OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Unusual Customisation Projects Dodegy Customisation Projects

I think he got a bunch of old mowers in the dump and made a few like that Jack, if I remember correctly, which could mean there are more out there! Still can't find the post?? Strange...

The third mower there almost looks original Jack. only problem is the fuel tank looks better then the rest of the mower!

Cheers Jack!

the green one has what looks strangely like a mid 60's Pope carby !

Provenance is obviously important with these machines.
In the last few years I have seen various backyard jobs claimed
to be otherwise...

Here are three memorable examples:-

Close Popedaddy - but had that been the case there would have
been legitimacy that this was largely an original mower - because
Pope did make an electric version in its Centre Court.



I think this is a Centre Court chassis with Ogden wheels and
a Sunbeam Electric handle and controller.

A bitsa. It failed to sell at auction a couple of years' ago.

Kye, this one created a lot of interest when it was auctioned in 2013.
It sold for over $200 dollars!



With Atco-Villiers engine and tank, and crudely
fabricated flat base, this one I assessed as a clear bitsa.
It could have been made at any time as a neo-vintage.

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/uploads/usergals/2016/07/full-7392-29191-homebuilt_03.jpg

this one has the pope carb

Hah, they're nothing. Wait till you see what I'm working on, will make people cry and run away. Just need to get the welder back working and some warmer weather.

I'm no expert, looks like a Villiers Junior to me.

Why do you do this Aussietrev ... and keep us in suspense!
Now all I can think of is the theme from Jaws

---------------------------
Jack

correct you zoomed , i didn't bother, you are correct as there is no Pope on the slide casting, but for all intents and purpose , very similar.

looks somewhat similar to this one of a 320.02 later model popes did away with the air cleaner flange going to this style, sorry for my preempt comment.

Hello Popedaddy

Mate, I combined your last three posts for better narrative.
[You can easily add images to your text].

Thanks for the information.
It's always great to have a Pope expert on-board.
Not directly relevant to this post, but welcome.

Pope's rotary progression is not an easy one, with changes
both to air-filtering, but also in that they swapped intake
and exhaust sides of the mower (in the early days).

I guess you've read those posts.

Cheers
---------------------
Jack

The final machine I would like to say something about is picture
Number One: the petrol-powered Shanks.



The alarm bells sounded on this one, in that the seller claimed
it was an Shanks power mower (from the early 20th century).

This machine presented to me as being an early 20th century Shanks' push mower,
but it was powered by a post WWII JAP engine! In other words, a bitsa, with
a crude homemade frame and drive arrangement.

---------------------
Jack

SUMMARY

I find Aussie ingenuity always interesting.
We see this in how Australians adapted to the early 1930's Depression.
They made-do and improvised - and created a new art form here ...
Australian Depression Ware. This is collectible.

A similar case for the war years - where folks made-do again.
I note that in WWII lawnmower production (and importation) was
stopped on these shores - for the war effort. There was some control
on the price of selling second-hand lawnmowers! People made-do, and
the conditions were rife fore 'backyarders'.

'One-offs', 'backyarders,' or 'bitsas' ... they are worth recording and saving.

There is a real danger though - in that modern sellers, touting
no machine provenance, claim these are production machines, sometimes
also claimed to be by reputable makes. They are not!

Others are not claimed as anything, but they allude to being
by a lawnmower manufacturer. These can easily fool the novice and the experienced.
I have seen this with mowers, and other collectibles ('signs' are notorious).

A great example on these forums was the Vi-Cat.
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=72961&page=all

Hope this helps.
-------------------------
Jack

The Vi-cat sure is an odd mower Jack! Have you learnt anything else yet?

What do you think about these catchers Jack? There was a spare taht said MD I think.


Haven't seen these before.

Cheers everyone!

Well Kye, that's just brilliant!

It is a classic example of the backyarder's craft.

The Sunbeam Electric was sold here from 1960.
A Sunbeam American design, it was made here too!

It's a mower I love for its ingenuity: double rotor,
driven by toothed belts, and having 4 swing-back blades.

It's downfall ... it could not be fitted with a catcher,
because it had two, opposed discharge chutes.
[corrected with the later model]

Enter an unknown - initials, D. B. - who decided he/she wanted
and desired twin catchers. These are fabricated to make the mower
look like a weird Australian creek, river and swamp creature. The
machine could also act as top-hat boxes in the off-season... or
perhaps giant salt and pepper shakers. Fantastic!

Kye, these are the true 'eccentric' backyard mowers.

p.s. you can't get enough cracked pepper:

Thanks for sharing.
------------------------
Jack

Cheers Jack!

So these would have been custom made by someone for the Sunbeam? and sold out of there shop for a certain person? That would explain the initials. The bloke who he got it off used to own a mower shop, so it would make sense!

Cheers Jack! Clears up alot of things for me!

Absolutely, Kye - this is a true customisation.
Clearly made by a trades-person.

I hope to write about this model shortly.

-------------------
Jack

gday jack , my stay on this site may be a short one as having posts merged and changed does sit well !
anywho mate i have read every post 8 times , i have read my pope bibles backwards,read every piece of info i can find, my dad is an ex ol'school mower man, that helps, in the last 6 weeks is the time the interest in mowers has got tome, and the mower that started it is a pope 320.01 for lots of reasons, everyone has heard already !
i currently have 6 popes, 3=320.01's and 3=320.02's, within days i will have 5 320.01 popes and working VERY hard on two more, i know a little about early pope, far more than 6 weeks ago.
sorry to high jack this thread , but thought i saw a pope carb, i did not zoom in to the last pixel to see i was wrong before posting , silly me
anywho again move my posts about as you see fit, there will not be too many of them

Hello Popedaddy

The combined post in question is #76579 (above).
I combined two one line posts and a third post (photo only).

I explained why I did it - but also because you were a new member,
and may not have been aware of good posting conventions in forums.
It makes sense to combine what you say with an illustration or photo
if you choose to do that.

There is a difference between the more formal 'forum' communication
and the stream-of-consciousness social media that is Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and whatever. ODK is successful, long-term, because of its
moderation and narrative fluency.

You didn't hijack the topic at all. In fact, had it been a Pope carby it
would have been more evidence of the mower being a bitsa. Nonetheless,
it was a valid thought of inquiry that we welcome!

It's fantastic - and unusual - to have so many Popes.
You have quite an unusual story to tell, and I hope we will
hear more of your story some time.

All the best.
-----------------------
Jack

Hey Jack, less the theme from Jaws, think more like what Willowbank might use if they had a grass strip instead of asphalt. And I promise, no office chair.