I received my new engine, assembled the carb and muffler to the engine. I can see where some people were having trouble. One complaint I have read about is the fit of the carb to the engine crankcase. I will tell you that it is PERFECT! Yes it is snug and it will not tolerate being inserted at any angle other than straight in! I loosened the carb retaining bolt and made sure it was slid to the open position. I inserted the carb which would only go in about 1/2 way. Then, on a wood table I turned the engine over so that the carb was sitting flat against the table and gently pushed. It slid right in. Snug the carb retaining bolt and thats one potential problem averted. I chose to use a used OS#8 glowplug I had laying around.
A number of people have commented, myself included that the fit of piston to cylinder when brand new is very tight. Well, once I installed a prop I found the pinch to be about what I would normally expect from a brand new ABC engine so yes it is tight but again, I'd call it about perfect. The instructions call for always using an electric starter to start this engine-they say to do this for safety reasons. I think that's just plain nuts and probably how some people are getting into trouble with the crank pins and connecting rods. I insist on hand starting all of my glow engines. I feel that an electric starter just allows one to bully an engine into submission and masks poor tuning technique. In my case, the engine at first was so tight that it wouldn't run. All the more reason not to take an electric starter to it. It probably took 100 flips by hand for the pinch to loosen up just a touch as it kept trying to start but couldnt make it through the pinch. Then, it started. After just 3 very short heat cycles the big pinch is gone and the compression feels wonderful. The engine starts on the first flip now and is beginning to take throttle well. As for the carb, it is silky smooth. I think this engine is going to be a winner short of discovering a brittle crankshaft.

So, what have other people's experiences been so far with this engine? I did read the post about a broken connecting rod. Sorry to hear about that.