DFB's Garage

[DFB]

Now that my garage seems to be a small engine workshop as well, these seem appropriate to have on the wall................

[DFB]

Um, well, I sort of inherited another lawn mower.....................







This Rover Regal with a Briggs and Stratton Quantum has sat in a client's garden shed for 15 years, I was the last person to use it. From what I remembered, it was left there because of a running issue, so I knew it was going to need some work.



Decoding the model, type and code numbers -

Model - 12cubic inch/Design 1/Vertical Shaft/Plain Bearing/Rewind Starter

Type - These seem to be non-decipherable.

Code - The engine was built on 16/12/1992.

My first port of call was to attempt to start the engine. The oil still looked like brand new 30 weight oil, a little overfull but fine for what I wanted to do. The fuel tank was empty but smelled terrible.

I put a small amount of fresh fuel in the tank, removed the air filter cover and filter and sprayed some carb cleaner into the throat of the carb. I pulled the cord with the throttle in the choke position and it fired and died. I couldn't believe it started first pull, so I repeated the process and got it run and die again. I repeated these another two times and it continued to run. Unbelievable! I left it to run for a while, it idles right down unlike newer versions of this engine, and actually has a strong top end.

I then mowed my front lawns, and then began to remember why it was put away. The engine surges on full throttle, elevated by reducing to half throttle or having the choke half on. This to me means its not getting enough fuel when the throttle is wide open. I then noticed the fuel tank was leaking, a very common problem for these Quantum engines.



The base of the mower is very good, it does need a new handle screw knob though. And the engine is super strong, even if it does smell a little oily, not something I'm worried about as these older Briggs engines all burnt oil anyway, even if it wasn't visible out the exhaust.

The plan is to clean it properly, replace the fuel tank, replace or refurbish the carb, change the oil and plug. I think the quality of the Rover base during these years and the fact the engine is super strong warrant the effort.

[oneheadlite]

And it’s your color.

Looking forward to watching the refurb process and seeing it all cleaned up!

[dgage]

And it’s your color.

Looking forward to watching the refurb process and seeing it all cleaned up!

I don’t think it is officially inherited until DFB works his magic. I agree that it should be an amazing turnaround on n old mower.

[DFB]

Play time! I wait all week for this day, it's what sustains me.

Two cars in line today, the XR6 and Ranger, and a bunch of product to try.

Now, I have had Carpro ECH20 for a while now, but my use of it so far has been limited to door jambs, engine bays ect and never as a drying aid or rinse-less wash. After being urged to try it by Mr. Klasse Act, I thought it was about time I gave it a go as a rinse-less.

Before that, I washed the wheels and tyres with Brake Buster and the garden hose.



Carpro's typical dilution rate for ECH20 is from 1:5 to 1:25 and out to 1:40 depending on usage. For rinse-less washing, 1:200 is the excepted wisdom. To 7 liters of warm water, I added 35ml of ECH20. I then used the same dilution as the pre-sray.



The key factor in ECH20's favor is the slickness and gloss it creates. I used the multiple towel method for this wash, then used ECH20 at 1:20 as the drying aid. Overall, an enjoyable and pleasing rinse-less wash.

I also had a chance today to try out a few of the freebies I recently won. (I never win anything, so you can imagine how excited I was when notified of this. The best bit was the delivery featured a bunch of products that I have yet to try.) In this case, Koch Chemie All Round Quick Shine was used on the engine bay, a quick detailer able to be used across multiple surfaces. I can't really give a verdict on this product just yet as I really need to use it on paint more. The scent is called "fresh citrus", an acquired taste in my opinion.



After dressing the tyres in NV Onyx, I wiped the wheels over with Herrenfahrt Ultra Gloss & Quick Detailer. This product, like Quick Shine, can be used across various surfaces. It's faint scent is barely noticeable, but it does impart some nice gloss and slickens.



Overall, I'm impressed with ECH20 as a rinse-less and final topper, although it doesn't quite reach the same insane gloss and slickness that Absolute and Bead Maker can achieve. A lot of that would be down to Bead Maker alone, so probably not a far comparison. Either way, ECH20 and Absolute + Bead Maker are at the top of my rinse-less tree.



Moving onto the Ranger and a similar process, with ECH20 swapped for N-914 and the Herrenfahrt Ultra Gloss & Quick Detailer as the drying aid. I did pre-rinse the car after the wheels, Carpro Reload applied at the previous wash is certainly doing it's thing....................



I have also bought another of the TRC Ultra Utility Brush for apply tyre dressing, in this case Carpro Perl at 50/50.







If you have big SUV or Pickup tyres, this is a very efficient way to dress tyres.

[DFB]

Now, you could assume that it's plain idiocy to clean a lawn mower, and you would be correct in that assumption. :lol In my defense, the mower was covered in mouse droppings, so the cleaning was as much making it safe to work on as it was making it look pretty.

First port of call, I soaked the whole mower down with Shine Supply Wise Guy at 50/50 dilution. After a short dwell period, I hosed the mower down with water. This easily stripped any oil and grease accumulated on the engine and deck over the years.





Next, I scrubbed the engine, deck, wheels, catcher and handlebars with Brake Buster at full strength.





I even used a wire brush and some Koch Chemie Magic Wheel Cleaner to brighten up the muffler. At some stage, I will be removing this part and cleaning it further with some metal polish.

After a thorough rinse, I applied some Hydr02 to the whole thing, then I doused it with Hyper Dressing. I then dried it with the EGO and a towel.





For some reason, the left side of engine cover/fuel tank has deteriorated at a different rate to the right side. This whole part is being replaced due to the fuel leak, so it won't matter in the long run.

I'm now waiting on some spare parts, and this 31-year-old mower will be back in action.

[Coatingsarecrack]

Now, you could assume that it's plain idiocy to clean a lawn mower, and you would be correct in that assumption. :lol In my defense, the mower was covered in mouse droppings, so the cleaning was as much making it safe to work on as it was making it look pretty.

First port of call, I soaked the whole mower down with Shine Supply Wise Guy at 50/50 dilution. After a short dwell period, I hosed the mower down with water. This easily stripped any oil and grease accumulated on the engine and deck over the years.





Next, I scrubbed the engine, deck, wheels, catcher and handlebars with Brake Buster at full strength.





I even used a wire brush and some Koch Chemie Magic Wheel Cleaner to brighten up the muffler. At some stage, I will be removing this part and cleaning it further with some metal polish.

After a thorough rinse, I applied some Hydr02 to the whole thing, then I doused it with Hyper Dressing. I then dried it with the EGO and a towel.





For some reason, the left side of engine cover/fuel tank has deteriorated at a different rate to the right side. This whole part is being replaced due to the fuel leak, so it won't matter in the long run.

I'm now waiting on some spare parts, and this 31-year-old mower will be back in action.

Maybe detailing and small engine tools restoration is your calling to do what you love? Along with the clients you personally service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Klasse Act]

Glad you liked Ech2o as a RW Deyon. Converting your ratio out to how much I make makes yours a little thinner. Doubling your ratio would be 2 oz to 3.5 gallons whereas I think I actually use 1 oz per gallon for Ech2o, so this might explain your sickness not being as noticeable.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[DFB]

Had to get dressed up for a family lunch today at a toffy nosed winery, at least I got to wear my favorite shoes.

For scientific purposes, ColourLock Leather Protector works very well on cherry red Dr. Marten's..........................

[DFB]

35 years of Stihl chainsaw technology................



From left to right; 50.2cc MS 271, 40.8cc 009L, 50.5cc 028AV Super and the battery powered MSA 140C.