Hi Michael,
You will notice on the excellent pics from the early SB brochure you have posted in this thread, that the catcher decal (sometimes referred to loosely as the ying and yang decal) and the handle button decal ( the sawblade decal) are used on this machine.
As this brochure was introducing the Model 45, we presume that the year would have been 1968 and this was the Series 1 (solid deck) Scotty. It was finished in hammertone.
So for restorers, this would be the correct set of decals to apply.
As the date of engine manufacture can only give an approximation of the age of the chassis, as we presume SB would have ordered a batch of 2.25HP Briggs for their 14" and held them in stock until needed.
As Scott Bonnar Model 45's were originally finished in hammertone and
all later models finished in hammertone, it may have been that they had run short of the hammertone paint for a period and painted your machine in the solid finish (which is the same as the early SB Queen mower)
As for the change to the 'sawblade' catcher decal used on your machine....I cannot even guess why they did that...as no records exist.
