Fellows, you're scaring me. I apparently have done nothing right, and now I'm freaking.
Here's the deal: I've had my 3/4 1950 for nearly three years. Two months after I brought it home, the original 216 blew up as my son and I were making our maiden voyage to the lumber store.
The boy, 9 at the time, hugged the hood of the truck and literally cried, saying we had hurt the old girl but that, "Dad would fix you up."
Geez... what was I supposed to do? I rejected everybody's advice, absolutely everyone's, and my son and spent the next eight months rebuilding the 216.
Everything seemed okay and you should have seen the "barn dance" we had when the 216 fired up for the first time after the rebuild. Now, after reading these latest posts, I realize I didn't do anything the way I was supposed to.
The question: Do I tear it apart to see how much wear there is, or do I let well enough alone and hope I am the recipient of extreme beginner's luck. BTW... does anybody ever keep the 216?
