Its not the spark that’s the issue IMO.
Once I learned the point gap was changing
I set them with the mag advanced and
left it there. When priming or pulling it
over any fuel ends up in the lower part
of the manifold which almost makes this
an up draft carburetor it is so low. If you
primed it or didn’t – it would never fire.
Close the mixture screw all the way and
if it was going to fire it would on the 3rd
pull. If you don’t get the mixture screw
open quick enough it will die and you start
all over. If you do get it open quick enough
and get it warmed up and dialed in and
shut it off – it wont restart. Not even a pop.
I’ve seen later models where they have raised
the carb. (2nd photo) Steve Wood bought one
at Tomahawk this year that had a choke. If
I get to go next year I’ll be interested to
hear what his experience has been. When
I did get it running it ran well but the size
and shape of the gear case moves through
the water like a cinder block. 13 MPH is
the best it would do. My 7 hp. Speedsters
would do 20 MPH on the same boat. I have
motors that are much more fun to run but
I still like the look of this thing. Its a great
display motor so I’ll be keeping it.
A "Boathouse Repair" is one thats done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.