Originally Posted by GREG DOE

Tom, Once again, when I first read your post I suspected that you might be nervous about considering a used engine.That being said if you can inspect the engine, or get a money back guarantee, it might be less of a gamble. I have occasionally picked engines up at swap meets, some times as runners, and sometimes for parts. The last internet engine I bought was a Kraft .61. A friend found a couple of engines fairly cheep. He kept one, and offered me the Kraft. It was a true NOS never been bolted down engine. When the Kraft was introduced, it was just another one of several good pattern engines. The price was reasonable, and all I want it for is a Jensen Ugly Stick.The reason I commented about Super Tigre is that after many years of manufacturing in Italy, production was moved to China. I've never had a Chinese built Tigre, but a lot of the feedback on the net has been uncomplimentary.
On the subject of technology consider the Veco/K&B 61. It's probably close to a 50 year old design. Over the years it's had updates, but basically it close to original. Today we have .50's, and 55's that will produce the same or more hp, Years ago all our engines were loop scavenged, they turned larger props at lower rpm's. In the early 70's the Schneurel .port engines were developed, that turned smaller props at higher rpm's making more horse power.So technology has brought us better designs, but that doesn't necessary mean better quality. OS used to be the gold standard for quality. Some will say that's no longer true.Consider Thunder Tiger. They started out some 40 years ago copying OS engines in Taiwan. Gradually they came up with many of their own designs that performed exceptionally well, especially considering their price. Then production was moved to China, and quality went down. If you decide to consider a used engine, try to get help from someone who could inspect it, or at least suggest what questions to ask. Good luck on what ever you decide to do.