Little Machine – Part One
Last fall/winter I was hunting Craigslist for a good deal on kids ATV’s for our family to keep up at the family cottage. As you would expect, finding a good deal on a kids ATV is no small feat. Typically those little machines are nearly always listed above a grand and sell quickly. There were three of us pooling money for a new machine; myself, my wife’s step-Dad, and my brother-in-law. With all the projects I already had going I was really only looking for a fully functional machine but being the el cheapo that I am, I didn’t want to spend too much.
My wife’s step-Dad found a good little unit near him that we all agreed to buy. Split three ways and it felt cheap enough; problem solved.
Although in the hunting… I’d found a fixer-upper. I couldn’t resist. It was a 50cc E-ton Impulse said to be in running and driving condition but was in need of a top-end rebuild. He wanted $300 for it. It was located in south-central Wisconsin and I had an upcoming business trip that would set me on course to pass right through that neck of the woods. I contacted the seller on Craigslist and setup a date/time to visit. My plan for the machine was that it would be a good way for my oldest son to get acquainted with working on the mechanical systems of vehicles and on a project that he could take ownership of. Ultimately, he would have to decide to keep it or flip it. And so would go the education.
When I showed up to inspect and test the machine I found that the guy had the atv in his driveway, half taken apart (not really but was working on it), and a sheepish demeanor about him when he said that it “just wouldn’t start up today.” I rolled my sleeves up and gave him a hand inspecting the typical culprits, fouled plug? No spark? Is it getting gas? Air filter plugged? Still wouldn’t start. It was getting spark, gas and air but just wouldn’t fire? Thinking back to his ad he had said that it ran but that he thought it needed a new top-end; could the compression be that low all of the sudden?
“Well”, I said, “I know you wanted $300 but that was running and driving and as of today it’s doing neither.” “I’m still willing to take a gamble on it, and work on it with my son, how about $200 and I take it home?” Without much more than a two second pause we shook hands and he said “alright”.
We tossed it into the back of my truck and I headed for home. It had probably been ten years now since I had owned a 4-wheeler and at least as long since I’d hauled one in the back of the truck. It was a good feeling to be back in the game.
Boy were there some excited kids when I got home, whew! Four of them talking at me, simultaneously, 8,000 words per minute… whoa whoa whoa whoa!. Calm down kiddos, one at a time. Is it ours?! Do we get to keep it?! Can we ride it?! On and on and on…
As soon as I dropped the tailgate to get the little machine unloaded I saw clear evidence that I had bought a project in need of attention. There was gas spilled all over underneath it and up against the bulkhead of the box below the rear window of the truck; what in the world??? We yanked it out of the back of the truck and to appease the little exited ones, we tried to start it now that it was ours and at our house. Nope. It wasn’t going to cooperate. “Well”, I said to my son, “looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you”. “But I don’t know how to fix these things”, he muttered. “How do you think you’re going to learn?,” I replied.
Seeing as only a couple weeks earlier I’d picked up the ’97 TJ I wasn’t inclined to put any focus and time into the ATV yet. We rolled it into the corner of the garage and it sat for about 5 months until a couple weeks ago we tore into it.
Part two to follow… Now posted here.