Why a Countax really is “poles apart” from other garden tractors

Marek Fialkiewicz, from Poland, contacted Countax tractors with a story to tell. In the latest Countax blog, Marek shares his recent project – fixing up a badly damaged Countax tractor that was originally intended for scrap. Marek knew the machine’s potential despite Countax machines not being that common in Poland.

I bought a Countax tractor with a damaged engine; the valve seat was out, and the engine had too little oil in and had overheated. I repaired the valve seat, I made a cylinder cut, I bought a new piston, rings, bushings, great rematch. The engine fired and so I decided that if the engine works (i.e. engine and transmission) I would carry on with the renovation project.

After disassembling the tractor, it turned out that it was in worse condition than I had initially thought. I cut out all the rotten, rusted elements and made stencils from cardboard, inserted a new sheet and repaired the aggregate. I exchanged all the bearings in the cutting set, three new blades were imported from England. An external company stripped the unit to remove the old paint. After this treatment a primer paint with a hardener was applied, followed by a urethane coating called RAPTOR. This is a very strong coating and is super protective.

The biggest issue I had was getting a sweeper with a collector. After two months of searching, I found a set at the other end of Poland. Despite me calling the seller and getting it confirmed that it would fit my Countax model, when it arrived, surprise, surprise it did not fit. I carried on looking out for other sets but to no avail, I therefore decided to rework it myself. I reworked the mounts in the tractor, and it managed to fit, due to me making parts such as the correct fasteners and screws on my lathe at home. After such hard work, the machine works well. The hard work has paid off, I know that it was worth it, it’s a great machine and I will never sell it.

Despite the machine being in very bad condition when I bought it, I knew it was a very good machine. I wanted to bring this machine to life and use it for my garden. I know a bit about its British heritage and how well it stripes the lawn. I would not exchange it for another tractor mower unless it was a newer Countax. In Poland a Countax is little known but the one who has it knows its real worth.

To find out more about Countax garden tractors click here or visit your local Countax dealer.