1200 Project

[JSlezak83]

I’ve had a ‘79 1200 for a little over a year now, that I bought with the intent to take to the county fairs and attempt to have a little fun. I’ve spent much of that time fixing the years of neglect . The K301 in it was knocking badly and had prob about .020” slop in the bore. I replaced it with a used K321 as the class I’d be pulling in allows for up 14hp. I have replaced the iso bushings with solid mounts and have a 3 puck clutch with red spring. I need to remove the shifter to verify gearing, but I am supposed to have a 17T second gear. I still need to get wheelie bars and a weight box. I’m guessing with my 240lbs in the seat, I’ll need about 150-200lbs to hit 1050lbs. I still have what looks to be the original Goodyear 23x8.5-12 tires, so I know that’s going to be an issue. The good news is they are plenty hardened lol.

The K321 came from a green tractor. It has the large valves, spark plug over the exhaust, and a #30 carb. I’m only running 3800rpm +/- with a stock flywheel. My very basic changes will be a milled head and timing advanced. I’ve read guys taking .040” or more off there head. It looks like I only have about .015-.020” until I’m into the chamber. Are these guys taking .020” out of the chamber and leaving almost nothing for a gasket ridge at the cooling fins? I have a dial indicator and degree wheel for the timing. Here comes my stupid question....when are the points open? Should I use say a .002” feeler gauge? Would I be better off marking 24* BTDC on the flywheel to align with the bearing plate? I’ve only ever timed with an inductive timing light, so I’m not sure how subjective the old “as the points begin to open” is.

Back to the carb for a second. I’ve gone through it, fixed the slop in the shaft with bushings, new rebuild kit, adjusted the float so it’s just slightly pitched up when the needle is seated, but that is all. I don’t think I need much else for a stock motor. Would the #30 be too big at only 3800rpm? I have a #26 that I could use too.

Obviously this is going to be my first attempt at this. It’s basically a stock tractor. I’ll be pulling against much more experienced folk, so my expectations are quite low. I’ll be happy just to make the events this year and learn to get the tractor to do it’s best with what I have. The next year will hopefully see new tires and some engine work. Refresh the bore, valve job/undercut valves, a bigger cam, ect. I brought my flame suit, so feel free to fire away. I’ll post the rules below.