I have a 10 yr old AMA lawnmower that has blown it's head gasket. I bought it locally from an independent store and was assured it was a decent lawnmower.
To be fair it has been alright, however now I discover that the engine in it is some generic Chinese one for which a head gasket is next to impossible to get.
So my question is if one cannot be got is there any other alternative or is the lawnmower finished. Could a head gasket be fabricated?
Can you give us both the mower model and serial numbers, plus the engine model and serial numbers. Most of us in the US have never heard of AMA mowers.
AMA is based in Italy. And yes they are using Chinese cloned engines but the Op should still be to get the head gasket thru AMA. They appear to be using (depending on model) which Briggs, Lorcin, and Chinese clone engine so looking at the correct model IPL is important.
Failing that you can send you old gasket to <Lanni@coppergasketsus> who will cut you a new one from copper or aluminium sheet .
I run a lot of vintage & veteran motorcycles and Lanni is my go to .
From memory he actually does some B & S gaskets as a stock item
Price is just slightly higher than me buying the copper sheet
If you go that way remember to anneal the gasket so it is dead soft before you install it .