OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers SB45 - Kirby to Briggs or ??

Hi Barry, on the job thus far mate....This machine will look a treat when finished!

Had a visitor while building... Bread didn't work, so had to resort to a broom

That EH Premier is looking pretty good. My father had one just like it, even the same colour. No rust on the sail panel by the look of it.

Thanks Grumpy. Yep the EH prem is my baby, well second baby behind the 45 at the moment.....body is pretty good with only a few small rust spots.


On the re-assembly at the moment. Getting excited



In regards to my earlier post, based on some advice, I sanded back the ID plate and left unpainted. I'll try and take some close up pics

Hope to get the motor installed, and align the reel and sole plate on the weekend. The new turf is almost ready for a mow!!!

Hi Barry, all looks to be coming along nicely....good work, mate.
Just a tip, make sure you completely reassemble the machine; less the chain case cover of course, before you attempt to adjust the reel clearances. Here is my method...Click HERE
Good luck with it and please let us know how you get on.

Thanks Deejay

Yep assembled the entire unit and will play with adjustment as the last step

The new Briggs bolted straight on. Can't wait for the first fire up

Barry, please don't forget to check the crankcase oil level in that new engine. Briggs engines are normally shipped with dry crankcases, in case they are tipped in transit. An amazing number of them are fired up for the first time without putting oil in them. I understand you can't claim warranty if this happens, because the owner manual emphasises the necessity of doing it.

Also Barry, install the grass deflector and the catcher support rubber blocks, you will scratch the catcher if you forget.
Looking fabulous mate!

Thanks guys

Grumpy, have purposely left the new sticker on the engine as my reminder to not start without oil, new engine has a dipstick vs the old Tecumseh. And yes comes Dry.

Deejay. Have brand new catcher rubbers ready to go and will take your advice from your video about grass deflector after reel adjustment

Also realized I'd left the rubber off the crank, so need to take engine off to refit

All Done....

Have since used a couple of times and works a treat. The new briggs is nice and quiet (smoked a bit on first fire up, which marked the newly painted handle stem where the decal sits), compared to the old Kirby.. Tweaked the reel alignenment after the first mow, which made a huge difference.

Still do do is
-add the throttle control from handlebar, but is not a huge priority..
-oil change in a few weeks






Polished badge

It's now looking like an ideal working SB45, and better than when it was new, due to the vastly better engine. The chaincase looks like new, which I'm not used to seeing. We haven't seen a view of the catcher, so we can critique your panelbeating on that. The Briggs is visibly a modern one, but I think that was your plan. The front roller looks like stainless steel, which is highly functional but not original. You might consider restoring the old Kirby-Lauson and putting it away safely so your heirs and successors can put the machine back to original condition. Other than that I personally can't fault it, it's an impressive restoration.

Thanks grumpy.

Here is the catcher (prior to deflector install) .
In terms of my panel beater skills, I think I got it from a 4/10 to a 6/10....still needs some work, but i was pressed for time with the new lawn begging for a mow. Did spend a bit more time fixing the chain case which had a few dents and scratches.

Yep rebuild was aimed more at reliability and ease of use, so did make a couple of non original decisions.

I might have just primed the catcher so its nice paint job wouldn't have held me back from continuing the panel beating as a sort of forever job. However what you've done has resulted in a fine looking mower, and a catcher that is way better than most decent-looking SB45s have. It does seem to be less of a showcase for your skills than the rest of the mower, though. On the front right edge of the catcher, viewed from in front, it looks as if the lap joint has been ground away or covered with bog. It may just be the way the light falls on it in that picture, though.

AS this thread is over 12 old, I will now close it.