"Neil" wrote:

I remember what it was - an English Fordson Major used a Simms injector pump and presumably injectors

Yup. I have one in the tractor barn. The pumps seemed to be of decent quality. Lots of them old majors still around. They were prone to freeze if moisture got in the fuel though.

That was interesting as there is a old Ford diesel in a New Holland windrower sitting out back.The Lucas starter has been replaced once,but the Simms injection pump has worked well except being hard to prime at times.But then 200 hours would be a big year of hay cutting around here,and has been retired for 10 years or better.

The Simms Minimec pump was a very good pump and gave great service,they were fitted to most diesels made in the UK,the Simms was renowned for been easy to bleed in fact the so called Ford 3 cylinder diesel that was fitted to the Dexta tractor was a Perkins D3.152 also fitted to the MF35,Ford specified the Simms inline pump be fitted rather than the CAV rotary that was fitted to the MF and was standard for that engine,it was a pig to bleed and it had to be done in the right sequence,whereby the Simms was simple and only one wrench need,no need cracking the pipes,the rack can stick in the Simms if left in the stop position in cold weather,just pushing the stop control back in and press the cold start button when parking ensures a start,I don't agree much about what is said about Lucas their starters,generators and alternators are every bit if not better than anyone else's,but if you don't understand it say its no good,there were repair kits for the regulators,starters,generators and alternators that could be bought in an auto accessory shop almost anywhere,alas CAV,Lucas and Simms are all gone,the Cats built in the UK used Simms electrics for a while.
AJ

I have 2 Simms pump fitted to 4 cylinder Fordson engines - one in a Fordson Super Major and the other in a Fordson County.

One day we needed to move both these machine and thought that after 2 years of sitting in the paddock they would surely be impossible to start. I set about rigging up a pull chain and while I was doing that the boys jammed a battery in the County, pulled the decompression lever, turned the key and away it went first time, no hesitation, no heating, it just started and ran fine. And the Major did the same.

Some of the old timers around here are very familiar with Fordsons. Heaps of them were sold and the local agent told me that after 10 years or so the dealership sent the spare parts to the scrapper to make more room in the parts store. They never gave any trouble he said. The only issue with the Simms pump was the drive coupling which would deteriorate over time.

The Lucas criticism was in some cases a bit unfair but there is little doubt the British Government policy of allowing Lucas to become a lazy monopoly by gobbling up proud manufacturers of fine products in the end ruined it for all.

The Simms spot light I have is a good example. It is built from cast aluminium, well sealed and with high and low beam and an excellent reflector and focussing lens. In short is is well designed and built to last.

Hey guys,

I purchased an owners manual and tore into the CAT 955C in attempt to find the generator. For the life of my I can't locate it. I was under the impression that the generator was located in front of the motor and before the fan. Any help would be appreciated (I've been putting a lot of time into this machine) slowly but surely it's coming together

Ultimately, I'm looking for the voltage regulator in order to repolarize the generator.

That round thing with the little square box mounted above it!!!
Follow the wires should give you a clue.

OM,

Is it possible that at one point before I bought this that the generator was shot so someone would take it out and just get fresh batteries to start it? Because that appears to be the case...

Yes, that is a common practice.

"josh" wrote:

I have a Simms manual wind up starter, they are used on both gas and diesel engines, who needs a battery?

Haha, right, these useful equipments are also called spring starter .