Suffolk Colt Mower.

Hi,

Many thanks CarolineL. There are special fillers available for repairing petrol tanks;

Petro Patch Putty Petrol Fuel Tanks Metal Gearbox Repair Leak Quick Steel 50g | eBay

I'll report back on what I decide to do; this mower doesn't want to be restored without putting up a fight; perhaps it thinks it's cut enough grass and wants retirement?

Time now to get my hands dirty.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

@Retired I seem to remember the petrol tank and engine covers being red on the Suffolk mowers. How about another respray in red ?

Great restoration Colin

 

Hi,

Many thanks andrews; yes the original mower colours were green & red and as to your suggestion to respray in red behave yourself. :rasp:

Here's what I've done regarding the petrol leak CarolineL;


I soldered a patch over the hole; the patch is from a tin can lid; this repair can't be seen once the tank is in position but I decided after all the hassle I've already been through to make a decent job of it; I tinned both the lid and tank before soldering the patch into place so it should be fully sealed.



A bit of body filler applied and when cured I sanded it down but I forgot to take an image after it was sanded because I was keen to spray on the primer then gloss today because I've spent a lot of time just on this paint problem and it's time it was put to bed.



This is now cellulose so should be petrol resistant? I didn't want to put petrol in the tank to test the repair due to wanting to spray the paint on. I'll let the paint harden for a couple of days before reassembling. The Burgess spray outfit does a lovely job; I mixed the black paint a bit thicker and blew plenty on; it's been rare to have it dry enough outside to be able to spray paint in our driveway; it's not been easy due to the prevailing breeze.

 

Not having had internet access for a few days, its time to add a few comments to this enjoyable thread.

@Retired you mentioned that you had a 150cc BSA C11 in one of the posts. Shouldnt that have been a 250cc? If my memory serves, that was the first ohv single BSA made, a successor to the good old 250cc C10L side valve single.

I found the fact that you soldered th petrol tank interesting. Thats something that I have never done in similar circumstances, preferring to braze them "back in the day." Nowadays I weld them. Far more fun!

 

Hi,

Many thanks Sandy for spotting my senior moment; yes indeed my BSA C11 was 250cc it cost £11 and Reg No JKY 125. The smaller BSA being the Bantams up to the Silver Bantam at 175cc?

It's years since I did any brazing but I still have brazing rods and Sifbronze flux; I always found the brazing flux to be glass hard after it cooled. I don't think this petrol tank would appreciate contact with my industrial oil cooled Oxford arc welder; I've never needed to use either mig or tig welders. Soft soldering the repair patch on took less heat hence less collateral damage to the rest of the paint; tin cans are already tinned so are very easy to solder; I used strips of cans as soldered terminals on transformers I used to wind for the assorted output tappings.

Hopefully the patch will have cured the leak; I wonder what the next problem will be?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi Colin. Firstly. Your nickname, 'Retired' when are you going to?

I had a C11 250 for some reason I seem to remember it as C11G.
Lending tools. My bugbare was having to ask if I could have my, whatever back, only to be told. Oh I lent it to......hope you don't mind.

Take care. All the best.

 

There were two C11's. The C11G being the successor to the first one.

 

Hi,

Thanks Mike; yes officially "retired" but in name only; I'm as busy these days as i've ever been and have no intention of letting up; as I complete one project I move onto another project; I've always got jobs to do around the bungalow and in the gardens; Bron and I never have holidays away from home but as this morning we enjoy trips out in the car; we've just returned from The Range in Barnsley and after a mug of tea I'll head into the workshop; hedges need trimming and there's always weeding to be done.

Yes my BSA was also a C11G; I just mentioned C11 knowing bikers of my era would instantly recognize the model; quite a nice bike as a starter; by the time I was 18 I was running an Ariel Square Four 1,000cc solo; a rubbish bike that broke a conrod and two pistons both rears whilst riding up the M6 at 70 mph; the engine self destructed internally; I remember acceleration enough to lift the front wheel if I wasn't careful pulling away; it sounded nice but what a rubbish bike it was.

I no longer loan tools out; it saves hassle later; the last time I loaned anything of value were two morse taper reamers these being expensive; I loaned them to an ex friend and after repeated requests spanning two years I finally got them back; I'll never loan power tools out at all but for decent neighbours I don't mind loaning a tool with me attached.

Thanks Sandy; yes there were two C11 as you rightly state;

BSA C11

The last time I saw a C11 was at Rufforth Auto Jumble with a price tag of £1,800; it was in decent condition; I see lots of interesting items for sale at Rufforth; I bought this Colt mower there and last Saturday saw another old petrol mower that would make a nice restoration project.

I used to own a BSA trike;

bsa trike - Google Search

It's looking dark outside so I'd better get off my backside and do some hedge trimming.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Hi,

I feel like I've been here before with this Colt; first it was green & black then green & blue now it's green and black again. I agree with you Sheal it does look a lot better green & black.

The air filter was a laugh; two squares of mesh with dirt between them? I don't have a correct filter but I do have a big box of pre-filters for my respirator so I've cut one of these filters; the meshes are now cleaned having wire brushed them and blown over with brake cleaner.

The grass box still needs restoring and the handles are rocking on their securing bolts; the bottom of the handles have an hole each side which fit into a cast peg in the frame; I'll sort this out shortly.

Kind regards, Colin.


The air cleaner; two pieces of mesh separated by dirt; I think perhaps given the depth of the air cleaner housing there should be a sponge in there?


Pre-filters I use in my respirator; OK as a temporary solution but I'll obtain correct air filter material and install it.



It definitely looks better in green and black Sheal; it's a nice looking mower and built when high quality still meant something.

 

I've just been catching up here Retired. The Colt is certainly pushing it's luck with your patience but I know you won't be happy until it's up and running properly. Oh and back to black is good!

Thanks for the information on the pads. It does seem that they can't be used on wood. If I had one I would try it just to see if it worked but I'm not prepared to buy just for a trial.

Most of my family have been or are bikers, so it's in the blood. And having lived on the Isle of Man for 24 years bikes were part of our daily lives.

Now, I doubt whether you've come across this old thread, so when Blackie's doing his worst here's something to keep you amused.

Bikes, bikes and more bikes

 

Bikes in the blood...(Sheal). I started with a Mobylet moped. Basically a motorised pedal cycle. OK I messed around with it and could reach 60MPH. I then had a BSA C11G 250cc. I had this during my couting years. It was areal pain at times, as the inbuilt alternator would unwind and time and again, I'd be sat on the kerb fixing it.

One day Val and i set off for a ride to the Isle of Sheppy. I wore my police raincoat and Val made use of my flying style jacket. Val had poshed up her crash helmet with whitener. The heavens oped and Val looked at me through half filled white washed goggles. My police mac was now covered in whitewash.

I bought a Mtchless combo and spent a small fortune on it. Val, some years later bough me a Honder CB250. Great bike. I donated itto a collection fund for a new meeting hall. Albeit I worked as a traffic cop and spent many hours astride Triumphs etc. In al honesty. I had little interest in bikes, motors etc. Now in my old age. I long for the chance to ride again. My daughter says. Dad. Do they make Triumphs with.....................stabalisers?

 

My apologies for hijacking your thread Retired.

How about one of these @Mike Allen .....?

 

Hi,

My late father also owned a Mobylette too Mike; he was at the time boilerman at the pit which is now The National Coal Mining Museum; I served my apprenticeship at the same pit.

I've never ridden a pedal cycle since I started with motorcycles it being the BSA C11G in 1963 at the age of 16. I had five mates killed on motorcycles and these days think motorcycles are even more dangerous given the volume of traffic; I wouldn't even consider going out on a pedal cycle.

What an amusing story of you Mike and Val; I bet it wasn't funny at the time though; I used to wear an ex RAF flying jacket bought at the "Army stores" I painted "Ariel 1,000cc" on its back.

I answered an ad in a local paper where a guy was selling a child/adult sidecar for £2.50 which was worth a bit more in those days; when I arrived the sidecar was still attached to a big Matchless and the Matchless was included.

Honda CB72's were the downfall of the British bike industry and I assembled some of the first to arrive; push button start and indicators; WOW; we on British bikes were still waving our arms around and jumping on kick starts; how quaint.

Hijacking my thread Sheal; no way I welcome all input and I'll never sulk if it's light years off topic; motorcycles at least the old ones are actually quite in line with old petrol mowers having similar engines; I'm sure you Sheal; Mike and I could chat forever about bikes. Chums and I used to ride flat out on a nearby canal towpath; me on my Norton 500cc ES2 and Tony on his Ariel 600cc; the whole area used to be totally isolated and we weren't a trouble to anyone; it was always very amusing to see one of us thrown over the handlebars having forgotten to retard the ignition; the big old singles sure had a powerful kickback; I think Tony's Ariel was fitted with a valve lifter. Fond memories.

Thanks for posting the picture Sheal; when stabilizers can be dispensed with how about a real bike a big boys toy such as the one shown around 5:26 into the video;



A Mobylette would be fine for going to work but the bike in the video would be more suited to returning from work via petrol stations.

Back to the plot though; I've done a little bit of work to the Colt grass box this morning doing a bit of panel beating and filling but the rust converter I applied yesterday is still wet in patches. Bron was admiring the flowers in our front garden so I joined her and Blackie too joined us putting down very fine drizzle; I spent the rest of this morning at the top of the mountain and along the lane weeding; Blackie decided to leave me alone but then I was soon wet with sweat; it's hot up there this morning.

I'll soon be looking for another interesting project to play around with.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Interesting reading Retired. My dad owned a Matchless at one point.

My son and younger daughter taken in 2010. My daughter is on a Honda Fireblade, my son a Ducatti Monster. That was the last bike he owned before moving to America.



Not long to go now before the Colt is complete. Will you be glad to see the end of it?

How about a classic or vintage bike re-build? That will keep you amused for a while.

 

@Retired you are forgetting that most japanese bikes also had mirrors. Some of the smaller bikes also had leg shields, etc., and were far better for use as commuters. Not least in terms of reliability. I do remember that in the sixties, there was a lot of concern about the fact that their high revving engines would wear out faster than the engines in British bikes.

The real downfall of the British bike industry though was not the Japanese Companies. It was really complacency. I'll explain...

Somewhere, I have a copy of a letter that Edward Turner (then boss of Triumph) wrote to the board around 1958 or '59 after a visit to the Suzuki and Honda factories in Japan. In it he said that it was imperative that BSA/Triumph should develop new and better motorcycles to compete against new large ones that the Japanese were certain to produce in the near future. The answer to it was "they will never make anything bigger than 125cc, so we have nothing to worry about."

As we now know, especially Honda were winning everything on the race circuits during the '60's, and showing themselves to be good machines. That was also one of the nails in the coffin for the British manufacturers.

When Honda launched the CB750 four in 1969, the world was astounded at it. The odd thing is, Triumph had a four cylinder ready for production in 1965. That production was stopped by the Board. At the time, this comprised mostly of accountants. How different things could have been.

Apologies for going off topic, but I thought this information may be of interest to some that have posted. There is more, but I've tried to keep it short.