Fix'em all

Very nice Paul. I like the Westwood sticker in the barrow. I will get some more pant this week for my barrow

I used a A20.5 in the end & it works perfectly. The little Suffolk engine starts first pull every time. Did quite a bit on it last weekend so have added a few photos. Ian

You may be barking up the wrong tree as it is more likely to be the points need cleaning & failing that the condenser. These are located under the flywheel. His best bet is to get a magnetron from the 3.5hp Black Briggs engines that were fitted to many 16 - 18" mowers that have now rotted away. He can then remove the old Magneto & cut the wires that go under the flywheel & fit the magnetron & never worry about points again.

Hope it fits ok. Think I will get the A21 & if it is a bit long I can always put a few washers between the engine and the chassis. Did some spraying today & found Wilko own brand red at under £4 a can comes out a nice shade of orange.

Hi Paul, is it an A20 that you bought

Can anybody help with the correct size belt for a Westwood Gemini with the original Suffolk engine. I just assumed it would be the same as the Flymo DM & bought an A20 but it is just too short & will not go on. I am torn between buying an A20.5 & an A21

Snowman, I did spin it over without the plug a few times on Sunday. It turned over a lot better as you would expect but was probably not as free as it should be. Wristpin, originally the inlet valve was partially open on all 3 strokes when it shouldn't be & this was why it was spitting back through the carb. I only took a bit off the valve stem so I don't think the clearance will be excessive. Not touched the exhaust valve so not sure why it does not partially open on compression. I thought about putting an extra head gasket on to reduce the compression. Do you think this may help. The machine has not run for a long time so if I could just get it to start it may loosen it up just through running.

Checked the compression tonight & only 45psi so must be something internal causing this. Not a big fan of Tecumseh engines so might be time to fit another motor

Hi all, I would appreciate any advice please. I have an Alko 5000 with a Tecumseh Bvl198 5 hp engine. It is so hard to pull over that it only turns 1 cycle & stops before completing compression a second time. Yesterday it would spit back through the carb or nearly wrench your arm off with a vicious recoil. I checked for a partially sheared flywheel key & it was fine. I took the head off and noticed the inlet valve was not sealing probably due to wear on the head so I took the valve out & ground a bit off the pushrod end of the valve. This sorted the inlet valve but now the compression is so high you have to ease it on compression and pull as hard as you can. I have removed the drive belt so there is no resistance there. I know some of these older 5hp engines were designed to open the exhaust valve very slightly on compression but this doesn't.

Will do cheers

Thanks for your help. Found a comment on a USA site saying this engine was only made for about 12 months in 64/65 so not going to be too many about.

I think that one is for the auto choke model. The diaphragm is about that size but doesn't have the part that connect to the choke flap. The carb has the small spring and curved washer like the horizontal carbs but the diaphragm is bigger than the 270026 that they use.

Thanks for all your replies. I think I messed up with the first digit of the model number. I have attached a few photos but looking at the diaphragms in the parts list I am not convinced it is the same as any of them. I will ship the carb off & have a look. Cheers, Ian

Hi all, can anyone help with the part number of the diaphragm fitted to an old (maybe late 60s) 3.5hp vertical Briggs engine please. It is a white engine and the carb is Not the automatic choke type. I think the engine code says 65902. It is fitted to an early (green) mountfield m1 Tiller.

I have separated the 2 casings & for anyone unfortunate enough to have to repair a pull start on these little Vincent engines, this is how I did it. After removing all the Rotovator tines and shafts you remove the 4 bolts that hold the pull start casing to the engine. Next remove the points & condenser. There is a small gap between the casings big enough to fit 4 x m8 nuts equally spaced. Rotate the pull start casing and use 4 long bolts to push the 2 casings apart and force the magnet and points cam assembly off the shaft. I now have to remove the recoil spring to find out why the assembly is not throwing itself forward & engaging with the engine.

Cheers Steve, I wanted to avoid dismantling the ignition system but not sure if there is any other way. Even then I'm not sure it will split. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I haven't solved this yet if anyone else can help

Thanks Nigel, have pm Paul

Hi all, this weekend I bought a versatiller mk1 of mid fifties vintage. It has been standing for around 35 years in a shed but is original. Took the head off & cleaned the carb & tank before attempting to start it. Started firing & was about to go when the pull start mechanism decided to separate from the engine. I have stripped it right down to get to the pull start. I reached what seemed to be the point where it would split when I removed 2 locknuts and the roller bearing from the main engine driveshaft. Still no joy, the casing moves freely but there is another aluminium plate behind the points and condenser. Can anyone help with this as I cannot believe you have to do all this work to get to the pull start. Ian

Can anyone help identify a Howard Rotovator. It has the side shaft like the Bantam but the tines appear to be wider than the Bantam. I know it originally had a Villiers engine but i don't have any photos sorry.

Paul, is there a way of running the engine without driving the tines. There is a lever & pin near the starter mechanism but not sure what it does.

I have added the Versatiller photo's as an album. All comments welcome please. Ian