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Not much progress, just primed and painted.

Digging through my spares this morning I found this universal choke cable.. On the back it says it's for various triumphs, Escorts, Hillmans and an Austin Princess I guess it's rather old but it will do for HG The fender pan extension edges had a bit of a tweaking to follow the lines down and to add a bit of strength. We also reached a build milestone today.. With all the fabrication done the time had come to pull HG apart for cleaning and painting. A huge amount of grease and dirt had found it's way to the front of the gearbox over the years! Only a few small parts left to come off and strip down is done.. A good place to finish 2015

Often solenoids fail as the result of over tightening of the terminal securing nuts or failure to hold the back nuts ( if fitted) while tightening the terminal nuts. This pulls the internal contacts slightly out of line so that when the magnet pulls the contractor disc up it doesn't sit squarely against the contacts . The resulting arcing either welds it into permanent contact or the " slag" created prevents further contact. One brand of solenoid that we used had a little sticker on each one specifying a maximum torque for the terminal nuts - which of course we observed religiously ! However it was noticeable that we experienced far fewer early failures on solenoids fitted in our workshop than with those sold over the counter.

Pulled down three of the kingspan foil backed boards to runs some wires a few days ago. Can you tell which ones?

Thanks for quick replies. Key turning ok and solenoid just clicking. Going to check it over with multimeter today. Can startermotor be connected directly to 12v to test it?

Hey Andy, welcome to mom. Does the solenoid click when you turn the key? Does the starter turn?

While waiting for the local engineering firm to open again to get the 2mm top folded up for my bench i thought i would make a start on my work table. All the 40 mm box steel cut to length and a few bits of 19mm as well. Starting to lay out the frame for the work top. Size is 2000mm x 1100mm. As i am only using 2mm sheet for the top, the extra internal bars will be carrying the weight of the tractors. My floor isn't very level so i have had to make adjustable feet. All six legs complete and ready to be welded to the frame. Legs tacked on and lower braces welded in place. Everything fully welded and ready for the wire wheel and some primer. Still need to make some ramps and get a top fitted.

My late Christmas present, also got a nice little Heavy Duty dump trailer to pull behind, 325.00 for the Bolens and 100.00 for the trailer, 400 miles round trip, 28 gallons of gas at 1.52 PER GALLON

Hi all. New to forum. Just acquired a Westwood Gazelle W11. Seller said battery was flat but it would start with pullstart. Found out that the battery is ok but still won't start with starter. Is there a way of checking the starter motor and solenoid for faults? Thanks in advance. Andy

Patience will be rewarded! I'd be inclined to give it a couple of weeks before resorting to the block of wood and lump hammer! Probably marginal but at this stage its penetration thats needed more than lubrication . Plus Gas or a mix of acetone and brake or AT fluid maybe.

that looks like a tidy machine, good luck with the starter testing. Regards Joe

Yes, just jump straight to starter, if it spins then it's a duff solenoid. I've replaced two in the last year as they don't last!

Eliminate the possibility of an ignition or safety switch problem. With the switch turned to off/stop take a fly lead from the battery positive and touch it to the small ( thin wire) terminal of the solenoid. If the solenoid clicks and the starter kicks in the problem lies in the switch or the safety circuit. No result from that, you can by-pass the solenoid but this is a bit brutal and only for the brave or foolish!. Take a decent sized bit of iron (not you best screwdriver!) and bring it down squarely across the two heavy terminals on top of the solenoid but be prepared to whip it off a bit smartish! . If the starter kicks the problem is with the solenoid.

welcome andy, i have found solenoids are the problem most of the times, they are a lot cheaper to replace than the starter motor, probably best to change the solenoid first.

That's what I thought when I built mine.

Getting to the good bit soon

Welcome aboard Andy its very common on Westwood's for the solinoid to pack up on them if they have been standing a while also check the ignition switch they canbe a problem its unlikely to be the starter motor

Check earth connections. Make sure they're clean and tight. If the solenoid doesn't click like Mark says, try giving it a tap with something. It may be sticking.

Yeah I don't think the FE35 is common here in the states, I see many people looking for the TO35?, I think that's the one. I have never seen a FE35 here, but that doesn't mean much, I never seen a Red Headed Nymphomaniac Eskimo girl whose dad owns a liquor store, and I even put adverts in the paper.

Welcome to the forum, great machines those gazelle's

I've had two of these frames in my "might come in handy one day" collection for about 12 years.. Yesterday was the day to use one.. Some cutting, welding and drilling later it had turn into this spacer. Which fits here to raise the front of the fender pan up a bit.. Take a rusty and dented Gutbrod bonnet/hood.. And cut the first of two patches out of it.. Just in case your getting bored of welding shots, here's a grinding shot instead Ta-daa.. An extended fender pan at the front. Brackets were made and welded to the chassis to stop the fender pan extensions from flapping about the place..

That's fine Stormin, There are a few around the UK and other areas of the world. Thanks , I put some burning oil down them instead of diesel because it works better as a lubricant as well, will try and turn it over slowly tomorrow with a spanner, if no movement then ill leave it for a couple more days to soak. I gave it a wash today and it has a lot of the original paint on it and in fairly good condition! Regards Joe

Got a start made on a new work bench today. Three inch angle iron for legs and three building planks. Had to scribe the first plank to the wall as it was a bit wobbly. Still need to get some 2mm sheet folded up to go on top of the planks, make a shelf for underneath and mount the vice.

Thats much better now, turns out it was a bad batch of paint that was causing all the problems.