Hi There BigFella78,
A big warm welcome to the ODK Forum where we all like to tinker and learn in the process.
A restoration project like this can always be good therapy, both physically and mentally.
Well your engine was made on the 18th of November 1976 if my eyes serve me correctly as that close up engine shot is pretty blurry. If this date is correct then it maybe the original engine from that mower but it has the smaller tank on it which indicates that it may be a 2.5 HP engine and not a 3 HP unit. Maybe you could type the sequence of numbers from top to bottom and that way we can identify it correctly and more accurately and that's provided the engine cowling hasn't been swapped over with another.
I note that a previous tenant has had rail fracture issues with the chassis and as such that's why that extra piece of metal has been welded to the leading edge of the rail. I suspect that it was the original clutch body that has worn and created this problem over time and that's why it now has the redesigned newer clutch body fitted. As your photos don't show the mower from the rear I can't see whether the rear rail has had any re-engineering done to it. Also I note that it's ID plates are not there on the rear rail but I can see only one set of holes where they were originally fitted. This suggests that the ID plate was the later Aluminum Silver / Red unit and with that the engine date does suggest that it is more than likely the original power plant fitted to a newly made mower in early (February ~ March) 1977.
Could you please supply some closer shots of the sprockets so that I can assess them properly as I feel the cutter sprocket maybe past it's use by date, but a better shot will clarify.
The engine is missing it's throttle control up on the handle bar and there's something poking out of the rear section of the carby / choke control area. More closer shots will identify this for us.
For now this is probably enough for you to digest after your first post and I'll look forward to those extra shots so that some points I've made can be positively clarified.
Once again a huge welcome to the ODK.
Cheers,
BB
