Vintage Horticultural and Garden Machinery Club

David , there are a couple of firms that bought alot of old Ransomes stuff , and not a million miles from you. Try Stennets of Swilland , and and another chap by the name of Denison , not certain where he’s from , I think Saxmundham/Wickham Market area.

Andy.

David , the man was corredt , the firm I worked for were Ransomes main agents , amongst many others , cutting out worn/damaged spirals and welding in new , and the final grind was a common occurence. As to whether they’re still available I don’t know.

Andy.

That sounds like a good result , the new diaphragm should cure the issues you mention , above all , be sure to run it on E5 fuel , E10 will ruin the diaphragm in very little time.
The reduction box I mentioned on your engine “MAY” be OK , I see from the pics that it has a fairly large pulley on it , so depending on what the box ratio is it could…[Read more]

The later type wheels will not fit , hence I suggested the cambelt approach, Those little Briggs engines are very reliable and easy to work on , first thing is sort the spark out , and move on to the carb , give it a thorough clean ,along with the tank, and most importantly fit a new GENUINE diaphragm. Any problems , then report back.

Andy.

Measure , the housing diameter , shaft diameter and the depth of your exsisting seal and your local seal stockist should be able to offer a match.

Andy.

John , all I will add is , whatever method you use is to aviod E10 fuel at all costs , the modern corks will just not last with it , also stating the obvious is to never let them run dry.

Andy.

I run and use a couple of 200s , they’re great little machines , albeit mine are the later version with the heavy duty chunkier tyres , yours is the early version , and tyres were a problem. My only suggestion is , as others have done is to glue heavy duty cambelt material to your existing wheels , original new ones are not available.
One thing I…[Read more]

Yes , all conventional Ewarts taps fitted to Villiers.

Andy.

700s are my great passion , personally I much prefer to keep them original , the weight distribution was nigh on perfect. I’ve never fitted a replacement engine , but a number of people have…. I just love the sound, power and ease of starting of the 28B engine. I have amassed a number of engine spares over the years which should keep my two…[Read more]

It is a 350cc JAP , I have the same engine in an Emery rotavator , as posted earlier it should have an Amal carb(with choke incorporated in the slide) , not exactly a common engine by any means.Magneto should be Wico series A.

Andy.

Grahame , firstly I respect your enthusiasm , and ideas. The mag tester I have access to does not rotate the mag , it tests whether the coil/condenser is functioning as it should , obviously if
either fail , they are replaced. After coming away from the test and all is good , then there is simply no need to rotary test. All larger dealers had…[Read more]

Regarding the testing with a multimeter or a proper purpose built tester , with the purpose built tester you eliminate all the “probablies” or “maybes” , and get a concrete definate answer. It’s down to personal choice , mine based on lifetimes experience(well over 50yrs) is trusting 100% the purpose built tester.

Andy.

David , to be fair that isn’t the fault of the machine , if you start it up in gear these things will happen. My Father-in-law had an MG6 , with hydraulics , I fully rebuilt the engine for him , and it started extremely easy , and ran like a clock. The SA engine you have are first class , and if all is right will start and run lovely.

Andy.

Grahame , there is no throttle linkage , the SA engine is ungoverned , just has a simple and reliable slide type carb.

Andy.

David , have tou tried Neil Jarret , if it’s the same float as in an MG2 , he may have one.

Andy.

David…….Knights , that’s a blast from the past , they used to do some of our boring work , but we mainly used Plumsteads , who really were a class act. “Sniffly” Plumstead had absolutely draw fulls od mixed rings , all labelled in inch increments , even he didn’t know what they fitted , wish I had them now!!

Grahame , interesting post , out of all the countless engines that have been built over the years , rings from some engines will fit others , it would be interesting to pool all our knowleddge onto a permanent topic on this site , one example that I stumbled across a few years back , Anzani Super Single outboard are the same as Shay120cc. Another…[Read more]

Ransomes used Sturmey engines quite alot , the MG2 crawlers for example.Piston material…..well I think you’re trying to get too technical , remember many engines we play about with originally had cast iron pistons , but replacements such as hepolite etc. etc. went over to alloy , with no modification to any components. Just one of many examples…[Read more]

Dents in your float will make significant issues on running , engine appears to be Sturmey Archer.

Andy.

Sorry David I can’t make alot of sense with that , there’s no way a 2A would rev to 4000 , it would simply blow up after VERY short time.Assuming you had both engines stripped out , did the ungoverned one have any sign of the internal govenor components.When correct they are one of the easiest starting engines , I’ve just finished one on a Howard…[Read more]