[andyfrost]

Geoff , out of sheer curiosity you say that early Trustys had a Villiers engine fitted , may I ask which model that was. The reason I ask is I’ve never seen Viiliers industrial fourstrokes that were made in the mid to late 1930s.The Mk40 that would have had enough power was a post war engine , I’m baffled what engine it could have been.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Roger at WMT is a first rate man to deal with if yours is imperial then the ones he sells as imperial are the ones you need , but once again you need to check your housing.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

A couple of days in the workshop on the Emery , valves re-faced and re-seated , bore honed and cleaned , it now turns over quite nicely. Magneto sorted , nice blue spark , just waiting delivery on one or two very minor parts , and I see no reason why the engine shouldn’t be up and running quite soon
As for the worn rotor shaft issue , Emery’s engineering takes a bit of a dive , the rotor drive case is a sealed/welded unit , and doesn’t come apart , I’m only guessing that back in the day they offered service/exchange or even just brand new units . I looked at the chains and primary gearing , there is no bronze evident , so in went some 00 grade grease , after it settled a small leak was evident , but nothing severe enough to bother me.
Work in progress as they say , but all being well I hope to bring it to Weeley this year.

Andy

[andyfrost]

The only machine that springs to my mind that had an optional “proper” difflock was the Howard 700 , as Charlie says all manner of manufacturers offered the ratchet style.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Morning Charlie , no mine is different to yours , it has what I think is a JAP 350 sidevalve engine , it’s definately JAP , crankcase is stamped , and JAP embossed in the cast alloy cowling. It looks exactly the same engine as one fitted to one of the early Atco mowers , which had Atco-JAP embossed in the cowling.
I haven’t looked close enough yet to see if it’s actually a dry sump engine , as the oil appears to be in a resevoir built into the bottom of the crankcase , whereas yours has a seperate oil tank.
As for spark plugs , mine has an 18mm , I seem to recall that you said yours had a 22mm plug , Fordson N and E27N tractors had 22mm , so it may be worth you getting in touch with some vintage tractor boys.
It’s pouring with rain here today , so it will be a workshop day today , I’ll hopefully start work on the Emery.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Thanks Robert , I have seen and looked into those , same model as I picked up today.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Both should improve running.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I could be wrong , but it sounds a shade retarded to me. VERY nice restoration.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Earlier ones imperial , later metric , measure your housing with a vernier and go from there.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

It’s a Howard 400 , when up and running are a very useful and well buit machine

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Wishing you a speedy and healthy recovery.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

You can get away with bypassing the pump altogether , and rely on gravity feed. Removing the engine for the split couldn’t be easier , remove throttle cable , fuel pipe , and ignition kill switch wire(if it has handlebar mount) , undo bell housing bolts and it comes apart , it really is a simple operation, you should then see what could be the problem.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Rather than ponder over what at present are merely guesses ,just split it and then evaluate.Personally , I wouldn’t use thinners/acetone/vinegar , at any cost , ultrasonic cleaners are truly a great asset , and should cure the problem.
A photo of your exact engine would really help.

Andy

[andyfrost]

The clutch is more than likely the plates sticking , but hard to tell exactly until you have split it.You sound quite mechanically minded , so I’m sure you’ll identify what wrong.
The linkage issue , I would be inclined to make my own.
Fuel issue , if you nkow someone handy who has an ultrasonic cleaner , 15min cycle in one should cure the problem.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Thank goodness our hobby is vintage stuff.

Andy.

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