[vhgmcbuddy]

Hi bmterrier i have left you a p message

[vhgmcbuddy]

As promised, here’s the motor, dissassembled.
The brushholder bracket is branded “ELLETROMOTORI CARAMELLA, ITALIA” which I presume is the motor manufacturer. I can’t find much info regarding them.

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[vhgmcbuddy]

More help required. Having removed the engine I am having difficulty in removing the base plate to get at the crankshaft. I have removed 5 bolts and 2 locating pins and inserted a blade around 2/3rds of the base but it refuses to budge close to the cylinder block. Is there anything else I need to do before I do some irreparable damage? Do I need to take any precautions regarding upsetting the valves to piston timing?

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[vhgmcbuddy]

Dear Friends,

Am looking for a Howard Rotovator to hire and use, anyone with one, let me know

[vhgmcbuddy]

I have a complete rota assembly spare e-mail fosterdavid094@gmail.com regards Dave

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thanks wrist pin. A utube video confirmed your suggestion of a puller. I knocked one up this afternoon without using any welding by placing a nut behind the friction plate and locking it on the long 8 mm bolt with a spanner as shown in my pics. The bolt head should be a hex. 8mm but it was all I had. It worked a treat. Next step, remove engine and get to crankshaft. The stay at home advice does have some benefits.

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[vhgmcbuddy]

Your sump guard is actually the friction disc that supports the blade and allows it to slip if you hit something . Description aside they can be a bit of s B****r to get off. Remove the fuel tank and turn the machine upside down and fill the blade bolt hole with a proper penetrating/ releasing fluid such as Plus Gas, leave to soak for a couple of days Topping up as necessary. Diesel is an acceptable substitute and some people swear by a home brew of automatic transmission fluid and acetone. WD is a waste of time.
A puller needs to pick up on the two holes near the centre, not around the circumference, and can be made with a piece of steel bar and a couple of bolts. Last resort is plenty of heat around the boss but try a good soak first.
Assuming that you have a Briggs and Stratton engine, A new con rod can probably be obtained from a BS stockist – quote the full Model, Type and Code Numbers stamped into the engine cowling or muffler shield, but I’d check that the crank is recoverable before ordering.

[vhgmcbuddy]

And finally where will it end indeed!
Top this one!
I’m sure a lot have seen a certain Progress Tractor for sale recently,which I would say is definitely on the rare stakes.Some could say how do you price such a thing,others would say the Market as a habit of responding.
Tonight Mr Wallingfield has gone looking for tie straps,its just rather fortunet he holds import and Export licenses.The tractor is going to Malawi to be used by a Charity on their Farms!

[vhgmcbuddy]

Obviously not purchasing from the right place!
Toro agents,the best one is Direct Mowers,A Earnest Doe Company
I happen to run Toro’s in my business,they knock the spots off any Honda or Mountfield, and are far better priced than Hayter and yet Hayter is owned by them!
Regards
Andrew

[vhgmcbuddy]

I must admit it has crossed my mind to switch to a Wico A series mag, should the prices for overhaul be prohibitive. They seem to be very plentiful second hand, and I see from reading other posts that yourself and others have had some success repairing them! Would mean sacrificing some originality, but might be a more affordable route to get the machine running!

[vhgmcbuddy]

Hi Mike
Sorry, mine has a Wico series a, your mag is similar to but not identical to the mag on my A5. So can’t really help, hopefully Charlie can be more help than me.

[vhgmcbuddy]

PS, if anyone has a type 50 (or any other simar, all comparisons welcome) handy I’d be really interested to see how the mag is mounted. Mine was bolted down by it’s baseplate onto studs in the top of the gearbox casting, but also has a face plate fitted as if for flange mounting, but this was not connected to anything… See photos in previous post!

[vhgmcbuddy]

So, things aren’t looking too good with regards to the magneto, popped the cover off to check the points today and was greeted by a rusty corroded mess.

Still can’t identify which Lucas magneto it actually is, even after hours of trawling through websites, which makes trying to find parts nigh on impossible. I have emailed several firms offering overhauls, looking forward to some eye-watering quotes after the weekend 😀

If any of you good people have an idea as to which mag this thing is I’d be super pleased to hear! As is so often the case when googling anything Villiers, amal, jap, Lucas etc there is an impenetrable mass of information pertaining only to motorcycles out there, everything else seems to fall through the cracks. Still, such is the joy of playing with this old stuff!

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[vhgmcbuddy]

Thanks to dorigny for your encouragement. I wondered why they fitted mudguards to some of them, I guess they prevented the branches from getting damaged by the wheels. It would have been interesting to hear more from the guy who’d worked on the Clearway development.
I used the machine in the eightees. As you said it was very good for rough grass, with the hydrostatic drive, and large wheels.
It had had a hard life before we got it, it belonged to a contractor, and was probably in constant use during the growing season.
After getting the engine running, I’ve not been able to get to the machine due to the lockdown. Fortunately I’d brought the old deck home, so I was able to order a laser cut steel disc etc, and get on with the deck fabrication.
I’ll post some more pictures when I get back to work on it.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Some pictures of the deck build.

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