Old Suffolk "Super Punch" Lawnmower Restoration - Full version, get the popcorn ready.

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/ @ajrestoration Good day ladies and gentlemen! This is the full version of the Old Suffolk "Super Punch" Lawnmower Restoration. Grab some popcorn and enjoy!
I really enjoyed doing a larger restoration, I learned a lot and brought a beautiful Suffolk lawnmower back from the dead. I could not be happier.
This is an old Suffolk lawnmower I got from a good friend of mine. This will be a multiple-episode restoration, these lawnmowers are a lot of work to restore.
I hope you are as excited about this one as I am and I hope you enjoy the series.
If you have any suggestions for improvement, or compliments share them below!
Please leave a like if you did like the video, please subscribe and feel free to comment your thoughts and as always thank you for watching.
My other channel for fun.
/ @theenginegent
Tools used.
MAC AFRIC 150 Liter Belt Drive Compressor
www.adendorff.co.za/product/m...
MAC AFRIC 8″ (200 mm) Bench Vice (Iron) (Swivel with Anvil) Light Duty
www.adendorff.co.za/product/m...
MAC AFRIC 90L Compact Parts Washer
www.adendorff.co.za/product/m...
MAC AFRIC Powder Coating System - www.adendorff.co.za/product/m...
MAC AFRIC 100L Silent Oil-Free Compressor -
www.adendorff.co.za/product/m...
MAC AFRIC Sand Blast Cabinet on Stand
www.adendorff.co.za/product/m...
MAC AFRIC Blue PVC Flexible Air Hose 10m X 8 mm with Couplers
www.adendorff.co.za/product/b...
MAC AFRIC 2.0 m Industrial Work Bench
www.adendorff.co.za/product/m...
In many respects, the Suffolk Punch was the first 'modern' motor lawn mower.
When the Suffolk Punch was introduced in 1954 it represented more of an evolution than a revolution in mower design. Many of the design features were adopted by other manufacturers in later years and most domestic cylinder mowers still have a similar layout and appearance.
The major components were made from pressed steel and lightweight alloys when most of the machines from rival manufacturers were still being built to pre-World War Two designs with materials such as cast iron and heavy gauge sheet steel. The Punch was also one of the first popular mowers fitted with a compact but powerful four-stroke petrol engine. This was manufactured by the company to its own design, unusual in an era when most mowers had either Villiers or JAP engines.
The mower was made by Suffolk Iron Foundries of Stowmarket which had a long history of making agricultural and horticultural machinery. The company made its first hand-operated mowers some years before but the Punch was its first motorized model.
The Punch was named after the well-known breed of 'Shire' horse and the company continued the equestrian theme with models introduced later in the 1950s and 1960s with names such as the Colt and Pony.
The Suffolk Punch was a very popular machine and many thousands were sold in the UK and overseas. The Suffolk models were among the most reliable domestic motor mowers ever produced in the UK and many examples continue in use to the present day. Although not universally popular with collectors they do nevertheless have a small but growing band of loyal and dedicated devotees.
Suffolk eventually became part of the Atco Qualcast group of companies and the name passed into obscurity for a number of years. However, the company's original base in Stowmarket remains a site of lawn mower production and is currently the headquarters of the Atco Qualcast group which is now owned by Bosch. The Suffolk Punch name was recently revived for the company's range of mid-market cylinder mowers.

[@djxu666webradio2]

[@chirpy999]

Lovely job, enjoyed it very much just picked one up, need to get it going before going full restoration!

[@AJRestoration]

Go for it! I hope my video helps you on your journey. Remember to take your time and enjoy it.

[@chirpy999]

If I get it anywhere near your standard Ill be pleased!! Kudos!!!!

[@louisarmstrong8863]

The great thing about pulling something apart and rebuilding is good lighting and cameras

[@andrewgrace4410]

Amazing restoration, more entertaining and educational than any movie or TV show to me.

[@ZombieLogic101]

damn skippy! And relaxing to boot.

[@131dyana]

Great rebuild I enjoyed that.

[@Sgt_Bill_T_Co]

I found one the garden of the house we moved into, it had clearly been outside for a number of years with the grass box turned over the engine (Qualcast 35s) - I put it in the shed and 30 years later I have started to restore it to working condition, it took about 5 hours of patient work to get the carburetor to a reasonable condition, luckily the electrics provide a strong spark and the compression is good. The engine runs (really rough though), and all of the mechanics and controls are firmly rusted solid! Videos like these gave me the confidence to start!

[@AJRestoration]

That's great! You'll have it up and running soon I'm sure!

[@dementev]

Watched James May reassembling one of these last night! Good job!

[@AJRestoration]

Id like to see it actually.

[@samuelhadley5556]

I enjoy your videos and I enjoy watching them. There's a lot of know - it - all people out there that thinks it's their job to take the fun out of someone's life by telling you what you should be doing. Don't worry about them just enjoy what your doing and we will enjoy watching you. Great job.🤠👍

[@AJRestoration]

Thank you buddy! I appreciate the great comment!

[@dannicholson3966]

I have the professional version of this (10 blade one) had low compression fitted new piston ring set sorted that. Just needs carb sorting still

[@louishurter4952]

Good morning from South Africa

[@AJRestoration]

Ons gan nou braai.

[@slimwantedman6694]

Good morning from Southeast South Dakota

[@AJRestoration]

Morning!

[@tomswindler64]

👍👍👍😎😎😎as always you killed it.kudos

[@AJRestoration]

Thank you Tom!

[@monteceitomoocher]

Lovely job, almost too nice to use now it's in showroom condition!.

[@AJRestoration]

Glad you like it!

[@user-pk9ut7pm1l]

역시맥가이버 손입니다요👍👍👍👍👍 굿

[@elbertfreeman8124]

Nice, clean working machine, everything needed. Best cutting machine too. Great job!

[@AJRestoration]

Thank you!

[@tombarlow6176]

Baie mooi restorasie werk AJ.. Beste vir die jaar 2023 alle voorspoed

[@AJRestoration]

Baie dankie Tom! Mag die jaar net so great wees vir jou!

[@wicuserasmus2925]

Good morning. I bought the same machine for restoration purposes. Where would I be able to find replacement parts

[@CharlesManch]

#beautiful Nice work man!!!

[@AJRestoration]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@andersforrad]

Great video - I just got a MK2 mower to me as a gift, what a lovely machine. Question: What torque did you use on the head bolts? Thank you!

[@yusufabdrahman592]

So good ii boss 👍👍😊😍

[@AJRestoration]

Many many thanks

[@susankelly7778]

I have the model before yours--(also cast)--and two aluminium models from the '70's. All are in states of disrepair, and all need 'resto's done on them. I retire in June, so i'll get cracking on them then, no time at all at the minute! I had no doubts about you torqueing up what needed to be torqued, as i've seen you do many small engine rebuilds, but would all of those Suffolk punches have near enough the same torque settings!?! Good content and brilliant filming, as always!! Regards from Mikky in Bonny Scotland, UK. (On his wifes computer...shhh!!)

[@phillyon8514]

fantastic video i just picked one up for free and has no spark not sure what to look out for as never done this before ,also what paint did you use please many thanks

[@AJRestoration]

Nice one! I used powder-coating on this project, not sure what the colors are called but I think it was signal red or flame red and John Deere green or something similar.

[@richardluce775]

I’m curious to see what your solution was to damage crankshaft threads?

[@AJRestoration]

I sent it to a local engineering shop to weld it up an machine new threads

[@lesliedownes4935]

Does he not have imperial set of spanner’s ?

[@AJRestoration]

Nope, I actually don't. Its expensive here in my country, and kinda hard to find. So no, I dont hahaha

[@jamesfield5346]

First off, beautiful job. But did you torque the big end bolts off camera?

[@wicuserasmus2925]

Good morning Tom. From South Africa. Where would I be able to find replacement parts for my Suffolk. Exactly the same as yours. I only have a Robin EY 13 on mine

[@AJRestoration]

I might have a spare engine laying around, Ill have a look for you.

[@wicuserasmus2925]

Dear Tom. I need to replace the clutch on mine. The part number is L.5318. I did find a manual with the part number L.5139. Would you be able to tell me what is the exact model of my Dual Drive Suffolk Super Punch?

[@Craigssmallblocks]

What do you use as engine lubricant when rebuilding the engine?

[@AJRestoration]

I use normal engine oil.

[@Craigssmallblocks]

@@AJRestoration thank you!!

[@TheStig1961]

Safety first... 🤔Always first remove the spark plug. Now chance that it will start by accident😉😭. Regards Stig Österberg from Dalsbruk in Finland.

[@AJRestoration]

Not a chance of the motor starting by accident I can promise you that :-)

[@reelhoss3715]

What method do you use to keep the order of parts and how they go back on? 1:47:58

[@user-pk9ut7pm1l]

👍👍👍👍

[@jamesfield5346]

I have never realized the camshafts are hollow. Is that just this type of engine or are all of them hollow?

[@AJRestoration]

Not all camshafts are hollow, some Kohler and Suffolk motors have hollow cams. At least the ones I have encountered.

[@RJGrayo90]

When cleaning oil and grime off the parts is that plain old petrol?…is it because it’s non corrosive against delicate wires and metals?

[@jovlam]

where can you get the parts?

[@AJRestoration]

You dont haha, maybe ebay.

[@jamesfield5346]

Oil looks ok just really dirty unless there are metal shavings, correct?

[@AJRestoration]

Was really dirty, no shavings.

[@jamesfield5346]

How many years of disassembling/reassembling has it taken to learn all of the ins and outs of small engines. Reason I ask is I am starting down that road.

[@AJRestoration]

It took about 2 months of intensely engine disassembly and reassembly. After that its a second nature. Get yourself one Briggs and Stratton flathead, and one Honda GX160 (secondhand) and TOTALLY strip it, reassemble it a few times, when you are comfy to reassemble without looking at KZbin guides, you will be good to go. When you know those 2 engines you can work on almost any other small engine out there.

[@jamesfield5346]

@@AJRestoration thank you

[@christianoconnor842]

It's better to use what's already there and repair it then getting new things which don't last that long

[@PeterSt1954]

I serviced these and other kinds of mowers for years. I would make two suggestions. (1) Take the plug out before you do anything - and keep the HT lead way from the plug hole. (2) When you tighten nuts or bolts down on anything tighten them to less than finger tight first, make sure the part has settled properly (especially if it is on a seal or gasket) and gradually tighten them to full tightness. Alignment and flatness is not always what it should be and, if fully tightened down, the first nut may fix the component in a less than optimal position. Tighten gradually in diagonals shaking the part as you do so. Great video incidentally. The idea with the lugs on the oil stick plug was that if you only tighten them by hand if you ever have to use a bar to loosen it it should not be so tight as to be damaged by this operation. There was a culture of overtightening threads among mechanics and designers sometimes used devices like this to prevent this happening - especially on soft metal and plastic.

[@JimFinlayson]

I forgot that I had seen all of the prior videos, so I made liberal use of the fast forward.

[@AJRestoration]

Yes, some might have seen the series in episodes, some requested that I upload the series in one episode, so I did. :-)

[@LoftechUK]

Disconnect Spark plug first. It’s a rule

[@AJRestoration]

Not a chance of the motor starting by accident I can promise you that :-)

[@jamesfield5346]

Yeah, maybe I should have read the text in the middle, lmao

[@generaldecay8163]

What happened to the decal? Way too dark.

[@AJRestoration]

Yes it was printed on the wrong kind of plastic/paper. I had to go with it since i got it one day before finishing the video and it takes 3 to 4 workdays to print. I kind of like it like that to be honest.