[vhgmcbuddy]

I have now spent a couple of weekends trying to sort the garage out, making it into a workshop ready for the warmer weather. I’ve now made myself a bench, got myself a little lathe, sorted out the pillar drill and so forth so it is all systems go for a gearbox rebuild.

I have found some Whitworth helicoils which is all to the good. There are no promises, but I hope to get to a show sometime this year and display both my Colebys off to the general public. I suspect one will be work in progress but the other one runs quite happily at the moments, but seems to need a bit of attention to the clutch, I suspect that it needs a bit of a service. Unfortunately the inspection covers are seized (on both Colebys) so the machine will need to be taken apart to gain access.

Hampering progress at the moment is my finger. I managed to cut it with a bread knife resulting in 5 stitches 3 months back and having had a chat with some clever medical people a few days ago, they seem to think that I need surgery to get it back to normal. If that really is the case, the Coleby will have to take back seat again, not a position I want to be in going into Spring.

[vhgmcbuddy]

A Merry Tiller with a 5cwt truck would be ideal.The MT (with wheels fitted instead of the rotors) fits on a turntable and makes the truck very manouverable.Do a search on Google.I just sold mine a few months ago.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I have a Ransomes Turf Trak four wheeled mini tractor fitted with a front loader which I use for carrying things up and down our drive particularly the wheelie bins which I can take two at a time.A lawn tractor with the deck removed is a useful tow tool.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thanks for that .I’ve rubbed down the chassis , but can’t really tell the original paint.There are four different colours , the most recent are orange and yellow , the older colours are green and blue but I can’t see which one was first.
Did they come out of the factory a particular colour or could the customer choose ?

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thankfully I do have the pegs however everything around them is badly seized, I have removed the wheels to free off and repair. I have now stripped the entire machine to remove sludge and inspect internals. So far I have only found one worn bearing on the main pto shaft and all oil seals badly worn. I have dropped off the mill housing at a friend of mine to have rust removed and carry out some fabrication. I am now in the process of making a complete gasket set and I have sent the head gasket and manifold gasket away for reproduction.
Yes Charlie I have seen Sean’s amazing restoration on his Simar. He is my inspiration for my restoration. His descriptions and photos are excellent and nice and easy to follow. I may start a thread in the projects forum if that’s ok by admins.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Hi Roatavator, thanks for the pictures. Sadly something is not right internally. The inner hubs do not move at all, I have removed the forward clutch assembly but was going to be too loud to drive out the roll pin required to remove the remaining half of the clutch from the main shaft. That will have to wait to tomorrow! I have had a look over the engine and the main bearings are in bad shape. Do you have a good method for flywheel removal? I can’t see how to attach a puller. I thought about splitting the crankcase and using a press however am worried the force may break the engine casing. As for the gearbox itself it is full of sludge so I feel a complete strip down is warranted. Also there is evidence of leakage at the gear casings so I will make up completely new gaskets and replace the oil seals. It will be a long slow project but I am 100% committed and have access to some very clever engineers!

[vhgmcbuddy]

I think most household insurance policies cover for theft from sheds. If not then you could change to one that does or amend your own. You just have to work out what it is worth to you to see if it falls within the insurance cover. Purchase price, anything you have spent on it and what it would cost to replace should you need to. Keep an eye for adverts to give you an idea of sale price. I like that, would like one myself, that’s the trouble with looking on this forum. Got enough projects already.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I go full choke until it fires, if it does not start I go to half choke on second pull.
My two stroke drill is a Stihl ex british rail.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I have always tried to start on 1/2 choke. As per the manual. I will try your method.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Just had a thought, Ransome 256. Posted his starting procedure. Neil, you don’t mention opening the choke after flooding. Do you start the Engine using full choke? Or 1/2 choke?

[vhgmcbuddy]

Well my £9.46 ignition coil arrived from China and guess what ? it was wrong, the mounting holes were 64mm apart rather than 59mm.
So I ordered a genuine one from a dealer at a cost of £45 and guess what ? it was made in China.
Anyway my rotavator started 1st pull despite standing for over 2 years & having stale fuel.
Lastly a big thanks to this forum & especially wristpin for his help.

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[vhgmcbuddy]

Update.
Well, I have replaced the Magnito coil. (Thanks to Neil Jarret) After a bit of mucking about I got it to start on Saturday.
Once running, it performed perfectly. No misfires. A nice steady beat. Tick over was slow enough for the clutch to disengage. Acceleration was smooth with no flat spots.
I took it for a short run round the yard before parking it up.
Today I started it again. Still a bit fiddly, but a lot better than before.
I am tracking down a Two Stroke post hole drill and I am going to see if it can be adapted to use as a starter.
I will keep you all informed.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Finally, have you seen Sean’s excellent restoration of a 56? The link may help you with yours.

Simar 56A Rototiller – Serial No. 561621

[vhgmcbuddy]

Here’s the second photo

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[vhgmcbuddy]

If you engage forward gear and turn engine over, if the inner castellated hub is turning then all you need to do is follow my advice above. The photos show first the forward drive ratchets then the pawls which allows the machine to reverse.

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