OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Reel-Type Mowers Another Qualcast P1 restoration

I was fortunate to pick up these two Qualcast P1 mowers before Christmas. One is badly rusted in some areas but will be a good parts machine. The other is still very sound and with some work I'm hoping it will come up well.

I've had holidays so have managed to make some progress. The mower is completely disassembled and I'm currently working on paint stripping, electrolysis bath, priming and re-painting and turning up new rollers.

I'll try and post some more pictures as things progress.

Good one Bob,
Are you turning the rollers yourself? I am currently doing one up but having a lot of problems with the carburettor.

Hello CB and Paul

This will be a great project to follow.
These are well-respected and desirable machines.
As Paul says, the unique fuel pump and carby need sorting.
Thanks for the images, too!

The exciting thing for me is the agent's plate on the handlebar.
ESCA are important - because they were very early sellers of power mowers
in Queensland. This makes your machine more desirable - because we
know who sold it.


Source: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/esca,queensland/Interesting

Please keep us informed as to progress.

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Jack

History Record:-
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=60359

Rollers are all done. I pinched an old hardwood fence post from my son and turned the three rollers on my metal lathe. Not sure what diameter they should be but I settled on 66mm. That looked pretty close to me. I have them soaking in linseed oil at the moment but I'll probably wax them after a while to finish them off.
What problems are you having with the carby? Have you discovered the engine manual elsewhere on this excellent forum?

Hi Bob,
The rollers look great, would you have enough material to make another set as mine are knackered. I have the manual as well, was going to send you a copy if you didn't have one. The carb despite being pulled down and set up correctly will not play the game. Can't seem to get the correct mixture and the settings are pretty bullet proof.

I have had my engine apart and rings check, cylinder honed etc. Seals are good and magneto serviced. I spent 2 days in the heat working on it, changed the carb over for the later Villiers Junior type and got it running but not satisfied with jetting. I would like it running properly on the suction carb.

Have you had yours running? Mine is below, I left the tank on in case I put the Villiers carb back on. The model with the overhead tank also has a different magneto set up, it takes the magneto with internal points not the external type. This is to fit the curve of the tank down behind the magneto backing plate.

I think I have enough material for another set. Do you live anywhere near Brisbane?
I'm no expert on things mechanical but I'm wondering if the non return valve at the bottom of the fuel pump is working. It may be gunked up and not keeping a head of fuel up to the carby.
I haven't had mine running yet but it does have good compression and spark. I plan on finishing the rest of the mower before I tackle the engine.

Hi Bob,
I am on the Northside so your not far from me, pump and tank are all good, it seems like I just have to find that mixture sweet spot. I have never struck this in a mower carb before as they will normally run even while being a bit out.

Will wait and see how you get on :-)

Have you tested the non return valve? It's behind the gauze screen on the bottom of the pump. You should be able to suck but not blow through that part from the top end.

Yes done that, the primer pump gets the fuel up to the carb and it drips from the air filter as it should. If the non return valve is crook it won't pump at all. Had it apart a few times as well. When you are ready with yours I am happy to come over to help, the pump gives a bit of trouble until it finds its stride.

You have to bleed them a bit as well at the connections to get the fuel flowing.

Thanks for the offer. As I said, I'm no mechanical genius so any help is appreciated. Not trying to be a smart alec but I don't agree with you on the non return valve thing. I reckon the pump would work whether or not the valve was working. The difference might be that the fuel may want to head back down into the tank rather than maintain some sort of pressure to the carby. I've had both of mine apart and one is now good after much cleaning and the other just will not work. Perhaps the ball is too rusted.
Like I said - not trying to be smart - just my opinion.

No worries Bob, I have tried another suction carb with the same result so anything is possible. I am happy to bring mine over when your ready and try your pump/tank, as I have tried everything else. Might just pull that pump apart one more time :-)

The roller carriers were badly flogged out so I bushed them up with some brass. This old girl's grass mowing days are done so the brass should hold up long enough to see me out. Some new galvanised bar from Bunnings should make a good new axle,

They look like they will do the job, are you going to have the reel and bottom blade sharpened?

Pulled the pump apart again this afternoon, removed the steel ball and have it and the brass housing soaking in apple cider vinegar. Ball looked nice and shiny but you never know what the seat could be a bit yuk.

I'm not planning on sharpening anything for a couple of reasons. Firstly some of the screws holding the bed knife to the sole plate were quite rusted to the point where the threads were a bit dicey. I turned down some new screws but I wasn't able to tighten them as much as I would have liked. Secondly, after putting so much effort into restoring the mower I don't want to be mowing any lawn with it. I'm too lazy to clean up the mess! Having said that, I plan on having everything functional on the mower - it just won't be cutting lawns anytime soon.
Can I ask what size O ring you have in your fuel pump.

Not sure on the size, I just chose one that was the right fit out of my Aldi o ring kit. There in the latest catalogue for around $10 for heaps of o rings. There is a metric and an imperial kit.

Hello CarinaBob and Paul

Those rollers look fantastic!
And a professional job on the axle bushings.

I understand the preference for not sharpening.
It's a bit like static display aircraft that are kept
in running condition, but with no intention to fly them.

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Jack

Starting to get a few things painted and put back together. As you can see my tyres are shot from sitting in the one spot for many years. Not a big deal but are there any suggestions as to how I can fix them.

Hello CarinaBob

I'm hoping a collector will know the answer to refurbishing the rubber.
There seems to be no shortage of advice via google for protecting,
preserving and restoring old rubber.

Would you be able to advise us on your chosen paint colour?
It seems to be pretty close to me.

I love that green!
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Jack

I agree with LawnDownUnder on the paint question. I didn't want to run away with a lot of dollars getting paint mixed so I picked the closest rattle can colours I could find at Bunnings. Our local store carries a range of Dy-Mark water based enamels. This shade is appropriately called Putting Green.
Not sure of the quality but it seems to be holding up well so far.