I don't know about great talent, but I'm certainly a little meticulous (I think they call that Obsessive Compulsive Delight....or something to that effect!
).
The Juki sewing machine is something I wanted for years, and I finally bought it about 10 years ago for doing hobby stuff (mostly car related). I like that it keeps me out of the cold garage in the winter, and out of the hot garage in the summer, plus a little music or TV playing in the background makes the motor noise much more tolerable. I really need to find a position that will allow me to stitch and fit bikini's to hot women all day long....I wouldn't even ask for a pay check!
I was planning to start the VW generator thread when I get around to starting the project, but I was thinking of focusing more on the generator head aspect since there probably aren't too many people that have an interest in vintage VW engines. Sort of outdated (and expensive!) nowadays.
I think you could use nearly any lower horsepower 2, 3, or 4 cylinder gas engine from a motorcycle (or say, a small econo car like a GEO metro) with good results, a low level of operating noise, almost no real maintenance, really long life, and a MUCH cheaper overall price than buying a Honda or other name brand equivalent generator. Ingenuity and space would be required though.
Air cooled and FREE makes the VW more appealing for me, especially since I have a lot of history with this engine (I put over 136,000 miles of use on it in my teens/early 20's). Plus it's nearly self-contained, VERY easy to work on, and 2 average men can easily move it around or load it into a truck. I'm curious to see how much I can jet it down for fuel economy (it would get as much as 38.3MPG in the car on a regular basis).
I'll check GJ for other possible generator builds later today...maybe others will have some good input.
Andy
