Re: late ’80’s 9.9/15 flat plastic top carburetor

[Don]

Well, I’m afraid to admit I wasn’t really aware that those plastic collars could be removed…But, it kinda makes sense that these little pieces help make castings/covers more universal to different engine sizes. The sad part of this whole thing is that these stupid carbs replaced one of the most bullet proof designs, reliable, and trouble free carbs ever…Oh well. The upside of this design is that all passages are easily accessed, no core plugs/lead shots to remove. The downside is the cheap plastic crap that breaks, warps, leaks, and is ridiculously expensive to replace. The early designs were horrible, leaky covers, rubber parts that dissolved the first time gasoline was added. The later designs were much improved though.
Watching OMC make the same mistakes the US automakers made years ago was very frustrating and depressing for me. We could have learned from their mistakes, but chose to just make the same mistakes, which rolled out the red carpet for Yamaha and Honda. I guess it all comes down to money and poor management. Buying up boat companies to ensure our engines got "packaged" on transoms was an idiotic scheme that just killed the boat companies and helped ruin our dealer organization. The Ficht engines were released way too soon, the final knife in our back.
I guess I am one of the lucky ones, will receive a little pension from the PBGC in a few years. It isn’t much, but I am very thankful for it.
I am hoping that BRP invests their money correctly to make sure the newer engines are durable, reliable, and easy to service. So many customers and dealers got screwed from OMC in the end, even the best and most affordable engines will be a "tough sell" for many years to come.