Anglo Traction

A sunny Sunday I recall, about 70 degrees F. Near the start point for me/us. He had to remove the rear silencers for some reason to do the run(s)?. I seem to remember it being more pink in colour, also shown on the cover of Custom Car Mag earlier in the year. Ah!, those were the days. Cars, Girls and country Pubs to chill out at.

Have to go back to the 70's Alain to beat the first Custom Roller 'of-a-sort'. I saw this thing back around 1973 at the Brighton Speed Trials along the marine Parade. He had engine issues at the time and only made 86mph over the standing 1/4 mile. Standing 20 feet away from it made your stomach resonate when at 1/2 throttle. Only 27 litres.......... (Merlin from a Tank). Couple of links here- Also a response from Rolls- LINK

All wheels/tyres swapped. Several test drives and all seals doing what they should do- Had a bit of wear slack in the Clutch shaft where it passes through the Frame (frame is the bearing). Not a good design as it is often neglected and deprived of grease throughout it's life. Could not pull the spirol pin from the spring side of the shaft bracket, so made up an extra bearing that would bolt on using the last hole in the frame nearest the Transmission- It's pulled the shaft back to where is should be and applies restraint from forward, upward and downward belt/spring forces. Well greased, it is now smooth in operation and no rattles. Tractor is now ready for collection

Nothing special Norm. Fan fixed to Sprocket on the Crank. Fan for additional cooling due partially enclosed compared to the exposed situation it would normally be in when fixed to a motor bicycle. Had to check the 172cc engine out in the Books. That was an up-rated engine first produced in 1924. The first prototype engine went to a French Racing team (Monet Goyon) and it powered them to winning the French GP of that year. Known as the 'Sports' initially, then 'Sports' with the Auto Lubrication system, then Super Sports T.T and lastly the 'Brooklands'. However, I digress. This engine is the first 2 stroke 269cc engine designed and built by Villiers (in 1913). Fitted to a multitude of Motor cycle makes, direct belt or chain drive initially. Known as the Mk I (should be roman numerals) up to 1916, then Mk II, Mk III. Mk IV is claimed to be the first introduction of their Flywheel Magneto, as prior to this, they used an external chain driven Bosch Mag, but the war got in the way of supply. This engine, the MkV was discontinued from Sept 1922. They built 3 other engine designs (from 1923) - 150, 250 and 350cc as the Mk VI. So everything hangs on this being in working order. It is complete and has the original Carb with it. Also has the Villiers patent Free Engine Clutch. All these bits will need to work ok when fixed. Good news is that my concoction of fluid for loosening bit up worked on the siezed piston/crank after just 1 hour ! and found it was 'freed up' by accident !. So need to remove that nut on the end by the Fan first without any stress on the crank, then pull the cylinder to check the bore/rings and piston. Might have a source of used spare parts too. Also may have a replacement option for the HT Coil (same style).

+ 1 Norm, Only just logged in to find you had aged over the weekend !. I don't have birthdays nowadays, just an anniversary Beer (Badgers Fursty Ferret) or a Cider (Frosty Jack). Belated best wishes anyway.

Haven't got any pics of the whole unit, it's in bits. I'm head down dealing with the engine assessment (when I'm not prepping the C-120 for sale). If it can't be bought back to life, then it will just be large boat anchor, or garden sculpture potential. The latter was the case for many years, hence the corrosion. The Magneto is clean as it was covered from the elements. Highly unlikely to get a spark out of it. Confirmed the engine date is 1922 with the serial letter/numbers and only have a couple of reference shots of the engine for what they are worth-

Good to hear it's a 'runner'. Keeps you fit Ray at that speed. Presume you know the imbalance/vibration is likely to be with the disc or blades....be the first place I would look.

It's a winter project and not clear if it can be brought back to working order. If it can, I'll reveal and run a topic.

Seems we can end up paying twice for things. Once for purchase, and then your own time to fix it properly before installing. At least you know it's done properly

Surprising how long to OEM belts seem to last. Should get a few more years if you're lucky (fingers crossed). Oh yeah!. Very true observation

Had 3 driving sessions to check the Trans out and all is well/smooth for gear changes with positive selection. Found a tiny weep in the Brake Shaft seal, so I'm replacing them all with spring lipped type seals- Don't recall any leaks amongst the dirt from when I obtained it, but it has been stored drained for 6 years. Used white lithium grease to run them onto the shafts. Other side to do yet to and swapping over to Turf Maxxis Kevlars on the rear and wide turfs on the front. Put the Gear selector cover panel back on- Also pressed the original steering wheel off the old upper shaft so the new owner has the option to swap them over. So I have been active.....honest!.

Currently working on an early 1920s pile of rust and dirt and is/was legitimately a Ride on. Were there any machines made in UK before then that filled the criteria of a Ride On?. I/c engine powered, seat and steering that was mass produced for the homeowner market for gardening type jobs. I'm doubtful of any earlier examples based on dates of patent for clutches, but would always be glad to know of an earlier example . I'll ask the same question on RS to see what was floating around in the early 20th century that resembled a Ride On in the U.S.

Very nice example you have there. ideal condition to keep as it is with the oily rag etc. Can't quite make out which Villiers Mk is in it?. Trying to research early 20s Villiers myself at the moment.

Superb job! and now a very usable machine. Well done sir !.

We all have to endure that experience Norm and we all enjoy it as much as you appear to in the Pic. The important thing was were you able to have a few beers?. Reminds me of Wesley Pegden's reluctance to wear a suit and it kept making him turn left . Hope you had a good day.

I was relying on you Koen to have seen one. Not sure how common they are, only seen one on Ebay.De in the last year. Very robust mower if well maintained. Impressed with the Wire pullstart cord, would outlast the engine. When I look at the Drive unit on the Mower, it reminds me of the WW1 Mk1 Tank Tails used for steering. I think they must have changed the colour scheme at some point, as this Sabo owned image is earlier than 1965 I believe-

That looks to be a very tidy, unmolested machine. They don't show up very often like that. Good aged patina. Lucky you had a spare motor. Is the Camshaft solid?, it looks like it, and must have had a high load force to snap it. Reminds me of Kohler 8hps where the hollow Camshaft breaks when it's hit by the Conrod. Also, Good Vid work there 👍.

Sorry Nigel, afraid it's going West to Dorset 😢. Had some theraputic time on the machines over the weekend. Made the Keys out of EN8 Steel which is a tad softer than the originals. shown here and the new machined blank- Milling the centre out (3/16"/ 4.75mm) to make the two keys- Finished Keys- The fit is now perfect in the Keyways and reassembly under way-

Missed this one somehow. Everything you need is -HERE- type your model number 02-11BP05 in the box.

Does that mean there will be both metric and imperial fixings as well?. I haven't done a LAV example.

Should do the job now Norm . I'm sure your ground up there is a lot softer than it is down this way at the mo' .

Sorry for delay in reply. Nope, not a chainsaw. It is a Mower, but I don't think they are common in UK?. It was a bit of a wreck and on it's second engine (1965 mower model). Judging by the damage to the rather massive Spindle housing, it had a catastrophic bearing failure as well when the original engine let go of it's bits. Presumably, it had new bearings fitted when the engine was replaced, and it was these bearings which had also failed and I was tasked with extracting them for replacement- It took an awful lot of pressure just to get the 25mm diameter spindle out. I then had the same problem with the bearings and found they had been bonded in to take up the gap caused by the old seized ones wearing the Housing bore out- Found the housing bore was nearly 0.4mm larger after cleaning it out. That gave me a problem, as the usual Loctite bearing fit fluids could only cope with much smaller gaps. Searched and found one that specified use for up to 0.5mm gaps, obtained new quality bearings and had to make a circular wire spacer to hold the lower bearing away from a worn lip in the bottom of the housing- Reassembled and bolted up under tension to ensure everything was aligned while the joint fluid was setting. Installed the completed Housing back onto the Deck and fitted the massive sharpened/balanced blade. All now smooth spinning ready for running- It was then that I had to tear into the engine to find why no spark. Not impressed with the motor's design, over complicated and lots of work removing bits to get at the coil etc. Took a 4 foot (1.22mtrs) scaffold bar on both the Flywheel nut and then again to get the Flywheel off the keyed taper. Anyway, all sorted and got it running despite the iffy Carb (now you know where that Fuel Tap I fixed went to)- This machine had a serious impact on it's left rear corner. You can just see the (good) Ali weld repair bottom right. It had damaged the Drive unit housing etc and I had to pull that straight and fix the pulleys etc- So there it is, a 1965 SABO rotary mower with drive unit. I only have to fix the handles on and it's ready for testing and fine tuning. It has no remote throttle on the handle, only a lever that lifts the drive unit clear of the ground!. The throttle lever is on the Carb!. Interesting machine and a mildly enjoyable challenge, but give me an old british job with old whitworth spanners and a good chance of obtaining spares and info. Which spookily is what is lined up for me next edit- Mods can move this to another forum as it is a pedestrian op machine if desired. I kept it here for continuity Regards

Having a clear out of the workshop and this is the first of the machines to go. In the process of installing a later Transmission. Why ?, well the old original one (5091 version) developed a tiny weep on the r/h axle seal and we all know they don't cure themselves. I suspected a worn needle bearing, so I checked it for up and down sloppy movement, as I won't sell it like that - Barely 0.007" up and down total with all the weight taken on the Jack, which is not that bad. I'm not happy just replacing the seal, so I'm going to rebuild this one and install the 103916 unit which is unmolested, clean shafts 'n' keyways, no leaks and had clean oil drained out of it- It will be used for mowing and towing duties, so it will have a heavy duty WH tow hitch fitted. Old tranny is on the left, replacement should be fitted this evening and I'll make the new woodruff keys over the weekend hopefully (in between watching Singapore GP)-

Welcome to the Forum. I other thing to check before buying any parts is to check all earth/ground connections in the Ignition circuits. Your Tractor model commenced in 1979 and has (should have) an Engine cradle with Anti vibration mounts. It calls for a cable to be fixed to an engine point and the cradle in order to maintain a good earth(ground) to make the circuits.They need to be clean metal contact. Diagram of the link cable (47) example for you- If any become rusted, the resistance increases and subsequently reduces current flow. This can restrict the current from the Coil, through the S/Plug to earth/ground. Earth/Ground connections include Solenoid, Condenser bodies, as well as the engine to frame. If the Starter motor spins the engine over ok, then that cradle to engine earth wire is proving a good connection, so you can check the other items mentioned If this doesn't help with the spark strength, then you may have to replace some parts. If you have a multimeter, you can test most of the parts and connections to see what you need. You can also set the static ignition timing accurately with it too.

Quality work Alan and good clear Macro pics .