Sorry for being late on posting this, I've been having problems with my internet..
I don't know much about this engine, other than it ran counter clockwise and was 2stroke and diesel, it looked something like a briggs I/C but vertical and the pull starter went the wrong way (so I thought before I realized it went counter)...
It was on a zero turn walk behind mower ( a bunton I think )
The only counter-clockwise diesel I can remember Briggs selling was the Farymann. I rather think it was 4 stroke - here is the operator's manual for a later version: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Y9Zm0nPrBjIJ:www.capedory.org/manuals/FarymannDiesel_A30M-A40M-K30M-R30M-P30M-S30M_InstManual.pdf+farymann&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShGk-GwjihWBXSYVstqJbewQuCW6FQ5pZgA-kMfGeFyEuMMqBcF6yL6ygAcUhJ76WdmnrG2qA2VYBF3d9x0YTCNHn0Js5XAw4uFVHG5FFPKAKYUT6MmHo96DFfh8-kbQT3QRGWw&sig=AHIEtbSRVXvrcXs2jfpWWx5MNUkDpMhp4Q
It seems to have usually been hand started, but there was/is also an electric start version, and nowadays also a 2 cylinder version.
Briggs bought Farymann, a tiny German company, in 1979, then "sold" it (for approximately zero money) in 1984. They had hoped to learn enough from the little firm to design their own diesels, but decided it was too hard. If you google Farymann you can find some information on the engine, which I think may still be produced in several versions:
That video showed a good one; here is one that's a bit sick (diesels perform like that if they lack compression pressure, though there may be other causes as well, such as extreme overfuelling while cold):
Here is one that seems to run clockwise instead of anticlockwise:
Apart from the disastrous Farymann adventure, Briggs sells a range of Daihatsu 3 cylinder diesels under the Vanguard name. All of the 2 cylinder Vanguard engines are made in Japan by Daihatsu in a tiny factory that is a joint venture between Daihatsu and Briggs. The single cylinder Vanguards are now made by Mitsubishi - they were initially made by Briggs in the US.
Last edited by Bruce; 12/08/1712:34 AM. Reason: Corrected Youtube