My mower repair thread

[Vervepipes]

Here she is, looks kind of goofy but after all I think I'm not sure if I'm going to swap the shroud, it kind of gives it character. Besides, I don't think the people who buy the mowers at the price I sell them for care very much about things like that.



This mower started out with one I picked up for $25 with no spark. It had a nice deck so I didn't mind spending a bit for it. After a thorough examination, most of the motor was unusable in my opinion, the shroud was torn apart, the head had a screw and a stud in place of the shroud mounting bolts, one of the rear shroud mounts had an oversize self tapping screw stuck in it. Not worth the effort for me with so many good spare parts around. The engine was a non runner that I swapped another engine onto. I found a store that carries the Tecumseh primer bulbs here so I bought a bunch, tossed one on and it started right up.

 

[hanyoukimura]

Fun thread! I love seeing old unwanted mowers get a new lease on life and the before/after process. I do it as a hobby too. Keep it up!

 

[Vervepipes]

It is a fun hobby for me, I'm an aircraft mechanic by trade but have been promoted into a desk job. I have a '77 Toyota Celica that I'll be restoring but don't have a garage yet nor the funds. This keeps my hands nice and dirty as I like them with the added bonus of having extra cash to set up the inside of my workshop for the eventual big project. I haven't had one come back broken yet, but a young guy starting a lawn care business said he'd call if he ever needs parts or repairs, or when he needs to replace his mower. I'm actually on my 3rd order to be built before I even have them ready, I literally cannot keep up with demand. I think I need a more aggressive strategy in acquiring "dead" mowers. I had tried to deal with a scrapper that drove by but he wanted nothing to do with bartering.

 

[exotion]

Oooooo I am a celica fanatic! The old ones not the new potatoes cars.. my first car was a 83 celica with a 22r/re hybrid. I sold it and it was the dumbest thing I ever did I love the old celicas (the second gen is kinda ehh) first and third are my favorite

 

[Vervepipes]

This one is in very rough shape. It was rolled in the '80s and then parked in a garage. It has good bones though and is worth restoring, especially since I bought it for $200. I plan on doing the hybrid setup as well but I have some Mikuni BS34 motorcycle carbs going in to feed it. Rear suspension will be T3 aluminum fully adjustable 4 link, most of the body will be fiberglass. I had a good roof skin that I got for free but the freight company totaled it, and because it was a used car part, forget that it's a hard to get part from a 40 year old part, they wouldn't cover it.



Photos are the day I bought it, nothing has really changed but I have boxes and boxes of new parts, including rocker panels and every single body gasket and seal. I have a good sheet metal guy in Montreal who gives me a deal because anything I send him to reproduce, he lists online on his store so it's good for both of us. I can even get complete rear quarters made. I think I'll send him my wrecked "new" roof since the frame is still good and see what he can do for me. I'll pick it up though, not repeating that mistake again, Montreal is a lot closer than Tennessee, so I don't mind a weekend trip.

So the green unknown brand mower sold for $40 plus a trade on these two, a basic short deck Craftsman 4HP Tec and a Craftsman 6.75 Briggs Quantum self propelled. He said he hit a stump with both and they stopped running. Worse case I swap the engines for good runners and work on them later. I'll head to the hardware store this afternoon for a 3/8x32.5" belt for the Ariens, then I can list that one.

 

[exotion]

I would kill for that car... Drop a 2jzgte in it. Leave the ride height open the exhause and put a 7.25 LSD rear in it

 

[Vervepipes]

The car is probably years away from roadworthy, so a lot can happen to the power plant options. Ideally, I'd like to end up with 2 of them, one for a daily summer driver with the hybrid setup, and the other reserved mostly for race days with a 2JZ or 1UZ

 

[exotion]

That's the beauty of.the 2jz ... It is a daily engine gets about 20 mpg in the city the uz is ok but not good for daily stuff

 

[Vervepipes]

Got the red MTD looking a little less goofy. Swapped another MTD shroud onto it and although the wheels don't match, at least now they're the same size. This one may already have a home as I think I explained that story earlier.

before:


After:



This one was a trade in from earlier today. The mower had hit a stump and jammed the shear key. I emptied the crank case to make things easier and found the sump full of water. I decided it was best suited for parts, so I pulled a 3.75 HP from a deck that had rusted so badly one of the wheels fell off. The pressure washer's pull cord broke off as I went to wash the mowers, so unfortunately they are dirty...

Before

After

 

[Vervepipes]

The black mower is getting sold tonight, I'm delivering it after supper. I went to do my usual 15 minute run prior to selling and it wouldn't start! Pulled the carb off and the diaphragm was torn. I checked all my spares and they are all torn too, except for the Craftsman self propelled that I've put aside with possible valve issues. That one was still pumping fuel when priming so I took the entire tank assembly and transferred it over to the little mower. I need to find a local source for these diaphragms, I can see I'll be needing them. Mower runs fine now, gonna eat and head out to deliver, then shop for that belt for the Ariens.

I also got this one ready to sell. I cleaned the carb and it runs perfectly. It is an older model MTD with manual throttle and a thick deck. It even has a cast plastic logo instead of a sticker. The model and serial number are no longer legible so I don't know the age for sure. It had an adapter for an odd side bag collector, but the bag was badly torn. I happened to have a spare chute on a totaled deck that I transferred over. Looks very nice for it's age. Still haven't fixed the pressure washer yet, so it's not very clean... The white specks on the front is actually silver paint overspray, probably from when they sprayed the filter housing