Ms Behaving

After 50 Years, the 1948 KBL Roars Back to Life. It’s been nearly 50 years since this 1948 KBL last fired up. The engine went into storage in 1976 — the same year Jimmy Carter defeated incumbent President Gerald Ford, Apple Computer Company was incorporated, and the United States celebrated its Bicentennial, marking 200 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A lot has changed since then. Thankfully, the KBL hadn’t forgotten how to run. The revival began with replacing a cracked spark plug wire. I chose stock, lacquer-covered black cloth wires with brass ring terminals — no boots — just as original, pushed directly into the distributor cap. I did leave the boots on the coil since it sits directly in front of the water pump. If the boat ever appears in a judged show, I can easily remove them for authenticity. With the engine still out of the boat and sitting in my garage, I connected the electrical system, ran cooling water from a bucket, and dropped a temporary fuel line into a gas can. Then came the moment of truth. With the push of a remote starter button, after half a century of silence, the KBL fired right up. It immediately belched out an impressive cloud of smoke — enough to completely fill the garage — but that was to be expected. A quick choke adjustment, and a fast trip to O’Reilly’s for a drain plug I had overlooked, and the engine settled in nicely. Once warmed up, it ran smoothly and unassisted at about 800 RPM. Out came the Uni-Syn air meter, which revealed that the #1 carburetor is slightly out of adjustment. A small tweak to the idle screw should bring everything back into balance. Next step: taking Ms. Behaving off the trailer.