Geoff Ravenhall

That will be quite something to see- I have never seen an early Simar and I should think they are that rare that many of our members won’t have seen one either. Well done for keeping it from the car fraternity, Andrew. No doubt a few of you will remember the Howard Gems at Tractor World a few years back which had been restored; the rumour was that…[Read more]

The simple answer is that the majority of ploughing matches run an open class for single furrow horticultural machinery. This means that you can use anything- many people these days are using 1970’s and 80’s compact tractors with modern ploughs- and so long as you turn up and pay your entry fee nobody will mind. Most of these ploughing matches are…[Read more]

The VHGMC will also be looking for a new Ploughing Co-Ordinator at the 2022 AGM in March, so here is an ideal opportunity for the right person to come along and perhaps instigate a few changes.

As you say, there are plenty of ideas out there but is there somebody that can see them through to a conclusion? If nobody comes forward then things will…[Read more]

I scanned Steve Woollas’s perspex cover, opened it in Photoshop and increased the size. I then drew around all of the relevant lines in white using the pencil tool (it took hours!), then filled in the background in black using the bucket tool.

I just hope the engraver can use it now!

I’ve been shopping around and found a trophy engraver locally that says he can do it; the trouble is he’s now away until 10th December and he would prefer to give me a quote to do the job first. I’ve done the artwork already and supplied him with both JPEG and pdf formats but the fact that he wants to quote me first sounds a little worrying!

Here…[Read more]

Halfords and Amazon both sell selection boxes of springs. There is bound to be one in there that you could use.

There are quite a few pictures of Wrigley trucks in the gallery section if you want to know what it should look like. It appears to have a Villiers engine which should be easy to buy spares for and is easy to repair- why not start a new topic in the “Projects” section to tell us how the rebuild is going and then we can help if you get stuck with…[Read more]

……oh, and I should have said that I’m glad you got home safe and sound Andrew!

Well Done, Big Ears!

Another curiosity at the show was a pedal-powered garden roller exhibited by Trevor Luckhurst of Poweroll, one of the few companies these days which specialise in sportsground rollers. Trevor has a large personal collection of old and unusual rollers which do get an airing from time to time; a personal favorite of mine is his Trusty Roller which…[Read more]

The first day of the show has gone really well and plenty of membership forms have gone off the stand. It seems that plenty of groundsmen and greenkeepers are interested in “our” machinery so we’ll see in the coming weeks how many of these forms get returned!

Here are a few pictures just to show what the team achieved at the NEC. The idea behind…[Read more]

This discussion will go on for ages without reaching any final conclusions. In my experience it doesn’t matter where you draw the line somebody will object because they have just missed the cut-off.

I agree that the Bingham working days were fun and it’s a shame when these things develop into competitions because the fun aspect tends to get…[Read more]

On all of the JAP engines that I’ve worked on I’ve found that they tend to be designed to run at governed engine speed. I’ll have to look it up but that would normally be a high idle speed of around 2500rpm (I’m working from memory, so don’t shout at me if it’s wrong!).

To achieve a tick-over speed the throttle cable is used to override the…[Read more]

As you say, Charlie, the vintage ruling is imposed by the Society of Ploughmen for their National Championships. On an every day basis nobody is stopping people competing with Wingets and Martin Markhams at the local ploughing matches and I have never heard of anyone being turned away because their tractor is too new- witness the amount of Kubotas…[Read more]

As you say, Charlie, the vintage ruling is imposed by the Society of Ploughmen for their National Championships. On an every day basis nobody is stopping people competing with Wingets and Martin Markhams at the local ploughing matches and I have never heard of anyone being turned away because their tractor is too new- witness the amount of Kubotas…[Read more]

I know what you mean, Angus. The old days of the Windsor Show in September are long gone, but what a show it was! Woodchippers running, Blec digging holes and filling them in and countless mowers running on demonstration plots. One of the last ones I went to had Ransomes challenging all comers to drive their Spider remote control mower around a…[Read more]

Global Press have now invested in a new notebook and sharpened all pencils and crayons especially for the event. If all goes well it should be a good show.

Well done, Andrew, for securing such a prestigious venue for showing off your collection. As stand space is at a premium in the NEC the GMA must think it important to advertise their long association with the industry. I can remember the unique displays that you put on at SALTEX when it was at Windsor Racecourse and nothing but complimentary…[Read more]

A very rough date for your tractor will be June, 1948.

Your best bet is to look on that well known online auction site for an instruction book for the JAP 5 engine. The original books come up frequently and are very concise, giving dismantling and rebuilding information as well as parts lists and exploded drawings for just about everything including the magneto and carburettor.

It would be unusual…[Read more]

I’m guessing that Charlie meant that the person who wrote the original post is no longer an active member, and so Merry-Tiller’s question to him is unlikely to get a reply.

It doesn’t stop anyone else from answering him, though.