Re-restoring my 18" Atco Standard

The remaining photos:

Hopefully Resto Mk2 will be an improvement!

Some more bits. 

My impromptu spray booth. 

Frustration! I bet this was a dealer plate - what could it have told me?

The toolbox looks to be the original sides and one piece of the bottom, but the rest has been replaced by a piece of tin screwed on. At the moment I can't get the nuts to unscrew - I think I will have to find a wide screwdriver and, in the meantime, keep slopping PlusGas on the nuts. I'm reluctant to cut them off because I don't know where I'll find replacement for a type of bolt I've never seen anywhere else. Suggestions for source of replacements or shifting them welcomed!

I have some wood retrieved from a skip that look a decent thickness for a new bottom, and for the insert inside as well. Just need to get this thing off first...

Wow - what a beast ! Interesting to try and understand how design principles have changed over the last 100 years.
It's obviously function over form but it still 'looks right' 

It certainly is a beast, Andrew! I found it in a shed at the school I did 6th form at. At the time, despite going to plenty of vintage rallies, I'd never seen anything like it. As it turns out, there's a lot about - Atco must have sold a great many. 

Thank you Adrian for the interesting post of you beloved Atco.   Great photos and candid report.   I know things can take a long time to do with other commitments.  I also like the painting set up, its great weather this summer for painting outdoors.        Like yourself, when I was in the Sixth Form, I too rescued a Mower (Hayterette C. 1972) from the defunct tool shed, which I tinkered with and used to cut the grass for a few years.

I'm no expert on the Beautifully built Atco Standard, a design Icon of the Mower world, but sure there are a few experts out there.   I'm sure the relevant Atco & Villiers Literature is no doubt on the Club  website.

Best Wishes,   Paul the Mowing Wurzel.  (although very little Mowing this scorched year!)

Yes I think many of us in our early collecting days regarded the Atco Standard as being a great find, but as you say there are many & the it is the most commonly found 1920s motor mower. 

Atco stated that 14,000 had been sold by 1927 so bearing in mind they went on for another 4/5yrs total sales of the Standard would have been 20,000 plus.

First bits restored, with a little help from Mr Grout's spares emporium at an AGM a few years ago. The correct way to fit these involves peening the end of the handle over a washer (see pic of starting handle somewhere above), but I simply don't have the kit for that so these have been epoxied on (after a friend straightened one with his gas torch and anvil - I have always had serious tool envy round him!). I know it's only small parts, but it's a start, and it's something that spoilt the look of the original job as the original wooden handles had long since gone. 

Yes the green is a bit bright. But it's what's available, and the green on my engine mounting plates - which I suspect is the closest I have to original, bearing in mind that at least some of the mower had been repainted two or three times when I got it - is brighter than the BRG they seem to end up in.
 

Meanwhile... following the advice on another thread, I bought a 9" disc angle grinder from Screwfix for the derusting. Once I'd done that and realised how big the thing is, I read up on them and discovered they have a bit of a bad rep for safety. No surprise there, the thing is a brute! So I've taken a number of precautions to ensure my own personal safety. Overalls, thick gloves, safety boots, helmet with face protection. I've put them all on the Mrs and got her to do the donkey work!

 

Good to hear other people's memories of these things - and thanks for the info on likely production figures, Clive. I suspect another reason for the longevity is that there's so little sheet metal on them to rot out. 

An interesting discovery, BTW, I made when I dug out my spare handle side irons, is that there are different side irons - mine have a B after the number, the spares don't, and are significantly thicker. I suspect they are from one of the wider models. Once I've finished using them as part holders I'll clean, prime, and pass on to the next user!

Here's those chunkier handles - clearly bigger. 

Given how long it took me to get the bloody stuff on there all those years ago, it's a bit sad seeing how quickly the paint comes off. I'll feel better when it starts going back on again. 

I've also realised (should have earlier - I'm actually using it at work, on and off) that I should get some isopropyl alcohol to remove any residual grease. Off to the hardware shop (yes, we still have one) after work on Tuesday!