expeatfarmer

Not looking for a nice finish on the carb it was sand cast so would never have been shiny.

Yesterday I sandblasted the kettle because it was black and very dull. Today I set up my nickel plating kit and spent a lovely time sitting in a comfy armchair watching molecules swap over. Chuffed with the results the sand blasted fuel filler bowl from the carb has come out a dull finish ( what I wanted ) and the de compressor lever has come out shiny ( also what I wanted ) I tried to buy a new lever but could not find one identical. My ethos has been if I could recover an original part then I would, this lever was corroded to B -------ery but after an hour with my power file dremel and some 1200 wet and dry it looked half decent. The main carb. is in the tank as I write. Both parts bear scars of history which I could have polished out but then there is more to life than absolute perfection !

Plan is to have it finished this month so that I have time to get the sand Skimmer and the ITW mobile for February.

Finally managed to get back to the main tub today, welded up the scars caused by worn idler bearings final filler skimming and then the repaint. Studying the original handbook with a magnifying glass for the final details I discovered today that the straps holding the fuel tank have pin stripes of white across them so that is another challenge!

Made a new starting handle yesterday

stangly if i used a gloss topcoat no problem

I am trying to make sure that we have at least one of every model MG Crawler and derivative that Ransomes produced between 1936 and 1965/6. I would also like to see any modified machines that have been adapted to suit a need such as the Garrard three wheel shunter . If you have a machine you would like to exhibit or know of a friend who will exhibit but does not post on MOM ,I would be grateful if you would post brief details on this thread so that we can keep track. Many thanks Jonathan. Also Neil Jarrett the Ransomes MG spares stockist will be part of our display, he will have a stock of most common consumables but if there is something you would like him to bring for your machine, give him a call on 01656 665304.

I will have to get you to build one for my Turf trak

Thanks, it does the same thing on the red paint too and I have a de humidifier running 24/7, it may be because I am using a satin finish rather than a full gloss. I will ring the supplier today and see what they say .

Becoming quite frustrated with my painting, for some reason the areas of filler are showing through on the top coat despite rubbing down with 800 grit, high build primer coat rubbed down again and then top coated twice, anybody have any idea as to what I might be doing wrong? After spending the best part of two days solid on the cowling it is now looking half decent I have sprayed it with a guide coat tonight with a view to a final rub down fill and paint in the morning. I don't want the same to happen on the cowling or it will look awful.

Just about to lift out the Ford engine but not touched the Kohler yet.

Nice new sets of i.d. plates for Sand Skimming Tractor,137 and engine arrived today from Vintage Brass Plates.

does it have half inch wide belts?

I have an MG5 which was stolen from an enthusiast, it was more than 3 years before it turned up on E Bay and was spotted by a number of people, the police recovered it immediately and returned it to the original owner. So don't give up hope and keep an eye open on Auction sites and Gumtree.

Screwfix and most DIY stores have them. Mine is a Black and Decker I think they cost about £35 may be less. There are also air drive versions.

Today I have been restoring the carburettor which is a brass cast Amal nickel plated. Over the years it has been bruised and bashed and had a number of nasty vice marks. I polished these out with my Dremel but did not like the shiny finish as the original would have been peat flour sand cast. After a bit of thought I dug out some brass plumbing fittings and polished them up with the Dremel and then shot blasted them with glass beads to see what effect it produced. Very pleasing effect and by a strange coincidence the carb is stamped "JC 648" must be an omen! Next job is to Nickel plate it .

For a number of years my elder son has used a power file for all sorts of clean up jobs and swears by how useful it is, this year he bought me one for my birthday and now I wish I had had one years ago it really is the most useful tool particularly when cleaning up and restoring parts. Once you get used to it you can refresh even the smallest delicate parts, clean crud out of awkward corners, tidy up welds, or get brutal and use it for removing large amounts of material. Also ideal for sharpening SWMO's secateurs and garden shears for brownie points. If you have not got one I would definitely write Santa a note!

It would seem that I was wrong, Anthony has sent me a photo of a plate off an ITW which is numbered 350 indicating that 311 and 310 are right. Apologies to the stamping man at Ransomes.

Chris at Vintage Brass Plates now has the originals of the i.d. plates off both skimmers and 137, he has identified that the numbers of the sand skimming tractors are 310 and 311 not 1311 as I thought. This means that either Ransomes started a new numbering sequence for the sand skimming tractors or the bloke that stamped them was half asleep and forgot the first 1!!! Whilst I suspect it may be the latter scenario I will stick with what I have and use 310 and 311 even if only as a discussion point.

This week so far I have rebuilt the track load rollers with new bearings and seals,, final drive output shafts and hubs new bearings and seals, rebuilt the cooling fan, rubbed down filled and painted all the red bits, finished all the bolt on blue bits, made up some new track tensioners and generally made a mess of my workshop. Gradually sorting through the pile of rusty nuts and bolts that came with 137 matching what I need to the parts list, where practical I am re using clean existing nuts and bolts but any that are badly damaged by rust or past abuse I am replacing with new. Chris at vintage brass plates is making up a new set of id plates for the body and a new plate for the Sturmey Archer engine, Titch is making up a set of decals for the body. 137 had scroll decals on either side which I guess are from lawnmowers and sadly no decal on the tank front so tempting though it is to add a few more for looks I am currently sticking with what is shown in the period photos. The same goes for things like mudguards over the track rollers and wear plates protecting the final drive casings, both of which were added to the 1937 models.

I have been using cans of Simoniz spray putty and High build primer both of which are very good for surface preparation.

Reached a milestone today finally managed to complete the rebuild and paint of the drive wheels I seem to have been on with them for months. Having to be careful that I dont get carried away with finish I keep looking at other original machines to see what level of marks/gouges etc were sent out from the factory I do not want it to be better than original I just want original and that means defects. Skimming with filler to reduce the pitting is a chore but the effects are very pleasing.

Yes please. my number is 016974 78292.

I have both but choose small batches down on a bench to keep the spray drift under control, I have sprayed many parts outside but now it is too cold. As I tend to work on a couple of components at a time repairing or restoring I take each one to primer stage and then put it away for later re assembly if I use a gun I would be forever cleaning it up.

Just working my way through each and every component with final primer coats. I wish I had kept count of just how many individual components there are!