Spring Fever. I’m not sure how it hits in less desolate parts of the world, but around here it gets our brains churning with ideas. After six months of snow and rain, the itch sets in for all the ill-advised marketplace transactions, wild pet projects and trips we’d like to take. With summer and hope on the horizon, we scoured the shop for something entertaining to do after hours—something just for fun—and the perfect project was in the corner gathering dust.
Sipping and Swiping I can trace the genesis of this idea back to a particular Whiskey Wednesday in June of 2023. Somehow, Jeff had stumbled upon a small air-cooled diesel engine on Amazon selling for a measly $179.99. Essentially the redneck cousin of Harbor Freight’s Predator 212, the Amazon diesel displaces 196 cc and is rated at 3 hp and (wait for it) 35 Nm [26 lb-ft].…