Leaderboard

Just passed my test a month or so ago. I went out an baught this so I don't have to rely on Dad driving me and the crawlers around, not bad for a first car/truck. As you can see, I was just getting used to it when I tried to park it, seems to be a bit squint !!😀 (I'm better at it now)

I hope the pictured Black Grouse Label was the stronger prescribed medication!Looking good.

My first car was a brand new 1970 Vauxhall Viva saloon. I won it in a competition. I never drove it as I didn't have a car licence. Motorcycles my thing in those days. I sold the Viva and paid back my parents the money they'd loaned me toward my first house. I also bought a 1960 Reliant Regal saloon, with a 750cc side valve engine. That was to keep the first wife happy. Didn't work. So I suppose the Reliant was my first car.

18,4 This afternoon I've finally felt up to doing some more work on the Beaver (thanks mainly to a stronger prescription for my shingles). This involved stripping the paint off the oil tank and removing the ground in name and dents. Then several coats of high build etch primer. This was then followed by several more of gloss black. In the final picture it looks like ive missed some of the inside but this is down to the trick of the flash.

Quite surprised that no one has mentioned the durability of the belts driving the decks, Back in the 70s and 80s we used to look after many Wheelhorses that were customers' everyday mowing tractor and those belts, the primary mower belt from the engine to the deck and the spindle belt that took the drive to the three cutting spindles, were the weak link when asked to cope with wet and thick UK grass. U S grass tends to be drier and coarser so the L section ( more or less equivalent to our A section) belts were fine over there but not so good here; particularly if you are using it as an orchard mower, several light cuts rather than attempting one heavy cut will get the best out of the belts. As a result of this issue we used to do a fair trade in making up 30" towed cylinder (reel) mowers by fitting draw bars to single units from triple gangs that were past their prime . Once you had got the cylinder up to speed you could bat along at a fair lick and achieve a reasonable finish. They would cover the ground far quicker than the standard rotary deck travelling at belt preserving speed.

I've been giving this a once over this morning and am very pleased. It appears to run well, on the hand start anyway , yet I'll have to rig a battery up to test the electric start option out. I will also have to plug the flow gauges into it to see what oil it's producing. About the only things that I can see wrong is it needs a new rear castor, one engine mount is perished( I believe I've got one in my spares) and the oil cooler is a bit marked( 3 brand new old stock units are sat on my shelf). I've also just had arrive a very nice sales brochure off ebay covering these machines and all their attachments, it's in full colour and 8 pages so should look good displayed with this machine. Also I've found a solitary photo on the net of these packs when new.

Was kinda reminiscing recently and got talking about my first car which was a Hillman Imp Can you remember what was your first car . Would be good to see some pics of your old Jolopy

My first car was a 1942 Austin 8 soft top, bought for £10 including a gallon size tin of body filler approx 1964. The roof leaked like a sieve. The wipers only worked when they felt like it. Started easier with the handle than on the button, but still managed to get up to Scotland and back on holiday with it. JUST. My girl friend, now wife, used to hate it when I collected her from work, as her work mates were picked up in more modern Consuls, Vauxhall's etc.

My first car was a Renault 14 GTL in metallic green with a sliding vinyl sunroof registered VJK 411T bought for £90 plus a bottle of single malt from my grandfather who retired from driving due to ill health. A fantasic car to drive and so modern and refined compared to the BL cars of that era. It failed it's MOT due to rust on the suspension turrets. Here's a photo of an example of it. I still have several photos of it somewhere..... Will try and dig them out if I can.

Ford Fiesta was my first car

That's a nice job done chris ! Any videos ?

All fitted back in the tractor, flicked the key and away she went, nice and smooth, quiet and no smoke , result !!!. Very pleased with that, job done

you guys remember those little dohickys from the governor that were broken? well i found some replacement parts, brand spanking new, well NOS actually I'm talking about these thingys hearing the engine run for the first time is getting closer now i need to search for some piston rings, don't suppose anyone has a set laying around, but if you do let me know

Mine was a 1965 Triumph Herald in Conifer green, known by my friends as the Rust Bucket. I don't have any pictures of it but this picture is from the web Iain

My first car was a 1972 Buick Riviera. Bought it cheap from my girlfriends uncle and borrowed the money from my parents. It was a big luxury car with a 454 ci engine. Suck'n gas and Haul'n ass! Don't have any pics of that car but this one looks just like it

Hi all, thanks for the encouragement and info, that's made me feel like I've got a decent machine, (I did buy it in the end). So it looks like I may be visiting here a few times in future... Cosmetically it's no showstopper, the body panels are rusted through, but it works fine mechanically which is the main thing. Looks like it's been really neglected in the past, left out in the rain, (why would anyone do that?). The cutting deck is rotted out, but there's enough left to save it I think and as mentioned the panels around the seat are rusted like a cobweb. The seller has done a good job of restoring it to working condition. It's had a couple of non-standard mods, one to the exhaust sytem, but it works ok. It came with some extras, pulleys etc. which look like they are from a previously rusted out deck. It's frustrating that I can't use it until the deck is repaired or I find a replacement. Don't suppose any of you know of a solid deck for sale, or even if there are any out there..? Is it worth looking for one? I do have a local agricultural fabricator/welder, I'll see what he says next week. Thanks again chaps, really appreciate the useful info and all, quite invaluable, have taken note of the axle bearing comments, I'll check them.... Martin

Snap! I had the first Imp sold by the local Rootes dealer in June 63 which was not without its troubles as the Imp had been rushed onto the market before being fully sorted due to Government funding and a "greenfield" factory at Linwood near Paisley, Scotland. Traded it after a year for another new Imp which was trouble free. Later had an Imp variant, the Sunbeam Stiletto. Imp0001.pdf

Heres the beast. Heres the beast. Probably dates from around 1980.

A bit of an update for you chaps, as you know he steering is finished, so here's a photo for you. The connecting arm has been moved to behind the hubs which makes the front end look neater and a lot less danger of a tree or something bending it Yes you are seeing right, that is a fake leaf spring on the front.. I will make one out of thicker metal strips just for the Hot Rod look. The fake spring mounts will also add strength to the outer edges of the axle where the big rose joints bolt onto.. Not sure if the front hitch will be staying or going, it adds to the Wheel Horse look and could be handy for fitting weights onto to keep the front end down should needs be Those with sharp eyes may of noticed a two extra somethings in the above photo, this photo might help a bit more.. The clue is, it's the thing just in front of the rear wheel.. Yep, WN now has an exhaust system. Here's the right side mount . The left side needed a step to clear the steering rod thingy.. The step will be made to look a lot neater as it will be on show.. Two foot plate thingys chopped and welded together to make a wide one. The strange cut out needs to be filled, but I might need that hole for the pedals so it can stay for now. And the view of WN which always makes me grin like a Cheshire cat on happy pills

Looks like I've done it again, tonight I've just purchased the beavers predessor, a Hydrochief Solite. About twice the size of the latter, yet only gives out the same power. It's a good job that its so rare otherwise I'd of simply told the seller to f*#k off and got back in the van. I've never had a deal that someone has had such a bad attitude!! Photos to follow on the weekend.

Looks like your most of the way there with the engine Chris, I'm glad the problems was with the gravel and not the gold engine

When i was up at Ian's helping him move, he had a spare engine sat in his shed so a deal was struck and I brought it home. Its been sat on my garage floor ever since so today I thought it was time i did something with it. Its a 12 hp pull start, so just swop a few bits over, ha ha . You'll notice I swapped the pulley and pto clutch first to see if the crank was the same