 
Neville had found me one complete with the needle in almost perfect condition!.

         The story does not end there - Neville is one of our oldest 
collectors and knows more about old engines (and their whereabouts in South 
Africa) than the rest of us put together. He had actually back traced my 
engines (recent) history and the carb he found is almost certainly the 
original carb from the engine which I now own - a previous owner had 
removed it and it was mislaid - subsequently the engine was sold to the 
person I bought it from but without the carb. Neville had found the 
original owner (who had removed it) and persuaded him to find it!

         Aren't Engine people the best fiends one could have?

         There is a pic of the carb here:
<http://www.oldengine.org/members/evans/carb1.jpg>

The new air shutter is bottom right in the pic and still needs to be 
cleaned up and fitted to the carb

The original pics I posted to the lists are here:

<http://www.oldengine.org/members/evans/carb.jpg>
This is a pic of my Ruston & Hornsby PT which has the same carb but the 
float chamber is on the opposite side to the PB carb.

<http://www.oldengine.org/members/evans/pb1.jpg>
This is a pic of the PB sans carb.

         I'm so happy to have found this that I just had to share. This 
engine will join "Rusty" (my Ruston & Hornsby PT) & "Reggie" (The Ronnie N 
that I got from Reg in Aus) at shows sometime in the not too distant future 
and they'll all be "Happy Chappies".

         All my engines have names but I have yet to find a name for him, I 
considered "Ray" (after Ray Hooley) but already have an engine called 
Raymond. Maybe "Horny" but he is going to be a real little gentleman and 
maybe would not appreciate anything so coarse - any suggestions? (No Arnie, 
we can't call him "Thin Bastard" <grin>).

         The downside is that pressure of work has kept me away from my 
engines since November and is likely to still do so until March or April - 
but some of us still have to earn a living. (grin)

Keep the revs up (or down)
Jerry Evans
Near Johannesburg in Sunny South Africa.
Tel. (016) 365-5787
Intntl.: +2716 365-5787
Cell: 083 293 7191
Visit our website for old engines in South Africa.
www.oldengine.org/members/evans