Wow sammyslab that's great that you still have your snapper that you bought new! I'd love to see pics of that if you get the chance sometime! I always enjoy finding mowers from their original owners or their family members and the stories that often go with them. A lot has changed with my collection since I first posted this thread over 5 years ago. That particular 2-cycle mower I don't have anymore but I do have one in much better shape...plus 16 others...and a couple Hondas. But as I found ones in better condition I'd part others out or make one good one out of two, stuff like that. 6 of my current 19 mowers came from their original owners. I could go on and on with those stories....
Yes yours is definetly a steel deck if you purchased it in '88 or '89, aluminum decks ended in '79 or '80. And I think the red throttles that the Robin snappers came with switched to black in '88 or '89, my 145 snapper is an '89 (from the original owner's grandson) and it had a black throttle. I did switch it to red though. That hardware store you bought it from, we have those here too and I remember vividly seeing them for sale in the local one we used to shop at. I was about 10 at the time. I was such a freak back then. Glad you dug up this old thread, love your personal snapper story!