[alan]

Good to know that you have been using a Ginge mower all these years – they were certainly built to last!

As for spare parts, as far as I know (from when I did research) Ginge mowers were made to their own design so parts may be hard to come by now.

I’d have a look through anything to do with Al-Ko as they now own Ginge, you never know what may turn up and I’m unsure if any of the modern Al-Ko mowers are of the same or similar design or carry over some parts – exploded diagrams might help there.

Otherwise it may be a case of seeing if a new spring can be manufactured by someone local, or see if a similar mower comes up on an auction site which could be used for spares.

Research can pay off some times as, after 18 months, I’ve just found a brand-new double-drive gear (£14) on a German website to mend a broken hedgetrimmer.

[alan]

That’s an interesting machine.

Assuming it’s a UK machine then I’d say it was perhaps made in the 1970’s by a company owned by Jack Wilderspin Ltd, High Street (or possibly College Farm), Fen Drayton, Cambridge.

There’s reference in The Grower magazine in 1977 to the Hydro-Bug along with a machine called the Jack-Truck.

Jack Wilderspin, being a local engineer, made the Jack-truck which aided the loading of pallets. There is no reference as to what the Hydro-Bug was intended for.

[alan]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Dennis mowers are from Guildford. If it was Dennis then it would be more than likely from a gang mower – but surely Dennis would’ve put Dennis on there?

It could be a casting for a more general machine that carried numerous retailers names. Then again I could be wrong!

Any members near Guildford have any thoughts on this?

[alan]

There are some US images in the VHGMC gallery and a little info on an advert, too.

I’ve had a look and cannot find any old newspaper or article references to Windolph crawlers in the UK.

https://vhgmc.co.uk/photo-galleries/windolph/

[alan]

There’s an image of the old Honda premises on the Honda-Classics page:

https://www.honda-classics.co.uk/honda-in-the-uk/

[alan]

I’ve had a look at archive material and the F90 was certainly sold in the UK in the late 1960’s and into the 70’s.

The British Tractor and Farm Machinery Journal in 1968 says it’s a new machine and is “fitted with eight forward and two reverse gears, 2 cylinder 479cc vee-twin 4-stroke overhead-valve unit having an output of 9hp at 3000 rpm. The rotary cultivator unit is detachable, and a special PTO point is incorporated with a choice of four operating speeds”.

The distributor in 1968 was listed as Honda (UK) LTD, Power Road, Chiswick, London.

[alan]

To add to the 70 Years of Garden Machinery, the Acre was being demonstrated at shows, in adverts, and being sold certainly in 1948. The price in 1950 was already at £114 (and not mid 1950’s as in 70yogm).

[alan]

Originally by Wrispin:

Good advice from Trusty220. Have a look at the Simply Bearings website. You can identify bearings and seals etc either by part number or by size matching. A good firm to deal with – others may be available!

[alan]

A bit more from that thread:

> Aha, thanks, that’s useful to know about the model. Yes I’ve managed to remove the wheel hubs and axle. After that there doesn’t seem to be an obvious way to get at the oil seals – except taking the gear box apart! I guess that’ll be the next challenge

> You should be able to prise the seal out from the outside, this will damage the seal however, so make sure you can get a new one first.
Here is the diagram from parts list showing gearbox.

Attachments:

1. 

[alan]

test2

[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.

Attachments:

1. 

[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.

[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

[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]

Firstly, I can say that all messages are still stored as they were and will be accessible once again once the messaging service is restored.

Secondly, the reason for the messaging being suspended was because there were several spammers sending messages in quantity via messaging to VHGMC members. This is frustrating not just for members but also for admin as they get many emails back from members rightly asking why they are receiving such messages.

It is mighty difficult to stop spammers manually creating an account (just like an ordinary person would do) and then stop them from sending unsolicited messages to other members.

We actually check new members on a daily basis but this doesn’t stop all spammers getting through. Indeed we had one spammer who posted and operated normally and appeared to be completely legit that then went on to send unsolicited messages to everyone. Where do we draw the line in vetting people? It’s a question admin have asked themselves many times.

Currently there is an updated copy of the VHGMC website being tested with several safeguards in testing to help with signups, messaging issues and also payment and renewal process. This is being done by an independent website company yet it also requires an unpaid VHGMC volunteer to travel and attend the necessary meetings/testings. So we apologise for any frustrations and delays but we will return to normal.

[Author]

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