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Back on this project again now...... Jim has the gearbox and new bushes, so hopefully wont be too long before I can start putting the actual tractor back together........ In the meantime I've had to repaint the fuel tank!!!  I had brush painted it about 6 to 8 weeks ago, once dry I put it indoors to cure and harden thoroughly in the airing cupboard. My paint supplier sells a 1K clear lacquer which is fuel resistant and I planned to lightly dust the clear over the brushed fuel tank to prevent fuel spill damage...... However when I applied the 1st light coat everything was fine, I left it 15-20 minutes and started to put a 2nd light coat and there was a bit of a reaction! The green blistered and peeled like latex, leaving the etch primer undamaged and exposed!!! So...... I had to start again, rather than risk problems again, I bought a can of 2K BS282 Forest Green. At least this is fuel resistant as it is! And there was enough in 1 can to paint several coats on 2 fuel tanks (1 spare) the air shroud inside and out, the tank brackets, the engine brackets, back plate and chain cover both sides and the handlebar swivel mount!
Here's some pictures of the Villiers MK12 engine with air shroud and fuel tank all refitted.......

 
 

Better photos now its out of the trailer, had its engine refitted (easy when you work it out ) and a new (to the tractor) gear knob fitted...
 



 

managed to make a bit more progress with the bottom cowl tonight.
A previous owner had welded on some stops for the bonnet to rest
on. All I can say is when I came to grind them off that they did a
very thourgh job of welding them in place! Took a look time to
remove.

managed to make a bit more progress with the bottom cowl tonight.
A previous owner had welded on some stops for the bonnet to rest
on. All I can say is when I came to grind them off that they did a
very thourgh job of welding them in place! Took a look time to
remove.

Spent another couple of hours on the bonnet, yet still it needs more work!
I hate filling!!!

managed to make a bit more progress with the bottom cowl tonight.
A previous owner had welded on some stops for the bonnet to rest
on. All I can say is when I came to grind them off that they did a
very thourgh job of welding them in place! Took a look time to
remove.

Some years ago I bought a very early Ransomes 30" cut lawn mower with a ride on roller seat, I bought it as a source of vital spares for the MG2 crawlers as they share a common engine. When it arrived it was far too good to break for spares and ran like clockwork. I decided to try and use it but my lawns are too complex for such a large cumbersome machine and it is much too fast to walk behind. I then bought another with a view to breaking that and low and behold same thing happened, it is a 36" cut and again seemed to good to break. I now want the space they take up and this is my dilemna, as a mower however good I might get £80-100, if I remove the carb, magneto and most of the engine parts that are MG2 compatible I would make £5-600 off each mower plus the scarp value of the chassis which is extremely heavy. I have spoken to various museums and collectors of ancient mowers and they say there is no demand for such big mowers for the same reason I found. The debating point is do I scrap the mowers to keep a few MG 2 crawlers going or do I keep them as examples of engineering excellence from the days when Britain was great and if so does any body want to buy them?

Side of the road, $20. Runs great, guess I "needed" another mower.
21" self-propelled older mower. Cast aluminum deck.
 
 
 
 

Painting the tanks this evening...
 

Already got the lead, Richard. Came off some outbuildings a friend demolished.
 
  Did a bit of thinking today, about stopping the lead from falling out. Simple solution. Change the bolts fastening pulley to disc/drum for longer ones and fitted opposite way round. A good inch of thread was left  showing inside the drum.  
  Next job was to take weights and lead up to the farm and use the oxy/acet equipment to melt the lead. I had only enough lead to half fill each drum.  That was ample for the molten lead to flow round the threads of the bolts. So the cooled lead was now held securely in the drum.
  Back home and weighed the weights again. Now one weighs 31lb and 'tother 32lb. Not bad considering I didn't weigh the lead first.
  The lead surface was rough and needed hiding. So two 8-1/8 blank discs were cut from a couple of plastic feed tub lids brought back from the farm. In each drum two opposing bolt threads protrude from the lead. The discs were then drilled and fitted over the two protruding bolts and held in place with a couple of nuts.
  Painting is now in progress.
 
  BTW Richard. The weights will be secured to the wheels, with nyloc nuts on the studs.
 

Wasn't there a very nicely restored one at tractor world a few years back?

Bit of progress today. All bolted together and studs fitted to fasten to the wheels.
 

 
And they fit. Gap at the top is because no nuts are fitted at the back.
 

 
  They each weigh about 25lb. Next job is to add more weight.
 

New addition to the collection from deepest Norfolk
 
1965 Lawn Boy Loafer, can either be used as a ride on tractor or with the front axle removed will attach to a Lawn Boy mower,
so it can be a mower pusher
 
Apparently only 6 of these were imported to the UK.
 
The previous owner has a restored one and works for E.P. Barrus who are modern day Lawn Boy importers and he has researched its history
 
Apologies for the poor photos, but it has been raining all day, I'll get it out of the trailer and get some better photos when the
weather improves
 

No Harry that's the next bit to find, I know what it looks like though... its the one at the top of the photo (from a 1962 spares manual)
 
 

Found some handle grips in the workshop, and fitted. Also
fitted the blades. Just waiting on a few bolts and a belt and
then itll be finished.

A bit more progress today. Managed to get the belt pulley on,
also the belt guard and decal. The simple cantilever clutch
was connected back up, with the operating lever getting a
coat of paint.
The final job for today was the depth foot, which was missing
when purchased but there was one on the doner machine.

Rear wheel weights are something I've been wanting for some time. Now and then various ideas have crossed my mind, but I've never got around to actually doing anything.
  Art, (Old Tankman), put up a post on some he'd made. That was the kick I needed. The other day I acquired a pair of rear discs/drums off a Land Rover Freelander, out off the scrap bin at my local Land Rover specialists.    
 
  The disc fits nicely into the outer edge of the Wheel Horse rear wheel.
 
  Today, while visiting a local engineering workshop, I left with two of these pulleys.
 

 
  The pulleys also fit nicely into the inside of the wheels. 
  If you look closely, you will see two small holes in the drum. There's actually four and they are pilot holes for bolt holes to fasten disc/drum to pulley. You can see the four corresponding punch marks in the pulley. They are now drilled and ready for bolting together.
  Next I drilled four more holes in the pulleys for studs to bolt the finished weights to the wheels. These were spot drilled using a spare wheel as a jig. They were then drilled for tapping out 10mm. Here I hit a problem. I've a fair collection of taps, UNC, BSF, UNF, Metric and BSP. Believe it or not, NO 10mm taps to be found.  
  

Yes! And I'm not telling yet.

Thanks, can't work out wether or not I like the look of it. Kind of looks like the result of an illicit get together of a merry tiller and a motorbike.

Thanks, can't work out wether or not I like the look of it. Kind of looks like the result of an illicit get together of a merry tiller and a motorbike.

Reminds me of a Trike!
Great job Gareth!

Found some handle grips in the workshop, and fitted. Also
fitted the blades. Just waiting on a few bolts and a belt and
then itll be finished.

I can't help thinking when I see the photo's, of the hobby horses of the '50's. You sat on it and moved up and down. This moved the legs, which had wheels on and it moved forward.

Something different, we like that...
 

Found some handle grips in the workshop, and fitted. Also
fitted the blades. Just waiting on a few bolts and a belt and
then itll be finished.