Thanks fella's....there does appear to be an issue with the way the numbers have been stamped; very faintly, def only 5 numbers, it is possible that one digit is missing, I'll try the chalk trick, thanks Gadge...Paul_c, thanks but the B&S website wont recognize the numbers at this point in time.
Thanks for the manufacturing date AVB.
Trev, today I installed a carby kit, new plugs, air filter, oil and blades and the thing runs like new..thanks for your offer.