Atco Villiers

I'm disappointed that somebody more knowleadgeable than me has not responded to your enquiry.

What you have is a Charles Pugh Atco 22" Standard mower from 1922 or 1923. I say this because the Mk VIA Villiers 247cc engine was apparently only manufactured between 1922 & 1923. MkVIA engines did indeed have a J prefix.

You will find information on these Standard machines on this website, for example Mower Profie MP001 covers Atco Standard Machines, they were made up until about 1933.

The carb you have fitted is a Villiers carb, I think it would originally have been fitted with a Charles Pugh Senspray carb but I was told that mowers which were returned to the Atco factory for servicing were often retrofitted with these more modern carbs.

Copies of Parts Books are to be found on this site or elsewhere on the internet. Look for Villiers List No. 22 for engine parts. I also found a copy of The Manual of Instruction in the Use, Care & Maintenance of Atco Motor Mowers and an "Atco" Spare Parts List booklet for these Standard models.

If you aren't able to find these publications I do have copies which I can send you via private email.

These old Standards are lovely machines.

UTC

Thankyou for your reply and information.

i would greatly appreciate if you could email me copies of the manuals.

Would you know anyone who has a pattern for the grassbox if i cannot find an original one to purchase.

Regards

Adrian

A general comment. It's not normally a good idea to post your email address on a forum like this because it can lead to spam and other unwanted messages. It's also unnecessary in this context because all users when logged on can contact each either using the built-in messaging system. You just need to click on the other user's username and then the "Contact" tab that will appear as part of their profile. You can then send a message, including any personal details such as a phone number or email address, and nobody else will be able to see it - not even me as admin.

Unless you are very lucky and have a spark , you will have to remove the flywheel to clean the points etc.  I have often found a date written in pencil in there, but perhaps it’s just a personal touch of one assembly worker.

All the parts you need for the ignition should be available from http://www.villiersparts.co.uk/ignition- my  machine has the 147cc engine, so I can't promise all the ignition parts are the same, but I did document replacing the coil and condenser on here back in 2020, should you need to do so. It wasn't a particularly difficult job, the only "gotcha" was the top-hat bush in the condenser box that had me foxed for a while!

The exact model of carburettor escapes me, but it's a Villiers and the model number is on it somewhere - possibly on the upright part that the throttle sliders crews into? A short number - 519, or similar? If I can find it on mine I'll let you know. I've seen a number of Standards with these, presumably an off-the-shelf replacement. The Sensprays are worth a mint these days as they were also fitted to various motorcycles such as the Rudge, and the motorbike boys tend to have more cash than mower collectors! I would be curious to know if yours is a snug fit on the stub, or if it has to be over-tightened to make it fit? Mine is the latter, and the engine runs quite fast  - I wonder whether it was really made for the bigger engines?

The exact date of the machine is never going to be known, I'm afraid - the engine is dateable, but if machines were sent back to Atco they'd be stripped, and there's no guarantee that you'd get the same assemblies back - my engine is 1923, but the 18" mower wasn't launched until 1926, for example. That was discussed here as well, if you have a need to go down that rabbit hole.

I *think* the manual is downloadable from the club website? Anyway, they are out there, somewhere. Boxes are a harder task - I have one made from an old paraffin tank on mine, though if you fancy a bit of tinbashing I could send photos and measurements.