OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Greenfield Vintage ower - Any details / manuals ?

The colour of Briggs engines depends mostly on when they were made. Orange is probably correct for mid-1970s. A lot of them were white in the late 1970s and black in the early 1980s, but orange seemed to turn up on some engines for quite a while before black took over completely.

I suggest you check the condition of the cutter idler pulleys and spindle bearings. Chances are something caused the clutch to wear out and the belt to disappear, and it makes sense to find it and fix it before it all happens again.

That makes sense! I have noticed that one of the rear axle bearings, the one next to the chain drive is shot so I'll be replacing both of those although the front wheel bearings are fine; I checked those out when I replaced the front tyres and tubes.

It is possible that the left rear wheel bearing was damaged by chain maladjustment, resulting in excessive tension on the chain. If so, the chain will probably have pin-wear. Overloaded chains are also prone to cracking rollers. Either of these faults may result in the sprockets showing some signs of damage. I suggest that when you have the chain off, you hold it on edge horizontally and see if it tends to sag a bit in the middle. Also check for cracked or broken rollers. If it shows either of these faults, it needs to be replaced because it will be out of pitch, and the excessive pitch of the chain will cause the sprocket teeth to wear in a deformed way. If you post pictures of the sprocket teeth, from a point in line with the sprocket's axle so we can see the teeth clearly, we will be able to tell you whether they are worn.

Information coming in tells me that the engine was built in February 1960.

Can you tell us how that was determined, Rong? It sounds just about plausible - I know the date code system was in effect in the early 1960s, and also that layout of Greenfield machines was the earliest one we have encountered - but it would be useful for our archives to know just how the date of an engine of that period can be found.

Hi Grumpy, I'll ask the question. In the end I posted a question on the B&S Facebook page and got some good contact information from the UK B&S guys which put me in touch with guys in the US. I've also posted some questions on the Greenfields Facebook page as I would still like to find out the date of my mower and also the colour it was finished in. As a matter of interest this is the Greenfield reply that I've had so far:

Wow Ron, thanks for sharing this old girl with us. The machine is called a Greenfield HD-8 Tractor, there were a few models within this style. They started with either a Honda or a Fuji HD engine pre 1970, it wasn't until about 1970 that they started making them with the Briggs and Stratton Engine and painted them Red. So you are looking at a machine that is the best part of 42 years old! Not bad for a Ride On Lawn Mower!!

So at the moment I'm a little bit unsure of the mower's date given that B&S engines were only started being used around the 1970s but my engine is 1960 and it would seem unlikely that the engine would have been replaced with one 10 years older!

Rong, another of our members, Rodeobob, has several HD8s a lot like yours but with Honda engines. The pictures I posted early in this thread are of his machines - if you search our archives you will find his posts about them. It does not seem unlikely that someone would have replaced a damaged Honda or Fuji engine with a slightly older Briggs engine if they happened to have access to one - I think only collectors try to match dates closely, most people probably look for an engine of the right size and power at the right price. However because your machine looks to be in exceptional condition for its age and model, it appears to be a potential collector's item, and it seems worthwhile for you to find out what engine it should have. That does not mean you should remove the engine it currently has, but you might choose to watch for an opportunity to acquire the "right" engine and store it, while continuing to use the Briggs.

To find the original colour, the usual technique is to look carefully at the machine and try to find a spot somebody had missed when repainting, or a place where the paint is damaged and you can scrape away the edge of the chipped place to look for another colour underneath. You might also post close-ups of any area where the paint looks to be sub-standard: there are several members who are skilled in distinguishing between original paint and repaint. Do not be surprised if the current paint is original though - it looks like a plausible colour to me. Try comparing it with the colours in some of Rodeobob's pictures.

Hi Grumpy. I had a look through the old posts and photos of other HD8s. A couple of things I have noticed, the bonnet on mine has the same cut out for a fuel tank on the opposite side to that of the B&S engine which would point to a Honda or Fuji but of course all of the mowers could have been made with the same shaped bonnet irrespective of engine used! the rear deck and mudguards on my mower are a bit different to the other ones I've seen on here, the wheels on mine appear to be larger than the others I've seen, mine are 6" front and 8" rear with 13x500x6 and 16x6.50x8 tyres fitted. Again these may be non standard tyres?
Ron

Let's hope someone with HD8 experience sees this thread and joins in, Rong. From Rodeobob's comments it seems the HD8s he has seen have varied in a number of details. My guess at this stage is that your mower did not originally have that Briggs, because it is so much older than the mower seems to be. Whether there is any way to tell whether its original engine was a Honda or a Fuji is a mystery. Also, Bob seemed to be saying that he has seen two different models of Honda engines used on them.

Hi Grumpy. I tend to go along with your views unless, as you say, someone else out there can say otherwise! My guess is that mine is a late 60's model, just before they changed to B&S engines around 1970. Hopefully I can get to find out what engine was originally fitted and restore it correctly but in the meantime I've got plenty to be getting on with elsewhere. As a matter of interest, do you know what thickness cork liner is required for the cutter deck drive clutch, again I'm guessing at 1mm?
Ron

I have never actually seen an HD8 in good working condition, so I don't know the clutch friction material thickness. However I suspect that most cork clutch linings are much the same thickness. Several people have recently been relining cork clutches on small Scott Bonnar cylinder mowers, and hopefully can tell us the thickness of the material. I expect it will be somewhat more than 1 mm.

A bit more information, Greenfield didn't start in business until 1966 so that is the earliest that this model could have been built, but looking at the other HD8 photos that Rodoeobob has posted I think mine is later than those so maybe it is circa 1970, was fitted with a Briggs engine that went wrong and has been replaced with another Briggs engine albeit a much older one.

That sounds likely, Rong, but if you can find a serial number for the mower itself, or otherwise a few pictures, you could email Greenfield and ask if they can help.

I've contacted them via Facebook but they haven't been able to pin down a date of manufacture, which is a bit of a shame. I'm still hoping that they will be able to dig out some old information for me, sales brochures etc which may be of some help. In the meantime I'm going to carefully strip back some of the paint to try and find a serial number.

The serial number will only be painted over if the mower has been repainted. It would be quite remarkable if it looked as good as it does without having been repainted, but if the paint is original it would be a pity to deface it.

No it's certainly been repainted at least once as there appears to be some blue on it, but I think the original colour was yellow, looking at the drive pulleys and hidden away places on the chassis.

From the previous thread on the HD8 model, most of the photographs showed yellow machines, so if the paint closest to the bare metal on yours is yellow, that should not only tell you the correct colour, but put it into a model-year group as well. Surely Greenfield's records will show the range of years in which they painted the HD8s yellow. Also, I think you said yours has some differences from Rodeobob's pictures, making you think yours may be slightly newer. If you can list those differences here it might jog somebody's memory, as well as improve our HD8 archive.

Well I've stripped some of the paint off and can see that whilst it is now red it was previously metallic blue, before that orange and originally yellow. So it will be restored in that colour, a full strip and powder coat.
The differences on my mower from the other photos I've seen are mainly the front of the rear mudguards which on my mower are sloping rather than at right angles to the rest of the guards and the wheels on mine appear to be larger than the others I've seen, mine are 6" front and 8" rear with 13x500x6 and 16x6.50x8 tyres fitted. Again these may be non standard tyres?

Let's hope one of our other HD8 owners helps us on those points, Rong. I have no idea - the only HD8s I've physically seen are Rodeobob's two. (Maybe he has more than two - he has a fair number of assorted ride-on mowers.)

I'll send him a message.