factory

I've had a look through my archived pictures (from ePay), it disappears into the one of the handlebar tubes as shown in the picture below, the wire for the kill switch must also go inside the tubing on that side. The standard lever type control on the other side is for the rear wheel brake. Here are a few other pictures showing the cables on another of these bikes. David

I've had a look at the serial numbers on my Petro saw, the saw number is lower than @Bodger's saw and my engine is approx #062000 (quite a bit newer than the pump I was referring to the other night). If it's of a similar age then it probably does use the later A-139-2 starter dogs, measuring the remaining one would confirm this. David

I thought a new thread would be a good idea for looking to source new Bowden cable/conduit tubing for the O&R throttle cables. I have a long NOS conduit here (the inner wire is a separate part) which I've measured today, with the plastic sleeving on it measures approx 0.145" to 0.15" (depending where you measure) and the steel core measures 0.125". The separate inner wire measures approx 0.047", this may vary slightly too. I noticed the plastic coating is removed where it enters the carb on my mini-bike. Here is a thread on another forum (which was one of the first search results I found the other night), there are a few different suppliers mentioned that have different types of Bowden cable. https://forums.stanwinstonschool.com/discussion/4182/extra-fine-bowden-cable One of the links has some conduit tubing that might be suitable, the second one in the list could be suitable with the plastic removed (OD is 0.153" with plastic coating), maybe email them to confirm. https://bergencable.com/_media/products/control_cables/pdfs/conduit.pdf David

That would be a good idea, just I can't think which section it should be in, as we don't seem to have a car related section at the moment. Do you have any more before pictures, I'm curious as to how it it looked inside and what engine it originally had. David

Very nice, there aren't many 220/240V versions about, even in the UK where our mains supply is that voltage. The first one with the serial decal, has an engine dating from Feb 1968, can't see the plate clearly enough on the second one to comment on the date. I recommend changing the filter foam, even though they don't look used, 50+ year old foam ages badly and will crumble apart. If he plans to sell & ship them, it may be best not to run them, as gas & shipping companies are not a great mix. I had someone send an O&R bike kit full of gas, USPS seized it as it was leaking out of the box and that was the end of that. Yes distributing a small amount of oil around the cylinder & piston is a good idea as it will prevent it getting stuck in long term storage, be sure to park the piston so that it blocks the exhaust ports if storing. David

The dimensions are slightly different between the two, the middle part is longer on the A-139 starter dog, I haven't got one to check but from memory the hole is bigger on the A-139-2 starter dog. Perhaps we need to know the serial number of the engine to confirm which flywheel & starter dogs it has. David

No you need part A-139, which are unobtainable as I found out a few years ago repairing the engine from a Chug-A-Pump, here is the picture I posted then showing the two types. I have had to change the flywheel on a few engines to the later type as a result and had to make a new in-between sized flywheel key too. There is a spare later flywheel here if needed, though it would be easier to use that spare engine he's just bought. David

Hi Andy, You've found the remains of a Turbair crop sprayer, it's missing a few parts including the blade guarding, but at least it does have the manual which is often missing. Yes I have new diaphragms & have located a used starter (slightly later) from my spares, I would suggest you go through the engine to make sure nothing else is required. Also have a look to see which type of check valve gasket is used, if it's not the clear plastic version you might need to change that too, see the carb thread for more information. David P.S. I can't go out at the moment, so will have to rely on someone else to post any parts out to you.

What would the purpose of that be? I'm actually struggling to think of the purpose of a neon lamp* in the generator, it is also possible it could be a filament lamp (I can't actually see the internals from the picture), there is a part labelled overload protector on the Nichols generator parts list in the other thread, this would make more sense as small filament lamps were also used as fuses in the past, hopefully the wiring diagram will show & confirm the purpose. David *apart from over-voltage protection, which wouldn't be of any-use here.

Thank you, no rush as I guess you're still busy in the shop fixing lawnmowers. David

The trouble is we really need new-old-stock ones to measure, mine will also be compressed between the castings and stretched around the feather valve, the sizes from the compressed seals will be exactly the same as the diameter & thickness of the gap it seals, I also don't want them disintegrate if I try to remove them. I have another early engine in bits which is missing all these seals, maybe it would be easier to measure this and find something just a little bit larger to allow it them compress & seal properly. David

Thanks for adding that Paul, Tarpen must have briefly marketed the Turbair in 1967, as both of my 1968 Turbair Tot 2S sprayers are branded Turbair Ltd (Waltham Abbey/Cross), as is the 1974 Series 13B engine I have from a later Turbair Tot 2S. All the literature I have is from Turbair Ltd too. As for Edwards Bals, there was this Turbair Tot sold a few years ago and another NOS boxed one with the Edwards Bals address on the box (made £245). Of course it would be nice to see a Tarpen branded one too or even a catalogue with it in from Tarpen. David

Mine has a rubber sealing ring for the feather valve to the crankcase seal (it is squashed into the what looks like a square section, I didn't take it off to check), no paper gaskets, they don't have them according to the parts list. The exhaust collector apparently also has a sealing ring, I haven't taken mine apart as I don't want to damage it knowing that no NOS ones exist to copy the sizes from (pre-squashed). You may notice mine doesn't have the fourth hole in the induction housing casting, the crankcase has all four threaded holes but no counterbore for the small o-ring (unlike yours which does). The bronze cages are also used in the later model aeroplane engines, I never took the bearings out of my early Compact, so never found out that they had used them very briefly for these engines, you should notice all the bearing cages (apart from the con-rod) are the half cage versions. Other differences you should notice are the stud & nut for the fourth threaded hole in the base tank and no oil hole in the starter rivet (with no mention on the decal either). David

The information for the older style starters (Compact I, II, III & Series 13A engines) can in the service bulletin in the manuals sticky thread, you need to check the starter spring fitted as well. For the later 13B & 20A use this length. David

Where does this information come from? I haven't seen any literature or information that connects the two companies. As far as I know Tarpen Engineering Co Ltd (part of Lindustries Group when the Mini-Engine was available) were based in London, the assets of Tarpen Eng were later sold to Preci Group becoming Preci-Tarpen Ltd. Edward Bals Sprayers Ltd (sold the Turbair 21 & Turbair Tot) were based at Turbair Works in Bromyard, Herefordshire, Edward Bals Sprayers became Micron Sprayers Ltd then Micron Group, they were a family owned business still based in Bromyard from 1954 to 2018, then sold to Goizper Group of Spain. And Turbair Ltd (sold the Turbair Tot 2S) were based at Britannica House in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire and Britannica Works in Waltham Abbey, Essex, they were also known as Pan Britannica Industries Limited (part of the Tennant Group), they also had the registered trademark "Turbair" in 1972 (filed in 1970). David

Coil it up as shown in the brochure & tie it up if needed, no point in possibly damaging it trying to shorten it, there must be loads of small sized Bowden cable out there if you want to make a shorter throttle cable up. David

That's interesting to know, the guy I bought mine from said he found it in an engineering surplus shop in Birmingham in the early 1970's, rather ironically for this thread he used that engine in a scale model boat. When I collected the boat I mentioned I was more interested in the tools these O&R engines powered, he then mentioned he had keep some of the Tarpen housing parts, which he sent my way for the cost of postage. The Tarpen engine got reassembled minus the clutch and I sold the boat to a collector who was going to restore it & fit an electric power plant. David

I believe it was named "Twist and Scout", an episode where he finds the Indian motorcycle of his dreams. It was on this past Thursday. Thanks Joe, I could have a very very long wait, Quest TV in the UK are currently showing series 5 & 6 at the moment and "Twist and Scout" is from Series 15. David

I was comparing it with this picture, it looks shortened to me and the edges are all rough, someone's modified it just don't know why. The holder in mine could be loose, will need to repair it or replace the lamp holder if the contact spring has rusted through. David

Anyone in Australia looking for an engine? There is one available on ePay Down-Under at the moment. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/133311951910 David

Having looked at the pictures of your Creme Lure, I believe someone has shortened the threaded part for the lamp cover. By the way I did find a lamp cover that is close to the original but not the same thread, in the process I took the lamp out of mine and now can't get it back in, I guess the lamp holder is too badly rusted. David

If anyone has a flatbed scanner and can email high resolution images I can create a pdf from those too. David

Looks like the Tarpen mini-engine to me (another UK only tool), possibly fitted to a hedge trimmer attachment (hard to tell). David

It's a press fit diode, used for the low voltage output to convert the alternating current (AC) generated to direct current (DC) in this case it's half-wave rectification as only one diode is used, the two outputs are for charging 6 or 12 volt car batteries. The alloy casing the press fit diode is fitted in is also being used as a heatsink for the diode. Looks more like small neon glow lamp to me, filled with neon gas not a vacuum. Early plastics are terrible for ageing badly, oil fuel & other chemicals, UV light (the sun) can all degrade it, you may need to reinforce the cracked parts where it's possible to add material inside to overlap these. David

I will see if I have a spare later starter, you will probably need a new carb diaphragm too as has already been mentioned. Also clean out the old crumbly foam from the air cleaner before attempting to run the engine, if the foam dust gets inside it can make a right mess. David