Villiers lightweight engine

I am renovating a Villiers 75cc lightweight lawnmower engine (1961/2 vintage) and need to know what the spark plug gap and the contact breaker points gaps should be also the correct timing.
Anyone help please. If anyone has a maintenance manual I would be pleased to buy it.
Thanks

hi there
what engine is it a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke alloy or cast iron build ,if you have a pic of the engine would be a great help mate as i have most villiers jap manuals ,just with engine style see is as villiers and jap sold engines in both names over the years , im thinking its a villiers mark 7/1 4 stroke engine with cast iron block ,usually painted silver when new

Hi Kev, thanks for the reply.
It is a four stroke 75 cc all aluminium engine manufactured in the early 60's.
I am told they never had a model number which seems strange and not helpful when looking for parts.
I would like to find a copy of a workshop manual or parts list at least.
It is fitted to a 17 inch Atco Lawnmower.
That's about as much as I can say other than I've got it sparking after cleaning al the c**p out of the ignition unit. Just need a Gasket for the carb then am hopeful I can get it running.
Keith

Usual flywheel magneto sparkplug gap is stated as .025", but to be kind to an old magneto coil & give you a better spark I would recommend closing it down to about .020". I gap all my plugs at .017" to allow for errors in measuring & for electrode erosion which will cause the gap to open up over time.

Hope this helps.

P.S. Not too sure about the points, but anything in the .015" range should get you working fine. I know the Wico fW mags are .020" points gap, but not sure about the villiers ones (similar mags though). Kev should come up with the correct figure for you though, he's got all the literature when it comes to Villiers engines (he's our resident Villiers specialist, all my figures here are just general generic engine stuff)

P.P.S. Villiers mag coils aren't renownd or their longevity, so if you have a multimeter it may be worth testing it. Certainly if you have any trouble getting a spark then come back here & we will help you out.

If you have the flywheel off I would highly recommend you replace the condenser while you can. I have tested about 20 or so old condensers on various old magnetos in the past 10 months or so & every single one (without exception) has required replacement (or shown signs of it internally breaking down). They all produced a spark (with the exception of one, but that's another story), but wouldn't have lasted long & would certainly have caused erratic running problems & loss of power. With these flywheel mags it's such a pain getting to the condenser I usually just replace it while I have the chance, weather it sparks or not. Any new condenser that will physically fit will do, usually about £3 to £5 from any motor factors.

railwayman500 wrote:Hi Kev, thanks for the reply.
It is a four stroke 75 cc all aluminium engine manufactured in the early 60's.
I am told they never had a model number which seems strange and not helpful when looking for parts.
I would like to find a copy of a workshop manual or parts list at least.
It is fitted to a 17 inch Atco Lawnmower.
That's about as much as I can say other than I've got it sparking after cleaning al the c**p out of the ignition unit. Just need a Gasket for the carb then am hopeful I can get it running.
Keith

keith
hi there points gap 12 to 15 thou"
15-18 thou" for the plug
carb if you send me a pic, i may have a gasket or can make you one if i have the carb to copy it from ,
i have the manuals for the 125cc and the 145cc alloy engines but the 75cc lightweight i dont have sorry to say but if you ask me the qeustion and a picy the item ect i can give you a very close guide to the original settings in manuals but as with all things that age wear and tear does make some setting, not work from the book, but to the tried and tested always gives a good result , as they say i have owned repaired restored for others and done to sell for young peoples first engines ,just to get them on the field and showing for the future of our hobby
i have done over 20 types of villiers engines this last 4 months and have 5 more on the table as we spech to make 3-4 goods from
i have many bits and bobs on the shelfs for spares ,as not all make it back to the breathing fire ,just become donners for there best bits and the rest goes to the melting pot
kev