[alan]

….and not forgetting the members download area with Jean Smith’s excellent book, the Ransomes downloads and the club exhibit logsheet…and over 100 back issues of The Cultivator magazine…..and yes those thousands of catalogued photos in the gallery!

[alan]

Hello Cleo

It’s interesting to see that it is possibly a French Westwood tractor.

It’s great that you want to be hands-on and restore the tractor either for yourself or a new owner to use, and perhaps make a little money in the process and there’s nothing wrong with having a little money left at the end of the day.

As I’ve restored, exhibited and in order to buy something else or make space I’ve also sold several tractors too, I think I can give you a few pointers.

Generally after overhauling a machine I’ve found there’s never been a great deal of money left, if any. For me the pleasure has always been in preserving that particular machine so it can carry on working or being exhibited.

Not wanting to frighten anyone but to get a tractor into great condition costs can include: new tyres, new seat, getting the engine to run with new gaskets, oil, air filter, battery, carburetor kit etc, electrics inc key start and switches, drive belts and clutch, paintwork and decals. These do stack up! If the engine, gearbox, drivetrain are in running condition or any from the above list are working or in cosmetically good condition and can be kept then the better! Keeping as much of the original as possible is the way to go.

I’d recommend making a list of the items required and an estimate of cost. Then find out an approximate resale value from internet auction sites and deduct one cost from the other. It may be that it’s financially better (and less time consuming) to preserve the tractor as it is with a little cosmetic tidying rather than a full overhaul, but that can be a really difficult decision and is down to personal preference.

As for future values, unfortunately there are none, it’s pot luck what tractors make. Prices can fluctuate quite a bit depending on desirability, condition, location, time of year and if the tractor has any attachments such as a mower deck or snowplow.

Good luck with the tractor and hope it goes well.

[alan]

Indeed, gathering the data is relatively straightforward. Often the hardest part is handling that gathered data, processing it and making it accessible with the least amount of additional coding and the maximum amount of automation – imagine trying to get an engine to run as efficiently as possible, with the maximum power output possible but using the least amount of moving parts!

[alan]

That lawn edger is brilliant!

[alan]

I’ve just added a link to this forum thread on the VHGMC homepage as Google and others are quite efficient at picking up on things and pointing people towards the website.

[alan]

Kick it?! Or thrash it with a branch like in Fawlty Towers.

[alan]

There is another photo of a similar Garner tractor. The tractor was exhibited in 1954 at the National Association of Groundsman’s Exhibition at The Hurlingham Club, London.

Note that this tractor doesn’t have a headlight and that the wheel hubs at least appear to be a different colour to the bodywork although it might just be an illusion.

Also, is it the same chap in both or all the Garner photos, or in other words is that their demonstrator man out with a demo machine rather than a machine in actual use? Over the last few years having looked at photos of many different machines I’m aware that often the same people appear in many photos – for instance there is one chap who appears in many different demonstrations of the Barford Atom.

[alan]

Do you know the make of dynastart it should have such as Delco, Bosch, etc?

I’ve had experience of finding dynastarts for ourselves and the ones on some of our own machines are specific to the mounting bracket on the engine so those dimensions may be of use when searching for one.

Do you have the electrics on the tractor already or can the electrics be sorted, altered and wired up after the dynastart has been sourced and fitted?

[alan]

Unfortunately there’s nothing I could find regarding the piston on the sprayer. The only direct info about the Lombard sprayer I can find is:
https://www.vintagegardensyringesprayers.info/AllenFreeman/page18.html

There’s a bio of the company on the sprayer book on this website available to club members. The company eventually became part of the Hozelock companies:

https://vhgmc.co.uk/member-downloads/british-hand-held-garden-tools-and-equipment-volume-1/

[alan]

Steve,

I’ve had a look at VHGMC archive stuff and a few other sources and your Webb Witch appears to date after 1936, yet it has the ribbed rear roller meaning it was a later production machine, but it has the earlier older style handles later changed in production to the crossed handles. From that information and if we had a selection of brochures then we’d probably be able to date it to within a few years!

An interesting early-ish machine and apparently not many about.

[alan]

The Yellowbird cultivator is now quite a scarce machine for the UK and for someone would be a useable and unusual make to have.

[alan]

Page 17 of Jean Smith’s book has the Wikeham Weed Eradicator logo on it:

https://vhgmc.co.uk/member-downloads/british-hand-held-garden-tools-and-equipment-volume-1/

[alan]

The earliest date I can find for the Wikeham Weed Eradicator is an 1894 advert with the item on sale at a florist/garden shop in Royal Avenue, Dublin.

Then there is a newspaper article from 1904 stating “An implement destroying weeds in lawns called the Wikeham Weed Eradicator is manufactured by the Killet Chemical Company, Liverpool. It is a tubular, 36″ long staff, fitted with a self-acting valve, and when filled with a reliable weed killer then simply by pressing the point into the plant enough liquid is injected to destroy it. The weeds turn brown about the second day, and by the fifth day shrivel up and die.”

I cannot find any reference to the fantastically named Killet Chemical Company so it may have been a marketing name. However there is a chemical company of the same time in Liverpool that made insecticides, sheep dip, and weedkillers which heavily relied on arsenic…..

Regarding the Mysto which is obviously the same: There is a 1927 Australian newspaper article saying that a Melbourne horticultural firm stocks the Mysto Weed Eradicator. Stating it’s a tool working on the syringe principle, it holds the chemical and has a pointed end which pierces the stump before injecting the weed killer.

Having looked at a few things it’s probable that Wikeham and Killet were brand names of Mysto. Any thoughts?

[alan]

I haven’t heard anything and there’s been no request to use any photos or documents/advertising/downloads from the VHGMC website.

You are right about collating information, on a wider scale I think everyone should have a stab at writing a short piece about their favourite machine with photos and some sales literature, it’d be good archive material for future collectors!

[alan]

There are many Case compact garden tractor models lurking about the country including the 646, some with loaders and other implements though locating the tractors is not easy! We have a Case 210 and it’s a well built and quality tractor.

I have also seen one of the early Case 130 tractors in this country and had chance to buy it – didn’t and have regretted it ever since!

[Author]

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