Had to remove the contact breaker cam to get the crank out but there wasn't much room between the cam and the crankcase, luckily I had an old puller that I could 'modify' to get it started.
The remains of the gaskets were well gummed on, but I remembered a trick from when I first started in the motor trade.
...Followed by a sheet of 150 grit wet and dry laid flat on the bench with plenty of lubrication.
The wear between the piston and pin will certainly be noisy but shouldn’t prevent it running. My pet hobby horse for vintage two strokes is old oil for old engines. That is don’t make up the mixture with s modern synthetic oil , use a vintage two stroke such as those marketed by Millers or Morris Lubricants which are basically a non detergent SAE 30 or 40 and have plenty of body to help with main bearing sealing etc.. I’m guessing that the mixing ratio for your engine will be 16:1.
Well, with the points cleaned and set I pulled it over with the rope and got a good spark
So I delved in deeper...
Piston has some damage to the edge of the crown, and there is a lot of play in the little end (between the piston and gudgeon pin)
No major scoring on the bore
The head gasket was this homemade paper affair and not doing much, I would imagine that I will have to get one made unless I can lay my hands on some copper sheet and do it myself?
Is it worth (or even a good idea) to hone the bore if I re-use the same piston rings?
Looks like I need to make a puller that picks up on the starter pulley holes to remove the flywheel (at least it's keyed so no faffing around with the timing, unlike a certain other engine make...)
Forgot to mention, When I knew I was getting it I had a hunt round my Mum's garage for my late father's Tarpen hedgetrimmer, but it must have been the one and only thing he ever threw away...
This is the new project I mentioned in another thread. It's a Type 40, 110V DC, 400W. It appears to be complete but obviously hasn't run for a while. The first job will be be a session with the degreaser and pressure washer. Can anyone give an approximate year to it?
Thanks for the kind words, there are a couple of bits where the paint coverage is poor (probably didn't have my glasses on!) and some petrol splashed out of the cap when I ran it (my fault, it wasn't tightened right up) so I've touched the tank up with a brush. But overall I'm pleased with it and have enjoyed doing it.
Well, I'm calling this (sort of) finished... I screwed it to a bit of scrap MDF as a temporary measure to run it, and much to my surprise it started on the third kick. However, it was 'hunting' badly and after playing with the governor setting with no real improvement I called it a day. Yesterday I had a closer look at the carb and checked the manual re: setting and discovered that the mixture screw is missing! Looking at the 'before' photos it was missing when I got the engine. I have emailed Meteens so hopefully I will be able to get it running properly. If so I will try to post up a video.
Nice work you're doing here. Should be good for long service when you're done.
Did you ever source the Air Filter Bowl you mentioned at the start of this topic?.
Are you planning to have this engine powering something, or just to run it as is?.
Yes, I got the filter bowl and other parts from Meetens, it looks like same bowl is used for both fixing types. I may get something to drive in due course, but I will be happy if it runs at all...
Longer term It would be nice to put a little collection of different Villiers 4-strokes together for display, but I'm not really a 'club' person...
I was supposed to pick up another (non - Villiers) project yesterday but my van had other ideas, so watch this space.
About 10 years ago I worked for a company that hired out groundcare equipment. I did a bit of everything, grinding cylinders, servicing machines, delivery/collection and on site repairs. A favorite reported fault on rotary mowers was 'vibrating'. When I got there the deck would have chunk missing, the engine would be hanging off and the crank would be bent... but 'We haven't hit anything, it must have been like that when you delivered it...' It was the same with the cutting unit arms on the big ride-ons.
I've seen this several times on the site of a demolished factory and I'm intrigued as to what it is/was. It has a home made look to it, for some reason that housing on the front(?) makes me think mobile compressor.
Whatever it is, I'd love to save those small wheels.
Tarpen generator
in Stationary Gas Powered Machines
Posted
Had to remove the contact breaker cam to get the crank out but there wasn't much room between the cam and the crankcase, luckily I had an old puller that I could 'modify' to get it started.
The remains of the gaskets were well gummed on, but I remembered a trick from when I first started in the motor trade.
...Followed by a sheet of 150 grit wet and dry laid flat on the bench with plenty of lubrication.