[Arne]

One thing leads to another. Always.

I got the carb converted to electric choke, and it passed my bench test. So I put it back on the engine and tried to start it up for final adjustment.

No start. I knew I was going to have to crank it a while to pump fuel back into the carb. Turned the key, the starter cranked nicely for a few seconds, then rapidly slowed down like the battery was flat. But it wasn't—volt meter showed 12.6v.

Hooked up the jumper cables to my Tacoma just to make sure, and still mostly nothing, even though the meter showed 13.7v at the battery.

I've caught hints of this in the past. It cranks great if the starter is cold, for a few seconds. But if the engine doesn't catch quickly, it starts to slow down noticeably. The engine normally starts easy enough that it hasn't been an issue. If the float bowl wasn't empty today, it probably would have fired right up this time also. But cranking it long enough the fill the bowl just showed how quickly the starter performance degrades.

I will pick up a replacement starter tomorrow morning, and then finish final adjustment of the new choke.

The new tires get mounted on the new wheels Wednesday morning, and I will swap them on to the truck later that afternoon.