OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Old Greenfield Ride-on: First Model?

PART 2

Photos of straight through rail with a G65 and one which is 'dropped'.
Note the way the one with the straight rails has the steering wheel and bonnet top sitting in an ungainly and high position. Comparison can be made by noting the relative positions of the steering shaft cutout in the panel.

Photos of another straight rail that better shows the position of the steering shaft through the panel. Note also the G style logo, the bonnet pivot position and the axle pivot style. I'll come back to those but I'm suggesting this is a very early G65 machine.

I've jumped forward a bit. Working on the basis that the G30,G40 or G50 engines were the first ones used explains what happened. These engines are physically smaller in height than the G65 and sat nicely on the straight rails. Shortly after, the G65 was used and sat the bonnet and steering wheel too high. The chassis modification is in response to this and was used all the way up to the end of the HD8's in this style. Evolution of an existing design to fit a product development.

What was the first engine used? As already mentioned above, the obituary article gives that it was a '4.5hp G30 engine'. Mine is 4.5hp but is a G40 so a discrepancy there. I'm happy to run with the idea that there is a typo in the article and should read G40 but this is one of the many things that needs to be looked into fully.

Below is a photo of the other straight rail I have. It's G50 powered. Note the bonnet style (slotted, not meshed) and it has the pivots at the side off the cutter height adjust arm as do all machines except the earliest machines. Also note the front axle pivot style. I'll come back to that.

Were the small horsepower machines with the straight rail chassis continued in production for a while once the G65's and the dropped chassis came along? Dunno. It's one of the things I'd like to know the answer to and to that end the age of that g50 machine and its position in the story is a bit of a mystery to me.

To be continued......