Geoff Ravenhall

Why not start a register for Rollo and I’ll put it on the listings in the “Survivors” section?

The original oil would have been SAE 30, a commonly used non-detergent oil that you can still get from most good car accessory shops.

Well done, Mr. Haggle, another good read! I think Charlie’s forgiven me for the first caption on the cover, but just in case I’m keeping my head down for a bit!

What a great find, Charlie!

Just some titbits from the “Farming” section that I picked up:- a Trusty Transplanter, several pictures of the prototype Mk1 Trusty Steed, John Deere L2, Staub…..and I only got to page 3! Definitely one for those long nights when there’s nothing on the telly.

You are correct, that looks like an Eaton hydrostat. The casing looks identical to the one fitted to the Jacobsen TriKing- have a word with your local Ransomes Jacobsen dealer.

You may be in luck as the TriKing was still in production until quite recently.

I wonder what these Mokes looked like? Does anyone have a picture of one?

In my experience they usually have bigger hammers!

Don’t forget that the disc is made as part of the wheel hub and the whole lot is made from cast iron, so be very careful if you use a puller on it as it will not stand much abuse.

All we used to do was to give them a rub up with a flat file to take any high spots off. They aren’t high speed brakes and a light pressure on the brake pedal whilst…[Read more]

It looks like the hub and disc are only held on the shaft with the large centre nut. It looks like a parallel sided shaft with a single key but it will be stubborn to remove. I’d only persevere with it if it was absolutely necessary.

Good luck, you know we’re here if you want help.

Why are you wanting to remove the brake discs, Will? The brakes on these machines were never brilliant so if you’re worried they aren’t working very well that’s probably as good as you’ll get.

The truth is that I’ve never taken the discs off a triple as I’ve never felt the need to change them. I’ll have a look in the parts listing to see if…[Read more]

The belt tension is taken up evenly on both belts by adjusting the variator pulley. This is a double pulley with a sliding centre sheave, the same as you’d have on an old combine from the Fifties- adjusting one belt tension will upset the tension of the other belt which goes from the variator to the gearbox. When I was working on them we found the…[Read more]

All of the JAP engines that I have rebuilt over the years have had very hybrid bolts- threads are British Cycle Thread (CEI) but the heads have been A/F sizes instead of Whitworth or BSF, hence the hybrid description.

Cycle Thread is a constant 26 threads per inch irrespective of the diameter and was used as an industry standard by many small…[Read more]

Keep going, Will, you’ll get there in the end! Those main drive belts were always very expensive back in the day so keep using them if they still work.

Have a great Christmas.

Nor mine! Charlie doesn’t load the on-line version until he’s reasonably sure that everyone has received their hard copy; that way club members don’t moan about people snapping up the machines in the classified ad section before they’ve had their copies through the post.

On another note, I’ve just had to wait four weeks for some books bought…[Read more]

It will be a great loss if the site closes. I’ve been to airshows and vintage days there and it always used to throw up things that I had never seen before.

The last time I went was with Charlie to the opening of the Science Museum’s reading room and to see some of the exhibits there was outstanding- illuminated Medieval manuscripts sit…[Read more]

Most British built machinery will be Imperial sizes; measure across the flats of the nut (in inches, of course) and that will give you the size socket you need.

Very much along the lines of the early ATCO style of servicing, where they set up service centres around the country to recondition customers’ mowers over winter. I doubt Allett sold enough to warrant this kind of set up though and their winter servicing would have been done in the workshops at Stamford.

Something that I came across in my early…[Read more]

Ha- you thought the story was over!

Yesterday, November 4th to be precise, Allett Mowers held an open day for selected dealers and suppliers; part of the day involved the official unveiling of the Regal that I restored on these pages, so I was asked to say a few words by way of telling the story about how I came to be involved.

It was a very…[Read more]

We wish you all the luck in the world with it Roger! How about starting a new story in the Projects section so we can see how you’re getting on?

You know we’re here if you need any help, don’t be frightened to ask.

Hello, Roger,

It will be interesting to hear how you compare the Trusty to the Anzani once you’ve got used to it, but that’s something for next year!

Assuming the Douglas engine is the original it would be easier to date it from the tractor’s serial number. If you let me know I will add it to the Trusty Register and look it up next time I do the…[Read more]