Joern,
The 67 OB project was a personal favor to me as the US Nova distributor, as they are aware I am a stout supporter of all classes, and would really like to see the tunnel classes continue to grow since the decline of K&B production. They could only go down that path if we kept the cost as low as possible to test the market, as they aslo did with the 21 and 46 outboard powerheads. The 67 OB market, since they initially made this engine available, has really taken off. We had enough 67 outboard tunnels to meet the last several major races, just not soon enough to convince the organizers to add to the class listing. Unfortunately, the short stub 67 DD crank is not holding up to the inertia of the 67 flywheel and the constant torque of the starter when starting the engine. We are going to need a full length larger threaded shaft crank. Until the volume gets to where a complete crank production is warranted, I am working with Gabe Clegg at StumpFab to come up with a short term solution that we can add to every 67 outboard engine we import as well as all of those currently in the field, at no cost to them. Everyone wants this engine that runs that class, and I know it will single handily help grow this class, we just need to get a rock solid engine to make it happen. Until we get to that point, Novarossi has temporarily pulled the engine from their website pending what we can accomplish here and what they can accomplish in Italy to address the weak point at minimal costs. Stay tuned. Thank you.