Recently acquired RJ (uk)

[AMC RULES 36,945]

[Phyliss 28]

Thanks AMC Rules for the link. 

                         I had quick look today & my RJ does indeed have the lower brace to the engine but the whole unit is upside down. Whilst under restoration i'll modify as required.

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,487]

Philip, I sure find it interesting, matter of fact, very interesting. Thanks for sharing, best of luck and keep us posted.

Hope I get this right, my buddy Neil will correct me if not,,,,"jolly good ol chap".

Glenn

[neil 2,398]

Glenn

Philip, I sure find it interesting, matter of fact, very interesting. Thanks for sharing, best of luck and keep us posted.

Hope I get this right, my buddy Neil will correct me if not,,,,"jolly good ol chap".

Glenn

Glenn my ole chap , geezer , buddy. How spiffin to here from you.

I can't believe how lucky Phyliss is to find this little RJ 58/59 ?? But what a find .

There are very few round hoods here in UK especially as good as this one .

Glenn , I am already saving my pennies to visit the big show again next year so looking forward to seeing ya again me ole mate geezer buddy bloke. And maybe a tipple of Vans special moonshine .

Sorry about going off subject.

[Phyliss 28]

Philip, I sure find it interesting, matter of fact, very interesting. Thanks for sharing, best of luck and keep us posted.

Hope I get this right, my buddy Neil will correct me if not,,,,"jolly good ol chap".

Glenn

Hello Glenn, Thank you for interest. I'll try & share as time goes on especially if i can grab the plough or blade soon. I'm not sure when i'll get it done but i may take it out, as is,  for the 1st couple of shows. There is certainly a wealth of knowledge out there which is proving very useful.

[Phyliss 28]

Good evening.

                    Just thought i'd add a wishy washy photo of the badge that was fixed on to the bonnet of the RJ. Trying to catch the light just right to make it readable was awkward.

I've also added it to the UK dealer section.

 

Regards, Philip

[Phyliss 28]

Good evening.

 

Just an update regarding RJ58/59. I have found out this evening that the engine was built in 1958 which hopefully means it's the original.

[neil 2,398]

That's good news.

Any luck in starting it yet

[mels 174]

Man, she's a beautiful old girl.  Congratulations on your find, looking forward to following your progress with it!

[Phyliss 28]

That's good news.

Any luck in starting it yet

Hi Neil, No not yet. I'm still waiting for the points set as the old ones had snapped. 

[Phyliss 28]

Man, she's a beautiful old girl.  Congratulations on your find, looking forward to following your progress with it!

Hello Mels,  It's not a bad looking machine but close up there's quite a few imperfections; a bit like myself really . The restoration may take a while due to work & other restorations but i'll let the forum know of it's progression.

[neil 2,398]

Could I ask , why the name Phyliss , are you female?

[Phyliss 28]

Could I ask , why the name Phyliss , are you female?

No not female. It's a nick name that i gained from a couple of staff when i went for work experience (& eventually job) at Winchester Garden Machinery in Horsham, West Sussex. I don't know why but its stuck amongst a few places & people locally so i tend to useit. If i phone say my car parts supplier i can say "hello it's Phyliss" & they know who it is rather than Phil or Philip.

 

A bit bazaar i know.

 

Just to add. I scraped a bit of the maroon paint off the RJ yesterday & the paint underneath is ok. But it would take a lot of careful paint removal so i think i'll do a proper paint job in the future.

Edited April 18, 2015 by Phyliss

[Phyliss 28]

That's good news.

Any luck in starting it yet

Good evening Neil & fellow forum members,

 

The points arrived today & after fitting, the RJ fired up. I also removed the air filter & found it was simply the wrong way up already having the large hole in the upper part. 

 

Fresh oil in there & sump along with another plug aided its run along with a tune of the carb. I had taken the bowl off fearing the worst but it was pretty mint. I did however fit a new bowl baffle.

 

Regards, Philip

[Phyliss 28]

Evening all,
                Having acquired the front blade over the weekend i thought i'd share a few photos of it complete; for now. The rear plough is the one that the previous owner used with the RJ & appears to be a Barford Atom item; minus it's disc which may still appear. 
The RJ will probably go to a couple of shows this year before restoration although sods law it will snow when it's in bits & won't get a chance to use it clearing snow. 

When the blade arrived home my 5 year old boy was chuffed to bits. His 2 year old sister joined in with the happy jumping, not really understanding why.

Regards, Philip

[neil 2,398]

Did the tractor ever have the rear fenders & tool box?

[Phyliss 28]

Did the tractor ever have the rear fenders & tool box?

​Not as far as i know but i'll do some inquiries.

[Phyliss 28]

Good evening.
                      I was looking on the net at other RJs this evening & i noticed that most of them have one pedal for the clutch & brake combined. Looking at mine there is 2 seperate ones? Brake on the left, clutch on the right.
Which is correct or has it been modded in the past? The locking collar looks right on the offside pedal.

Thanks for any help.

Philip

[Phyliss 28]

Hi again,
             Being a nice day today (at least where i was) i thought i'd loosly fit my recently acquired sickle bar which i think is a CBR-32 but not sure. I don't think it's had much use if any at all going by the idler pulley paint. The pedal & spacers are present & i think these should fit ok on the offside shaft with the clutch pedal. 

Ideally i should have removed the front blade bracket as this stops it being lifted but apart from that it fits well although snuggly. 

[Anglo Traction 759]

Hi Phillip, I'll give you my opinion while waiting to see if any experts can shed any light on the lack of Fenders on your RJ,
From what I have seen on here over the few years on here, there are many examples that also have no Fenders, so I would not worry about them. It look's fine without them.
Don't know about the Toolbox.
Clutch and Brake were modified as you say, they were combined on the one pedal according to many images of the Model on here. Also remained combined through the Suburban Models so it appears.
Sickle Bar attachment is a great compliment to the whole package you have.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Anglo Traction

[Phyliss 28]

Hi Phillip, I'll give you my opinion while waiting to see if any experts can shed any light on the lack of Fenders on your RJ,
From what I have seen on here over the few years on here, there are many examples that also have no Fenders, so I would not worry about them. It look's fine without them.
Don't know about the Toolbox.
Clutch and Brake were modified as you say, they were combined on the one pedal according to many images of the Model on here. Also remained combined through the Suburban Models so it appears.
Sickle Bar attachment is a great compliment to the whole package you have.

​Hello Anglo Traction,
                          As you mentioned there seems to be as many RJs with fenders as without. Regarding the clutch & brake i have noticed a couple with two separate pedals. I did today carefully remove some of the darker red from the 2nd pedal components (pedal, rods etc) & underneath is the lighter Wheelhorse red just like the rest of the tractor. I also looked at the cross piece which acts as a pivot. This is solid square with a moulded pronounced boss for the bolt, not welded. I don't know if it's a Wheelhorse mod or not?

Regards, Philip

[CasualObserver 3,406]

For what it's worth, your pedal on the right should not be connected to the transmission. These tractors are a single clutch/brake pedal until sometime in the 70s.  

The right side pedals (many different shapes) were for attachment controls. The one you have mounted appears to be the dozer blade pedal and should have a bit that hangs below the bottom of the 3/4" shaft with a hole to connect the chain that pulls the pin on the front blade so you can index it (swing left of right angle).  The top outside corners of the blade should have two little holes and there would be a rope connected with little s-hooks.  I don't have a good picture of the pedal on that side (mine is put away somewhere), but here is a picture showing how the rope for angling the blade should be connected. The little chain (which you have) should be threaded through that little hole in the mounting bracket and connect to the right side pedal. When you push the pedal, it pulls the index pin on the blade, then you pull on one side of the rope to angle the blade and release the pedal to lock the blade back in.



Additionaly, for what it's worth... there are also different right side pedals for the CBR-32 (which you have also) and the 1960 version of the RMR-32 mower deck.

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Oh, and as for fenders and tool box... that was an optional accessory.  FA-22 I believe was the part number. The didn't become standard equipment until the 1960 and 1961 models 550 and 551. The 550 needed it as that's where the battery sat. They were optional on non-electric start models.

[Phyliss 28]

For what it's worth, your pedal on the right should not be connected to the transmission. These tractors are a single clutch/brake pedal until sometime in the 70s.  

The right side pedals (many different shapes) were for attachment controls. The one you have mounted appears to be the dozer blade pedal and should have a bit that hangs below the bottom of the 3/4" shaft with a hole to connect the chain that pulls the pin on the front blade so you can index it (swing left of right angle).  The top outside corners of the blade should have two little holes and there would be a rope connected with little s-hooks.  I don't have a good picture of the pedal on that side (mine is put away somewhere), but here is a picture showing how the rope for angling the blade should be connected. The little chain (which you have) should be threaded through that little hole in the mounting bracket and connect to the right side pedal. When you push the pedal, it pulls the index pin on the blade, then you pull on one side of the rope to angle the blade and release the pedal to lock the blade back in.



Additionaly, for what it's worth... there are also different right side pedals for the CBR-32 (which you have also) and the 1960 version of the RMR-32 mower deck.

​Hi.
   Thanks for the information re pedals. I did wonder where the little chain went. I had also noticed 1 little S hook on the blade & again wondered what that was for. I can just about see from your photo where the chain attaches to the pedal. I'll see how long my chain is tomorrow. During restoration I may revert back to one pedal to keep it original.

Philip

[Vaughan32850 86]

My two original Wheelhorse demo model RJ-58’s