Anglo Traction

Yep! , spot on with your assumption Wristpin. had to do this 3 times to get the worst out. Here's a link to a pictorial example of my set up/effort- http://myoldmachine.com/topic/536-1972-genset/ You have to clean the Anodes regularly and ensure the by-products are able to float to the surface around the insulation on the Anodes.

Er .....it's the 5th of August today! , or should it be April Fools Day?. I won't be drawn any further on this one, wouldn't want to get political here

I don't know if Myhermes is the same unit as Hermes, drop off system sounds handy, but I've had major problems with deliveries via the latter. Claims of delivery/Forged signatures etc. I will avoid them like the plague. I resorted to doing my own at the moment and the next one is Thursday on 290miles round trip and I should save a fair bit on the costs overall. Most of all, the goods will be well cared for.

I reckon American would be the choice for me too as to where the term Strangler came from. So to deviate from my (many) Engine issues which I'll get sorted in the end, I hit the Output Shaft and Clutch Unit to check for condition - Looking ok-ish, but the Cork Friction Segments have seen better days...and this is the good side ! - Preliminary clean up showed some pitting in the painted surfaces, but all the Bearing, running Journals and friction Plates are very good and no wear . Size comparisons for you are shaft main diameter is 3/4" (19.05mm) and the Pressure Plates are 3 1/2" (89mm) dia - Only the Split Pin and the Cork Friction Segments to replace. The latter, I can make my own or modify a set of Villiers/James Bike Clutch replacements, so no issues there. Reassembled to store ready for final clean, paint and refit- Dirty Jobs time now cleaning parts, as all other parts I need to find can be dealt with, and the rest of the moving parts are/will be in very good/unworn condition. Only real issues I'll have is re-cutting the correct tread pattern in the old Connelly Solid Tyres and deciding whether to get the Hub Caps/wheel retainers re chromed?. Now I know this Mower is salvageable, I suppose I should link it by a move to the 'Step-by Step Restore' section, unless it's ok here?.

You may well consider a Briggs Engine Charlie. Similar in size to the original Techy H60 -75118H light Aluminium Engine. There are usually several on auction regularly in the 4 - 8hp region- Reasonably priced, loads of replacement parts available, easy to modify and fit a Carb for a remote Fuel Tank, design remained the same over a long period. Crankshaft Pto side is imperial dimension to fit existing WH Drive Pulley and probably wont have to do much Frame drilling for Mounting. Lastly it will be in keeping with the original look. If you can avoid shoving a newer looking engine into an Old looking machine, then you've done what you can. Depends if it is just to play around on, work it etc. It would be difficult now to find good spare parts and rebuild an original H60 Engine. I did one 3 years ago and struggled to find all I need then. Best of luck in your challenge.

I think it depends if he is not too busy and can find someone to look after the Horses (hooved versions). Have a few pints for me Guys

A little bit of an update on evaluation progress for this project for those interested. Made up a small Stillage Pallet for the Cylinder and Blade/Carrier and took it to a local Carrier last Friday to be shipped to Garfitts in Sheffield - Got a call this morning from Garfitts to say they have received it and had a good chat about the possibilities. They have never seen or heard of this old Model either !. Outcome is that they will fabricate a New 5 Blade Cylinder on the Original Spindle and provide a new Bottom Blade. Good news and so it is go ahead and will be a full restore as all the other bits I'll need, I'm sure I will find, mainly engine/ignition parts. This is the main part I'll need to replace due to Carbon Deposit damage- Engine appears it was never dismantled, so the old 'Dig' marks in the Skirt may be from assembly in 1957 !. Rest of the engine is well 'In Spec' including those stuck Rings !!, Carbon build up likely due to continual use of the initial 'Running In' Oil to Petrol ratio, instead of reducing it to the unspecified Oil portion outlined in red in this instruction (by the way, I love the use of the word 'Strangler' instead of 'Choke' in the 'Starting' section)- ..... so will be looking for a Good Used Ali Piston (part # C 6752), amongst other bits.

Many thanks for the Birthday wishes Gents, much appreciated. Had a good day. Will try and get over to the Lingfield Show on Saturday Chris. Regards

Well Ian , thanks, I feel I need to try and do this one some justice. I keep getting little signals or 'familiar links' that says I'm destined to sort this one against all the odds that beset it. Got an Email last night from Roly that his Father had located all the paperwork for this Mower, Receipts, Warranty (which also quotes the Engine number) and User Manual and what's really spooky is that it was originally purchased on my 6th Birthday!. You don't often get something this age with this much provenance..... I 'Doctored' the Address on the receipt image - Just for curiosity, I'll keep the Plug, clean it up and see if it will still work, but will be replaced. Should ship the Cylinder & Blade off this week.

Ditto !. I used to enjoy pici takin years ago before the age of Digital. Always full of anticipation waiting for the prints. Particularly interested in Macro images in the Animal World as well. Still have my old Kit and only bought some film a few weeks ago to check it all over before selling it -

Giving the old Stourpaine show a miss this year . Shame as it's very good and (usually) lucky with the weather. Enjoy it if you go.

Also agree that it may be Crane orientated. Maybe a Cable Fairlead from a type of Scotch Derrick?.

Look's like a good replacement Mark. Like the High work Platform, but if your getting too old for crawling around on the floor , what chance have I/we over 60's got .

That should keep you busy for a while setting it up Ian! . Good useful piece of tooling. Impressed that you found space for it . A Horizontal Miller, good for higher volume metal than the Vertical which I use. Don't recognise the design/Maker, there were lots of machine manufacturers and equipment around during and after the 2nd W/War. You may find the maker by spending a few lazy online evenings searching through the Milling Machine Archives on here - http://www.lathes.co.uk/page21.html Put a good belt on it when initially setting it up, some can be a pain having to dismantle to retrofit a replacement on some.

I've had a while to think about this project and weigh up the practicalities and costs. I've decided to go ahead and rescue this one on the first basis that the original owner would be 'Over the Moon' if it was put back to new condition so he could see it running again, even though I'll have to undo the Mods and repairs he made to it . Secondly, as Wristpin had suggested, Garfitts have said they are confident they can sort a cylinder out for me on the original Shaft/Spindle , even if they have to fit a 6 Blader on it (a refurbish job ), 5 blades and it will be a restore . It's going to be a 'Money Pit Project', but I've still not found anyone or collection that has an example of this Model and age, plus all the ATCOs in captivity that I can find are green !!. So far I've managed to dis-assemble this machine with only one small nut shearing off the Clutch Lever bracket and the engine did not have a 'tight spot' as first thought......found the right hand bearing on the Cutting Cylinder seized where it had never been lubricated as shown in one of the pics below. Engine will probably need a full on rebuild. So, as with all the other Deadbeat projects I seem to find, it will be a back to new and close to original condition for it. All the drive, side plates and handle bar parts removed, leaving just the Engine on the mounting plate so I can work on it with some leverage. Here's a few pics on the progress of turning it into a pile of bits - Managed to undo all the nuts and bolts on the Exhaust, so I can make any necessary parts, just need to part the main exhaust body now (soaking the joints at the mo') Also had to work around a Modification which was a pulley attached to Flywheel that drove a horizontal cutting blade mounted on the front of the Mower by the original owner- With the Flywheel off, I can now finish the full dismantling. By the way, the Spark Plug is an old 20-30s aviation type that used a layer of Mica Washers instead of the Glazed, Ribbed, Ceramic insulator. it has 3 cathode prongs around the end!, so I imagine when one erroded, the spark went to the next correctly gapped prong and you had to replace it when on the last prong?. First one I've seen of this type-. With the news of the cylinder work, I removed the right hand bearing housing. Took some gentle coaxing, cleaning, soaking tightening and tapping before it gave up resisting- Can understand why that part was never oiled, being virtually out of sight, just need to locate new bearings. It can't be seen in the last pic, but under the old bits of Bearing Seal on the Shaft is where someone had used the old trick of 'Centre Punching' around the Shaft so that the Bearing inner race would push fit on the Shaft (may have been turned down under size or an over sized inner bearing race bore?). Either way it looked original and undisturbed......love it !. Hopefully, this one won't take me 2 years to do .

Thanks Doug, when you can with the Shafts , no rush as have lots of distractions anyway. Blade size may be too thick, as this one is about 1/8" plus the raised cutting edge thickness, so about 1/4" in total. I'll see how it all goes from here. Oh yes, it would be pretty clean before going for a regrind, and it could possibly be saved if the pitting is not too deep to grind out. However- Think the Kybosh is on this project in view of the Cylinder condition . Got it out for a good look over, but knew it was pretty iffy when I saw underneath while dismantling. Counted 25 crack and break repair welds, several of which have not penetrated well. I think it is beyond repair, as I don't think you can replace the Cylinder Blades individually anyway, and all have been repaired at some point. No chance of locating another 5 Blade Cylinder machined to fit a Side Wheel Mower of this spec and age. I think the concern will always be if it decides to crack again. So, any thoughts Gents?, is it a 'No Hoper' ?. here's a few images - Seems a shame to have to scrap it, as they are scarce.

Illustrated Parts List arrived, but doesn't help locating a replacement Bottom Blade using the part number. Found that Atco had 2 sets of numbers- Service Spares numbers (usually available from stock with 3 digits preceded by a Letter) and Production Part numbers (special order items with 5 digit start with a 3 on this Mower)........ never mind, may come in handy. Parts in the Drive system look in good condition so far, Paint colour look's like it is probably going to be J.D. Yellow- Got the Bottom Blade and Carrier out and started to clean up and soak the screws (raised countersunk) - Just got to pull the Cylinder today- - then I'll take the 2 items to see an old Machinery Service Place for an assessment to see if they can be Sharpened after cleaning (don't fancy the challenge of getting all 12 Screws out without at least one misbehaving if I can avoid it). Certainly better condition than first envisaged though.

Thanks very much for the Links Wristpin , much appreciated . I read through them after I got back from reassembling it and from what I read, I got most of it right, just need to align the Clutch pressure Arm a tad more to get it spot-on parallel with the Plates when engaged........it was way out and lots of slack with max adjustment on the cable. Cable re-routed a better way and now functioning properly with good engagement and positive disengagement. Main Axle had not been over greased either I did not notice any 'End Float' on the axle, may be because it has not had a lot of use. Also not sure if Service Bulletin Instruction applies, as the Machine number on the plate is 11969 and the Bulletin refers to units after number 12401 ?. More curiously is that the Bulletin is dated 24 Oct 1975 and I have a 1980 date on the 7hp Briggs fitted to it.....maybe they had to replace the Engine at some point and the machine is actually earlier 70s like most of the other machines there?. I like these intriguing little discoveries, as they assist in I.D. ing. Will have to check further. I know much of the machinery there was regularly maintained and serviced by Dealers from what the owner told me and judging by the amount of old Labels tied to the machines. Had some bad luck though!. Last job of reassembly was fitting the Muffler after cleaning the oil out of it and the last bolt sheared in the head before it got to even 90 inch lbs . My fault I suppose, as I should have got new ones irrespectively, If you consider that it was only removed due to negligence of another. Have to deal with that next week now .

Just a point to add what Wristpin says above, Eaton do not provide the Cooling Fan for their units or the Pulley requirements. These are left to the Customer due to varying applications. So Wolseley would have sourced or made parts to fit their needs and applied their own part numbers to them. If, as you described, that the Belt travels from top right of Pulley to the left in your first Image, then you have a CCW ROTATION requirement of the Fan to pass air over the unit (possibly a Model 6 unit). The diameter of the fan should only need to be the same diameter as the Unit. You'll probably have to guess the amount of Blade pitch and number of them to provide the required cooling, when looking for a suitable Fan to modify and fit. Just need to ensure it is fitted concentrically and balanced on the pulley. I'm sure you'll find a solution.

Had a chance to do more on this monster yesterday and thought I'd keep up the progress on it as this thread gets picked up on a Google search for this Model and there is virtually zero information on it anywhere. This is actually a 1980 model, not an early 70s I believed it to be. Anyway, Pulled all the Clutch/Drive Unit out as it was seized. Brought the plates back with me to check and clean up. Condition is very good and little used, but just a very little rust pitting or discolouration from non use on the faces- Original Friction Material is still well bonded and virtually unworn, bronze bushings are good. I'm impressed with the size and quality of these Heavy Duty parts and appear to be able to cope with a lot of hard work. Roller chain is perfect and left to soak over night and so will be cleaning and reassembling the underside today.

I 'm hoping that is the case Wristpin (welcome). I have done some searching and there are Blades available that have the correct fixing spacing and number of holes, as well as dimensions. Just the profile to match. Also found the (possible) part number stamped on the Blade carrier (30397). So when the Mower's Parts and Instruction Manual arrives in the next few days, I'll hopefully have resolved that part. Old blade look's like it can be reground to a good edge. Pics to follow soon.

Hold on to the S12 as well for now Paul. I will be stripping the one out I have to rebuild it, so I'll see if I can make the part you mention. Float could be repaired too if just a pin hole or available still?. Also - Chris thanks for noticing both our S12 needs, despite us missing the boat on the Parts.

Ditto. Very impressive job and I really like the look of those Scythes. Maybe I'll find one to do one day.

Good news on the running improvements Norm. I take it the old Carb was a Walbro?. Also , just wondering what the state of the Air Filter is like?. They can also really screw up your mixtures and settings if they are dusty or Oiled .

Thanks for the Ad Paul, I wasn't surprised it claims it deals with tall paddock type grass volumes, and now I've seen it, I understand how it can cope with tall grass etc. Yes Ian it does and that Air Cleaner is the old 'Coopers' Oil Bath type. Bit of an update on this- Dashed down Wednesday afternoon to Lychett Matravers in Dorset to see my old buddy Roly, with over night stay planned and to help with some Wheel Horse work (Oh and finally delivered the Solid Engine Mounts Ian ) and to pick this Mower up. Plans all went to pot and ended up with 2 more of his mates turning up in a Light Aircraft at his local Airfield and also staying the night involving a Pub and Beers. No time next morning either due to playing with Aircraft and left for home 1130 due stopping off at Nomansland on the way to briefly visit Andy (wheeledhorseman). Thanks for the great tour Andy, you have a great place there and would love to visit again for longer. Then finally stopping off at Billingshurst on way home. Place has now been sold, so have to get moving with the machinery down there as well. Any road up, Roly managed to locate the Grass collector for it and is still complete and perfectly useable. It now has a positive ID- It still has the Atco Makers Brass Tag Plate on it. It's a 24" Side Wheel Mower (SH4, not an SF9 20") and dated 1957/58, which confirms the original purchasers date of 1958. I've uncovered a few improvised running repairs while giving it going over, here's one for example- Sheared screw that retains the Throttle Slide Cap and cable linkage, now held together by wire. not a problem to sort out. A missing Filter body screw and the other has damaged threads. Nothing looks impossible to deal with so far, although I suspect some corrosion in the Cylinder/Piston near the exhaust port, so will strip the engine and not attempt to turn it over. Bottom Blade is in 2 parts and a hefty 1/4" thick folded stiffener plate is good with a bolt on Blade that can be fabricated out of Carbon Steel if the original is no good. The reason why there appear to be so few of these early ones (late 50's) around could be due to the fact that the Cylinder Blades were apparently 'un-tempered' according to the Owner, as he had to get it weld repaired several times at an ATCO Dealer after they kept cracking/breaking in different places at least that's what he was told?. I still haven't seen any other early examples yet. This model had the heavy Hub Covers/Wheel retainers Chrome Plated- Anyway, I'm going to carry on with this and see how it goes. So my late Dad's Whitworth Spanners are back in service.