ATCO RESTORATION Autumn / Winter 2010 / 11
The irascible 'roythegrass’ views the world through his workshop doors while attempting to restore a vintage Atco!
PREAMBLE: Whether you are experienced in the restoration of these machines or, like me, an absolute newcomer I should apologise for the sparsity of technical info in my posts as these ramblings only reflect my day to day experiences during this restoration and I’m learning on the job.
TIME FOR MEN IN WHITE COATS ? ME: Roy (roythegrass), semi retired, live in Epsom, own a lawn mowing contracting business which virtually runs itself so I get the time to devote to various restoration projects. Just finished restoring an old Citroen 2CV up to near concours, previous restorations include old penny arcade slot machines, one arm bandits, all the fittings for an Edwardian loo and other miscellaneous collectables including several classic cars. Despite having continual problems with modern machines we use in the business I’ve now embarked on restoring a vintage lawn mower just for the challenge it presents. I must have lost the plot! So no more waffle and down to business.
ReplyDeleteTHE PROJECT / OBJECTIVE: A 1920’s Atco Standard 16” cylinder lawn mower. Working (just about), fair to good when purchased, restore it to exceptional / as new condition and eventually give it to a museum, for display at say a golf club or auction it with funds going to cancer research UK. (I’m in remission after 10 years!)
KISSING A LOT OF FROGS TO FIND THE PRINCESS. I viewed numerous machines online but they were virtually all non runners and ceased rust heaps where the amount of work required would exceed my available time. Having learnt from mistakes in my early days I always plan any project to be completed within a given time scale failing which the enthusiasm wanes or I get overtaken by other events. In this instance I have ‘till March next year to complete the restoration as by then I have to concentrate on my business.
The machine I eventually purchased is shown in the photo. No grassbox but adapted as a ride-on. Yes it looks fine in the photo but the camera does lie because on close examination quite a lot of work needs to be done (understatement!) to get it up to the standard I expect.