Alan

It can be difficult to decide whether to restore a machine or not. I’ve got both restored and un-restored, the deciding factor being how much work or replacement parts were required to get the machine into a working condition. If it was a major job then the entire machine was restored and re-painted.

The only image I have is an advert for March 1956. Basic price £157.10.0.

That’s correct, Simplicity made tractors for Allis Chalmers. There are the later 1970’s Simplicity models in the UK, but none badged as Allis. The early model Simplicity tractors are also causing me some issues!

Clive,

Many thanks for the extra info on Ginge machines. I would never have found all that! I’ll update the Ginge article in due course.

The name J. T. Lowe does appear quite a lot with various machines, but I’ve not come across the GardenFlex name linked to Ginge before.

The link to the Liberallawnmowers website is really interesting. I see…[Read more]

When I wrote the article that Wristpin has kindly linked to, I think I got to about 1980 with research on Ginge in the UK, but then things get a bit sketchy. There’s been quite a lot of Ginge branded items over the last 40 years but sadly I have nothing to link items to such as brochures, adverts or an importer.

My notes say that Ginge did make…[Read more]

I’ve had a good search to see if there’s any mention such as reviews from the time the conversion was available – I’ve found absolutely nothing! I thought that there might have been a photo of the machine being tested in one or another magazine but sadly not. Does anyone have anything?

The question still remains; is there a Howard Holttum…[Read more]

I have a magazine mention for Holttum in 1954, this shows the name spelt with one ‘t’. In this advert I think it was perhaps just a simple spelling error. Photo attached.

I have found a 1961 article detailing the life and retirement of Mr Holttum, which mentions Trusty tractors. He was also the designer of many of the items they manufactured.…[Read more]

I’ve just had a look for the Holttum-Howard 700 and I can only find one online magazine article mentioning it. The article is just a short mention in 1959 but does have prices.

“A third wheel attachment for the Howard 700 now converts it into a three-wheel light tractor. The attachment has been developed by H. B. Holttum and Co Ltd. of Cambridge…[Read more]

Thank you for first post and also for the video, too.

It’s great that you’ve taken the time and energy to make a film and explain everything. Photos are useful but video is even better and it’s good to see or hear the people who are doing the work.

Of all the things I’ve owned I’ve never had a Westwood…yet! I do have the brochures including…[Read more]

Clive, Your memory of the colour was far far better than mine originally was! I was thinking orange and it turned out to be maroon!

I have found an image!

The mower is a Valor Ironcrete.

Andy, now that you mention that maroon colour I do recall something about it being that colour.

I’ve had a look and cannot find my photo, but I did find that there was both petrol and battery models that were about in the late 1960’s and in the 70’s.

It does remind me of the Valor Ironcrete mower from the late 1960’s onwards, called the ‘twelve plus’ or something. I have a photo somewhere, though I recall that my photo shows an orange mower with a Valor decal on the corner of the grassbox. They possibly made a battery version in the 1980/90s which might have been the orange one…?
 
Valor…[Read more]