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This is also under that same rubric of Anything is possible if you are nuts enough to try.
You may recall that I've been mucking around with setting up a clapped-out B18 to run on two cylinders to use as a stationary - actually, trailer-mounted - power source. Well, after wasting a lot of time with a Weber manifold and a VW carburetor, and a fruitless attempt at making an old head gasket useable again, I finally got the thing to run. The good news is that it actually runs amazingly well. It will even idle smoothly at about 800 rpm. The bad news is that it is horribly difficult to start. I usually drain and recharge the battery two or three times before I get it going, and then I still have to use a battery charger as a booster while it cranks. Obviously, that won't do. I have tried to use starting fluid, but this seems to have had little effect. It is tricky to get starter fluid down the throats of a pair of SUs. You have to lift the pistons, hold the throttles open, and spray the starter fuid at the same time that you turn the ignition switch, which happens to be located on the opposite side of the contraption. If I don't solve the starting problem, I'll either have to give up entirely, or drag home a VW Diesel Rabbit for its mechanicals. My good spouse won't like that - more junk in her nice yard. So, I've decided to make one last attempt, and that is by rigging something that will let me get starting fluid into the manifold without going through the carbs. I'm thinking of drilling a couple of small holes in the manifold (one for each functional cylinder), tapping in small valves that can be shut when the engine has started, and attaching plastic hoses to the valves that will, in turn, be connected to a starting fluid spray can.
Comments, or better ideas, will be appreciated. Picture is of the contraption before mounting the SUs.
Bob S.
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