After many years of good faithfull service, my 1968 Wheelhorse Charger 12 is giving me some problems that I can't seem to resolve. It will start when it's cold but will only run until it's warm and then it quits. I can keep it going by spraying some ether near the air filter but as soon as I stop, it stops. I pulled the carb and flushed it out with carb cleaner and also pulled the brass needles out and flushed those areas out. (I was careful putting them back in the exact position they were in before I took them out.) Still no luck and it would not start without ether. When I took the carb off, I had to move the coil and was surprised at how hot it was - much hotter than the top of the engine. I never knew that coils got hot. So I cleaned all the connections but that didn't make any difference. Tomorrow I will buy a new coil and plug wire. I have another carb that I scavenged from a Kohler engine at the dump but of course I have no idea what kind of shape it might be in. Is there any online diagrams of these carbs? Thanks for any tips.

Try it without the gas cap and see if it has any effect..... does it have a fuel pump?

Yes, it has a fuel pump and I have checked that. If the gas line is disconnected at the carb and I crank the engine over, fuel does pump out the end of the hose. It is a 12 horse motor with the starter/generator set up. This problem began when I dragged it out in late spring to begin the summer grass cutting season. It had the same symptoms then but I was able to get to stay running by pulling the carb and hosing it with carb cleaner and was able to mow the lawn several times. It's been a month now since it ran and that grass is getting tall and thick.

I figured out the problem. There was some kind of junk that was getting caught in the carb float bowl that inhibited the fuel flow. Once I got that out it ran great for several lawn cuttings. I hooked up the trailer and went to a part of the yard where I had just cut a tree down and loaded the cut wood in and drove it back tothe woodpile, shut off and let it set for the night. The next day it would not start at all and it seems it is not getting any spark all of sudden. Very wierd. Anybody have any ideas of what to look at?