Saturday 23 July 2011

Buying a Donor Chassis


So the first thing is to do is get a donor chassis. If this was a Group 3 build then I would be looking for a Westwood  Lawnbug but as I’m building a Group 4 the choice is somewhat larger. My choice of donor mower is governed by certain things that I’ve learnt over the years of building and racing. 

  • The mower must be small but not too small otherwise the track (overall width of the tyres) will be too small.
  • The weight of the mower is also important so I look at the bodywork to see how much steel there is and is it necessary for the finished racer. You have to bear in mind that the BLMRA (British Lawn Mower Racing Association) rules will only allow a minimal amount of metal to be removed as the finished racer must closely resemble the original mower. When I’m looking at this I try to find mowers without a double tunnel transmission tunnel.
You have to remember that these are only my views and a successful racing mower can be made out of most mowers, the humble Westwood Gazelle is a case in point as one has won the 12 HR endurance race on more than one occasion.

Over the years, the domestic tractor type mower has grown in size so whist modern ones are ideal in that they have many plastic parts and thin metal their overall dimensions rules them out. Older mowers tend to be all steel construction so very little plastic or fibreglass is seen, however, during the late 60’s and 70’s some mowers were built with fibreglass bodywork. Both John Deere and Wheelhorse produced a limited number of mowers like this.

Most towns have a mower repair service / shop so they can be a useful source for a donor mower as can eBay and this is where I look. I have always liked the Wheelhorse range of mowers and my last racer was a Wheelhorse  of circa 1988 vintage but what I had always been on the lookout for was a Wheelhorse Lawn Ranger. This fits my criteria, made between 1969 and 1973, it is small and has a metal chassis but all other body parts are fibreglass.










Why am I doing this?

There are several reasons. Firstly, over the years that I’ve been running Ron’s Bits I’ve been asked lots of questions, mainly from newcomers to the sport, about how to build certain parts such as the steering, clutch, pulley systems and whilst I am always happy to give answers to these questions nothing beats seeing photographs showing the item in question. I know that other racers have produced their own websites with photos of their builds but I wanted to have a Blog that hopefully will show the build in minute detail and have other information such as the cost and the time involved. 

The second reason is, that having stopped racing in 2007, I really do miss the enjoyment of building and racing!

And finally, of course, it’s a good way to ‘showcase’ parts that Ron’s Bits supplies and if not, where to get them from.

Thursday 21 July 2011

The Lawn Ranger Parts Manual....


........is bedtime reading for Ron!


Tuesday 19 July 2011

Chassis bought on Ebay


Wheelhorse Lawn Ranger, circa 1972. Picking up on Friday! Winning bid £88.00 - bargain!

Welcome

Welcome to Ron's Bits Blog.

This Blog will follow Ron over the coming months as he builds a racing lawnmower. He hopes to create a mower to the standard of his winning machine of 2007, shown in the picture below.


Although he hopes to compete in at least one race, the main reason for doing this is to show in pictures, videos and words the processes he goes through and the 'bits' and tools he uses.

We hope you enjoy following him and adding comments and questions.