1968 Model 5237

[2smoked]

My recent retirement gave me a good excuse to find another Lawn Boy project to work on. A Craigs List poster had a pile of junk Lawn Boys listed for a flat price and I just had to make a trip and have a look. Considering that my wife would not look too kindly on bringing them all home, I asked the guy if he would agree to selling me just one mower. We made a deal and I took this one home along with a few misc. parts. It's not in the best of shape, but it has the original wheels and the motor looks to be in good shape. It fired up even with the old gas in the tank. I wish the deck had more of the original paint but at least it's not cracked or damaged. Are there any of you guys out there who have had a magnesium deck powder coated? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[d_sharier]

That's a cool mower. I have not had a mag/aluminum deck powder coated yet. I have inquired about it at a local shop and the guy seems to think he can do it without issue. I have a 5006 and a 5269F that I plan to have done as soon as time allows. I will let post my experience when it happens.

 

[robinb66]

Nice find, used to have 1 just like it wish i could find another one. also had a bicentennial version with the grass catcher

 

[2smoked]

Yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and take a chance on powder coating the deck. I found a local coater that was able to answer my questions and found out that I run the risk of a "pebblely" surface due to out-gassing of the magnesium. It would also cost me stupid money to get an exact color match, so I opted to go with a color that is a bit darker with a sort of rougher texture. These things don't bother me too much because I like to use the mowers I collect. In a way, I hate to get away from the original look, but maybe this will not look too bad. If the final results don't look too bad, I may go this way in the future. We'll see.

It will be a while before it's done but I promise to post some photos with the results.

 

[2smoked]

It's back from the powder coater and the results are fantastic. No signs of out-gassing and the color and finish is very pleasing. I must say, that the results are much better than I expected. It's was costly, but I may be giving this coater more business in the future. I'm currently waiting for some gaskets and seals and promise to show you the final results when it's done.

 

[2smoked]

Finally I got it done. It turned out that the original D406 engine was basically toast. I tore it down with the intent of rebuilding it, but finding parts was more than I wanted to deal with. Instead, I found a good parts mower with an excellent D571 engine that adapted just like the original with the benefit of a 32:1 mixture. I also bronze bushed the original wheels and gave it a good TLC treatment. A sweet little runner that is going up for sale. I wish I could keep them all.

 

[primerbulb120]

Looks good!

 

[Lawnboy77]

Looks awesome! I love those original blue accessories like the pull handle and primer.