[andyfrost]

That’s a VERY wise decision , only my personal opinion , but I’m not a great fan of the cheaper coils that you have on yours. The new ones sold by either Villiersparts or Meetens are, I would say actually better than the originals. They’re not cheap , but in the long run far better , in terms of value for money, and most importantly performance.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Barry , looking back again through the pics you have posted , it seems the wrong coil has been fitted , it looks to be a “short” coil in place of the correct “long” coil. In all my years of fiddling about with Villiers engines , I can’t say I’ve ever encountered anyone doing this before, when taking into account both coil types are still easily available

However provided the correct bushing has been fitted , I can’t see any reason why it would not work. The correct coil is a 1030.
With no disrespect to the previous owner , this is more evidence that it has been messed with , by someone who , shall we say , is not quite fully switched on.

Moggyjim , flywheel is held on a keyless taper , set timing to 3/16 BTDC.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said on here that multimeters are no good for properly testing coils , they need to be done on a proper ignition tester.
It’s not always easy to tell from photos , but judging on the colour of the coil , it appears to be a later modern replacement , have you cleaned and reset points and tried for a spark , making sure all the wiring is correct.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

And back to you all Dave.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

My apologies ,I should have said Straight non detergent, Angus is quite correct. Under no circumstances use any form of synthetic oil in you 25c.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

STRAIGHT 30 grade , Morris oil is of the highest quality.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

The linkage you refer to is the freewheeling system , in the position in your pic it is in freewheel , in other words it can be easily wheeled about without engine running. Slightly and gently lift the tab and move it towards the gearbox and your machine will be in drive , you may have to slightly wriggle the machine from side to side to align the internal splines , but this is common , under no circumstances force it.

Your cylinder bore , although not easy to tell from the pics , appears to be OK , is there any undue “piston slap”??.
Again from the pics it seems to already have had a new coil fitted , so assuming the conenser is OK , I see no reason why you shouldn’t have it up and running fairly soon.

The bane of the 700 was the air filter , if you intend to use it regularly , make sure your hose and joints are all in good order , and that the filter is also , taking care that it seals properly inside the housing. I think I’m right in saying (Hortiman may well confirm) that a Diesel grey Fergie oil filter will do the job as a relacement.
Luckily I haven’t encountered this problem with mine , as it has the very rare and unusual oilbath air cleaner system.

Keep us posted with your progress.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

If you are taking the Coleby on I have some 25A spares for the engine.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Charlie , I’m confusing the issue , the machine I’m referring to is the pic Benjamin put up , which is the Hoe and Mow , it’s been on that auction site for some time. The topic machine is quite obviously a homemade affair.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Regarding the head being on wrong , I wouldn’t have thought it would have done any significant damage , just that it may have run a little hotter. Parts and instruction manuals are always available on that well known auction site , BUT, none that I have seen cover the butterfly carb that is fitted to the 700.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Chalie , I think we’re talking about the second image , which appears to me to be the Mayfield hoe and mow.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Congratulations , the 700 is a superb piece of kit, and yours appears to be a fairly straight example. The Engine is a Villiers Mk28b , 353cc twostroke. Unfortunately engine “internals” are EXTREMELY hard to source ,I’ve managed to accumulate a few over the years should I need any for my machine, most of the carb bits are just as rare , ignition wise , no problems.

Looking at yours it appears to have been tampered with to some degree , the cylinder head has been put on the wrong way round.
Let us know of your progress and what parts you think you may need.

Andy

[andyfrost]

I can’t recall the proper name or model for it , but that is a genuine Mayfield product.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I’m with Charlie on this one , it certainly shows signs of being a homemade conversion , although I’d say the handles are Westwood.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Grand job Alan.

Thanks for all your time and help.

Andy.

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