S1g 579 #1 Posted January 17, 2015 As some of you may know, the arthritis in my hip and knees is slowly getting worse,and im finding on top of my job mauling big gems around is starting to get too much. Therefore ive been looking for a project that is a bit more light weight. My day to day job is repairing hydraulic breakers etc, and I couldn't help but notice that the early hydraulic equipment is becoming almost extinct. For nearly a year now ive been looking for a JCB Beaver 1. Finally around Christmas this one popped up on ebay. Its in a very bad way and missing the oil cooler, but I hope I can resurrect it. Doing some research Ive come to the conclusion it dates from around 1986. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #2 Posted January 17, 2015 Interesting. What applications would that be used for? 1 S1g reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #3 Posted January 17, 2015 Interesting. What applications would that be used for?It's most common application would of been driving a hand held breaker( I've got the feelers out for the correct one). Other uses was any hydraulic equipment, i.e water pumps, compressors, drills, generators, and chainsaws.I've been giving it a proper look over this afternoon, unfortunately some idiot has cut the oil alert off so I will have to strip the whole engine down to replace it, (and the fans are allways swines to get off the crankshaft. ) Also they've welded the axle in place. I'm hopping the hydraulic pump is ok as they have long been obsolete, but i won't be able to flow test it until I've got the engine running and sorted out the cooler. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris 642 #4 Posted January 17, 2015 Well used & abused. Typical hire machine then robbed for parts to keep others going! Honda bits easy Rest will be a challenge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel 1,877 #5 Posted January 17, 2015 It's most common application would of been driving a hand held breaker( I've got the feelers out for the correct one). Other uses was any hydraulic equipment, i.e water pumps, compressors, drills, generators, and chainsaws. I've been given it a proper look over this afternoon, unfortunately some idiot has cut the oil alert off so I will have to strip the whole engine down to replace it, (and the fans are allways swines to get off the crankshaft. ) Also they've welded the axle in place. I'm hopping the hydraulic pump is ok as they have long been obsolete, but i won't be able to flow test it until I've got the engine running and sorted out the cooler. ive got a breaker for one of them sitting on my scrap heap if you want it give me a shout quick :)might have the cooler as well 2 S1g and diggerjames reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #6 Posted January 17, 2015 Well used & abused. Typical hire machine then robbed for parts to keep others going! Honda bits easy Rest will be a challenge You say that but the early type honda parts are proving a challenge as well. This is a pre 1992 honda so the recoil, air filter, exhaust and fuel top are all different.( all damaged or wrong on this one). Going through my store of engines I've found a usable recoil(but am still looking for the honda badge), a good fuel top and I think I've got an exhaust comming off a colleague.Buried in the bottom of my scrap pile there is the remains of a lot later beaver 4 so I will extract it and see if the cooler is any good and see if it fits. ive got a breaker for one of them sitting on my scrap heap if you want it give me a shout quick :)might have the cooler as well Hi pm sent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #7 Posted January 18, 2015 Ive been digging through my brochures today and have found out these related sales sheets and workshop manuals. The exploded breaker in the last photo is the model im looking for. Apparently manufactured by Krupp and rebadged a JCB until they introduced their own hammer in 1992. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pmackellow 2,738 #8 Posted January 18, 2015 Always handy when you have the literature and manuals etc for the machine 1 S1g reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #9 Posted January 18, 2015 Have been sorting out some of the engine parts this afternoon. The Recoil starter in my store was lightly beat back into shape then given a small skim of filler to make perfect. I found a brandnew but slightly dinked fuel tank in my one shed(I know you can buy Chinese ones but the profile is different and new genuine Honda ones are horrendously expensive and recently the design has changed slightly aswell). A very light skim of filler was again needed to make perfect.Both have been given a coat of filler primer which once set will be rubbed down. At the bottom of a cupboard I also found this old type badge, again not perfect but if I cant turn up a better one, then at least ive got a pattern to get it reproduced. 3 pmackellow, Stormin and nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #10 Posted January 20, 2015 Today I managed to remove the hydraulic pump, this in turn has allowed access to the drive cog and cooling fan which both have been soaked in plenty of freeing oil, in readiness to try and get them to come off the crankshaft. As the pump was filthy even though it was below freezing in my yard I gave it a quick pressure wash. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #11 Posted January 21, 2015 Had a bit of luck today. At work we are in the middle of moving to new bigger premises, and whilst clearing out a draw I came across this collection of new old stock spares for a Beaver 1 that I didn't even know was there. They are all obsolete and if I hadn't purchased this machine,they would probably of ended up in the skip. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #12 Posted January 21, 2015 Good find. 1 S1g reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #13 Posted January 22, 2015 Good find. I was very happy.its not often that I have much luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #14 Posted January 22, 2015 Today I removed the engine and hydraulic tank from the frame. After a pressure wash I was amazed just how good the engine started to look. I was right with the fan, nearly 4 solid hours to get it off the crank, with lots of heating and penetrating fluid it eventually gave up the fight! The good news is though, that the engine looks in pretty good condition internaly, I will probably fit a new set of rings for good measure, and regrind the valves,but that's about it. 2 pmackellow and nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #15 Posted January 28, 2015 Been having a bit of bad luck with the engine. As the carb was gunged up I ordered a new Chinese one off ebay, this took over 3 weeks to arrive and when I unpacked it the butterfly shaft etc had been poorly machined so it slops around and this will cause the engine to hunt. The seller is doing the typical ebay thing of ignoring emails, good job I paid by PayPal so I can get a refund in a couple of weeks. Next was to order a new oil alert unit. When it arrived I discoverd that the early and late Hondas use different oil alerts, so I had to have another hunt around and I eventually found an early spec short engine in the far shed to rob one from.(it's really annoying as I sent a skip full of Hondas to the scrap last summer! Never thought in a million years that I would ever be restoring one). When removing the crankcase half the governor self destructed, then to top it all I accidentally ripped the oil seal, at least early and late ones in this instance are the same so no problem getting a replacement, just have to wait for it to arrive. Photos to follow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardman 30 #16 Posted January 30, 2015 Must have had a tough life in the hire trade..i have a lot of honda engined machines...unbelievable reliable if give any bit of care. 1 S1g reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #17 Posted January 30, 2015 Must have had a tough life in the hire trade..i have a lot of honda engined machines...unbelievable reliable if give any bit of care.hi pat, yes honda engines can be reliable if looked after, however after working on them five days a week about 10 years ago for a few years I'm no real fan. They are very prone to smoking and can be a bit of a bugger to stop, allthougth I did discover a trick that sometimes helps, I will show it in the photos when I rebuild the engine hopefully next week if the parts arrive. I was finding aswell that as the years went on the quality of Hondas definatley dropped off, I believe that most are built in tawain these days ( even the genuine ones). This machine I would say has had a very hard life, definatley missed a lot of oil changes and been badly knocked about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #18 Posted February 2, 2015 Removed the piston, conrod, flywheel and crank today. I know the flywheels were originally bare metal, however this leads to rust so I have given it a coat of matt black. The paint has also cured on the air shroud/recoil starter so I have fitted a new starter cord and handle, along with 3 genuine bolts ( a whole £3, lol!). I also had a lucky find on ebay which was an original spec nos air filter cover. The last thing on todays list was to find out some original 80's spec dipstick out, a bit over the top perhaps but I like to keep things original if possible. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #19 Posted February 3, 2015 Finaly got chance tonight to redo the bottom end. Firstly I honed the cylinder, then I fitted a new set of rings. Three tips I discovered years ago to reduce the risk of the engine smoking is firstly never use anything other than genuine rings,secondly allways use a later set that comprises of a 3 part oil control ring, and thirdly ignore what the workshop manual says about fitting the gap in line with the arrow in the piston, but instead fit it facing the opposite side. A gasket set was only £3.50 delivered so I am using new ones throughout. After reassembly I got the engine as far as rebolting the flywheel on and fitting the airshroud. The final photo shows an original instruction manual that arrived off ebay today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #20 Posted February 5, 2015 Whilst moving some more junk out of the one unit today I came across a very reasonable recoil badge. Thought I was never going to find one! I also about a week ago spotted some new take off genuine fuel tanks on ebay (fitted to generator that had a long life tank built into the frame probably) so for twenty quid bought it. Finally today it arrived. After regrinding the valves, I have refitted the cylinder head and started to sort out the exhaust. The original one was beyond salvaging, holed, tatty and missing the spark arrestor. Where as later type exhausts are easy to obtain, and cheap ( if you go the Chinese route), early ones are almost extinct. This is where my store comes in handy. There was one left, the chrome cover was a bit battered, and after beating it back into shape it looked ok, but I am a bit of a fussy bugger so found a company that still has some new covers in stock ( £50 ouch!), hopefully they will arrive tomorrow. Also I managed to find a better oil alert switch. At long last though the Honda is starting to look like an engine again. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #21 Posted February 10, 2015 The new covers arrived but sadly they are of a different size, at least the supplier is prepared to have them back. Finally got my money back through paypal for the carb, after the seller said thy would only send a replacement once id removed my negative feedback, and accused me of ordering the wrong part etc, it had nothing to do with it being machined wrong! In order to pay the bills ive had to refurb this much later Beaver 4(almost a before and after shot with the two side by side.) bar the frame the unit has changed very little over 30 years. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #22 Posted February 15, 2015 You know what they say, "In for a penny, in for a pound". After a 120 mile round trip ive just collected another beaver 1. This one probably dates from about 1988, and differs in it has the more conventional type controls etc. Also included in the lot was a Compact II, probably from about 1992, and a lot later bitsa that is for spares only. Better photos to follow once ive got them unloaded. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 4,458 #23 Posted February 15, 2015 My! You have been a busy beaver. 1 S1g reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nigel 1,877 #24 Posted February 16, 2015 blimy gareth, what you going to do with them, i think your neighbours will have the hump if you start digging there paths up 1 S1g reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1g 579 #25 Posted February 16, 2015 Been giving them a proper once over today. The new beaver has had a later pump conversion so for the sake of originality I'm going to borrow the one off the compact for the time being. The hardest thing to overcome is likely to be the rotten exhaust, I don't think there's any good ones left in my store.Everything else should be ok to source, although I may again struggle for a good recoil badge. The one beaver 4 above has allready been sold, the other one has been put aside for a rainy day. . blimy gareth, what you going to do with them, i think your neighbours will have the hump if you start digging there paths up The plan is to do them up and show them with the original spec hammers(if I can find them). I've got elephants feet to demonstrate them on so the neighbours paths are quiet safe. I've managed to dig out today a couple of jcb's own hammers,probably from around 1990, hopefully I can make one good one out of them. 1 nigel reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
