Skip to main content
Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Atco 1247 full nut & bolt restoration

Enter a word or two to search the forum section and click the Search Forum button.

Hi all

thought i would post you all a few images of my just restored Atco 1247 lightweight.

a few then & now images if you like.

just goes to show I think what can be achieved with a little hard work & effort.

im glad to bring this one back to life although it is only intended for display never to be used.

a true full nut & bolt restoration anything that needed replacing has been done, carburettor, flywheel, magneto,coil.

literally every single nut & bolt.

took about 4 months from start to finish.

i hope you enjoy the images (the colour looks a little dodgy on one image it’s just the lighting)

by all means let me know what you think.

regards

Martin.

gtc Mon, 03/06/2019

Immaculate restoration. Not sure about the Villiers and Pugh decals. Were they standard in the UK?

That's the first 12 inch I've ever seen with a dog clutch on the roller. Speaking from experience of mowing a lawn studded with trees in raised beds with a 14 inch Atco it was a very useful feature.

Although you say it will be display only, have you actually started it to see if it will run?

Martin1972 Mon, 03/06/2019

Hello

yes, it runs & starts very well.

The villiers & Charles h Pugh decals are the only two non standard additions I decided to make.

As it is only a display restoration I just wanted to make a more notable reference to the engine maker (villiers) & of course manufacturer (CHP), just for display purposes.

everything else including nuts,bolts & washers have either been cleaned of rust then machine polished or just generally cleaned where needed.

regards

Martin

Antbr123 Mon, 03/06/2019

I concur with GTC.  Very nice restoration indeed and thanks for posting.  Bu now the big question....what next?

regards

Chris G Mon, 03/06/2019

Stunning job, thought you had replaced the fastners with stainless until I re-read. High polish will keep the rust gremlins away for sure, it is quite cheap to get batches of fastners zinc plated also. The original front roller looks great.

I have never seen such a pristine shed either :-)

Top job!

 

Martin1972 Mon, 03/06/2019

Good evening & thank you for your comments.

i have really enjoyed this particular restoration, although testing at times.

with regards to what is next? I’m none too sure yet, it really depends if I could possibly sneak another project in to the shed whilst my partner is not around.

regards

martin

Buryan Thu, 25/07/2019

Love the roller - looks as if it will double as a pastry chef's tool - - 

As a matter of interest and never having bought a new mower in my life!, how are nuts and bolts etc. generally treated by a manufacturer - painted or zinc coated?  How were they presented in the good old days of my newly acquired 2-wheeled Atco Scythe?  Any ideas, please?!

k.runcimanannand@gmail.com

Update - just noticed the beautifully presented fly-wheel.  Martin, did you coat the metal of this and the fixings with a lacquer or some other preservative, please?