OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Cylinder Mower No.00242 Model 450538 restoration

Hi all.
Great forum. I've uploaded a couple of pics of my Scotty. Bought the mower about 5 years ago for $150, it had been sitting outside for years, and was in pretty bad condition, the catcher was completely rotten and is beyond repair. Remarkably I gave it a service, bit of a paint job and she started and has been my mower ever since. Clutch housing has just cracked and the reels need replacing so i've decided to go for a full rebuild as I seem to have an odd attachment to the machine and cant part with it .



Id love to know how old the mower is and any advice given for restoration would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Rick.

Hi Rick, and a warm welcome to the forum. Its great to have another Scott Bonnar Model 45 owner on board.
We all like to learn new things and tinker here.
To enable us to help you, we need some more pics of your machine from different angles, particularly the cylinder reel and inside the chain case, to assess the condition of the chains and sprockets.

Is that the original Briggs on the machine?....If so can you please post the complete Model, Type and Code numbers stamped into the metal air cowling that you have removed from the engine...They may be hard to see, but will be adjacent to where the carby intake manifold would be.You probably have painted over them.
These numbers will give us the manufacturing date of the engine.

We will also need a pic of the cracked clutch housing.

For now, I can tell you it is a Series 2, twin rail Scotty 45, made after 1975-early 1976 and is a 20" cut. If that is the original engine, with the numbers, we can give you a better idea of the approximate date.

Hi Deejay, thanks for the reply and your help. I was told by the guy I bought the mower off that the Briggs is the original,maybe you can shed some light on that, numbers as follows: 90112 0007 01 93051003.
The chains and sprockets look pretty good considering the machine was out in the elements for so long,all i've done is kept everything oiled, the drum sprocket is pretty rusty as is the intern sprocket bearing.
The Briggs runs amazingly well and i've serviced it regularly, but it hasn't been touched for 6 months only to start every month or so, since the crack appeared on the clutch housing. I want to complete a full as new restoration and take it back to bare metal. There is only 1 x faded SB decal on the handlebars. Do you know of any imagery available for this model, and a manual would be great I'm really looking forward to this project and getting this machine back to original condition, hopefully obtaining the parts will not be too much of an issue. The catcher was totally beyond repair, so I need to source another one and will start looking.

Thanks for your help
Rick

Hi Rick,
The guy that told you that engine was original was/is telling you porkies.....It is not the original engine, which would have been most likely a Briggs 80202 3HP engine.

That engine was manufactured on the 10 May 1993 in Rolla Missouri USA, long after the Scott Bonnar Model 45 was badged as the Rover 45, and the chassis painted red in a solid colour.
So, we don't have an approximate date of manufacture of your machine, but we could guess, mid to late 70's early 80's.

The cylinder reel has plenty of life left in it and is serviceable, Both it and the bottom blade (bedknife) will need sharpening after repainting.
I am glad you are not using your machine with the inner clutch half in that condition, it is dangerous and goodness knows where that non-original bolt goes....I hope not through the PTO engine shaft....

I will send you a PM regarding decals...all are available.
All bearings will have to be checked and replaced if unserviceable.
Check Ebay for 20" catchers, they sometimes come up.

See the replacement clutch half HERE and you will have to measure exactly the diameter of your engine PTO shaft; (it will either be 5/8" or 3/4") before you order... and you will also need to specify that you need the grub screws to suit.
An Owners Manual is available but not a service manual.
However, we can step you through the procedure to achieve a good result.
For a plan of attack, please read my reply # 54271 HERE

Deejay, you are an absolute legend, shame about the motor not being original, thanks for the links, i'm going to start breaking the machine down next weekend and assessing the condition of the parts and use your plan of attack, got a guy locally who's just restored a trailer for me who's going to sandblast and do any powder coating and I've seen posts regarding sourcing the colour for the frame.

One question, as the motor is not original, do you think there is any value sticking with it or as i'm going for a full rebuild, would a new Honda be a better option?

My misses thinks i'm bonkers by the way, she has no problem with me restoring cars, but doesn't get the mower thing I absolutely love this mower, when the cylinder and bed knife were sharp and adjusted properly, my lawn looked awesome and it was a joy to use.

Cheers

Hi Rick,

Re: Your Briggs engine, It is hard for me to advise you there, as I don't know its previous history...when properly serviced from new, and maintained well, they are a good engine....however I am biased to a degree, as I really like the Honda engine and have one fitted to my SB 45.

I guess in the end, it is up to you and what standard of restoration you wish to make.. although if the PTO shaft has been drilled through....that will perhaps make a difference to the viability of using that engine.

Rick, rest assured, when this project is completed, you will get years of mowing pleasure from this machine.

Hi Deejay,
Stripped the Scotty down today.
As feared there is a fair amount of wear on the Briggs Shaft from the bolt in the cracked clutch housing, the engine shaft is pretty bad as well.




On inspection the sprockets are worn badly and the chains are not that flash.



The bearings need replacing throughout.
Cylinder has some bends and dings in it that I can straighten out.
Bed knife is ok!!
The frame is bent and out of square next to the motor mounts, which I assume explains some of the wear on the shafts, think I can straighten it out ok.


I'm thinking I should also go for a full nut and bolt kit, plus replace everything that is related to bearing housing and cylinder adjustment as I want another 20 years out of the mower.
I have attached all the pics so far including a pic of everything I need to replace.
The rest is boxed up ready to go to sandblasting next weekend, the misses is busy degreasing everything else for me while I write this

Replacement Parts beyond repair

Fixings bagged up as my memory isn't crash hot

Start of the restoration


Boxed up ready for blasting

Hi again ozadventure,

Wow, you certainly have your work cut out for you mate, and looking at the parts on the table that you have deemed 'beyond repair' would amount to considerable $$$ to replace, and of course the engine probs...
Just remember, do not throw anything out, you may need some part if one is not available.

I have grave concerns regarding the chassis frame alignment, which, for a cylinder mower, is a very important feature, because if the alignment is not correct, the mowing quality will be affected.

If all the spare parts are available that you require, and the frame can be satisfactorily aligned, then this project will reach a good conclusion....once you decide what to do about the engine....repair or replace....