Gentlemen, I have read many good points on both sides of this argument. Granted I am not a mower racer, I am a tractor puller. But some of the woes that are discussed on this topic touch all of us in our chosen race discipline. Backing up to the early heydays of NASCAR, this was during the early muscle car days which NASCAR provided the perfect proofing grounds for the big 3, NHRA also had a big hand in it. IF it was not for these 2 sanctioning bodies you never would have seen the 426 Hemi, the 429 BOSS or the 427 SOHC, and very possibly the 454 and 440 engines, now move forward to the infamous PINTO incident where the fuel tank exploded and the resulting long drawn out lawsuit that came about from this. Before this there was factory involvement in NASCAR, NHRA, NTPA, INDY car and even Bonneville. After that it all shut down due to “product liability lawsâ€, when the courts decided that the manufacturer can and will be held liable for how their product is used. Many gun laws parallel this line of thinking by the way. Some of the factory involvement did return in some venues through a third party as not to have direct involvement in motor sports. But when there is a lawsuit, take for instance the girl who got her hair caught in the clutch, the first thing a trial lawyer will look for in the group of companies involved is the one with the biggest and deepest pockets and that will be the one they focus on. I know it sucks and it is not fair but as many of you have already stated our society has became “sue happyâ€. The only way I see the factory support from Briggs or any other motor manufacturer would be through a third party, they would work together with design and R&D work but the main party would not be tied to this in any way other than the sharing of info. and even that might be questionable. I remember many years ago, before the internet I did actually get a hold of someone in the Kohler engineering department, after I told him what I was doing and asked if they had done any R&D work in this area the only response I received was a “click†then a dial tone, imagine that. The best advice I could give you is what I have learned in the past few decades. Companies or individuals who build parts, engines in your chosen race field you must support that business. Over time you will build a relationship with them and the information will go both ways I know that it sounds like the most expensive way to go because most of the individuals who race are on very tight budgets and do a lot if not most of the work themselves, I know I do most of the work myself but as far as making parts for the engines I run I will stick to ports, heads and manifolds. Unless you plan on spending large sums of money and R&D time to start manufacturing parts and/or engines then have to set on that investment for a few years until you start getting a customer base you would be money ahead to buy from a good reputable business that already has the parts you need. Don’t be too hard on Briggs; remember they are building engines for power equipment, which is their niche. No company in their right mind would do something to jeopardize themselves financially to help someone do something with their product that it was not designed to do nor intended for. My .01 worth (government got the other .01). Bruce