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Slow progress, but now have a finished rolling chassis that I can assemble the important bits on. Engine was the first bit to go on- Still working on the chain drive and guards on the pump side, with the 'idler'- tensioner set up being the current challenge to design and fit- Clutch Lever has been a problem, but have now finalised the handle shape and will be cut from 10mm thick block of brass. Will also have a lock lever fitted- Lots going on with other things, but will try and improve update regularity. Regards

It's been a while since I've posted on here, so I thought I would make a new thread about a project that I've started recently and try to update it regularly, hopefully it might be of interest to a few people. This machine is a bit different to most of our collection - it is a little Landmaster Super Deluxe Ride on (I believe is what they were marketed as). I bought this in April this year, having had it pointed out to us by a fellow forum member (thanks again Paul). I barely touched the tractor for a few months due to studying for exams, but since there is a couple of weeks left of the summer holidays and some of our other projects have slowed down I have finally gotten around to looking at this. Here are a couple of pictures of the tractor when we picked it up. This machine was a COVID project for the previous owner, and he made a number of modifications to the tractor. The biggest change is probably the engine swap that it has had. I am under the impression that it originally had a 4hp Briggs in it, but the previous owner said that he struggled to get parts for it, so he swapped in this 5hp model of a similar series. I have used the numbers on the engine tin to date the engine to the 15th of November 1978. From what I've seen from Paul's thread of the restoration of his Landmaster, the tractor itself was made in 1966, so the engine is 12 years younger. The previous owner told me he had it running and driving 18 months before he sold it, so a bit longer now but hopefully the engine will run without many issues. Other modifications include the chute on the side of the deck, which I quickly removed, pneumatic tyres, extensive deck repairs and the handlebars appear to have been cut off, and remounted upside-down using a T-joint. It has also been repainted, with some parts having the wrong colour on it such as the front wheels which should be white, and the engine could do with a lick of paint too, which should be white. The quality of the paint isn't the best, so probably needs some work in future Fast forward to a couple of days ago, when I began to look at this machine in more detail. I removed the handle bars and bonnet to gain better access to the engine, which seemed far more fiddly than it should have - this seems to be a pattern on this machine unfortunately! This wasn't helped by all imperial fixings being replaced with metric bolts of varying sizes. With these parts off I drained the fuel, as on this engine the carb is mounted on the fuel tank such that the tank appears to act as a fuel bowl - plus I didn't fancy pulling old fuel through the fuel system when I checked for a spark. We bought this pump years ago and have never used it for anything, beats syphoning the fuel by nearly drinking it. Glad I did drain it though, I wasn't very keen on how the old fuel looked or the sediment that was suspended in it. With the fuel drained I was happy to pull the engine over, so I used our spark plug tester to check for a spark, and as you can see below it did indeed have a spark so that's one less possible issues While I had the spark plug out (and it was easier to pull over) I took the opportunity to identify what all of the controls do. I don't have access to any sort of manual for the tractor, only for the engine so before this I wasn't sure how everything works. This uncovered a couple of issues, mainly that both the deck and drive belts coming off the engine pulley are not being disengaged enough when the clutch is pushed down, so I need to make some adjustments to allow the belts to slip when the deck is disengaged and the clutch pedal is pushed. The good news is that the brake appears to work, along with the forward-reverse gear change and 1st to 2nd. This is as far as I have got so far, next step is probably going to be lifting the front of the tractor to get access to the belt tensioners on the underside of the machine and making some adjustments. I'll post again if and when I make more notable progress.

RPM at full throttle is 6300 So yeah, they scream a little bit Governor is never "guaranteed" but they seem to work very well. I've never had one fail while the engine is running. It's controlled by the spring on the bottom of the carb. No adjustments are available on those older versions. Newer ones have a lever that can adjust tension on the spring Diaphragm should be soft and pliable for best results. Wrinkles indicate it's probably old and stiff.

I'm back!!! I have had a busy summer, and i am finally getting around to posting this. I have replaced the crusty old spark plug insulation (2 layers of shrink tubing) Also, I had problems with fuel system, so I properly modified it. (maybe epoxy isn't proper I guess) Also, because I have access to a mill, I can make a compex shape for a motor mount. I also have one question. Is the air vane governor guaranteed to work? I say this because I had it running today, and it sounded like it was trying to go pretty fast (maybe hitting 2000rpm) Now, I know that these engines can hit around 5000rpm idle, I just didn't have my tach hooked up at the moment, and I didn't want to risk any damage. Can I just start it up and then walk away expecting the governor to work first time without any tweaking? Also, should my carburetor diaphragm be kind-of wrinkly? I believe it is the original diaphragm and it has not been replaced. Thanks

Making slow progress, hence the belated update. Have been painting, varnishing and making Nuts n Bolts. Sorted the drive chain link problem, so now making up the chain guard wth brackets- Ensuring clearances and fixing points were ok. 2 more lower brackets to make and I can move on to the clutch lever and outer cable fitting. Wheels are now shiney black gloss. Regards

Thanks Alan, Been preoccupied with lots of small jobs and pulling together two of the three sections of this project. The middle section (reduction gear unit) has taken a lot of time and work, as it includes the fuel tanks. They are finished, lacquered, mounted and the fuel gauge nestles between them- Still incomplete middle section where I have to make up the cable and lever system for operating the clutch/brake shoes. The last job will be to fill the Reduction gear unit with oil - All the brass/bronze work has been polished and lacquered as assembly progressed, with the exception of the engine cowling, as I now have some clear gloss VHT Lacquer for that. output/fan drive sprocket modified to fit onto a woodruf key and locked in place with a grub screw Finalised the location of the modified throttle lever and cable route, which keeps it neat, tidy and handy location. Lever and cable joints are watertight. Although I will have to change the Carb Air inlet and Choke layout to prevent water ingress- Tempted to start the engine for a run soon to check how it sounds with the exhaust. Has a lovely bright blue spark at the plug and the timing is spot on. Mahogany planks being treated prior to fitting and will be yacht varnished after. Pump drive and location of it is a bit of a headache, but working on it- Regards.

Well, later than planned, I've made much progress on the fuel tanks and the mounts. Still more copper tapping to final size, but nearly there with both tanks. Reserve fuel tap mounting boss finished and light press fit ready for silver soldering shown here- Have been making the straps, platforms and retaining rings., the latter from 1/4' x 1/4" x 1/16" brass angle. cut, bent and silver soldered to produce 18 sided rings- Eventually the concept in my head and on paper materialised into this - Pleased with the strength and rigidity on the base and supports for the tanks (the lines drawn on the copper parts are for more dressing out of irregularities for a better fit. A little fettling of the fit around the upper cradles/straps. Working on the Fuel Gauge parts at the moment. Will then return to the reduction gear unit and final location of it on the chassis

Slow progress lately. Have been pondering over the tank mounting design, but reckon I've found the answer. The cooling fan assembly is now finished and the brass support plates nearly finished- Just finished welding up the Reduction Gear mounting, so can start on prep for painting. Still working on Reserve tank hammering copper before I can finalise the mountings. Fuel tank support mounts shown in this image- Hopefully won't be too long before next update. Regards

Finished making the (12) 6BA Bronze bolts and brass nuts for the Fan Shaft bearing/grease point housings over the last weekend and now trial assembled on the unit. All good-

Many thanks for the comments. Sorry for being quiet for a while. Have been busy when able. Lots of decision making on design and machine time, but seem to produce little visually. The Tank Cartridges were set up for drilling and tapping. Had to obtain a metre of 10mm studding to make the fixings, as they're quite tall- Luckily the igniter percussion inserts drilled out ok, then tapped both bases 1/8"BSP for the fittings. The fuel taps were done as per previous post, so then just the Air Valve to design and make. Shown in next image on the left- The left one shows the top of the reserve tank and the right shows the base of the main tank. Next job was the fan shaft layout, bearing housings and 'Screw Down Grease Cups'. I had the latter vintage cups, but had to make the housings for them out of cast bronze bar. Made a lot of work for myself milling to shape just to form the platforms to screw the cups into- Finished them on the lathe so that I could fit a short piece of brass tube between them as a seal against water ingress- Cheated a bit with these, as I'm hard soldering them to large flat brass washers to make the flange for bolting through and will match (in size, not colour) the ball bearing housings also machined from solid- So here is the basic assembly/layout of the fan shaft and now about to start on the sprocket mount and fan/blades- Regards

Finished the Fuel Taps. Lots of different set-ups and operations required. Did much of the work while still part of the parent brass rod. Cross drilling 3/8"(9.55mm)- I wanted the tap levers opposed to eachother for access (in the off position), so had to be careful when it came to drilling through with the tapered plugs fitted- . The Tap's cam limit plates had to be soldered together, then to a stub of brass for machining to shape using a rotary table- When as much work as possible was done, I cut them away from the parent bar and 'Silver Soldered' the pipe connection rods to the Tap bodies. All the fiitings are for 3/16" (4.75mm) copper pipe. The tap tapers are 'pulled in' using the correct 'Thackery' coil spring washers and provides just the right amount of resistance- A light polish and just need proper 1/16" Split (cotter) Pins to finish off. Maybe blend the joints. Happy with this first time job for me. Regards