OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Ride-On Mowers Australian made "Tow Tractor" Brand

Hi all ,
I have just purchase an Australian made " Tow Tractor" brand ride on. I have been searching the net for some information on it but keep coming up with nothing. I have put up a couple of photos of it , the steering wheel and the engine plate. It has a drum / roller mower under neath.




Any help or information would be greatly received.
Thanks
Benny

Hi Benny, and a warm welcome to the forum. Its nice to have you aboard, as we all like to learn new things and tinker here.
Our Forum Historian and Moderator, CyberJack, may be very interested in this machine; It is the first time I have seen one, he may be able to give you some info on its origins.

Once again Benny, to OutdoorKing.

Hi Benny, Deejay and ODK members and guests,

This has sparked a very distant memory triggered by the photo.
I have seen and driven one of these. It was green (from memory).

Could you please tell me whether this machine has a gearbox?
If so, is it 4-speed? Is the width of cut 36"?

Early Australian ride-on mowers are poorly documented.
I date this machine to mid 1960s, making it an early AUS product.

All very interesting.
-------------------------------------
JACK.

Hey,
Ive not seen one either.

Agreed on date since its running the kirby,and by styling.

As Jack says,your going to be hard pressed finding info,Especially being made by a seemingly unknown Australian engineering company.

They could have made only 10 and went bust or made an small amount to contract. There seems to be a few small ads in the Archives relating to private sales/classifieds of 36" cut "Tow Tractor", but no images to clarify.

The good thing is the Engine is well known and the machine looks basic enough to break down or make parts for and restore.

I hope you find some info as its a really cool Machine and id love to restore it:)

Hi guys ,
Thanks for your help & info .
It is a 36" cut as you have suggested.
As far as gears, the photo of the right rear shows what could be described as the gear box. Pulling this lever pulls tension onto the drive belt , then drive to rear wheels.

[img]https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/uploads/usergals/2014/11/full-8526-18264-
image.jpg[/img]


Thanks again
Ben

Hi Benm, Deejay, Bluegmhtmonaro and ODK members,

Yes, who was D & W Engineering?
I had a hunch when I saw the picture that Scott Bonnar were involved with
distribution in the 1970s. I contacted the Scott Bonnar Historian, Grant Simpson,
and he has kindly supplied me with a scan of the brochure he had.

I believe your machine is a MK 1 dating from the mid 1960s.
Note how the SB Tow Tractor was distributed by SB Sales. This was when they
were part of the Electrolux group in the 1970s.

So we still do not know the full story. That they went through 2 models and
were later distributed by the market leader must suggest they were somewhat
successful as a design, perhaps not in sales. They are rare today.

Here is the front page of that record:

Thanks Jack, that's awesome.
Do you think that the colors of mine are pretty close?
The brochure says they had a honda engine. Is it possible that mine is an early one , having the Kirby tecumseh engine?
Thanks
Ben

Without the facts its not clear. Obviously as Jack has produced some fantastic evidence of Scott Bonnars involvement in distribution, unfortunately it does not answer everything in regards to its origins.

Im assuming by Mk 1 Jack means the first model produced by D&W Eng. The brochure is showing fittment of Honda engines which are a later fitment than Kirby and places them in the 70s Period as he has suggested.

The use of the Kirby engine would be more likely seen on 60s Period mowers.

Without being overly presumptuous,Id say that your Model is the First produced by D&W in an attempt to
A: Enter the market for for ride on mowers
B: Contracting to SB to fill a niche
C: Patent Sold or bought out by SB due to various reasons Eg, Not cost effective for the D&W to produce or inability to get sales due to limited exposure and abilit to advertise like a main stay such as SB.

Its my opinion your mower was produced by D&W Before SB Bought/distributed or took licence of the Tow Tractor name.

Clearly your version differs in quite a few aspects of design to the 2 variants in the SB advertisement.

Again this is more an opinion of the origins of Tow Tractor by what can be seen in the brochure and by your example and also the handfull of classifieds relating to the sale of SH Tow tractors in the mid 60s.

Over all I feel this a very realistic explaination of origin and some food for thought

Its a Fantastic Brochure Jack has supplied also.

May I ask,what are your plans and how did you aquire this? It really has captured my attention.

The more information and help that is given makes it all the more interesting.
I purchased it on the weekend at a clearance sale/ auction.
The future for it is to be restored for my son and added to our family's collection of vintage tractors and farm machinery and taken to and displayed at the shows and rallies we attend.

Thats great! I hope youll share you're progress as you go. Good luck and enjoy:)

Hi Benm, Bluegmhtmonaro and ODK members,

Benny, I guess I should have said that your machine is a pre-Mark 1 SB.
I think your machine is important to AUS vintage mower history in that it is
an early ride-on. What makes it more interesting is that it is a reel,
rather than a rotary.

Is this Australia's first powered-reel Garden Tractor?

Benny, your question of colour is not a simple one.
This machine would have been quite handsome in its red/orange livery and
yellow Tow Tractor logo. I hope you can match those colour in the resto.

Whilst I don't want to interfere with Mal's excellent speculative assessment
of this machine, I would like to add a question and a few thoughts.

My question is: does your machine have an automotive style steering box?
My thoughts are that, whilst the concept of the garden tractor is clearly American,
this particular design is ... British.

Benny, you said:-
"The more information and help that is given makes it all the more interesting."

I would add that the more information we have will make this machine more
important, historically, and therefore, more collectable.

It would be most welcome if ODK got graphic updates as your restoration proceeds.
A photographic record would be most helpful in documenting this unusual machine.

Thank you for presenting your machine on ODK.

All very interesting.
----------------------------------------
JACK.

Hi all,
Jack, as I progress through the resto I will be posting progressive photos and updates.
The owner of the property where the sale was on the weekend, who is now 70, told us that he can remember it being used by his father when he was a kid.
Whether this is fact or fiction I am unsure.
I am glad I bought it, not only for my son but to add to our collection and restore a bit more history.
The bonnet on it looks "homemade"
The reel at the moment is seized and only has a couple of the wooden rollers left.
Gear box seems ok - still has forward and reverse
Belts and tyres are well knackerd
But the frame and other metal work is in good condition.

I nearly forgot the steering question , automotive type, no. A very simple plate on the bottom of the steering shaft connect to the front wheel via a bar .

It looks like a billy-cart steering system, in which the whole front axle is just a rigid bar with wheels on the ends and a vertical pivot in the center. This can give a very small turning circle, but makes the vehicle prone to rolling over when turning, since from the stability point of view it is virtually a three-wheeler under those conditions. I can't imagine anyone making such a machine these days.

Grumpy, it could also be a very basic Ackermann linkage to a kingpin pivot system. Benm, more detail pics, please!

You're right Gadge, it seems to have a tie rod, which a billy-cart system would not have. Not sure how I missed that. The pivot at the center of the front axle may be horizontal, not vertical, so it works like an old Ferguson tractor front axle, and tilts laterally to keep all its wheels on the ground. Some detailed pictures would indeed be nice.

G'day grumpy & Gadge,
Sorry for the delay with the pictures of the front end & steering

Ten points for you Gadge. A common rule of thumb for a simple visual check on whether a king-pin and stub-axle steering system is actually Ackerman, is whether, with the wheels in the straight-ahead position, a pair of lines through the king pins and the tie rod ends, intersect on the vehicle centerline at 2/3 of the wheelbase length. Real mug-amateurs make them so that those two lines are parallel to each other.

That machine seems to be quite decently engineered - well above normal ride-on standards.

It would be great if we could source some more info on D & W Engineering...who came up with the concept...and then the stroke of brilliance of getting into bed with Flymo-Scott Bonnar, whose distribution here in Oz was vast; plus the export potential that presented itself.
The machine had to be well engineered to be considered I guess.

Update:
Motor free and all good. The only problem is I can't get it to generate any spark. Next step might be to rebuild electrics side of things.
Any tips / ideas?