I put the flywheel back on the KB-1A today and added a steel spacer
over the crankshaft to get direct contact between the rope pulley
and flywheel when the nut was tightened.
It turned out the steel spacer I tried was too high, and the big
tin spacer did not tighten up.
I ended up using two brass washers, only about 1/8″ tall, or less,
and that seem to work just right. I could feel metal to metal contact
when torqueing down the flywheel, and the tin spacer snugged up plenty.
Time will tell!

I presume it’s suppose to have an acorn flywheel nut, but I’m fresh out!

Not sure what was original on this motor, but it all seems to work now.
Probably not too many original “un-molested” little motors this old!

billw wrote:

You got my curiosity up, so I took down a Montgomery Ward version of these engines. It has a Wico magneto, an aluminum ring for the rope and a stamped aluminum rope plate. I found a spacer between the plate and flywheel, which measured about 0.170″ thick. Funny thing about it is that it has an ID of abut a half inch and fits loosely on the 7/16″ thread. This one is different than my other MW, that has a poppet valve. It has a carb like yours; and someone, not me, had hand-written “KB1A,” on the little front cover of the carb. It was tagged that I ran it in 1996 and it ran well; although I don’t remember doing it, at this point.

Bill, Thanks for looking! I’m glad I went with my instinct on this one and added the two brass washers.
Mine were from a metric kit…… not sure what size ID, but they were a good fit.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Buccaneer.