Well, had a fire here tonight...
Just a few minutes before 10pm, fire broke out in the cylinder of Loader-Mutt's freshly-rebuilt K301. Apparently, it was caused by a mixture of gasoline vapors and air, being compressed, when a spark touched off the mixture, which exploded violently, causing flames to erupt from within, and a chain reaction of events ensued which repeated the process several thousand times over the next minute or two. It was a noisy, smelly fright, however, I was somewhat indisposed while this was happening... busy adjusting contact points, carbeurator mixtures, and such. The fire ceased for a few minutes, and I took the opportunity to re-torque cylinder head bolts, install tinwork, etc., when the fire started again. Fortunately, no damage was done, all was safe, neighbors didn't call police, firemen didn't come, and there was no signs of fuel or lubricant leaking onto the floor... just a warm engine, rarin' for an opportunity to lay into a big pile'a dirt somewhere.
So Loader-Mutt is alive. Unfortunatley, there's a new hydraulic pump on the way- I found a fatal flaw in the one I had, but fortunately, the solution is neither expensive, nor presenting a long delay. I expect that in another two weeks, I'll have pictures of an operational loader doing the kinds of things loaders do best!
