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The 3rd image is a 1968 kohler engined gem

I will just have to double check but I think it's 1964.

Will upload a video once the engine is back.

Will look forward to seeing them.

As far as I'm aware japs were avaliable scince the1930's, the howard 6 that I regrettably needed to sell had one. Very early gems with the cycle type handlebars were fitted with japs when they were avaliable, although Howard's even raided scrap yards for motorcycle engines to keep production going, then were retro fitted at a later date with the correct engine when materials became avaliable. The more normal type handle bar series 1 machines were fitted with British junior engines. Series 2 usually had British juniors fitted, but sometimes the jap was fitted. Series 3 had both options, then most 4's had the 180 degree version of Howard's twin but a small batch came with japs for some reason. Series 4 was the first time a diesel-the Sachs, was an option. British juniors were made into the early 50's. re the ruggerni, diesel horsepower I s always more than the equivalent petrol.

I know a lot of you have seen them before but here's a few of my Howard's that I have restored over the years.

It seems to of held up very well. My mate is rebuilding the engine for me, as he knows them inside out and only charges beer money.

Am now waiting for a carb kit to come in from the states(about half the price of one in the uk) and also am waiting for some more off cuts of steel to finish the rotor shields off, this is why I allways keep a few projects on the go at once.

Here's my howard hako, a German made machine imported by howard in small numbers to try and fend off the invasion of merry tillers etc. I have now sourced the correct wheels, does anyone have a spare fuel top please?

Hi pat, the dowdswell does look a bit rough in the photos however most of it is superficial. The biggest problem with any diesel gem but particuarly the ruggerni version is that no thought was given to the extra vibration trying to shake the machine to pieces. The reason this one needs a gearbox is the original owners son used to start it up for the old boy in the morning then it was left ticking over all day and all the shafts etc have worn away at the casing. The rear rotor covers have in exceptional condition and it is still supposed to be on its original set of tines. I believe it is rated at 9-10hp. With reference to the earlier machine ive also got an Australian junior, apparently quite an early example, probably dating from around 1930. There is a lot of similarities. The roteho in picture has a British junior fitted however after researching its history in the factory records it would of originally had a jap engine instead, so I have obtained a 1940's example redy to fit should I ever turn up another gearbox. From g501 onwards the gearbox (and thus main frame)was lengthened by about 2inches to incorprate a change of design to the the main shaft berring. Here's a shot of g621, another early gem that I own, after nearly two years of trying I still haven't persuaded the clutch to come off the main shaft. Also here's my Australian junior.

Here's some shots of my oldest and newest gems. The first is a roteho gem number g367. I'm still looking for a gearbox for this one( needs to come off a machine with the number g500 or lower).-if ny one can help? The second is a dowdeswell 650, this also needed a new gearbox, which I've now managed to turn up a correct period one. G367 is from 1942 and the 650 from 1988, even tough they are 46 years apart you can see bar the engine how little the design changed over the years.

The chain case fitted to this machine was obviously a later replacement off a gem, originals it should of been plain, as you can see this one was just a bit beyond repair. I have ground the gem name off and rewelded a replacement cover up as new ones are no longer avaliable. Not the best photo but can just be seen at the top with a skim of filler to finish off. Whilst the welder was out I plugged all the holes in the tool box, here it is again with a Skim of filler.

Looks a great job, howard orange by any chance?

I allways think its the little details that make a restoration project so commished the reproduction of these Id plates. Not cheap at £45 each but I think it's money well spent.

It seems that many different wheel options were tried on the 800. Mine came with wheels similar in design to the standard gem. Allthough there was plenty of tread left on the existing tyres, through standing for so long they were very badly perished so a new set of Vedestrain and tubes were fitted.

As can be seen the clutch was fit for scrap so I have rebuilt it, this machine has a twin plate set up, so in turn this means that the kohler crank extension with the longer lugs has to used. I dug through my spare and found one the correct spec. For good measure I also fitted a new centre berring. The nearest bell housing that I could find came off a standard gem, one of the mounting holes will need adapting to fit properly.

It does sound sweet, I've been after one of those slopers for years but never quite managed to turn one up. Looks. Fantastic job you've done on the paint.

I was promised another one at the start of the month,however to cut a long story short this is now not going to happen. I remembered then an ex fire brigade water pump that has sat in the hedge round the back of my work for 13 years after being robbed of most its external parts. I wasnt hopping for much but after removing the head I could see luck was on my side, the piston had stopped at tdc so it is very good internally just needing a new set of rings, as the old ones are seized in the groves. It will be a bit of a bitsa but should make a very good engine once sorted.

The biggest issue is the engine, or rather lack of it. Checking the factory records there's no mention of what machine had which engine fitted. Due to the experimental nature of the 800's it is very likely that the engines were switched round and round. After studying original litriture an talking to an ex howard employee it turns out there was 3 different options. Sachs 600 diesel, today very difficult to find and can be a bit temperamental. Howard's own twin cylinder 810 cc engine, I ruled out this option because it would require a front starting set up which I only ever seen one photo of one, and never any in the flesh. The 3rd option is a kohler k301 which is what I plumped for, as they are easy to find, -or so I thought! The first engine that I obtained had the Conrod gone. The next was this one which looked and felt ok till I took it apart, the long and short of it is that it is shot!

Got to admit though my favourite "car" of all time is my subaru pickup, even though its a rust bucket nothing quite puts a grin on your face like this does, particuarly when it snows.

One of the first jobs after checking the condition of the gears was to rub down and spray the gearbox with some high build primer.

As a lot of you have seen on the other forum last year I aqquired a howard 800 which was a prototype replacement for the howard gem. However due to costs the machine never went into production. This will be a very slow project as it is in a shocking state and as most parts are unique it means everything has to be reconstructed. Possibly as few as 20 machines were built, and its likely only single figures still exist! It is also said that due to continual development work no two machines are the same.

The worst car I've ever owned is my 2008 ford focus. Build quality is awful, parts are very expensive as apparently to have a 1.8 in it is rare compared to the 1.6, fuel consumption is awfull early 30's for a diesel. The dashboard clocks have a mind of there own, rust allready starting,th bonnet is a nightmare to open (two person job),the windows don't work for the first 2minutes of driving and to top it all the flywheel has gone. This is my first and very last ford ever! Give me my Astra van any day.

Recently I've only posted it on www.mvbrumbybrat.co.uk . Several year ago I posted a request on tractor box for help with the welding. Initially I was only going to do the arch and sill, however the deeper I dug then the more rust I turned up, combined with sourcing a fortunes worth of new old stock parts and panels it has accidentally snow balled into a full blown restoration. Originally I used it for moving my Howard's about, however by the time it's redone it may be to good for that and I've kind of outgrown it in the terms of rotavators.

There's a few about with imprezza lumps in them, however I've allways fancied subaru s boxer diesel, however they are still too new to purchase one at the right price and the ecu etc would be a nightmare to sort out. It's surprising how quick the standard 1800 is also have never found anything like it in the snow. Getting very rare now only about 380 left on britains roads, so I will probably leave it standard.