Well some good news and some bad. I have stripped the paint from the engine cover and there is no sign of engine numbers, the inside was not painted and still shows no signs of indents from numbers being marked into it. The good news is a family friend has reminded me that there used to be an aluminium foundry locally, and there is some suspicion the original owner might have been involved in some odd projects from time to time, nothing confirmed and upon looking at some of his work it is not to the usual standard (apparently a perfectionist). The person I bought the mower off is adamant that is Australian but can not remember where he got the information from, had written on a plate to put on mower when taking it to shows. Sadly may never find out the full story as people involved in the foundry are long gone, and previous owners are old and probably not much longer for this world,but a great conversation piece.
