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I've been looking for a decent Oil Can that will serve my elderly Myford ML7 for some time. New quality pump oilers are not cheap, have unsuitable nozzles, or too big. Much sought after, old quality ones like Braimes or some Westcos would do, but I stumbled over a little gem a few days ago and saved it from the bin. I like to delve into history of items that I find and to my surprise, I find loads of it, so I'll include some here in case some may also be interested. This is the Joseph Lucas Ltd No 40. 1/4 pint Oiler- The pics are after I had to fully clean it out to a dry state due to joint damage/leaks around the Plunger - Body collar and the base of the spout. Joints were cleaned out and re soldered. This Oiler version is shown in a 1924 Advertisement that describes it's purpose as tool for use on small Cars and Cyclecars and sold for 7 shillings and 6 pence (37.1/2 new pence today). There was also a bracket which you could purchase at the cost of 1 shilling (5 pence) to fit on the under bonnet (hood) bulkhead, or in the toolbox of the car to stow the Oiler safely. Noted that some examples sold at Auto Auctioneers were claimed to be part of the Toolkit for Bentley, Rolls Royce etc!, but I suspect they would have been nickel plated if supplied to them. The makers name is that of the Automotive Electrical suppliers of dynamos, lights, relays etc of recent years. With the joint repairs done and cleaned up, I gave it just a light clean over the rest of it and had no intention of attempting to remove, clean the age scarring or dents. The only real damage was the broken off threaded tip of the spout where, according to Lucas' info, it had a little cap screwed on the tip for whe not in use. The tip being broken was not usable like this, so I managed to identify the thread form from the 2 remaining full threads and established it to be 1/8" Whitworth (40 threads per inch). Spookily, Whitworth is the basis of the creation of the 'Model Engineer Series' thread form in 1909 and I have a set of those Taps and Dies, so sorted that issue. Took some measurements and some hard Brass and made the parts as close to the original as poss, but not fussed with accuracy- Soldered the tip in place- So there it is. Even the original leather washers are still fine. I'm always impressed with things that were made then, for example this can has the number 428 stamped on the handle as a production number and the base has a 'G' stamped in representing the individual who checked it for quality over 90 years ago. Regards

Update. Back in 2017 I replaced the seat cover with a red cover. I tried to fir it up but to no avail. I put in a new battery and though it turned over it just did not fired up. In 2018 I took it to my mate Chris who swapped the engine over with another Wisconsin. He swapped the carbs over and a few ignition components plus replaced the exhaust with another pepper pot one. It turned over but would just not fire but hampered by time and lack of space I collected it back off Chris and displayed it at Tractor Fest today. The smell of stale petrol was noticeable and the chap who was running the Howard's parts store suggested that I drain the stale fuel. With his help the fuel was drained (golden yellow) and with the help from Scott who is a member of MOM and a Bolens 850 owner, replaced the plug and reset the gap. I refilled the fuel tank with fresh petrol with added Redex. It spluttered and farted but came alive with clouds of smoke which eventually cleared. The long and short of it is that it fired up and runs very well and all the gears moves smoothly. A few tweaks such as inserting a new choke and throttle cables for example. Up to date photos will follow shortly.

Good to meet all of you at Biddenden Tractor Fest today and apologies to anyone I missed. Too much time spent talking and I didn't leave until 7:30pm with a sore throat! I didn't realise how many other people had also found themselves suffering at the hands of thieves. It seems that nothing is sacred these days! Doesn't matter what it is some bugger will take it away from you if they get the chance. Anyway I met some very interesting people and handed out fifty of my leaflets so let's hope that my tractor will turn up sometime. Regards to all, TCS.

Possibly has a pulse tube from the crankcase.