[andyfrost]

Charlie Moore is the man for all things Monrotiller , I’m sure when he gets back from Weeley , he will have the answer for you.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

24t2s with fixed jets are ok provided there is very little to no wear in the butterfly shaft , and your engine bore/valve set up is also ok , this is especially so for any application that requires smooth tickover and smooth pickup of revs.
I would always go down the route of changing fixed to adjustable , it eliminates all the USUAL problems with the fixed jet , I had a Coleby a few years back that was a comlete pain until I changed to adjustable.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

“What surprised me about that engine was the amount of wear on the rings, bushes and big end rollers. Yet the cylinder bore was OK!”

You have to take into account , that extremely few of the machines that come into our hands are all original , many will have had odd bits and pieces fitted to them to keep them running back in their working days.
Soon after the War , my father bought a ModelL brand new , AutoCultos policy then was to have widespread local dealers , who would stock alot of the essential spares. Our dealer was around 8miles away , when cylinder wear started to give poor performance , Father would take the cylinder there , pay a surcharge and walk out with a rebored barrel and new piston , he did this several times in its working life , and it had a HARD life , but it only had one service exhange crank.
This may go some way to explain your possible mismatch of engine bits.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I did think it should have been V111C , as they were the model used by Allen and Simmonds. Should you ever need one I have a new piston (cast iron) for one of those , along with a used , but good cylinder barrel.
I would go along with your views and measurements , but as you say , we’re not dealing with formula one engines.
Many years ago I fully rebuilt a 25A on an AutoCulto model L , the crank rebuild cost a small fotune back then , I dread to think what the cost would be today.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

A couple of things , which model Autoculto do you have that has an V11C engine.
You don’t mention valve guides , often a cause of bad running and burning oil.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Measure the size of the two pulleys along with centre to centre of shafts , give these measurements to any reputable belt supplier and they should help you out.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Yes 400 , not the original engine though.

Andy

[andyfrost]

Millar systems , even when new they produce very weak spark , along with certain types of Villiers. Have you noticed that the newly made coils sold by George or Villiers Services produce a far better spark than the originals , nothing to due with weak magnets or whatever.
And my friend who owns the tester knows more about magnetos than either of us are ever likely to.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Well , I started working on horticultural stuff in the early 1970s , and continued all my life although latterly as a hobbie , and have amassed quite a collection over the years , all of which start , run and perform as they should , and I lay alot of that down to have fully working magnetos , many in the collection have been fully rebuilt , I’m lucky knowing someone who has a PROPER tester.
With regard to your so called 6mm spark test , some ign systems will seldom if ever produce that kind of spark , most notably certain Villiers mags , and Miller systems are notoriously weak. Again there is a vast array of info available , but most of it comes from amateurs with little to no true experience.
I will ask again why do specialists use equipment costing large sums of money , rather than a MM.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

“Lastly on the thorny and unfortunately contentious matter of multimeters. I would readily agree that specialist magneto repairers have an extensive range of dedicated test equipment that is vastly superior to a multimeter.”

On that I would agree , common sense should tell that IF they could get away with using MMs , why would they purchase equipment costing many more £££££s , the simple answer is they’re not reliable enough.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

It is truly amazing what some folk will believe what they read on the internet , sorry but I’ll stick to my experince gained from the university of life.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

You’ve obviously made your own mind up over this matter , aided perhaps by some very dodgy internet info , there are EXTREMELY FEW proper magneto engineers about , but many hundreds of amateurs , many of whom put their extremely limited knowledge on Youtube etc.
I have a drawer full of duff coils(why I keep them I’ve no idea) many of these are ones that have passed the so called multimeter test , but have been proven beyond any doubt to breakdown. Like you I’ve read an awful lot of internet blurb , and quite frankly the vast majority is misleading rubbish , with the exception of George on his ignition page , just a last question , why does he write this ??………..the answer is fairly obvious.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I noticed the change also , have to say I much preferred how it used to be.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

I guess we’d better agree to disagree.

Andy.

[andyfrost]

Grahame , proper testing equipment is rare thesedays , and not many folk have them , I don’t actually own one myself , I rely on a good friend who happened to be the workshop foreman when I was a young lad. His is an old school tester , but is 100% reliable , incidentally it will not test the modern magnetron/electronic coil units. George is absolutely correct in what he says regarding testing with multimeters , yes you may find a circuit , but proper testers simulate what actually happens when you “load the coil up”. I note you use the word “PROBABLY” when you have tested with a multimeter , when done on a proper unit , there is absolutely no element of doubt.
I’ve had numerous people call me saying it tested OK using a MM , but still fails to start or run properly.
My advice would be to try and locate someone who has the proper eqipment , if that can’t be done George offers a service , and will advise of what you need and cost before going ahead , one other piece of advice , don’t but a MM especially for ignition testing , it will be a waste of hard earned , many folk have one(I don’t) , and I would be the first to admit that they have their uses , but not for magnetos

Andy.

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