Re: 1939 Neptune 2A39 Won’t Keep Running

[lightfoot]

I have the original tank off for cleaning. My jury-rigged tank consists of a 5 foot clear plastic tube filled with pre-mix and suspended above the motor. This way I can see the fuel going down and refill as necessary. It’s connected directly to the copper feed tube that connects the original tank to the carburetor. Yes I cleaned the copper tube and the plastic tube prior to starting the motor. The float needle and float work fine and are clean. Everything is clean. These carburetors are about as simple as they come so I’m not sure why I can’t keep the motor running. As I said, the only defect I can find is the screwdriver slot in the bottom jet is stripped so the jet can’t be removed. However the needle and the hole in the jet look fine. Obviously something had caused my dad to try to remove the jet but he wasn’t able to get it out. I have great memories of running around Center Lake in the township of Camp lake Wisconsin with my father running that little Neptune when I was young. Sometime around 1957 he upgraded to a 5 hp Johnson and stopped using the Neptune. That’s the last time this thing ran. I was 11 years old then. It would be great to bring this thing back to life if someone can help me figure out whats wrong, or may be wrong. Thanks for the suggestions about the float and gas tank but that doesn’t seem to be the issue.