[darmic1]

Thanks Andy, thats brilliant. Re the bearings, my vernier has stopped working, changed the battery? Dead! Couldnt measure them and these guys were really helpful last time I needed bearings and seals for the Gem….. Thanks Ray, if I could identify them…… cheers!

[darmic1]

Todays progress was to make the gaskets for the crank case and the barrel. All made and ready. Next was to remove the remaining old bearings from the roller and the cylinder. These came off fairly easy and I took them to my bearing supplier for identification. He confirmed them to be RL5’s, a double race, self aligning bearing, not something which is kept in stock these days. 4 phone calls later and it wasn’t looking good for the old Atco. He then phoned an importer/distributor who it seems holds the entire UK stock of these bearings. The downside is they are £10 each and I need 5 of them, still, they are decent quality and not cheap chinese rubbish. They should be here in a week.

[darmic1]

Have made a bit more progress today. Have stripped the engine right down to the crank and casing. Cleaned all the parts and its now ready for reassembling, once I’ve got the new parts. Made a call to Meetens today to order new spark plug, lead and carb overhaul kit. Also asked about a set of engine gaskets, but have been told they are no longer available and will need to make my own. A job for tomorrow maybe?

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[darmic1]

Hi Angus, No, its not that type of bearing after all. It did look like those on initial strip down as one had fallen out, hence my original post suggesting bicycle type. They are in fact these and are stamped either RLS or RL5 and “made in England” still in the housing……

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[darmic1]

That does look really nice! Now to get mine to this standard…….

[darmic1]

One thing I’ve pondered today is the actual model of this mower. Having looked at the old mower club site I’m sure its a 14″ light Atco? Not actually able to work on it today, but I have looked around for spares. One of the bearings on the cylinder is broken, have seen some replacement ball races on the net but not sure of the size or if they come with the ally housing or not. Will maybe have a look tomorrow at removing the damaged one from the end of the cylinder and get some measurements.

[darmic1]

I never asked for a sniff!!!

[darmic1]

Thats it exactly, the garage is integral to the house, its warm, carpeted and often a nicer place to be when the 2 kids are kicking off!
As for thumbs, this left one has been crushed, sliced, burnt and now drilled. Thankfully feeling less sore this evening! Its not until you try to do buttons and shoe laces that you realise just how useful they are! I used to work with a chap who’s big toe was used to replace his thumb which was removed on a table saw!!! That is not something I wish to add to my list of injuries.

[darmic1]

Ha,ha,ha! John, A big thumb is exactly what I have at the mo! With a hole right through it almost….. I dont like to let the grass grow, it is a mower after all!
Seriously though, I had nothing else to do on my days off, so figured what the heck?

[darmic1]

Very big Thankyou Andy Frost, that is brilliant! Cheers Martin, hope it stop being quite so flippin painful! Had a kidney stone not long ago, the pain from this is right up there with that………

[darmic1]

Work has been suspended for a few days now, following a mishap with a drill…….
Whilst drilling out the snapped peg which holds the shut off for the fuel in the carb, the 3mm drill bit snapped, jumped and landed on my left thumb. Felt quite sick when I realised there was a 3/4 off the drill almost right through my thumb. A trip to the local minor injury unit revealed no lasting damage and thankfully no broken bits of drill in there!

[darmic1]

The barrel and piston are in really good condition too, with no wear or scoring to either. This would explain why it has good compression

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[darmic1]

The little Villiers is also stripped down. It looks like its never been apart before, judging by the points cover…….

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[darmic1]

The entire machine is now stripped down completely. The frame and cylinder will be dropped off at the shotblasters in the week. Not sure whether to powder coat or paint the frame. The cylinder will be painted.

[darmic1]

Thanks Andy, would that be the engine is an Atco Villiers? Or both Engine and Carb?
I’ve had a quick look on “Villiersparts” site and have seen a carb which is remarkably similar, the Villiers junior…… I’m going to need a couple of bits for the carb, namely a float and a new bowl as the float has at least 3 holes in it and is seriously dented. The bowl is badly corroded both on the inside and on the outside. I will also need an overhaul kit for it too. Here’s the damaged float and the carb stripped down.

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[Author]

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