Geoff Ravenhall

It definitely sounds like a valve problem. The best way to check if the valve timing is correct is to bring the piston up to TDC (Top Dead Centre) between the Exhaust Stroke and the Induction Stroke. The valves should be “on the rock”, where the exhaust valve has just closed and the inlet valve is just about to open. If the valves are doing…[Read more]

Thanks for the offer, John, but you’re at the back of the queue behind Mrs. Geoff’s wish list!

The next two weeks will be fettling the three tractors that I did the filming with back in April. The Norton engine gave up halfway through the day so I’ve got to get that working again besides giving the other tractors the once-over and a polish. Then…[Read more]

The inner slide should have a limited amount of movement in both directions so you can knock it backwards and forwards to get some of the rust out (and oil in). It does have a keyway to prevent the inner slide rotating inside the outer slide; this keyway doesn’t extend all the way through from one side to the other so if it stops moving suddenly…[Read more]

First box I came to! Here are a couple of the drawings from the parts listing.

The round parts that you see from each end are all one piece and are joined in the middle. It has a large cutaway portion to fit the pads into and to allow the disc to reach the friction material. I’ll try to find the parts diagram and post a picture for you. Be patient, I may be in trouble later for making a mess!

Even though I haven’t posted anything for a while I’ve been very busy in the background- so busy, in fact, that I will have to post quite a few pictures to get you up to speed.

The last time you heard anything from me I had just re-painted the section of the engine cover. That is now finished with the addition of a new decal (courtesy of Classic…[Read more]

Quite right, Angus. I think I must have had a brainstorm when I wrote it!

Most of the proprietary products that you can buy from places like Jewsons are already diluted and do not need any further dilution. The stronger the better when de-rusting things and you can pour it back into the container to re-use a few times. Eventually it does lose…[Read more]

You are quite right, it’s the Bicarbonate of Soda that you use in cooking. It neutralises the acid after the pickling process- if you don’t neutralise the acid the metal will rust very quickly once it’s exposed to the moisture in the air.

Works every time for me but it gets expensive if you have a large item. That’s when I use electrolysis or the bonfire!

I love the smell of exhaust fumes in the morning!

(Apologies to the scriptwriters of Apocalypse Now!)

The cowling looks like Wisconsin to me. The Wisconsin AEH that I have is very similar to a JAP 5 but has minor differences- was one a copy of the other, I wonder?

My Wisconsin has a removable, circular cover over the flywheel so that you can take off the flywheel without removing the cowlings. Your picture seems to have the same circular panel…[Read more]

It sounds like the rust has taken hold. On machines that had been laid up for a while we used to have to knock the slide backwards and forwards in the housing, each time getting a little bit more movement until the slide came free. Have you removed the brake pads? If not you may find they are binding inside the housing.

Assuming you’ve removed…[Read more]

Hi, Neil,
That looks very similar to a JAP 5 but it has subtle differences to the ones I’ve owned and worked on.
Could we have a few more pictures from different sides, and particularly the top of the crankcase where the barrel meets it on the non-flywheel side?
Thanks very much; I’m sure we’ll nail it!

One thing you forgot to mention, Dave- the event is not open to the public. All paid up club members are invited to attend but we have to abide by the landowner’s (and the insurance company’s) wishes and so this is a “closed” event for club members only.

Sorry to put a dampener on it for all you non-members!

Oh, as a footnote:- Some people get…[Read more]

You spotted them, then! They were part payment for welding a new floor in a grain trailer. No trips to the wardrobe department for me!

A few more pictures for you to look at.

Just in case you haven’t found it yet, for a Zenith with a 24T2 fitted with a number 14 choke tube the correct size for the air jet which fits in the hole you’re pointing to is 1.50, with the slow running tube (or jet) next to it being 50.

Don’t forget that you can fine tune the tick over with the Air Regulating Screw on the side of the venturi…[Read more]

Last week was a bit of a trial to say the least!

I started off with the chain guard; as I thought, an easy 5-minute job so I’ll tackle it before taking Mrs. Geoff down the shops. First problem was that I noticed the cutter clutch cable had stretched and was allowing the operating fork to rub on the roller drive chain, so a quick adjustment…[Read more]

Hi, Andy, it looks like we’re answering at the same time- good to see we agree with each other!

It looks very Hayter-ish. Hayter Motor Scythe would be my guess but I don’t have a picture of one with those guards and that engine so I can’t be sure.

Any ideas, fellas?