Geoff Ravenhall

Carburettor adjustments are the first step in the process and nine out of ten times you will find that they cure the problem.

Don’t start fiddling with governor settings or anything else until you’ve adjusted the fuel/air mixtures, you will only make the matter worse.

Start by setting the main jet- run the engine at working speed and screw the…[Read more]

Mine today! Must be the postal strike.

I did five years in the workshops of a Ransomes dealer in the Midlands back in the 80’s; we used to hire six Motor Triples to the local council and I did 12 months looking after the small fleet at one point before progressing onto the first of their hydraulic and electro-hydraulic machinery. I even PDI-ed the very last Motor Triple- a Kubota…[Read more]

It’s a pleasure, Will, but it is making me remember things I thought I’d forgotten! What part of the world are you in, just in case you’re local and I can help out?

So sorry for the delay, Will, but I was in Matlock yesterday and didn’t get back ’til late; high point of the day was a dinner of steak pie and chips with lashings of thick gravy all over it- a plateful and for only six quid! I think I may move to Matlock, I’m still dribbling thinking about it!

Anyway, your problem- part number of the lower…[Read more]

My local motorfactors don’t sell gasket paper any longer; I’ve tried everywhere and they all say that there’s no call for it any more!

I now have two rolls of it under the bench courtesy of Agriline Ltd who stock two different thicknesses of gasket paper and also cork gasket sheet as well. A useful company if all else fails locally.

Are you sure that the springs aren’t compressed and stuck in the bottom of the tubes?

You’re right, Charlie!

That looks to be a very interesting Trusty. In standard form as manufactured it would have been a 3-speed + reverse transmission driving through later type reduction gears (the sliding axles signify this). The engine looks to be a JAP 5 and the reversible plough is a nice addition, unusual but not a rarity. It will have…[Read more]

Here is a section of the relevant drawing of the walking stick. The outer tube is number 40 with the inner plunger number 41. You will notice that the plunger has a groove around it’s base which the pin (number 44) locates into which then joins parts 43 and 41 together. This means that the pawl (43) should move up and down with the plunger (41).…[Read more]

I assume that you mean the “walking stick” handles either side of the operator’s platform which lift the front units clear of the ground. The spring that pushes the plunger out into the slot is quite a large diameter spring that fits inside the outer tube of the walking stick; it’s quite conceivable that somebody has pushed the plunger in at the…[Read more]

Hello, Angus,
I’m sorry to hear your news and can sense your frustration. All correspondence for inclusion in The Cultivator should be sent to CULTIVATOR-EDITOR@outlook.com but if you’re still experiencing difficulties please send me an email; I’ve sent you a PM with my personal email address.

If you need any more help at least you know where we are now, and thanks for letting us know how it worked out.

As a postscript, the project team from Allett came over yesterday to collect the Regal now that it’s finished.

Suitably refreshed (Mrs. Geoff had been baking cakes all morning!) they took it away and sent me some photo’s of it outside it’s new home, the Reception at Regal House, Hixon.

They seemed to approve of the work I’d done, so let’s hope…[Read more]

My two older brothers used to mix up their own fuel for their model aircraft and boats; they used a mixture of ether and castor oil (presumably after reading too many Biggles books!). The house used to smell of ether for days and mom got a very strange look when buying the castor oil in the quantities that my brothers needed.

Of course any…[Read more]

Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

It may even pay to buy another donor Motor Triple to provide a source of spares for the future. These machines used a lot of spare parts when they were in current use and common sense would suggest that the supply of spares is going to get less as time goes on.

My experience of the Motor Triple cutter clutch was that the friction material that…[Read more]

I never did measure the total thickness of a new plate but I know the friction material was only a thin layer, no more than 10 thou at the very outside. A shame there never was a workshop manual printed for these machines!

Some years ago when Ransomes sold off all of their redundant Motor Triple spares it was Bartrum Mowers who bought them all.…[Read more]

My recollection of those friction plates is that the friction material was not 1mm thick so it sounds like you’ve got too much on there.

It may help to buy some new if you can get them. Part numbers are MBA2790 for the friction plate with the lining on (and the book says that you need 11 for a set), and the intermediate plates are MBA2791. They…[Read more]

If you’re sure that the valves are sealing make sure that the head is flat by getting a sheet of emery cloth, lay it out on something that you know is flat (like a piece of glass) and rub the underside of the head on it using a circular motion. It’s surprising how much some of these heads can distort over time and the rubbing marks will give you…[Read more]

The Douglas SV54 isn’t one that I’ve worked on but most of the other engines from that era seem to have a solid aluminium gasket which can be re-used. If it’s gone too far at least you can use it as a template to cut a new one out of aluminium plate.

If you don’t have any compression- and the tractor’s been standing for some time- the most likely…[Read more]