[joegrgraham]

Oil levels checked, a spray over with wd40, can of fuel, ahem, “borrowed” from work, checked the damn thing actually starts. All ready to load up tomorrow night and trundle up the 419 Saturday morning!.
See you Saturday!.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Further to Geoffs answer, it certainly wont be a problem weight wise, just be aware that, depending on its condition, there is no guarantee the wheels will want to come off. When I got mine, I had to take it to the forge to shift one of the wheels.
Unbolting the axle will make it small enough to fit.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Thanks Guys,
Next time I go out to the shed, I’ll probably start again with some new wire.
As some of my other villiers engines don’t have the kill switch on the backplate, am I right to assume that this isn’t essential, I’m thinking to leave it off for the time being in order to simplify things.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Evening all,
Time for an update.
The gearbox internals have all had a trip through the parrafin bath and have been loosely reassembled, looking in really good condition.
Just need to sort out the repair to the clutch release lever and source a new friction plate and the gearbox can go back together.

The hubs have been stripped, freed off, greased and reassembled (with the aid of a couple of paperclips to keep the ratchet fingers out of the way!!).

I made a start on the engine today, the head and valves are well choked up with carbon, so that will require attention.
Pulled the piston and it all looks in really good condition, the bore needs a little polish to remove slight rusting, but everything else just needs a trip to the parrafin bath.
I just need to place an order for some ignition parts and an exhaust.

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[joegrgraham]

Thanks Wristpin.

New plug ordered.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Good evening everyone.

Lovely day today, so I’ve been taking advantage of the sunshine, mowed the lawns, re-done a border, had a Braai etc.

I did sneak into the shed for a bit, managed to get the gearbox split, and it doesn’t actually look too bad.

The clutch is looking pretty manky and we have the broken clutch lever to deal with, but the actual gears are in really good nick. No dicernable wear or chipped teeth, just a good layer of gunk.

Next job, will be to start cleaning.

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[joegrgraham]

Just a quick update,

Replaced the freewheel units, shaft and the bushings and its like I’ve got a new mower.

Thanks everyone for your input and advice.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Nice machines, 1950’s styling at it’s best!.

I always think they look somewhere between a lawn mower and a childs tricycle! I think my boss would think I’d finally flipped if I turned up to mow the lawns on one. I’ve got to get me one………..

[joegrgraham]

Evening all,

Had a very productive hour in the shed tonight, wheels are off, hubs are off and…………..drum roll please……….the dratted engine is finally seperated from the gearbox!!!. Thanks Charlie, chisel and wedges, and off she came.

One of the hubs meekly succumbed to a few taps, the other caused a bit of a ‘brown trouser’ moment, it wouldn’t tap off so wound a puller onto it, no movement, so gave the back of the hub a tap and BANG, off it went across the shed like one of Barnes-Wallis’ finest!.

Am I right to presume that with the pin pulled out, the hub should freewheel? do they dismantle or would it be best to dunk them in a bucket of diesel for a while?.

Joe.

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[joegrgraham]

I’ll be there, looking forward to it!.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Just a couple of pictures of the machine so far, hopefully putting some context to my ramblings.

As always, I didn’t take any pics of the machine as acquired (too distressing!!).

The pictures show the fuel tank and cowl/air cleaner, both in nice condition, just needing a good clean and an oiling.
The rotor box: again in nice condition, no rot, just one missing tine and a coating of rust on the remaining tines. Again, just a clean/degrease, oiling and it should be good to go.
The last pic is the main hulk of the machine, you can see the shot tyres and you’ve seen the picture of inside the gearbox on the pedestrian thread.

Joe.

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[joegrgraham]

That’s brilliant, thank you Charlie!.

As they say, one seeing is worth a thousand tellings, I’m going to need to split the gearbox to properly clean away the rust and gunk, and to replace/repair the broken clutch release lever so if you could send me the photo’s, that would be great. Could you send them to my email, then I can save them onto a flash drive.

I shall have a go at levers/wedges next time I visit the shed.

Thanks again.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Just a quick one Charlie,
Once the nuts are off the four studs, should the engine just pull off, or is there something inside that needs to be released, the engine is rocking on the studs but doesn’t want to pull forward.

I’ve got the rotor box off, and it doesn’t look like its seen a lot of work, there may be hope…………….

[joegrgraham]

Thanks Charlie,
Its encouraging to know the gear is supposed to be that shape.

I’ve got the four nuts off the engine, its just the ‘sticktion’ holding it in at the moment.

I think my plan of attack is going to be to pull it apart into the main sections, flush the gearbox out so I can see what I’ve actually got, and then take it from there.

A couple of pics of the gearbox especially would be greatly appreciated.

Joe.

[joegrgraham]

Any tips on removing the free wheel units from the shaft (lock nut is off), or is it a case of heat and beat?

[Author]

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