WestwoodGazelle

In the back of the shed there was a lawnflite hydro with grass collector. The previous owner said I could have it, so I agreed...knowing it was probably a flat battery

Hmmm, hooked up a jumped start and nothing, just a solenoid click....
Hmm, tried to turned over by hand... Just moved. Unscrewed the oil filler cap to check the oil. Plenty of oil - infact too much, and it stinks of fuel. Drained a gallon of petrol and oil from the oil pan! Previous owner or kids have filled the crankcase with petrol to the top!
Refilled with engine oil and engine turns over pumping a lot of fuel out of the bore. Left it a while to evaporate and tried starting. Big mistake, the exhaust and air filter were full of fuel... BANG
Abandoned for now, will take a look later when my ears stop ringing

Thanks - Sounds too good to be true but will be tempted to try in on the next resto project.

Hi found other picture one without the oil and one with the oil hope this helps when using oil a little goes a long way the top of a de-icer can filled did the whole of the Clifford

Hi
I have owltrol oil on my my Clifford mark four I find it very good and if you want at a later date to paint over it you can

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?

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.

Frost sell a patina preserver but if it's your intention to paint the machine at a later date I'd be wary of applying anything that may contaminate the surface.
http://www.frost.co.uk

That's an early Westwood chassis but using a Dynamark deck. The first Westwood tractors were in fact re- badged Dynamarks, then Westwood built their own chassis and finally their own decks ( welded pans rather than pressed).

A very similar one dragged out of it's burial ground yesterday.  Same gear lever arrangement, footrests, exhaust,
hood.  8 hp engine on this one. The front and rear wheels are the same diameter although with different tires.
 

 
Turned on it's side to remove the remains of the cutting deck.  The exhaust can be clearly seen.  Track rod broken.
 

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

Gentlemen,
 
Sometime back, April 16 in fact, Andrew (Triumph66) sent me a PM over on the GTTalk forums.
 
There was a 1962 Bolens 600 listed on eBay that he was interested in, and he wanted to know if I would assist him in getting it shipped to him if he bought it.
 
One reason for his request was that it had been posted on the GTTalk forums and I told folks that I was VERY close to where it was located and that I could pick up and store it if anyone was interested.
 
I replied that I would be more than glad to help, and Andrew got VERY interested.   Since he was so interested, I decided to go take a look at it in person as it was only 20 miles from me.
 
I took a good look at it and took it for a spin around the barn yard, and was VERY impressed with it.
 
I asked the seller if he knew anything about the history of the tractor and he explained that he worked in a scrap yard, and that someone had brought it in to be scrapped     Since he is a bit knowledgeable he set it off to the side so that they could sell it rather than scrapping it
 
Why on earth someone would do that is beyond me.  As you will see in the following pics, it's one of the nicest original tractors that you will ever see.  It's absolutely beautiful
 
It was listed with a starting bit of $300.00 and for one reason or another no one bid on it and Andrew STOLE it for the minimum bid.
 
PM's started flowing fast and furious, and after wired bank funds finally arrived (that was a story in itself), I contacted the seller and made arrangements to pick it up.
 
So today I hooked up the trailer and went to fetch the mighty Bolens.
 
One thing that Andrew mentioned was maybe I could take a pic of the Bolens with an 'iconic' American building in the back round,  I hope I succeeded  :D
 
I did stop on the way home to take a pic or two of some "iconic' bovines as well.  You don't see them often in this part of the country, but if you ever watched the old Westerns, you should be able to figure out what they are :D
 
So without further ado, the pics, starting from hooked up and ready to go, to back home with it one the trailer.  I will be taking more pics as we go along and most likely a video or two as well.

Leaking fuel points to float & needle problem.

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
 

 

As Newby Hall and the Smallholders Show are both creeping up I thought I had better give the 81 a fettle
 
Engine and footboards cleaned up and painted today...
 
(Yes I know its a Honda engine but that is what was in it and with my limited mechanical knowledge if it ain't broke don't fix it)

Just got back from a day trip to Cornwall (as you do) with this, its an International Cadet 81 of the late 70's period, complete
with mowing deck... rather pleased but somewhat tired now, started out from home at 2am and got home at 5pm...   
 
I will have a good look at it tomorrow, it's parked in its new home now, here's some photos to be going on with...
 
 

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

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 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.

One of my customers' neighbour in Dittisham got a old Westfield from around that era parked up in the orchard. The gardener uses it from time to time and it always fires up first go. Amazing as it is outside in all weathers. I will try and take a photo of it when I am next out there.

Awesome! First time I've seen the shift lever in that position.
Is there a serial number? Or stamp on the engine to date it?

it's nice enough to keep original, great little tractor   Thanks for posting it. How about a side pic?

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? 

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? 

Thanks guys!
A couple more, I think Ewan will be joining and posting pics.