Westwood s800 help advice needed

[vhgmcbuddy]

Hello all
I am the proud owner of a very old Westwood s800 lawn tractor. Anyone out there know anything about it, history year of manufacture etc etc … I would like to keep it running for years to come. Any help advice appreciated!
Kind regards

Jon

[vhgmcbuddy]

Here she is 🙂

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[wristpin]

Change the oil regularly, service the air filter regularly and keep the underside of the deck clean. Stay away from the hose pipe or pressure washer. Store the machine in the dry.
Deck rot is your worst enemy. Scrape out all the wet grass and gunge – particularly at the end of the season.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thankyou will do !
Do you have any info on the machine like how old it may be ? I’m just interested

[alan]

As far as I know the Westwoods were manufactured through the 1980’s and were made at their factory in Plympton, Devon. Ransomes acquired Westwood tractors in 1989.

I’ll scan and attach the back page of one of the brochures which shows the factory and manufacturing line.

Attachments:

1. Westwood-Tractors-VHGMC.pdf

[alan]

Westwood brochure with factory images:

https://vhgmc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Westwood-Tractors-VHGMC.pdf

I just looked up the factory on Google Streetview and it is still there albeit altered and housing different companies. https://goo.gl/maps/Nz4tpa3WjMbD211s6

[wristpin]

I believe that Westwood manufactured tractors date from a bit earlier than has been suggested as we were servicing quite well used ones in 1981. I use the word manufactured as it is my understanding that the very early ones were American Dynamarks badged Westwood. Maybe someone can enlarge on that.
Westwoods used to have specification labels – in various places – but they were of adhesive foil construction and many will have disappeared. If you machine has an original Briggs and Stratton engine it will have the words Model, Type and Code stamped into the engine cowling – possibly just above the spark plug. The code number will reveal the year, month and day of manufacture. If it starts with 82, that is 1982.

[alan]

Wristpin, you have reminded me of the Dynamark, there’s a photo in the gallery:

Dynamark WestwodTractor – IMGWestw21

Also, after a bit of research I find that my estimate of 1980’s is a bit out as Westwood had a prototype ride-on mower in 1972 and they moved to their new larger premises at Plympton in 1973.

[wristpin]

That makes sense. I think that the Westwood badged Dynamarks had the pressed steel decks as per your images and the first Plymouth built machines had the fabricated decks; the 28” one being known as the the-penny-bit deck.
Now I wonder why ?!

[alan]

I’ve found a magazine clipping from 1974 and I now think the prototype from 1972 was probably the Lawnbug, at the same time the Dynamark machines were also being sold, it then looks like it was probably followed by Westwood making their own stuff based on Dynamark.

The Westwood-Rockwell mentioned in the clipping was a hedgetrimmer.

Image attached.

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