[trusty220]

I seem to remember that when we had a very old Ransomes Auto Certes into the workshop we used to pray that the recoil was working because the older models were fitted with the BSA sloper and the recoils weren’t compatible with the later Villiers produced engines. We couldn’t get parts for the BSA recoil at the time, and this was back in the 1980’s

How they were different I cannot recall, but once BSA sold the design to Villiers there was definitely a change of recoil starter (probably to fit in with existing Villiers designs).

Your only resort may be to change the cowlings to the later sort.

[trusty220]

We still have machines like this in the trade nowadays, mainly for cover at important cricket and tennis matches. They are known as Waterhogs, either from the name of the company that makes them or simply a trade name.

The Waterhog is a machine designed along the lines of a tandem roller, only the rolls are covered with thick foam which soaks up the water. The foam is then squeezed by a roller and the water falls by gravity into a catchment tank. This tank is emptied by a 5hp Honda engine driving a water pump and can be set to continuously discharge through a hose if needed, otherwise you wait until the tank is full before discharging.

Interesting to see that there was pressure back in 1954 to de-water sports surfaces and that it isn’t just a modern thing driven by the TV companies.

[trusty220]

Oh- I almost forgot- you are right in your identification of a Trusty belt pulley support bracket. Here’s a picture of the complete item for you to compare.

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[trusty220]

I’ve just been handed a newspaper cutting from “The Lincolnshire Smallholder”, describing something that occurred on Christmas Eve last. Apparently somebody (who shall remain nameless) was arrested whilst carrying a ladder at 11.45pm; if this alone didn’t look suspicious, the culprit tried to pass himself off as Santa Claus. He nearly got away with it as well- the only thing that gave him away was the foul language that he uttered when the local constable tried to divest him of his false beard upon arrival at the local nick.

It turned out not to be a false beard after all, and if he had kept his mouth shut he may have got away with it. I suppose the lack of sleigh and reindeer may have been an issue but a clever person could have used their absence as an explanation for the ladder.

I should think this is the reason that he’s been quiet for the last few weeks; the local nick doesn’t have WiFi in the cells, so he’s been a little limited until they released him on bail.

His case comes up at Easter, so if any of you want anything from the club shop I would recommend that you put your order in before then.

[trusty220]

Sometimes you just can’t see the wood for the trees and I find it best to move on and do something else for a while. Come back to it once you’ve had a break and (in my experience) you’ll probably find the problem quite quickly.

Above all else do not get disheartened. See you at Malvern.

[trusty220]

It looks like Shopkeeper has appointed himself my campaign manager. Well, he’s never failed up to now so it looks like I’m going to have to go with the flow.

It did seem a little on the quiet side over Christmas and the fact that the Fenland Ladies’ Guild has suspended their activities temporarily may go some way to explaining it. In contrast Shopkeeper has been hiding his light lately because he has been extremely busy over the Christmas holiday.

Last November somebody in his village noticed that he had an extending ladder hanging on the wall in his garage and put his name forward as lead climber in the Fenland Mountain Rescue Service. Never one to let people down, Shopkeeper rose to the challenge and has managed to rescue three cats, one budgerigar and chased two squirrels from one end of the village to the other. The fact that he was missed off the New Year’s Honour List was purely an oversight, and I’m told that he has been put on top of the list for next year.

Never mind, Steve; if you get missed off again I’ll nominate you as club Chairman for next year!

[trusty220]

A cracking restoration, Chris. I’ve no idea who made the plough even though it looks professionally produced.

It’s interesting how the manufacturer has got around using too much metal (and adding weight) by using the knife coulter and beam to do both sides, and the pivot just changes the boards over. Very clever and very simple.

Whilst not a rare machine, you certainly don’t see them around the rallies very much. I will look forward to seeing this one!

[trusty220]

We are all so sorry to hear your news, Dave. I’m sure that everyone wishes that things turn out better for you in 2016.

Geoff

[trusty220]

And there was me thinking it was a kids’ programme…….!

[trusty220]

Many a true word spoken in jest, Alan. I wonder how many of our club members could say that they have had similar experiences?

It’s all too easy these days with online auction sites and buying stuff from a photograph.

[trusty220]

That’s almost it apart from any mention of the Fenland Ladies’ Guild, Fenland Dawn or even Snow White! But I think we’d better leave that one well alone seeing as he’s been quiet for quite some time.

Mind you, I haven’t heard him called an Elf before even though he’s been called quite a few choice words- this is one that I’m going to have to add to my list. Maybe it stands for, “Elderly Lincolnshire Flyer”, although his wings have been clipped a bit lately since his beard caught fire after standing too close to the Vulcan when it was running up last year. We told him not to stand too close, but he was adamant that he had to get that authentic “rustic” finish on his marsh mallows. Apart from all the plastic on his glasses melting in the heat he was lucky to get away with just a singed beard, but I understand the team at Doncaster have banned him from any future engine runs.

Good job really- we’d have a job to find someone to run the club shop if anything happened to him!

[trusty220]

I’ve been having a ferret around this afternoon and all I could find is a very worn copy of a parts list which has a torn front cover with part of the listing for the carburretor missing. The wording on the front says, “J.A.P. Model 16H Two-Stroke engine as fitted to Landmaster Model L150”, so it sounds like the engine that you’ve got.

If you want me to scan it send me a PM with your email address on and I will send it to you as an attachment.

Geoff

[trusty220]

It is quite possible that the engine could have stayed in stock for twelve months or more, either in stock with the manufacturer or with Landmaster. There are some large discrepancies with the Trusty numbering, and it is probably down to the factory “Doing a deal” to buy up any old stock that may be hanging around at the engine manufacturer’s.

A great case in point is the distribution of Norton engines. By looking at the numbering it looks like a large batch of engines (probably war-surplus) was bought and put on the shelf to be used over a prolonged period.

Don’t always use the engine number as gospel- it is a good starting point if nothing else is available, but it can be misleading in such cases.

[trusty220]

I think that I may have been a little optimistic with my original photo. Apart from a very witty response, it seems to have stumped you all. Here’s another picture to liven it up a bit. Hopefully somebody may recognise it!

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[trusty220]

It sounds like you need to open the main jet to get some more fuel to flow through. The engine starts on the excess fuel that floods into the venturi (and there can be quite a lot), but once this is used up it reverts to running through the main jet if you have any amount of throttle on.

Once you have the engine running at about 1500 rpm with no nasty coughs or splutters (you achieve this by setting the throttle and adjusting the main jet in and out until it runs smoothly), you can then start to decrease the revs slowly. As the butterfly starts to close right down the main jet then becomes redundant and the engine draws fuel through a series of pin holes alongside the butterfly. The fuel mixture to these is controlled by the screw that is alongside the barrel and the further out you unscrew it the weaker the mixture gets.

The pinholes also act as a gradual acceleration device so that there is no hesitation on opening the throttle. Once you think you have the setting about right on this slow running jet, open the throttle a few times to make sure you get a smooth response. If it hesitates and then picks up it needs more fuel and so you need to richen the mixture (screw it inwards).

I hope that helps.
Geoff

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