WestwoodGazelle

Oh I forgot to say! I was at Billing Land Rover show recently and guess what I saw

I love the way the Owatrol oil makes machinery look, thank you and I'll post some photos when I've done

Thanks TFP! Looks like it did a good job on your Clifford! That's the sort of finish I'd like on the Westwood. It's interesting you say a little goes a long way, I just need to decide if I should go for 1 or 2 litres...

Alan, nice Westwood! That looks like a fairly solid example overall. Do you have any plans for her? I like the exhaust design on these, pretty unique.

 

It looks better in the photo's than it is.  Could possibly be restored if someone was really keen, but probably more suitable for spares. Engine seized etc.

No plans for it other than disposal.  This is one of four various Westwoods in John's collection, all in rough condition. I have more photo's if you are interested.

OK, I'd restore it of I could but for me that isn't an option since I already have 2 Westwoods and the powers that be (parents) say I can't have any more tractors unless I sell one of mine.     However if it is being broken for spares I'd be interested in some of the hard-to-find bits like the white plastic front grille, various knobs, and the leather gearstick surround.

Wristpin, thanks for the info, after some research I found out it's actually this product: http://www.owatroldirect.co.uk/product/owatrol-oil/

Apparently you can paint over it too, so although I don't plan on doing that since I like the look of my old Westwood in it's "rustic" current condition, it's nice to know I could paint it one day if I ever wanted to.

Hi all, sorry for this super-late reply, things have been pretty busy lately

Alan, nice Westwood! That looks like a fairly solid example overall. Do you have any plans for her? I like the exhaust design on these, pretty unique.

Wristpin, that's interesting, I wondered if the earliest rebadged Westwoods were in fact called Westerns? Or maybe this is something totally different. (This isn't mine, I just saw it on ebay and saved the pictures).

Also I am hoping to paint the my early Westwood soon but I have a question- I seem to remember someone talking about a product here (some sort of oil that dries clear) that  keeps the original patina while killing and preventing rust at the same time. Does anyone know what it's called?

I love these little Bolens, very nice looking tractor and very sturdy. I'll look forward to seeing it in England

Leaking fuel points to float & needle problem.

Thanks Chris, it turned out that the needle was not pushing up far enough. Spent some time ajusting it and solved the problem by ajusting a piece of metal on the float but bent it too far and now we're under-fueling

I ran out of time today but I think a couple of hours and it'll be sorted. The engine fired up till the fuel ran out, but with plumes of white smoke, at first I shut it off straight away thinking wires were melting but nothing was hot and it was coming from the end of the exhaust. The second time I briefly fired it up there was less smoke, so my friend suggested it's just not been run for ages and it's just exhaust burning off steam and all the dust inside it? I have a fire extinguisher on stand by just in case, I won't know for sure until I get it running for a while.

The good news is when it does run, it's one of the smoothest B&S engines I've heard, so as long as the smoke is just from some lack of use, it should be simple to get it running again

Afternoon,

              I believe the engine was made on 14th June 1978 so possibly a 78 machine being midway through the year?

 

Philip

Thanks Philip! That is very interesting to know, must be an early Westwood then.

I managed to get some work done today. First thing was to change the flat tyre, luckily I had a spare Westwood wheel in the garage. The "split pin" holding on the old wheel was pretty interesting

Here is the side-picture for HeadExam

The "battery box" is also pretty interesting, I'm not 100% sure it's original

Now I have a problem when I open the fuel line tap near the carb, petrol comes pouring out the part here circled in red. I will have to investigate further, especially since the first place it will reach is the exhaust.

This may be hard to work out but it is where the gear stick attatches to the gear box and the rusty lump on the left is the end of the exhaust, which seems to exit inside the seat box, how strange, but seems original.

Although this Westwood is built like a tank the quality control seems pretty awful, they welded the seat box to the chassis with a huge gap one side and a tiny one the other Interestingly, on my 1984 Westwood Gazelle, the seat box is bolted on, not welded. EDIT: I wonder if the different gaps are intentional due to the positioning of the exaust and other parts inside the seat box?

And finally just some nice pics

Its on the engine shroud should be on the round part of the shroud with a model/type/code stamp into the metal/tin. Might need to burnish a little or rub with a wet rag to see the numbers, flashlight helps too. As long as that is the original engine it will give you a good idea when the mower was made. Most mowers of a certain year started production and sold tractor before the actual year. A 1977 tractor or mower most likely started production in September of 1976 and ended or started a new years production run in August or September the following year. if you have a low serial number 1972 (or whatever year) tractor it is likely it was built in the calendar year before the model year.

Thanks for the help! The number is: 252707 1062 01 78061411

I suppose that means that the year of the engine is 1978? So more likely it was made in 1977?

Thanks all! I shall get some decent pictures today including the side

I'm sure someone has told me before but I've forgotten, where is the serial number on these 11hp Briggs and Stratton engines?

I would love to see a picture of that Westfield, Andrew.

Seems there is a new addition to the herd

As far as I know this is one of the earliest Westwoods. If you look at the foot rests they are very different from the later ones which rise up near the front of the mower, and have some pretty nice sharp angles The gear selector is in the same sort of place in front of the seat as a classic Wheelhorse instead of being column shift. The whole mower also seems to sit a couple of inches lower than my other Gazelle. It is basically exactly the same as my other one but everything is slightly different.

As far as I know this is from the late 1970s, but I shall check tomorrow, and get some better photos. It does not run currently, the carb needs some attention and the deck needs a new belt to mow with.

I plan on keeping this Gazelle as original as possible, I have rarely seen ones of this age about, and it isn't in bad condition at all, only some surface rust.

It needs some TLC but overall is very solid.

I think it would be a shame to repaint it but I wouldn't want it to eventually rust away, is there any product I can use to preserve it whilst keeping it with an original look? 

I think someone on this forum got a Westwood Lawnbug. I think it is somewhere in the South East.

Type in Lawnbug in search top right box on the forum and it should pop up.

You're right, he's got a really nice one. Can't be too many left in that condition now, I'm pleased someone on this forum owns one

Tidy looking workshop there and I notice you have created space for your next garden tractor.......

I would certainly love to expand the collection, especially with an original condition Westwood Lawnbug...

Had a day off work so I got some tidying done in the garage, there's still a way to go but slowly but surely getting there

1975 Wheelhorse C-100

1984 Westwood Gazelle

Dad's Mountfield

I'd love to restore this 1963 Moulton Deluxue some day, I've had it since I was about 10

I did a little tidying up on the Westwood today, cleaned most of the engine and painted a few bits including some high-temp paint on the exhaust When I get a chance I have a nice new switch for the lights, which I'll wire up.

And I need a new seat, but I'm holding out for a seat exactly the same as the current one and they seem quite rare in good condition

Very nice indeed She'll easily outlast a modern mower many times over.

I see! To be fair I agree it looks very solid, wouldn't take much work to make it perfect.

Shame it's a bit of a trek away, do you have a link?

Mine is a 1984 model (the one pictured below), and they made them like mine since 1978 or 1979. I'm not sure when they stopped the Gazelle, I seem to remember 1986 but I could be wrong. There are still tons around on ebay though. Also they are very easy to restore and built like a tank

Oh cool, me too, I'm near Yelverton. Most of the classic Westwoods look very similar but my favourite is the Gazelle because of a couple of minor differences. There is a choice between the "baby" Westwoods which have all-metal bonnets, and the bigger engine models like mine here which have metal bonnets with a plastic grille and lights.

Yes, almost all Westwoods were made in Plympton which is on the outskirts of Plymouth, originally the company was based in High Wycombe though, I believe.

Hey there, nice Westwood, looks to be in very tidy condition I have a Gazelle I restored on here too.

That is very interesting about the history of Westwood and Dynamark, Wristpin. I always wondered why they looked so similar.

Thanks Ranger! The diesel ones seem very interesting, but I've never driven or even seen one in person, sounds like they don't use much fuel!

Thanks Mark, the decals are holding up very well, and really finish off the look.

The engine's running nicely Chris, thanks. The only mod I would like to do sometime to the engine/mower might be a stack exhaust, I like the look of them

Been doing some log runs with the Gazelle for our log-burner The new engine is running very well, I just need to get round to doing a couple of paint touch ups and a new seat.

(I blurred Dad's face because I'm not sure if he wants to appear online )

Also there's a guy on YouTube restoring one of these, I enjoyed watching his video series on it: