New Trusty owner

[vhgmcbuddy]

Hi all,

I’ve recently become the owner of a Trusty 2 wheeled tractor. It was given to me by my grandad who has had the machine for many years.

The tractor is in a rough but working condition and I intend to make it and all it’s accessories fully functioning but without doing any cosmetic restoration. It’s lived under an apple tree on grandad’s allotment for as long as anyone can remember, and has always been the “rusty trusty” and so it will remain.

To this end I have just fitted a new set of piston rings to the Douglas SV54 engine because of it’s excessive oil consumption. On disassembly it was found to have 3/8″ gap on the oil control ring! The new rings were bought from Cox and Turner Engineering – highly recommended.

Can anybody advise the correct spark plug to use in this engine? Ideally I’d like to find a vintage original rather than the modern champion mower plug it has at the moment.

Thanks
Dan

[charlie]

Welcome to the forum. I don’t know the correct spark plug, but it may be worth looking to see what the Green Spark Plug Company have when you do find out.

[trusty220]

Welcome to the club forum. We do run a very active register for Trusty owners, so if you let me know the tractor serial number (off the plate where the handles join the transmission) I can let you know when the tractor left the factory and which dealer it was sold to.

If you need any practical advice on restoring/repairing/just keeping it going then you’re in the right place. You will find that our members have a wealth of knowledge that they are only too eager to share!

Enjoy your Trusty!

[vhgmcbuddy]

According to my Douglas engine handbook, the spark plug is a 14mm Lodge CN.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Hi,
Thanks for the words of welcome.

When I next go to where I keep the machine I’ll have a look for it’s serial number. From memory it’s four digits and starts with an 8, which I seem to remember made it December 1946.

Thanks busman for the plug info, just got to find one now – green spark plug are out of stock.

Cheers
Dan

[vhgmcbuddy]

I am restoring a trusty with a douglas engine at the moment any chance you could post a close up picture of the linkage between the long trottle control rod that comes down through the handlebars and the carb ? I just used a modern B5HS NGK plug and its got a great spark/runs well.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I can take and post a pic of my throttle linkage over the weekend, but I’m not sure it’ll help you as mine has been altered at some time in its life. The air filter has been removed, and the filter bracket repositioned to one of the crank case bolts to hold the end of the throttle linkage by passing it through one of the filter mounting holes – something I need to sort out when I can find an air filter!

[vhgmcbuddy]

Here’s a couple of pictures of my throttle linkage as promised.

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[vhgmcbuddy]

Won some new old stock Lodge CN plugs on ebay this week, so just fitted one. Also fixed the leaky petrol tap. Nearly ready for the show season!

[vhgmcbuddy]

Here’s a pic showing the extra external chain case that takes drive from the Austin gearbox up to the dog-clutch shaft. The toolbox even has a new radius cut in the edge to clear this. It looks too well done to be a home-brew job. Has anyone seen anything like it before?

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