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Decided to sell my potato lifter, originally off a Trusty walk behind tractor from the 50s but adapted to fit a ride-on, works really well. £75.

The battery on the C-81 stopped holding it's charge, so today I got a new one. Fitted it and tried to start the tractor. It does usually take a bit of spinning after standing for a while, but starts up after maybe 15 - 20 seconds. This time no go. Connected one of those plug testers and a good spark was evident. Off with the air filter and sprayed petrol in the carb. Fired up and then stopped. Did this a few times, all to no avail. Check the float bowl for dirt. Nice and clean but would not go back on. The seal kept dropping down. So off with the carb, bowl on and back on with the carb. The short fuel pipe 'tween carb and pump was a bit iffy, so I fitted a new piece. Before fitting the carb end, I decided to see if fuel was getting through the pump. Turn the engine over and...…….nothing. Then the penny dropped. I tried with FUEL TURNED ON. Runs now. DOH!

No its done darn sarf as well, I was trying to start my old B115 Horse at Ardingly a few years back "Have you switched the fuel on ?" asked Mr Showman Doh !

No its not.

That chap on the tractor is giving an excellent demonstration.

my birthday is today 19/07/2018 I have tried unsuccessfully to enter it under todays birthday I am 71 years old

I first read that as BOMB. My excuse is I didn't sleep to well last night.

Nice bit of engineering.

Got quite a bit done today. Took the wheels up to the farm and burnt out the centres. Back home and into the lathe to clean them up. Then it was the turn of the hubs. They had to be bored out from 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 bore. The eagle eyed will have noticed a chunk out of that hub. Not my doing. Like that when I got it. Honest Guv! The sleeves, as they now are, were inserted into the hubs. The sleeves were dimpled through the hub securing bolt holes and the bolts fitted. Next I drilled through hub and sleeve, tapping out 3/8 UNC to take a couple of grub screws. New keys were then made and then the assemblies fitted the drive shafts. I was going to fit two grub screws in each hub, but two was all I could find. So a good day in the workshop and that part of whatever is going to evolve finished. Next thing I think will be a chassis.

With the above done the time had come to mount the bearing that holds the shaft out of the transfer box up. Here it is roughly in place, the foot rest thingy still needs a little trimming at this point. The next four photo's were taken from video footage I took quite a while back, but they are handy for showing a part I had to make. The end of the shaft in the TB has splines which as we all know have a little play in them. To hold the shaft in exactly the righ place I make up this collar/sleave/thingy.. Which slides over the shaft and when flat against the plate hold the shaft in the right place. Skipping forward in time again the collar/sleave/thingy has been tacked in place. Once the bearing is mounted it will be removed. The old steel mesh was removed from the foot rest (I have some new mesh which matches the exhaust guard) and a nice strong bearing mounting plate welded on. Oh, the top tube has also been sliced off and welded back on with a nice strong steel bar inside for extra strength. A view from the back, I need to get a half link to shorten the chain and make a tensioner thingy. One thing I was worried about was how much the chain would stick through the footrest... As you can see it doesn't stick though at all.. Me happy with that And that is where I have got too, with a bit of luck I will have more time next week to spend at the workshop..