Adventures in Small Engine Land

So, I have never really been a small engine mechanic and I have to admit that some of the automatic throttle controls on these things are still voodoo to me, but I felt pretty good after a successful installation and modification of that parking lot sweeper that I installed a new engine on.  Lately, the big project has been to try to resurrect an ancient riding lawn mower that Neil Rugg and I picked up on a little jaunt in days past.  It is a major peice of junk, but I have been confident that I knew what the reason it would not run was (the starter-mount was broken off the engine block.  Usually, if you can find out why the motor was knocked out of service, then you know that everything else was most likely in running order at the time it kicked the bucket.  In this case, with a motor that still freely turns and a broken starter, I was optimistic that the engine would still be good.  I never really figured out how to repair the damage though...until I came upon another freeby...

The other day, we cleaned out a suite for a customer and removed an old lawnmower.  I figured maybe I would resurrect that motor and use it for a go cart for the kids.  Well, I was rebuilding the carburetor when I accidentally lost my mind and used compressed air to blow the 'seat' (a small ring the size of the tip of a pencil eraser) across the yard with 120 psi.   Well, since that motor was now officially a lost cause, I started thinking - what if I were to somehow install the pull-cord from the 5hp lawnmower on the big 14.5 hp riding lawnmower engine?  Surprisingly, that actually worked, and so after CAREFULLY rebuilding the carburetor on the riding lawn mower and welding the pull-cord starter on it, I found myself facing the inevitable snag that you knew was coming.  Apparently, a Tecumseh 5 hp engine rotates clockwise where a Briggs and Stratton 14 hp rotates counter clockwise?  Yeah, that is right, I got the thing to actually fire by rotating it backwards (I knew it when it fired because it just about jerked my arm out of its socket.

Where does that leave me?  With a rebuilt carb on a nice 14.5 hp engine with a starter welded on it that starts it in the wrong direction.  Now what?