[vhgmcbuddy]

both myself and john little have tried to contact mark woodward about a club stand at Edinburgh the form was sent in early last month but no response from mark, dave

[vhgmcbuddy]

Getting the wheels off can be a total pig of a job

Yes undo the grub screw. The key way needs to be pulled out in which most cases has been knocked in to far in the past!! I bet yours will be the same. I have been known to smash off the cast part which you have removed the grub screw from. Yes I did have some spares!!

You can get the exhaust off with out removing the wheel but if not then easier to remove the engine

Just jack up the machine to change tyres if you cant get the wheels off. They to can be harder than hard to remove. Have your swear box at the ready!! Again I have cut plenty off in the past

Good luck!

Chris

[vhgmcbuddy]

Yes, I am of the conclusion a thread gauge is a must. I did sent the bolt off to the above mentioned company who very quickly identified it as BSF and sent me 6 new shiny ones which fit perfectly. I now have the bolts, new felt washers and new oil seals which once put back together should solve my tiller oil leak on my mk1 Clifford Rotavator!

[vhgmcbuddy]

The advice to get a thread gauges and thread guide is good advice, one Imperial and one Metric will cover any eventualities, plus in my case a Jewelers eye glass to see! It can be confusing for example the petrol tap on a Villiers engine is not 3/8″ BSF or UNF, it is in fact 1/8″ Pipe thread, thats why you need a Thread Gauge! Plonker

[vhgmcbuddy]

I have original unit complete with box, if you need photo and dimensions let me know, also have f15 spares etc.
Best regards
Ian.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I have now fitted an electronic magneto but unfortunately broke the pull start return spring
There seems to be a centre bolt holding the mechanism together but it is Very tight and I wonder what the secret to undoing it is?

Could it be a left-hand thread? What engine do you have?

[vhgmcbuddy]

As promised a drawing of part 16135 – Friction disc uploaded in case this might be useful to others at a future time.

The Dog clutch I snow being repaired by brazing a new layer of material onto the sealing surface ready for turning. I left to cool yesterday rather than re-hardening so will heat and quench in oil later in the week, a good excuse to change the engine oil on the different mowers

Attachments:

1. jrw-26.pdf

[vhgmcbuddy]

Managed to strip out the rotor of my Gem to compare with the Yeoman rotor.

The gearchain cover gasket is different so will have to cut a new one from cork which luckily I have some cork available

The tines are the same the Gem so new ones can bought (the old ones were very worn)

The rotor friction plates are of a different to the Gem, I will try to generate a drawing for reference in case anyone else needs one at a later date and suggest alternatives luckily there is some life left in the current ones.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I managed to get the dog off the gear with the help of the oxy acetelane torch. There is bad pitting on the dog which I will try to repair with metal filler and then turn and polish again. I was trying to avoid the heat and associated annealing but could not find any other method in the end. Apart from the pitting on the sealing surface looks in good condition.

[vhgmcbuddy]

This Peerless lubrication chart may be useful in the future. Interestingly there’s no 1216 listed but there is 1316, maybe the chart doesn’t go back far enough or it just comes under the 1200 series?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/98jk0on0inxna53/Peerless%20lube%20specs0001.pdf?dl=0

[vhgmcbuddy]

If it’s a Peerless 6 or 800 series ‘box the recommended lubricant was Bentonite grease which, they said, resisted heat build up. What they didn’t say was that it tended to dry out not reach the areas where it was needed. If we ever had to open a ‘box to replace selector keys or bearings we used to refill with a semi-fluid grease. The slight downside to that was that because of the construction with open-ended bushes and no proper seals there was sometimes a little seepage if too light a grade of grease was used. In practice, this was not enough to cause a problem.
As has been said, the noise from the ‘box is probably normal – just not masked by the absent i/c lump.

[vhgmcbuddy]

From memory of a long time ago the Hirth does get difficult to start. Usually needs the starting fuse and a really strong rapid crank over. They seem to have a relatively poor reputation amongst those who know (ie VHGMC members!)
But the 700 Hirth is a very rare beast now. Obviously if you can’t start it you’ve got little choice. But if it could be made to start better you’d be preserving one of the few left.

[vhgmcbuddy]

I have a 700 with Hirth D24 engine, unable to start it due lack of experience with old diesel engines. Also have 2nd 700 with villiers engine running but erratic in behaviour. I am restoring 2nd unit for display and converting engine on 1st. Unit for use.

Is the 6.5 villiers strong enough for 700. I thought of going up to 9hp. So less strain on engine etc, but open to advice.i

Ian

[vhgmcbuddy]

Another query if I may? It’s definitely a Model T and according to MERL (very helpful) it was manufactured in 1947. The ‘working Instructions’ for the Model ‘T’ that I have suggest Castrol XL for the engine and machine lubrication and “In countries where it is impossible to obtain Castrol XL, any oil complying to specification S.A.E 50 may be used”.

Castrol XL appears to be SAE 30, so is SAE 30 or SAE 50 the correct oil to use in both, or doesn’t it matter? As the scythe and I are both of the same age, I would quite like to ensure that I do it no damage!

Tony DW

[vhgmcbuddy]

Thanks everyone – this is all most helpful and something I must begin to get my head around.
Certainly need to get a set of thread gauges and the Zeus tables
I have contacted NAMRICK (thanks hortiman) who were very helpful too.

I could have re-used the original ones, but they were such a pain to get out, that they are quite beaten up (I am changing the tine seals on my mk1 clifford).
I now have new seals, new felt washers and so hopefully with new bolts we will be back up and running with no oil leaks by spring!

I will post some pictures at a later date in case any one else needs to tackle the same job.

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