MatthewD's Westwood T1200 Rally Mower

I just found the part number out. It's 695708 for reference. I'm going to my local lawnmower store tomorrow to get one.

Got the starter gear and got engine running for first time in 5 years. Been sitting in my shed under my wood pile (basically holding it up). I nicked the coil from my 12hp (she had points and I couldn't get flywheel off so just snipped wires and put other coil on). I think I have the carb adjusted correctly, I don't have a proper mount for the tank yet so it's a little hard to keep a constant flow of fuel to the engine.

I'm wanting to reflect the look of the craftsmans and I was thinking about cutting my dash down to mimick the look (see pic below).



What do you think??

Got some updates but will get onto them in the next couple of days

I'm at a loss on where to go with regards to steering and front axle. Should I go direct steer or mod the original steering to fit?

Also how should I go about mounting the front axle. There are 2 axle hangers/carriers, one is bolted on and the other is part of the front of the chassis. Should I cut the front one off and weld it onto the front and then bolt the back one on? If so, where should I cut??

Sorry for so many questions, this is my first time, really, working on a lawn tractor. We all have to start somewhere!!

I'm also pretty new to mower modding. I;d keep it simple for your first build. Steering can get pretty heavy with direct linkage, It gets lighter as you are moving, which is good for a speed machine, but a right PITA if its a crawler type thing. My hot rod mower uses a slightly modified, but mostly standard arrangement. Works ok but there is room for improvement. My tip here is to not work on the mower steering with the chassis upside down. I did this and spent a whole day making a steering system which worked really well apart from the fact that if you steered right it went left and vice versa! I think it is moments like this which swearing was invented for! Double check everything!

Okay. I suppose I'll cut bits out of the old frame to do with the steering and then weld onto the new frame.

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I'm out of the build off. I picked up another Westwood T1200 and a spare one (minus engine and rear axle) for £160. It will be my tractor now but won't be as heavily modified as my custom one. It needed far too much work.

Sorry, but I'll not be finishing this year.