[wristpin]

I think I’ve found an air filter but everyone I ask so far has told me to re-use the old engine oil filter as they are no longer available. Help!!

Chances are that BSP threads are used on both. Would it be feasible for a man with an ology – and a lathe- to make an adaptor to fit the available filter ?

[wristpin]

A while ago I had a 350 with an intermittent loss of spark. I found that the insulation on the wire that ran from the back of the magneto, across the back of the block, through a metal clip to the points, had hardened and cracked and was shorting out. As time was at a premium, rather than dismantling the mag to replace the whole length, I clipped the connector off at the points end, slid a length of heat shrink insulation over the entire exposed length and reconnected it to the points.

[wristpin]

Ha! Glad that someone else falls victim to predictive text. I never associated Neverbend with Spear and Jackson unto I Googled them. I wonder whether Neverbend was once a stand alone brand or have always been within the Spear and Jackson portfolio.

[wristpin]

I have some Neverbend spades and forks, inherited from my parents. My guess is that they bought them in 1934 when Dad retired from the Army and they had their first permanent home where they lived until the late 80s.
Edit. The blade of the spade is not worn that short, the iPad image has distorted it a bit!!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by wristpin.

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[wristpin]

First off was to remove the grassbox and carrying brackets- I’ve got enough lumps on my shins from walking into Mastiff brackets so I’m determined not to add to the collection.

When it comes to the ability to inflict injury while not running and stationary I think that the prize may go to the extended axles on the Auto Certes and later Super Certes, with my Stiga/Mountfield bendy’s towing drawbar a close runner up.

[wristpin]

Certainly the Mini that reached production had the BMC A series engine; that’s not to say that other engines were not considered but I’ve never heard of the Reliant connection. The Hillman Imp had a version of a Coventry Climax lump, originally designed for portable fire pumps. In the Imp it was dry liner, I have an original Rootes workshop manual- and the original £15pa tax disc for my Imp, the second one sold by the local Rootes dealer in May 1963. Wish I still had it.
As far as working on wet liner lumps goes, it’s standard practice to fit “ keepers” that bridge across the block and edge of a liner to stop the lifting off the bottom seal, often a big O ring. Until that’s done the crank must not be rotated.

[wristpin]

The engine is obviously OHV, so was it built for the original Mini – 750cc, low HP (27? 35?)

Are you sure ?

[wristpin]

The split pin is there to stop the rings turning in the groove. As a 2 stroke it is important that the ring gap does not line up with any of the ports in the cylinder bore, this could happen if the rings did not have the split pin to prevent then moving.

Seems a fairly crude way of achieving the desired result. Is the split pin an original feature or some “Bush mechanic’s” bodge after a happening of some sort?
Even Villiers have a more elegant way of doing it.

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[wristpin]

An uninformed guess, check for air leaks.

[wristpin]

To remove gudgeon pin (wristpin) remove the clips part number 10297, see parts manual plate 2 for illustration.

If it’s an alloy piston, with clips removed, suspend it in a pan of boiling water for five minutes and it will probably expand enough to allow the pin to be just pushed out. Failing that make a tool similar to this to push it out. No apologies for its rather crude appearance as I made it in about 1960 when playing with Lambretta scooters. Amazing how many pins it’s pushed out on a variety of engines since then.

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[wristpin]

Ah, looks like we are talking about a different product, but even so the blurb for your tin seems to be saying that it’s for “penetrating wood” preservation, not as in penetrating rusted / frozen metal components. However, if it works for you, so be it.

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[wristpin]

#38778

aquila787

Participant
I bought a can of owatrol oil yesterday. Supposed to be good. I’ll try it and see.

No one commented when the above was posted, but……
Owatrol is a paint additive or patina preservative, not a penetrating oil.
Plus Gas is probably the best proprietory penetrant – preferably in a can and not aerosol. Diesel of either colour or Kero is very good, particularly if the parts can be dropped into a bucket of it and left for a few days.
Our transatlantic cousins seem to favour a home brew of Automatic Transmission Fluid and Acetone.

[wristpin]

Try a known good condenser.

[wristpin]

Any decent machine shop should be able to bore it but finding an oversize piston and rings may be a different matter. Villiers Parts or L and C Engineering may be able to help. Villiers Services, although motor cycle orientated, may be worth a try.

[wristpin]

As far as I know the 350 ( and the earlier 300 and later 352) was always a stand alone cultivator and not a multi purpose tool carrier.

[Author]

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