The rear mudgaurds are coming off again for repainting black. There is that much yellow on it it looks like a pile of bleeding custard.

This week readers Andy and I are muckyanics

During next week and the weekend Andy and myself will be hopefully setting up the engine to run smooth. I will be running a Briggs and Stratton 11 horse motor to start with. Mainly because it was free. Donated to me By the one and only Double Director over all things Group 2 Mr John Pardon. A very generous gesture on his part and for my part I am a very grateful recipient, cheers John.

25/03/06

Obviously not very good muckyanicks

We fitted the 11 horse briggs to the tractor this morning and fitted the petrol tank. It is a bit small and fits into the control assembly a treat it should hold enough fuel for a couple of races at a push. We tried to start it and it started well enough but seemed a bit reluctant to run smooth then stopped. As this engine has probably stood idle for a long while apart from a quick start up and a short run we decided to give the carburetor a good clean out. This all seemed to go fairly well except the bottom jet would not come out at any price. So blew it through with the airline institute. The engine once more assembled we started her up and she sounded so sweet that we figured it must be ok. After a few minutes trying to get her warmed up and set the idle screw it was that smoky in the garage we nearly had the bleeding fire brigade out. We did a hasty retreat for a cup of tea and wait for the smoke to clear. On return we found that loads of oil had been blown back into the carburetor. This being the case we or should I say I have taken the decision to go bankrupt and buy a new engine Not sure whether to go for the Briggs AVS or the Tech Enduro. Deciding factor will be the price. So technically speaking we have taken a backwards step.

            So to round the day off we set to work on the scag fitting the jackshaft. I got to play with the tap and dye set as we had to drill the sprocket for a grub screw. We fitted the chain and I cleared off for some scran. I believe the Stig took the beast out for a test run round the streets and found it to his satisfaction. Sunday became a day of rest. I will of course update for those interested as soon as I get an engine and do something with it.

28/03/06

Today my new Briggs & Startton Engine arrived. Its a 13 horse Intek Dual start electric and and pull start.

Bought this at Greenstripe Garden Machinery at a very competitive price and it was delivered the next day. A very satisfactory service.

Of course the first thing was to invalidate any warrenty buy ripping the govenor out of it. But needs must and into the guts we went

(yellow) Govenor splash paddle	The govenor bits removed

It was quite a simple task to remove the active bits of the govnor. The two pins retaining the counter weights wer only snap in and with a little persuasion they slid out releasing the the counter weight and the push rod. Next was reassembly.

Please note the large brass coloured cog

When we came to reassemble the sump it became apparrent that we needed to remove the oil pump cover and the oil pump gubbins. as when trying to replace the sump case the shaft running through the case had a tendency to fall through into the engine.

Oil Pump	Oil Pump

Its very easy to remove just a small star shaped peice in the centre and a pin through the centre of that onto the cog below. (see large brass coloured cog). Putting it back was just as easy. Stick the centre drive pin back in followed by a bit of turning the star shaped piece left and right till it slots in. Next Tighten everything up and Bobs your uncle. Fitting the engine to the mower we had to alter a few things like the throttle was now in completely the wrong place. But in the scale of things small price to pay for a new toy.

Got to keep it clean

We ran the engine for about 20 minutes then Got thrown out of the shed for making too much noise. Mind you it was after 9:pm.

29/03/06

Ran the engine again for a few minutes to warm the oil then did an oil change. We have made a start on the exhaust but havn't got very far with it so I will leave it for now and update when we have done a bit more.

1/04/06

Got a bit more done today. Sorted the throtle linkage out fitted two of the four pulleys and finished the exhaust.

As you can see by the pics everything was a bit fiddly but a bit of patience was all that was needed. The exhaust was a bit of a pain getting all the bends in the right places and having to weld them up. It might not be the best looking exhaust in the club but it sure does the job. The engine sounds pretty damn good if I do say so myself. I got the bits of pipe from old exhausts recovered from National tyres And one of the kind gents actually gave me an exhaust clamp for free. Mind you I was wearing some tatty old work gear at the time and he must have thought I was living in abject poverty . The adjuster for the belt was constructed out of 1" * 3/16 flat bar. Just stuck a 10mm bolt between the two long plates and welded them together with a couple of short pieces. The tension pulley was recovered from the original mower as I am sure most of you will recognize.

Also today we reconfigured the Stigs exhaust on the scag. He was that impressed with the tune mine was playing as was I, he decided to alter his. So we manufactured one for the Scag as well. This all went relatively easy apart from me constantly warning the Stig not to get hold of the hot bits, then what do I do grabbed hold of a bit that was not quite red hot but certainly hot enough to hurt. But I didn't cry honest. I must confess though that the Scag now sounds in fine fettle. Stig took the beast out for run round the streets and you could hear it from blocks away. To finish of the afternoon we fired both engines up in the shed and it was like listening to an orchestra playing, pure music to the ears.

2/04/06

Today Sunday We have managed to refit the bonnet, this was due to the engine change from the 11 horse to the 13 horse. The orientation of the new engine was completely turned round so the rocker cover was fouling on the bracing metalwork in the front so we had to remove part of it and redesign the frame. We have also fit the pulleys and Noram clutch as follows.

Front (Noram clutch) 4” about 100mm, under the jackshaft 95mm, top of the jackshaft 110mm and on the T Drive 200mm. With 15” rear wheels this should give us a top speed of 46 mph at 5000 revs.

We chose this ratio as the engine has as yet not been run under any load and we don’t want to be revving the guts out of it at this stage. Also whilst doing the pulleys we have trimmed the jackshaft down to size. So all in all we don't seemed to have acheived a great deal but most of it is a bit fiddley. Added to which I was required elswhere this morning and didn't start till after dinner. Thats my excuse for being a bit lazy. During the week I am hoping to get the belts sorted out and fitted and if there is any time before sat fix up the solanoid, starter switch and battery. Also with a bit of luck Stig and I will be doing a small test run on the sisters farm on Saturday for a couple of hours. Got to see the Brother in law about that one though as he has quite a few race horses and we dont want to frighten them  with the noise. I will post some pics on the site if we manage to get out.

Finally got the yellow peril loaded up and out to the beach for a trial run.

Whos the smug git in the back to front hat ??

The day started out well enough, though we figured to have overgeared it a bit as it was a touch sluggish on the set off but  would be fine for an endurance race. Custard handled well enough and the brakes were fine. I spent about 20 minutes shaking her down a bit then the Stig ever ready to try a new mower out got onboard and put it through some tentative paces.(tentative) due to the fact that I asked him not to thrash the engine at this stage and he being the gentleman that he is, was most considerate. That plus the fact he had to come into range of my shotgun at sometime. We did find one or two bolts that needed tightning up after rattling along over rocks and what have you and I promised myself I wouldn't mention this one as I feel like a prat but the bolts holding the steering wheel on came out and I was a bit taken aback somewhat to find myself hurtling towards the truck and no steering. Lucky the brakes didn't fall off as well. 

But on a more serious side we both enjoyed the ride out and while I am sure there is room for improvement at this stage I felt very smug about the completion of this fine work of art. No more To be added today  but I do hope to start up a new web page on the progress of the racing and keep you updated occasionally as to any pitfalls and bonuses I have with the tractor. As to my fellow racers North and South good luck to you all in 2006. As to further modifications I feel quite sure that I will get numerous tips and helpful advice from fellow members at the testing weekend at Retford next week. And once again I would like to thank all who have already contributed to the build with advice bits etc. But I must express my greatest thanks to the Stig who has spent every bit as much time as myself on the mower and tolerated my dummy spitting tantrums when things got out of shape. If there is one thing that both the Stig and I have learned is "Its got to be here somewhere".

You will have to ask the stig about that one.