[davidbliss]

Andy
We ran Ransomes stuff, Combine and we broke up one that went to them for spares, ploughs, modern reversible and one of the old last heavy Hexatracks behind one of the first 1941 D7 7M so often used Stennets and Denison near Bruisyard,and with Ransomes gone with poor non genuine wearing parts used them quite a bit, but often came back with other things so good job they weren’t closer or would have had treid to save lots of interesting stuff, So will be going to see Barry Denison for mower bits if can find them.

[davidbliss]

I had a phone call today and he still has barrels he said somewhere, so are going over in the next two weeks to have a look. Anyone need Ransomes parts, ill take my camera anyhow.

[davidbliss]

Andy, I am not holding my breath but got a phone number from long back and is still good that took most of Ransomes parts, I will try.

[davidbliss]

Graham
On some of those old carbs they just used a long screw that holds the air cleaner on if not screwed back in with the air filter off I have had them suck up fuel strait through that hole.

• This reply was modified 1 week, 4 days ago by davidbliss. Reason: missed word

[davidbliss]

Grahame
I agree get pleasure in getting scraped bits of machinery working and used for years, and keeping mine in top order. That SA engine ticks over near to 120rpm so not flustered at all. I will be at Stradsett with my ride on mower, silent, few revs and uses less fuel, today we burn more fuel for low emissions that makes masses of heat to be green or is it? I went out to sort out a old Bull Nose Morris the other day and they had to shift the large’ish JD, well it was plastic just revs and horrendous noise. Getting on for two years ago I replaced a engine with a emissions compliant but same engine, uses more fuel gets so hot it scares hell out of you when it goes off bang some seconds after being turned off, progress?

[davidbliss]

Engine runs fine better than some clocks, with the impulse mag from cold I gently pulled it over on the flywheel and was away. I am a bit of a perfectionist and when I hear people saying they all ran like that or when they just put and put every few seconds eight stroking afraid its not good enough for me so will still have ago with the carb and might try a bit more on the needle seat or making a smaller slow running jet but that is ok if running just above tick over. Grand fathers MG6 out fit was bought by Cecil Knights of E H Knights and Sons as it was already getting old back then was in very good order and they had all its tools painted and can remember seeing them sort of on show in his garden. It wasn’t one of the very early models but manual lift. At one time it had some peculiar gearbox problem with its internals coming loose and rotated.

[davidbliss]

I will see if I can find a small motorcycle early carb as they work fine before I try to gets spare parts, as looking at the design it doesn’t hold water in my view and was the demise of its piston. I can just remember being sat on my grandfathers MG6 it had all its tools of tiny discs, cultivator and plough. My father never had a good word about how it ran, and said why on earth didn’t he get a little Fergy. starting it one time nearly pinned my grandfather against the wall and climbed up the wall, he told my father wonder it never went through the wall, father said pity it didn’t as there was a pond the other side.

[davidbliss]

Even if you get a spark it maybe not good enough. I have had engines running quite well but if you hadn’t been using them at the time or had in the past you wouldn’t have known something wasn’t quite as it should be, i had a engine suddenly go flat running hot with reduced power, it started just fine and even just altering the mixture helped. Took the coil and condenser in for testing, and condenser was completely shot and wouldn’t even test although engine still started and ran, plugs seldom fail unless the engine isn’t running as it should be and again if there is nothing wrong with a old plug use it.

[davidbliss]

Grahame
Think I am going to try and find a small motorcycle carb, the design of how the float tries to shut the fuel off just doesn’t, I must have spent 4hrs carefully taking apart removing dents, cleaning and back together. I had just fitted it and was interrupted for an hour, came back and hurrah still dry, started and within less than a minute was flooded. So the before, I couldn’t get the worst marks out but the just distorted side came out perfect. if people don’t know when going to solder a float always find the blow hole and drill it before heating, after repair cool and then touch in the blow hole.

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[davidbliss]

Andy
I used to use Knights engineers in Norwich, I can remember John Knights saying leave it with me and will try and find something and he did, I believe he was looking through old Hepolite books, maybe one of those old books would be a start.

I used to use JP pistons Australia with some still in use today without issues and were very reasonable in price, I then had the odd problems with wrong pistons but same part number and loose pins. So I then went west to Arias pistons that were high quality
forged alloy and with some old engines being long stroked and small bores so little oil got to where needed, could specify the old type of non aggressive cast rings and pin fit, even making only 6 pistons of 4”inch bore came out little over £120 each when the cast JP small Triumph motorcycle were £80 so got some surprises. Photo of what know it all people do, the deep section compression rings intended for diesel engines with egressive oil control made the engine so tight they added 12volts to the huge 6 volt starter that then climbed up on the ring teeth to tear the bearer out of the alloy crankcase. The replacements I had made with fraction of the cast iron weight reduces so much of the stresses.

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[davidbliss]

Andy
Yes many pistons were changed without balancing and often they got it wrong to start with and comes down to a good bit of guessing and if you get it right its so satisfying. I restored a 1905 Rover 780cc 6HP single cylinder car engine the balance was was a bit lucky with a new rod of different design and lighter piston, however taking masses of weight of the reciprocating mass is like loosing quite a chunk off the flywheel weight so effects idle.
Well think they said normal running 24mph was 900rpm but could be run be run up to 1200rpm that gave 28mph and returned 40 mpg, Well with a bit of experiment with the induction length we could better 40mph and got 70mpg but at a cost of low down torque and getting it nice to drive knocked it back to its original 28 max with still 50+ mpg in all conditions.
I also found a bit of interesting or what was used early on was Masked ignition where the plug sits in its own combustion chamber, and it works, a engine can use vast quantities of oil and not fowl its plug, and if taken to extremes will only run a engine at well below -20 degree and above will overheat. My 1905 Rover wasn’t fitted with the Masked plug chamber later on it just appeared, A mr Alfred Feaviour got commendation on improvements to early aircraft engines and later sold as plug savers which I have one this was also used in cylinder heads from small equipment to car engines. I was asked to a old tractor that its mag wasn’t good and noticed it back plug sat up not on one of the plug savers but three so don’t think that cylinder would have been doing much. photo of a very lighten rod by rust and the un-masked 05 plug with the later 06? later, so Rover, emergency aircraft generator and one of the plug savers.

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[davidbliss]

Never knew the bicycle three speed makers made engines. And yes the float isn’t good but the worst bits are inboard of the float needle, the tickler goes through at an angle. I was hoping they used a engine from a well known motorcycle manufacturer. so might have found a piston, not a problem making one but then would have to balance the crank as wouldn’t use the heavy cast iron. To start with you have to calculate is it a two or four stroke, as can start as little as 50% for a two stroke and as much as 70% for a four stroke, then its add the stroke, revs, is it a horizontal or vertical and with the weight of frame its to be fitted into as that can cause harmonics to set in.

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[davidbliss]

Those little Briggs have that odd way of a compression release by a bump on the back of the inlet cam thats a horrible idea, thats why the odd valve clearance 2-5, so you must not get the cam in the wrong place when going to adjust. I once just ground that bump off, this made the engine run like any normal engine, however it could snatch a bit on the pull-start but it went years after that.

[davidbliss]

The Villiers engined pumps were the 2” inch JAP’s 1.5 inch and I just had a bit of seamed stainless pipe, don’t think the engine shaft was more than 4 inches, so a reamer took the bumps out, the new ceramic seal worked similar to the very simple carbon disc, bit of rubber with a spring to push those bit up against the brass bit the pump body, it wore very little over all those years, its amazing it often would instant pump after standing overnight without the water running back so the clack valve done its job, in the very dry times it help water the stock maybe a field away from the farm it often lived out for a month or so just with a old tin bath hung over drawing water from a pond. It once ran a week every day flat out emptying fire lagoons on a airfield as they were being taken out. and the one pump has a pressure gauge on it and rarely did it better the red line of twenty.

[davidbliss]

Yes they are very easy starting but these two really do take some bit to get over compression and best way is to turn them over by hand until at TDC then rap the rope and go for it, if you don’t they bite back, There was nothing of any governors on the one.
One was running last year when it was getting dry so just incase soaked round my bonfire, the other hasn’t for some years used to hook up both together to get a bit more pressure.
and yes the book says not to operate above 2,400 RPM well the one been doing over that for over fifty years. I’ll see if my daughter can do a video.

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