mattblack

Interesting post. I think in any hobby there will be a minority (and it is a minority) of people that look down on those who don't involve themselves at the 'level' they do. I like and am interested in all kinds of old mechanical and industrial 'stuff'. I was always into classic and modified cars more, I have lots of different ones over the years, some I've modified myself, some bought already done. But they've all been at the 'bottom' of the scene, due to the facilities/skills I have and the fact I can't justify spending loads on a 'toy', as I'm not big into going to shows ect. The kind of thing I had is often referred to as a 'starter car', implying that you should move onto something 'better'. Lack of facilities, and going on from that lack of enthusiasm for working on cars outside as I got older was what got me into engines. Again, I do small air cooled stuff due to limited space and facilities. As long as you enjoy what you do that's what matters.

Hello and welcome! I wonder if your set could be a later model as the engine is badged 'Norton Villiers'? The lighter green paint looks original, I wonder if they made a civilian model? The carbs listed for the Villiers 507H are Villiers S.10/2 or B.10/1. The plug comes up as NGK B6HS or equivalent.

L&S Engineers took over Meeten's stock: L&S Engineers | Top Supplier of Spare Parts for Construction and Garden Machinery | L&S Engineers (lsengineers.co.uk)

You could try the 'identity and assistance' section of Stationary Engine magazine as well.

I was going to say 'I had one of those' but Anglo Traction beat me to it... I haven't seen another one with the pump on, but I always thought there must be a reason for the shaft sticking out of the generator (there was no pulley on mine)

Just to add to the above, don't forget that you will need to reset the ignition timing when you refit the flywheel.

You'll need to remove the woodruff key to get it off completely anyway. Can you get a thin piece of wood in when it's lifted as far as it will go to hold it up while you have a look inside with a light?

Good result! I'm guessing the mower has spent some time outside?

Your pictures are the other way round, the the first one shows the test leads on the HT lead and earth (coil secondary windings test) Looking at other pictures online that sleeved lead appears to be an earth lead for the coil? Have you tried another spark plug? And is the points gap correct? Not trying to teach you to sucks BTW, just trying to get my head around it!

Has it been running and then stopped? Or did you get it as a non-runner? I can't see in the second picture where you have the other test lead, but there should be no continuity across the open points. What's the purpose of the red lead with the sleeving on that's earthed on the condenser mounting screw?

That looks like a good project, seems like it's all there apart from the silencer? It's easy to think of 'D' frame generators as 'modern', but I would think that's getting on for 50 years old now. I've got an Alam Minigen with a Villiers F15 engine in the 'to do' queue, trouble is other projects keep pushing in front... I found this site looking for Conyers info as well, in my case a little JAP powered charging set that was on ebay.

That's some beast! It's hard to get an idea of scale in the first picture, then you see it has nearly the same footprint as a europallet.

Spooky, mine was waiting on the mat when I got home, I had a flick through and saw that. I have to 'fess up and say I'm the reader that sent the letter in...

No problem, I just happened to remember watching it a while ago along with some of his other videos.

Here's a youtube video of the restoration of a 1971 model, don't know if it's of use to you? 50 YEAR OLD RUSTY BRUSH MOWER RESTORATION - YouTube