OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions On Ride On Mowers Frames Vintage ride on mower - what kind is it?

Hi all,

I bought this old ride on mower on ebay. The previous owner tells me its from the 1950's.

It needs a bit of work, but the engine runs, and it drives - although I can't quite work out the gear system.

Does anyone have any clues on what kind/make of mower it is? Or where I can find some information on it?

From looking closely at the paintwork, I suspect it used to be a green colour before someone has sprayed it red.

Thanks if you can help.

Thats seriously cool.

It gives the impression of a very early rover or cox tractor, strangly enough the appearance resembles my massey ferguson 35 on the farm....


On the cowling of the motor there will be a long string of numbers with model type and code with these we can work out when the engine was made and speculate on the age of the machine itself.

The engine itself looks to be a 5hp briggs and stratton, they are a good engine if they have been treated well

Thanks for the reply.

I went and had a look for the numbers. There are 3 sets.

The first set I cannot quite make out as they are very faint. The best I can work out is: OE or DE ? 13 1922 (I AM sure about the 1922 part)

The second set said: TYPE: 0138 01

The third set: CODE: 82081007

Does that help?

Thanks again

Hate to break it to you Mate, But that engine was made in '82.. However tractor does look older..

Kori

The first block of numbers would be prefixed MODEL: so your engine is most likely a 131922. Its type is 0138, and its trim is 01. The code tells us it was manufactured on 10 August 1982. Hence it probably has Magnatron electronic ignition (1982 was the changeover year). Here is the illustrated parts list:

http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/Z6mltJVJ1DajI.pdf

Here is the operator's manual:

http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/msotJO-K_ny7tH217FzoPu.pdf

The engine is 13 cubic inches displacement (210 cc), of the second design generation, with a vertical crankshaft, Pulsa-Jet carburetor, a ball-race upper main bearing, and a rewind starter. (An electric starter was optional, but your engine does not have one or the model number would end in 4 instead of 2.) These 5 hp engines had an internal centrifugal governor in the crankcase, instead of the air vane governors used on the smaller Briggs engines. I rely on Joe's evaluation of the engine: I haven't used or worked on one of this model.

I suggest you make a careful inspection of the gearbox to see if you can find a manufacturer or model number (preferably both). Also, the gear ratio layout would help the ride-on fraternity here to identify it. I'm guessing it is a three speed plus reverse type, but which gear is where, and does it have an X pattern or an H pattern?

It looks prettier than a Massey 35 to me, in fact prettier than a Massey 42. I don't really see all that much resemblance to any Massey. The closest I could come on the spur of the moment is the IH 585, from 1981-1985 (which by a strange coincidence lines up fairly well with the engine's manufacture date). Great looking machine, though. What does it use for a clutch? From the layout in the pictures it looks like the clutch pedal moves an idler to tighten the engine-to-gearbox V belt.

Thanks for the replies.

I dont mind whether its from the 1950's or the 1980's - I didnt buy it for that reason. I bought it because I liked how it looked! Only cost me $170.

Always possible that its not the original engine, but doesnt bother me either way.

I havent had a good chance to inspect the gearbox for markings, but here is a photo from above of the gear layout. The previous owner said either (I cant recall which), the foot must be on or off the clutch for mower to move, but the moment you move the gear stick into "1" it shoots forward rapidly, and likewise into reverse - almost bucking me off it. The clutch pedal seems to have no effect at all on anything.

I don't seem to be able to move the gear stick into 2 or 3, but that could very well be me not moving it in the correct direction.

Thanks again for the info.

Can the "Code" on a Briggs engine always be used to find the date of engine manufacture?

I also have the following Rover Rancher with a 14HP Vanguard engine, and the details for that engine are:

Model: 261777
Type: 015601
Code: 92021333

Does that mean that engine was made 13th Feb 1992? I wouldnt have thought that mower was 21 years old?

what a fantastic looking machine. i cant help ID it but it sure is cool.

The gearbox is the most expensive part of that mower to repair or replace. If it is a sliding-gear gearbox, and the mower moves when you put it into gear, the clutch is not freeing, and you are sliding it into gear under load. That will destroy the gearbox quite quickly. I suggest you look under the floor, at the object circled here in yellow:


I'm guessing it is a bell-crank, and under the floor it attempts to move an idler pulley which tightens the belt from the engine pulley to the transmission pulley when you push the pedal. (Ride-on mowers are designed so they stop moving if you stop pushing the pedal. It's safer that way.) If that is the type of clutch it has, it sounds as if it is inoperative for some reason: probably the pulley is not releasing the belt tension when the clutch pedal is not pushed down, as it is supposed to. Please post pictures of the mechanism.

Vanguard engine production began in 1987. AFAIK, where Briggs engines have a Code, it follows the standard meaning. Briggs has sold various imported engines over the years, and some of them have not used the full Briggs model identification system (I think the Komatsu Zenoah 2 strokes sold under the Briggs name did not, for instance). The Vanguard engines were mostly imported, but since they have a Code in the standard format, I expect it has the standard meaning and that engine was built on 13 February 1992.

Here is the illustrated parts list for that Vanguard:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/Z6osyGVJ1DajI.pdf

Here is the operator's manual:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/msquFO-K_ny7tH217FzoPu.pdf

In the early years the single cylinder Vanguards like yours were assembled by Briggs in the US, but after several years' production, assembly shifted to Mitsubishi in Japan. Then still later, in 2007, it moved back to the US. (The V-twin Vanguards were made in Japan by Daihatsu right from the start, and still are.) Your engine's Code does not match the Briggs plant which built the early Vanguard singles, so it appears to be a Mitsubishi-built unit. (The Briggs-built early Vanguards were put together at Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, in Briggs' Plant 9.)