The Workshop really needs Steve at the moment and Steve has had an accident which has put him out of action as far as work is concerned. Oh help!  Seems Steve was standing at the top of a flight of stairs while he was helping Mark in London. Mark, in fun, threw a small teddy bear at Steve and Steve, who thought it was a dead rat fell backwards down the stairs. He has hurt his neck, his back and his knee and has been told firmly not to do anything until he sees the doctor next week. He did come into the workshop and I had to keep telling him not to try to do all the things he was doing and was not meant to do. (He didn't take a lot of notice!)

So we are having to get on without him.

Dave on the left is working on OJ's carburettor. It used to flood so Dave checked the needle valve and found it was sticking. He changed it and gave the carb. a general overhaul. He noticed that the interconnection rod which attachs to the combined throttle and interconnection lever, was missing the tube in which it is meant to slide up and down.

Without the tube the movement is jerky which is the last thing you need in the supply of fuel.

The next picture shows the the carburettor which has the tube in place...

A long and laborious seach took place for, firstly a replacement and then for anything which would do the job. Just when we were despairing he looked in the box of 'brass bits' which I have, over the last year or so been sorting from the piles of general bits and pieces- it contains things like brass taps and bits of taps and brass fittings and bits of fitting and amongst it he found a throttle and interconnection lever complete with rod and tube!

While all this was going on Gary, new engineer, was working steadily on Daisy May. Jeff had rebuilt Daisy May's engine not long before he left but when we trialled her we found that the brakes were not functioning and one side would not adjust and the hydraulics did not function at all. 

Gary worked his way steadily through checking every part of the visible hydraulics, draining the oil and removing both side plates and checking that the fork assembly was still intact. With nothing visibly wrong it was time to take the top cover off and examine the cylinder. He found that the piston, which should slide freely in the cylinder was, instead, firmly fixed at the furthest end of its run by rust and that there was rust and muck on the walls of the cylinder. 

When the hydraulics were last working heaven only knows. He made it move by injecting compressed air behind it and thoroughly cleaned the piston and cylinder walls. Its ready to go back here

Gary finished the hydraulics inspection by removing the hydraulic pump and checking it. He then re-assemble everything . Steve, who was not meant to be doing anything was helping to replace the (heavy) top cover with Gary.

Gary checked the brake adjusters and recommended an immediate inspection of the brake assembly on the non-functioning side and a subsequent inspection of the other side to check. So off came the nearside wheen, the brake drum screws and the brake drum. The cause of the non finctioning adjustor was immediately apparent- the centraliser spring, instead of having its double centre section located on each side of the adjuster pinion was located with both sections of the spring above the pinion flange thus causing the pinion to drop below the point at which the crown wheel could inter-react and push the brakes shoes out. This was corrected, the centraliser nut was loosened, the drum refitted and the shoes moved out until the drum was locked. The drum was tapped firmly with a hammer to encourage the shoes to move if they were not central. Twice they loosened with the tapping and were then re-adjusted till tight then when it was certain the shoes were both properly centered the centraliser nut was tightened and the shoes adjusted until the drum could just be moved.  Then the same was carried out on the other side, Everything there was correctly located and brakes were recentreing as before.

All seemed to be going well. Gary started Daisy May up and began the process of bleeding the hydraulic system. Just as the arms began to operate of their own accord I noticed water shooting out from the radiator. Gary stopped the engine immediately and we both looked. The radiator cap seemed cool so I carefully unscrewed it and a huge fountain of water shot out. 'Looks like a head gasket to me,' said Gary. I won't write what I said. That was not all. When Gary tried to start Daisy May again the starter motor which has always been a bit internmittent refused to function at all! Loose connections were tightened but still nothing. Off came the starter motor. The stink of burning electrics told its own tale. Rewinding the armature is more expensive than a new starter motor. I phoned the owner, who, to his eternal credit, took it on the chin like a true brit.

We've shifted stuff about, moved Daisy May off Atlas and taken Bob off the back of the truck. I carefully (but with trepidation 'cos I hate driving the tractors on and off the truck) backed Bob down. He came down with a rush but I managed to stop just six inches away from Daisy May's bonnet. We ran Bob for a bit to see what the oil pressure did and, as Bob's owner had said, the oil pressure dropped dramatically as the engine heated uo. We are concerned about the amount of water being pushed out and the high engine temperature as well and are going to check that the thermostat is working correctly as a first move.

I suppose one shouldn't join the vintage tractor circus if one can't take a joke..but...

The tractors look nice all tucked up for the night-