[trusty220]

Don’t forget that these things had to be assembled at some point and so must come apart in some way. Have you tried unscrewing the brass collar so that you can pull the shaft out of the bearing? Is the black washer made of some sort of material that will seal, such as rubber or leather? In most cases the only solution is to make your own but when re-assembling make sure you coat the washer with some type of waterproof material that will lubricate the faces.

[trusty220]

There must be some sort of bearing surface in the top of the upright support with a thrust bearing. The increased water pressure will be forcing the rotating part upwards, increasing the load on the thrust bearing and pushing it into hard contact with the underside of the top bearing and locking it up. With less water pressure the weight of the rotating part will act against the water pressure and push the bearings apart.

Can you take the bearings apart and grease the underside to prevent it locking up?

[trusty220]

We used a similar system to time up Ransomes Motor Triple engines with a home-made buzzer that you connected over the points (contact breakers). The MAG 2055 had a separate distributor which made things easier- just set the crankshaft on it’s marks and turn the distributor until the points were just opening; you could even tell when the points were dirty by the noise the buzzer made!

Thanks for a trip down memory lane! I’d forgotten that little piece! until you said.

[trusty220]

I’m with Andy- can you show us a photo of the flywheel? Normally, if the flywheel is brass you can access the points through the holes between the spokes. Obviously you have to remove the brass cover first but it should be possible to rotate the flywheel on the crankshaft to set the points to the correct gap.

With the piston at the right distance before TDC you should then be able to turn the flywheel in the running direction and then stop when the points are just opening- this is the point at which the spark is generated. Lock everything up without allowing it to turn and it should work; take no notice of the timing marks as they are often in the wrong place.

I hope that helps, but please show us a picture of the flywheel if you are still in difficulties.

[trusty220]

Thomas coming out?? Have you discussed this with your wife?

….or did he come out and has now gone back in? Oh dear, I feel one of my headaches coming on again!

[trusty220]

Charlie Moore is the expert on these machines and I’m sure he’ll be in touch soon.

Well done on getting it for such a low bid.

[trusty220]

Hi, Dave,
Please pass on the committee’s gratitude to Dave Weeley for opening up his place again for next year’s event. It takes a lot of organising and it must have been a big decision to open up his farm to so many people during these Covid blighted days. Let’s hope next year will have seen the last of the lockdowns and everything will start to return to a semblance of normality.
Looking forward to it already!

[trusty220]

When I first started the Trusty Register I used the JAP engine dates to give a rough idea of age but you have to be careful that the machine hasn’t had a replacement engine during it’s lifetime.

In the absence of accurate factory records it does help to make a collection of all known machine serial numbers, list them in numerical order and sprinkle a few JAP engine dates in the mix and you get a good idea of the age of the machinery.

Steve Denness is the chap you need to speak to who runs the register for Colwoods; look his number up in The Cultivator.

[trusty220]

Proof positive at last that Thomas is partial to Chinese take-aways!

Well done Alan for another edition of The Cultivator. It is the only publication available in this country solely dedicated to “our” machinery.

[trusty220]

When I used to repair Kubota tractors, and later moved on to selling them, I asked the Kubota demonstrator about date codes. Things like clutches and brakes were stamped in ink with a date code (which is why I asked in the first place) but the calendar that the Japanese used at the time was not the same as ours and I forget how to convert it. Either way, if the serial number does reflect the build year it will not tally with our calendar at all.

If you definitely want to register it why not just put it on a “Q” registration? That doesn’t require proof of age.

[trusty220]

The Safety Reverse version of the single speed tractor was built on the production line as such. It is possible to convert a single speed tractor but you will need the Safety Reverse gearbox which has both dog clutches inside it as well as the forward and reverse gears. As you will know already the single speed tractor has no gearbox at all, just two dog clutches on a countershaft which engage and disengage each wheel.

There is no spare parts listing which covers the Safety Reverse version as it was an optional extra. Operator’s manuals are available in reprint form- try B.J.Sims or Classic Tractor Books.

If you definitely want a reverse gear your best option would be to keep your eyes open for a 3-speed tractor which are more numerous and were produced over a longer timespan.

[trusty220]

Your Trusty Steed is a Mk2; NTS stands for “New Trusty Steed”.

No. 225 was sold to K.L.Distributors, the Australian importers, on 17th January, 1952 and was fitted with a Norton Big Four engine, 600cc side valve with engine number 32KK.

If you post some pictures of it here I may be able to tell you more by looking at it.

Best of luck with it.

[trusty220]

That’s alright, Big Ears, I’ll have to have a shave before I appear in public next time!

[trusty220]

The lorry crane division is their most lucrative side and is always very busy. T.H.White have the sole franchise in Britain to sell Palfinger cranes and they have a factory site in Bradford as well as Devizes to mount the cranes onto lorry chassis. Recently they also started building the lorry bodies as well instead of sending them off to have them done.

I hope that makes it a bit clearer, but it’s nothing to do with the old Automower business. T.H.White Lorry Cranes is run as a separate business to their Agricultural Division.

[trusty220]

You’ll find that the professional ride-on mowers changed from dark green to red some years ago (some time around 2015) and were badged up as Toro from then onwards and sold alongside their golf course product line. Does this announcement mean that the domestic range will now appear in red with Toro badges as well?

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