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I was allowed an hour in the workshop by the boss last night and despite being very tired I managed to get a reasonable amount done. Posting it here makes it feel like progress. I checked out the shaft as suggested by OldBuzzard and it does not have the tab at the end, which suggests it is a 1977. Picture of the end of the shaft As with most of these tractors the wiring has tangled with the pulleys or belts at some point in the past so sorting that out was the first job of the evening. I then moved to the starter which was seized. The starters on these engines are held on with two bolts through a tab underneath and some have a third tab at the top. I am sure wiser people than me will know why some have the third tab and some don't. The starter on this engine had the third tab which meant that the fuel tank and the bracket holding the tank and hood strap had to come off first. I took the starter apart cleaned it up and it now works great. Whilst I had the tank off I cleaned it out made sure the tap worked as expected. It was then just a case of putting it all back together and getting indoors before I got into trouble. Iain

That's where I'll be getting my tyres from.

Have a look at " all terrain tyres" there down in cornwall, ive bought all my tyres from them and find them very helpfull

A long while ago I read about someone using linseed oil thinned with white spirit to preserve an old Standard Fordson. Never tried it myself but it was said to preserve the original patina and give a pleasing appearance.

Hi Old Buzzard In the UK it is named Owatrol oil RIP But the one you are looking for is Owatrol oil CIP. brush off flaky rust then apply oil with a brush very thin coat and let dry then re coat again. I used a cap of a de-icer can. 2 caps did my Clifford that you see You can use it as an under coat as well have tried it and it works well I painted it in June of 2014 it looks the same as when I did it It is a air dried oil does not seem to leave fingerprints when it is dry and dust does not stick to it All in all I am very happy with the product George S

it was a pleasure to help ian, and i dont know which one of us had the biggest smile on there face when we rolled it out into the sunlight, i can honestly say people just dont understand the work that goes into projects like this, and you hav"nt taken any short cuts this machine will be stunning when finished

I read that somewhere before. Ride ons, after quad bikes and small machinery, are often targeted by thieves to sell on. One of my customers a few years back had thier ride on stolen and they claimed it off the house insurance but didn't get a market value for it.

Me too Good progress has been made made today, both steel blocks have been bored out to take the lengths of steel that pivot in the rose joints.. Jumping slightly forward here as I forgot to take photo's of all the stages.. Both pivot thingys have been drilled and a thread tapped to keep the rose joints in position, and both pivot thingys were press fitted into the block.. a nice tight fit they were too You may of also noted from the above photo that the whole thing has been put in the lathe so I can cut a few tapers... If your wondering it span quite straight only a 1mm out of true.. Quite chuffed with that Stub axle installed, another tight pressure fit.. I still need to weld it all together, and yes the bearing will be coming off before the hot sparks fly.. I'm rather happy with how this front end lark is coming together

thought i supplied the teabag

My eye's are a bit sore today, which is always a sign I've been doing lot's of welding!! And yes I did use a mask Starting with something small patch at the front.. Chopped.. And patched back up.. Only a bit longer.. Rear panels mostly tacked in place... I was standing on the GT 14+2's seat to get this high up photo Mostly welded up and hit with red oxide to get it all one colour.. When I first put the pan back on I wasn't sure I liked the shape or not.. Maybe the "dropped" bit's should of gone down at an angle? Maybe the top of the drops should have more curve? Anyway, with a seat plonked on and a couple of exhausts sticking it looks a little better.. What do you guy's think?

Thanks Iain... My plan to get the back looking right? See below Ta muchly Andrew.. An armchair is an interesting thought, but there isn't the space.. The photo's make things look wider than they are.. This morning started with some cardboard templates to try and work out what would look right.. But before I could turn the cardboard into steel I need to A... Make the center bit first.. And B.. Find some steel to make it out of! Treasures from the scrap pile Adding a curve to the center bit.. Yes that is a broom handle I'm about to fold the metal around As it turned out the curve was a tad too tight so it was reshaped around a scaffold pole.. As Nigel (thanks mate ) has a bead rolling machine I thought I'd put it to good use and roll the traditional Wh swage line in the back.. And now the part which ties the arches and center section together... I need to tweak the shape a little and add the swage line tomorrow, then it can be welded in... I have to say I'm quite chuffed about how the back end has come together A view from underneath.. The flanges will be staying as they will add a handy bit of strength to things once they are plug welded together. The flange will also be used for mounting the fender pan, keeping the mounting bolts nicely hidden away..

So today I decided I'd have a look at the fender pan and seat mounting... There is only one way to work out where the seat will go.... Yep, that feels about right This is the start of the seat/fender pan mounting frame, I do need to add more but I need the fender pan to fit first so I can work out what's what.. Hhmm... The fender pan needs a bit of work to make it fit.. It need to be wider and the bit the seat bolts onto need to be about 6 inches lower!! Let's tackle the widening bit first.. The original fender pan was very rotten in the middle and at the back, but I kept the "arches" parts should they come in handy one day A 2 1/4 section was sliced from the spares arch and plonked roughly in place.. Due to fender pans having lot's of different curves and contours a few tweaks will be needed A bit of cutting and welding later and the fender pan was wider one side with matching curves up top.. Oo-er missus The front and back don't quite line up, but I can't work that bit out until the center of the fender pan is in place.. You can see how much wider it is compared to the left side. And that Gent's is this build up to date other than....... A video

Thanks Andrew, there isn't much planning going on, but plenty of thinking does happen I don't think I'm working at a fast pace.. I would like to get more done faster than I am doing but my brain and body can only handle so much! After lot's of turning the lump of green painted steel in the lathe in my last update turned into this spacer/brake hub thingy.. Next up in the lathe was a stripped down wheel hub.. Notched.. The spacer/brake hub thingy is a perfect fit And now for the brake disc starting with this 5 inch square of 5mm thick steel... I've no idea what the coating is or what they do during the manufacturing process but this steel is very hard stuff which is quite handy for a brake disc, but it makes it a right pig to turn on the lathe! Getting there.. Almost there... Spacer thingy and disc.. It all fit's inside the wheel... Just A hint of things to come... I can't do anymore brake or steering work until some carbide cutting tips and some rather hefty rose joints turn up.. It will be nice to get away from the lathe for a while anyway

Thanks Mark. Were never too old to learn Chris Thanks Richard.. It's all guess work really An update for you chaps.. Both front wheels are now re centered and fully welded up... Here's the second wheel. And now onto something new for me.. Making a front end that is not only strong, handles and steers well, but also has brakes.. As you will of seen in my last update I toyed with the brakes idea, yesterday was the day to see if I could make it work.. But rather than cutting and turning steel I made a fake brake disc from scrap ally just to see what could be made to fit.. The disc is 5" diameter and 4mm thick.. Time to dig out a bit of history.. One of the twin caliper mounting plates.. And the "Stig Double pumper" both of which were part of my 6X6's ill fated brake steer system.. It's a tight, but a Qwakasaki Gpz305 caliper will just about fit in the wheel rim.. Even better is I can get the steering pivot points rather close to the wheel, the bottom one might even fit inside the wheel which will make for better steering If you think of this wheel as the left side with the caliper at the rear inside and the ruler being the pivot point you will get the idea.. So now I know my brake idea can be made to fit I need a way of mounting the brake disc to the inside of the wheel hub... Lot's of measuring and scribbling later, a plan... Off cut's of steel are always handy to have about the place The start of the first wheel hub brake adapter thingy.... And this Gent's brings the build up to date..

Hi Andrew, yes maybe about half way now... Once I have tacked the last of the hard/big stuff which is the front end steering and brakes, the rest should be fairly easy to sort... But there is a lot of "easy stuff" to get done