Tell me about this K&B 40 please

I have three of these and most of the parts are still available. All came as parts engines and I've managed to assemble two runners. As mentioned, they're not worth much but still a very good engine with a good reputation. They seem well made and it's handy being able to reverse the crankcase to place the exhaust on whichever side you prefer. Mine are both the early Torpedos, but the same engine. Later ones came with a different front housing, crank & prop driver, as well as mounting provision for a muffler. They come in either ringed or ABC. First time I tried to run one I was pretty disappointed with the compression and couldn't get it to start easily. I found that this is fairly typical of a dykes ring. The ring has little tension to seal and relies on compression pressure forcing the ring out against the liner. One little blast with an electric starter and the thing bursts into life and runs quite powerfully.
I also have a couple of K&B sportsters, a .20 and a .28. I think I paid less than $20 each and they can still be purchased new at around $90. While they are cheap and seen as a low-end "throw away" engine, mine are the nicest running engines I own. Start easy, idle and transition beautifully and run really quiet with the original muffler. They are AAC. Aluminium bore & piston, with the piston being chromed.

My ultimate project would be a 337 Skymaster with the .28 in the front & .20 in the rear. Engines are identical externally.

Rod.

There's currently this one.
Torpedo .40- ebay

And this.
Another ebay Torpedo

Ken Cook wrote:http://www.leemachineshop.com/

I found the venturi but no information on what NVA to use. Do these guys use a standard NVA such as a Super Tigre one, or does the venturi come with one? If it does it's real good value at $10.