[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.

[andyfrost]

Alan , many thanks for your quick reply , but it still won’t take me to a payment page.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

The parts you were after have turned up on that certain auction site , plough,wheel bands, extensions, hitch etc.
Only trouble is the seller appears to be one of lifes dreamers , judging on his valuation.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I find my 700 the easiest starting machine I have , it never fails to start first pull(I’ll regret saying that one day) , I have also fitted all new electrics. One other point to look for is wear in the Carb butterfly , they were renowned for this , and will cause bad starting and running.
Hope all goes well for you in hospital.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I’ve said it countless times on here , you can’t test a coil PROPERLY with anything other than a purpose built ignition tester , your local mower/small engine centre should have one.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Same as Angus , I’ve re-installed old ones many hundreds of times with no issues whatsoever.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Ploughs are not exactly plentiful , but they do turn up from time to time , so just bide your time. The larger ploughing wheels are harder to source , I’m assuming you’ve got these with it.
The 700 is in my opinion the best machine by miles that Howard produced , if you’ve ever really used a Gem , and then a 700 , you will soon realise.

Andy.

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