OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Identification of Particular Machines SUPA-SWIFT: MSAA Craftsman

still new to this ! can anyone help with this one ? scored it tonight at the dump and all that seemed wrong is that it was full of oil , drained it and fresh mix in there and a few pulls n off it went seems to run well but only at full revs , wnt idle down but stops when you ask it too . was too dark but there seems a lot adjustments on the carb ?? and i think gov' flag is stuck . also would anyone have a catcher that might fit ? 1st one of this type i have ever seen anywhere . thanks Dave

The engine is a Kirby-Lauson 2 stroke, which is moderately unusual, and it seems to be in remarkably good condition for a 40 year old engine. It is a K7, K9 or K11 - the other versions did not have a primer bulb. It appears to have K11 stamped on it.
Here is a view of the carburetor, governor and adjustments, from the Gregory's manual:

As you can see it has a simple vane-type governor, generally similar to most Briggs and Stratton 4 strokes. I suggest you begin by checking the vane governor mechanism to see that it moves freely, and the spring stretches when you set it to high speed, and relaxes when you set it to low speed. The vane should be close to the flywheel (about 4 mm clearance) on maximum speed when the engine is not running.

Note that the spring-loaded button on the bottom of the float bowl is just a water drain.

That is about all I can offer without more information. The engine is not intended to run below 1,600 rpm, but the speed should vary over a reasonable range when you move the speed control lever. If it is biased toward high speed it is possible the linkage is bent, maladjusted or jammed, or the air vane itself has problems. You should take a look at the governor spring, but since the spring makes it go fast and the vane mechanism makes it go slowly, the spring is probably not the problem. We need more information and some close-ups of various parts of the mechanism.

I Pulled in one of these engines recently on a Bragg Super 5 base, I've had to pull it over to an old rover base due to the damage on the bragg base.

I'm fairly sure I have the engine manual for this one, I'll have a look when I get the chance and upload it to the manuals section if I have it.

thank you for the help there , the drain also allows all the oil out too !!! hahaha it sure helped get it running . when its lighter more pic's of the carb' its covered by the cowlimg though , see if i can get the top part off tonight its looks like it might be 2 piece . thanks again

Hi vccomm,
I have dropped you a PM mate.
Cheers
John

this is as opened , didnt even need to take an airline too it ! hard to believe how clean it is under there . would the rod in the last pic' be decompressor ? works from starter , sorry no better picture of the carb' its not realy broken so no need to break it just yet !!

The second picture shows the governor vane at minimum clearance from the flywheel: it should only be there if the speed control is set on maximum. If it wasn't set on maximum, your governor is stuck or mangled in some way.

When you move the speed control lever toward maximum it stretches the governor spring, and the spring pulls the throttle wide open if the engine is not running. When the throttle is wide open, the vane is close to the flywheel. If the engine is running, the vane is pushed out from the flywheel by air pressure from the flywheel fan, and it pushes the throttle toward closed. With the speed control lever in the slow or stop position, the governor spring is relaxed and the throttle should not be wide open, so the vane should be further from the flywheel.

I can't see a rod in the last pic. The decompressor is operated by a link from the vertical pull starter, which opens a simple valve connected to the cylinder.

it is connected to the starter yes , and the flag was a little tight last night and close to the fan , but seems ok now but a little late to be running it , or is it ? hehehe it was a fast pull apart last night is all , so if i get home early enough i'll try it again tomorrow n seeif all is ok , but it sounded sweet . thanks grumpy for the advice .. Dave and also if i'm doing this in the wrong place ? please tell me

If the governor vane had more or less seized on its pivot, and you've freed it up and oiled it, it may work properly now.

This thread started out as a mower identification and has gradually morphed into a repair process. Let's see what happens - if it continues as a repair thread I'll move it, but if someone belatedly comes in and tells us which major brand made the Craftsman store brand, it will be confirmed as a mower identification.

Hi grumpy and vccomm, if you have a look at the first pic in this thread showing the front of the base...it states "Made exclusively for the Mower Specialists Association of Australia by Simpson Pope Ltd."

Thanks Deejay. So, it's a Pope that was made for a generic home brand group catering for retailers too small to have their own private brand.

Dave, please come back when you've serviced the governor vane mechanism and tested the engine. If the results are satisfactory it would then be time to close the thread.

i'm back and it did work , tested it tonight and seems allgood , just a seized gov' flag , sounds and runs great but couldnt run it for long . thankyou for the help gents .cheers grumpy close it please unless anyone else has something to add .. Dave

Done and done, a good outcome if anyone wishes to add anything pleas PM a moderator

Hello vccomm and all Contributors

This is an old post, but for the record:
This is definitely a Supa-Swift lawnmower.

I am not aware of any connection between Pope and Supa-Swift and
best guess, the decal on the machine is incorrect.

The Topic heading has been changed.
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JACK