Gain access to the ignition system by prising off the aluminium casing from the side of the engine. This will reveal a heavy brass flywheel with access holes for checking points.
 
The contact breaker points are housed beneath the brass cap (see image) whose retaining arm must be swung sideways to open the cap. With a little careful manoeuvring, the cap can be removed through the access holes in the flywheel and the points gap can be checked and adjusted.  The gap should be checked (probably 0.015”) and adjusted using the threaded adjuster and locknut as required.

To perform any maintenance on the ignition system other than cleaning or adjusting the points, it is necessary to remove the flywheel. This is best achieved by jamming the flywheel (to prevent its rotation) with a wooden wedge between its outer circumference and a mower cross bar.

Then, using an appropriate ring spanner, give a sharp strike to the ring spanner with a hammer in an anticlockwise direction to shock the nut undone (see image). A 1/2in Whitworth ring spanner can be used however, if one can be found, Villiers also produced a special spanner (called a Hammertite spanner) for this specific task. This has a ring spanner at one and a place to hit with a hammer at the other.

If successful, the nut will undo by about one or two full turns before apparently locking-up again.  You need to shock this anticlockwise again which will then prise the conical flywheel mount from the mating taper on the crankshaft; the nut is captive but rotates within the flywheel.
 
The magneto flywheel contains a pair of permanent magnets and the original Villiers maintenance advice was to place a piece of iron (e.g. a spanner) to bridge across the poles thus preventing loss of magnetic flux.

To inspect or service the ignition system, it is easiest to remove the whole magneto assembly from the engine. Disconnect the H-T lead from the spark plug. Loosen the set screw which is behind the armature back plate and which clamps the back plate on to the engine’s crank housing.

The back plate is also clamped to the crank housing with a support bracket. On some Villiers ignition system, there is an alternative clamping arrangement allowing some rotation of the back plate so as to “tune” the ignition timing.
 
With a bit of back-and-forth rotation of the back plate around the axis of the crankshaft, the entire armature back plate should come away from the engine (see image) and can be overhauled more easily on a well-lit and clean workbench (to avoid losing small but crucial parts).

If the engine is suffering from a weak (or no) spark, then the problem may be within the magneto coil. This can be checked using a voltmeter (to measure resistance) but it is required to remove the wire connection between the coil and the points.

The primary winding should have a resistance of just a few Ohms (measured between ground - either end of the iron core - and the socket in to which the points wire was screwed.) The secondary winding resistance should be 3-5k Ohms and this can be measured between the side terminal connection to the H-T lead and ground.

The most likely scenario with an old magneto coil is that it has some internal corrosion and the secondary winding (which is wound from extremely fine copper wire) has broken.

The coil can be removed from the “shoe” shaped laminated metal core ends by removing the nuts on the rear side of the back plate.  You may need to use a screwdriver to counteract the torque on the corresponding screws which hold these core ends on to the back plate (see image). The core ends will then lift from the back plate and the coil can be pulled free from these shoes.

Replacement coils can be sourced via the internet but ensure that you specify the correct length and end diameters as there are various models available. Replacements are not cheap (perhaps £50) and beware of untested items for sale on auction sites!

With the flywheel removed, you now have excellent access to the contact breaker points and can provide a proper inspection.

Disassemble the points by removing the contact breaker arm. This is held in position by a clip and spring.  Note that the spring may easily be dropped on the floor – hence the need for a clean, well-lit work surface.

Loosen and remove the two screws which hold down the brass strip and which also clamp the low tension wire and the connection to the condenser. This brass strip is isolated from ground by insulating posts which should be inspected for cracks or other degradation. Note the order of construction of these components so that it can be rebuilt easily.
 
With the upper components removed, the base of the points housing can be unscrewed from the back plate and the capacitance of the condenser can be measured.  The condenser rarely fails.
Reassembly is generally the reverse of the disassembly instructions above, but pay particular attention to the cleanliness of the contact breaker points. Even a thin film of oil from dirty feeler gauges can foul the points surfaces sufficiently to prevent a good spark.

Inspect the H-T cable for continuity between the spring-loaded coil end and the spark plug connection end.

Check also for cracks in the cable insulation.  Replacement cables can be sought from the internet, but repairs can also be made to cracked or otherwise damaged H-T leads using appropriately-sized adhesive heatshrink.

Hold the contact breaker arm open while refitting the flywheel on to its tapered shaft. There are timing marks on the flywheel which should be aligned with the notch on the crankshaft end.  This will ensure correct spark timing.

The flywheel nut will need to be tightened sufficiently to prevent any movement on the tapered shaft.  If it is slightly loose, the flywheel may slip following a misfire, the timing will be compromised and the engine will run either roughly or not at all. Therefore, tighten the flywheel using the ring spanner and hammer arrangement previous described for removal, but this time for tightening (clockwise).

Finally, re-set the contact breaker points gap.

Check for a spark by unscrewing the spark plug, attaching the H-T lead and resting the threads of the plug against the surface of the cylinder’s cooling fins.

The first step is to remove the clutch assembly from the drive train. This is required anyway to gain access to the flywheel retaining nut and thereby access to the ignition system.  The chain shown in Figure 1 has a removable link making its disassembly simple.  The use of penetrating oil then allows the sprocket retaining nut to be removed, followed by the sprocket itself from the splined shaft.

More penetrating oil enables the three nuts and bolts which hold the clutch ball bearing cassette to be removed, and after releasing any tension on the clutch cable, disassemble the clutch release forks assembly. A useful tip at this point is to store the disassembled nuts, washers and spring in the order ready for reassembly….or to photograph the details of this assembly order.

Depending on how much clearance you have, you may or may not be able to remove the clutch assembly from the machine.  In the case of this Atco Scythe, the engine needed to be shifted slightly to provide sufficient clearance to remove the clutch.  The clutch is attached to the flywheel via the tabbed shaft and the associated slots in the outer clutch body housing as shown in Figure 2.

It is tempting to try to remove the slotted screw head which is presented within the clutch housing at this time, however, it’s not necessary to remove this for a general clutch overhaul and, at time of writing, the author still doesn’t know if this is a left- or right-handed thread; the direction of rotation would suggest a left-hand thread to be most appropriate.  But in summary, the screw’s removal is not fundamental to separation of the friction surfaces.

Figure 2: View of flywheel end of clutch assembly.

Figure 3: Clutch assembly once removed from engine. At this point, the friction surfaces are seized and stuck together.

In this case, it was possible to begin rotating the outer clutch body relative to the drive shaft, but with an insufficient clearance to allow the clutch to mesh and disengage to any useful degree.

The main seizure problem was that the sliding release collar simply wasn’t (sliding) and was stuck fast to the drive shaft.  The lubrication hole is of some use here because it allows penetrating oil to lubricate the engine end of the drive shaft.  Note that the lubrication hole doesn’t duct lubricant on to the friction surfaces, but more lubricates components within the outer clutch body. Penetrating oil should also be introduced from the sprocket end in an attempt to free the release collar.

Figure 4: Holding the release collar whilst tapping the drive shaft free.

The next operation is somewhat controversial: you need to begin working the drive shaft back and forth, applying more penetrating oil as necessary, so that little-by-little, the drive shaft begins to move relative to the release collar. I first tried a 3-legged wheel puller for this operation but found that I had applied so much force without any success that I feared breaking off pieces of the release collar. Figure 4 shows the sprocket retaining nut having been screwed on to the end of the drive shaft to be flush with the threaded end of the shaft. This can then be tapped “sharply” with a hammer to help shock the shaft free of the collar whilst supporting the release collar on the jaws of a vice. It has to be understood here, that there is a significant risk of deforming the threads of the shaft, so some judgment needs to be made as to how hard to strike the shaft & nut. Tapping the shaft and clutch housing in opposing directions with the aid of penetrating oil in this case gradually freed the release collar from the shaft and allowed disassembly of the mating clutch cone surfaces as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Release collar and its cone shown separated from main clutch parts.

The main clutch components are now separated and can be cleaned and reassembled, noting that the retaining screw shown in Figure 2 needn’t be disturbed.

Cleaning of the keyed drive shaft as shown in Figure 6 (being careful not to lose the Woodruff key) can now take place.  Cleaning of the hole through the release collar clutch portion and its keyway should allow the release collar to slide easily along the drive shaft.  Penetrating oil on a rag is sufficient to clean such surfaces.  I didn’t bother cleaning anything but loose rust from the mating cone surfaces and assumed that the engagement of the cone surfaces during normal drive operation would adequately bed-in the parts.

Figure 6: Splined drive shaft showing the Woodruff key which transmits the driving torque from the driven clutch half to the drive shaft.

Figure 7: Reassembled clutch components.

Reassembling all the components in the same order as they were removed completes the task.  I gave the clutch spring a slight stretch before re-fitting it as I assumed that the passage of time and the elements would have weakened this somewhat.  I also washed through the ball race with petrol and re-greased it prior to reassembly in the end frame of the Atco Scythe.

Finally, you need to adjust the clutch release forks’ position and cable tension so that the clutch properly disengages (one doesn’t want the blade of an Atco Scythe to twitch when it should be stationary) and that the forks aren’t in contact with the release collar when the clutch is engaged.

The video shows the Atco Scythe up-and-running after restoration.