P.O. Box 17054 Fayetteville, North Carolina 28314
Above is a picture of an engine used to power an air compressor
located in Bombari, CAR. It is a C. L. Conord, Model F112C with a
serial number of E143960-004. It was manufactured by S. A. Bernard
Moteurs, La Boursidiere RN 186-92350, Le Plessis, Robinson, France.
The engine was a complete mess although it ran satisfactorily.
Since replacement parts are either unavailable or extremely
expensive (an engine oil filter that costs $2.50 at Walmart goes
for $80.00 here in CAR), generic parts are grafted on for repairs
or a human element is substituted. This engine had a set of
reworked automotive points and the throttle and choke were no more
than the operator’s right hand over the appropriate holes on a
gutted Solex carb while the left hand held a modified two liter
bottle filled with ‘Super carburant’ (gasoline) which
incidentally costs well over $4.00 a gallon.
Top is a picture of Mohammed Bocha who is the owner and mechanic
of a small engine repair shop in a mining town named Sansucci. At
the time of this picture he was involved in the rebuilding of a
Honda power plant used on a water pump. A majority of the engines
found on new equipment are Honda or Robin manufacture.
