Lawn mowers need love too. In this video, Steve examines the origins of the self-propelled lawn mower with a look at a few ways to get the wheels turning while the blade is chopping.
Idgaf if he is showing us a roladex... The explanations, the understandings, and the history lessions, in EVERYTHING he brings us... I can honestly say, I take away something from every video... Guys like this, and uncle tony, are national treasures
I hated the front drive mower with the cogs. My dad refused to buy a self propelled mower so we push mowed our yard. However, I mowed for an older gent who had a gift shop. When the grass was wet, and it frequently was, the wet clippings and other garbage would stick to the front wheels and get into the cogs and the drive. I frequently had to stop, shut the thing off, and clean off the wheels and the drive. It could be a real PITA. Thanks for the blast from the past, Steve.
"The wrecking yard is a classroom", i agree 100%. I spent many days, of my youth, in wrecking yards, neighborhood garages and body shops. I vicariously relive it all in your video's.
Interesting video Steve. I recently rescued a '68 Ford 120 garden tractor that was literally one front end loader scoop away from being dumped in the compactor. Paid $300 and took it home. What was crazy was the previous owner sold it for scrap for no other reason than because it was old. A length of fuel hose and a battery and it started right up. Plan to restore it.
Remember using a reel type to mow my grandmothers lawn. Back in the day push mowers had throttles, being a gearhead at an early age ours was equipped with a straight pipe, I'm sure that was annoying. You could swap pulleys on old riders making them way faster than they should have went. Pulling the governors off small engines was the norm, as was the rod exiting the block shortly after. Great memories.
My dad accidentally blew the rod out of an engine on a pull behind mower. He was trying to adjust the governor a little and his finger got stuck holding it truly wide open. Didn’t take long for it to rev to the moon and eject the rod.
@@rcnelson My guess is most the old mowers were 3.5hp and had to run wide open. My trim mower is 7hp and is preset to about half throttle, which is more than adequate.
My high school didn't have auto shop, we had power mechanics. Our final exam was to go out and find a Briggs-Stratton mower engine and completely re-build it including grinding the valves and seats. Our shop teacher even showed us how to hop it up by milling the head and ditching the muffler replacing it with a 8 inch long open header made from galvanized pipe.
I still mow with a ‘65 Cub Cadet 100 riding tractor. It’s almost all original including the original Firestone tires. It’s fun to use and I just love the way it looks.
The second machine is a Sears Craftsman with a Tecumseh Products engine. The machine was made by Rally for Sears under the "131" model prefix. Later on, Rally merged with Roper to become the Rally-Roper Corporation. Sears Craftsman push mowers have either been made under the "131" model prefix (Rally or Rally-Roper) or "917" (American Yard Products/Electrolux Outdoor Products/EHP/Husqvarna). Most Sears push mowers were made in McCrae, GA which started operation in 1971 and closed in the past few years. Most Sears Craftsman mowers will have a date code as a serial number and an "M" after that to likely denote being assembled in McCrae. Based on the logo style, it's no newer than 1984 (my guess is around 1982 as it says "Solid State Ignition" which debuted around that time for Tecumseh) as Sears changed from "Sears|Craftsman" to just "Craftsman" on many products by 1985 or so. The label on the deck with the date code or the engine stamping serial number will give more clues. I don't spot a "zone control" cable" which was required on all walk behind mowers sold in the US since 1982. Craftsman products today are supplied (and have been for several years, even to Sears) by MTD (Modern Tool and Die) under the "247" model prefix if sold at Sears and under another number if sold through Ace or Lowes. Stanley Black and Decker bought MTD a few years ago. MTD, like Murray and AYP has done private label manufacturing for years. The McCrae facility spun out a dizzying arrray of brands, mostly private label. Sears riding mowers were made by either Murray (502 or 536 model prefix) or Husqvarna (917 model prefix). Products like edgers, snowblowers and other wheeled lawn and garden products were also typically made under the "536" model prefix. Interesting fact: model prefix code 536 was American Machine and Foundry/Western Tool which from 1969 to 1981 also owned Harley-Davidson. I have several "536" made Craftsman products and most came from the curb, and all run and operate as new with nothing more than basic TLC and upkeep by me. I have quite a few "131" and "917" series Sears product as well. The 2nd mower has a Tecumseh flat head engine---the best in the business and very misunderstood. Tecumseh Products stopped making engines around 2008 and their engines actually had an "oil pump" which gave superior lubrication over a Briggs and Stratton. Strattec (B&S) made lock cylinders for GM, Chrysler and others. Simplicity bought Snapper in 2002 and then in 2004 Briggs and Stratton bought Simplicity. Simplicity still exists today. Tecumseh's motto was "Better From The Start". Tecumseh engines, like Rochester Quadrajets are often misunderstood and then labeled as "junk". This is utter hogwash. There is nothing, I repeat nothing wrong with a Tecumseh engine. If you maintain them with clean and full oil, a clean air filter, clean spark plug and clean fuel, they will run for 25+ years without ever having to be torn apart. I have Tecumseh engines that are 25, 30, 35, 40, and even 50 years old and they have never been apart. Most were from the curb as well, so who knows what if any maintenance they got before me. I haven't bought a lawn mower since 1992 and I still own the one I bought in 1992. I find one, fix it up and use it. Then I put it into storage when I find a better one or I'm in the mood to use something different. I also still have the 1979 Rally Roper made Sears Craftsman frame from the first mower I learned how to mow the lawn with (my parent's house which I now own). I hit a tree stump in 1992, salvaged the machine, bought a new machine for $199.99 at Sears on sale (I still have the receipt for it and all the original paperwork) and I still own the machine. With Tecumseh engines, it is not the engines that are the "problem". It's the "mechanics" that attempt to "fix" them. I maintain two properties with curbside find Tecumsehs, so to say I'm a dyed in the wool Tecumseh fan is an understatement.
It's funny how we all get brainwashed about things. I was a B&S engine guy, hated them but always bought them. The odd Tecumseh would come alone and I be disappointed and not really deal with it. Later on, I had gotten accustomed to the Tecumseh (and Kohler) and kinda felt they were the better engine. It was a big loss when they stopped making them. I guess it's like Beta vs VHS and many more examples where the lesser product becomes mainstream and the better one is known as poor in the public mind. I guess its advertising or marketing that controls people's choices when shopping.
Ive garbage picked thru the last 20 years also and recall having both of the walk behind models before. That "magnetron" style B&S is a good engine. The side shaft is just an extension of the camshaft thru the case. That is about a 1989 or 90 mower. Quantum B&S series replaced those, i think in about 1994. The Craftsman mower made by Roper is very similar to Murray's Ive also picked, but I think those were mostly Briggs powered. Those Tecumseh engines I like better than the later Eager-1 series. I have definitly seen more Tecumseh engines with rods thru block vs Briggs, Honda, or small Kohlers. Many 2nd hand mowers with Tecumseh were a harder sell than Briggs, thats why I referred to them as Tecumsh*t, but my oldie but goodie Ariens horizontal shaft 8hp "ST80" series with points and condenser ignition, sure run and start great in below zero weather, except when they have SAE 30 instead of 5W30! That Simplicity was owned by Allis-Chamers back then, and was a good mower also. Most likely has a vertical shaft Briggs. Hard to tell the make of the snowblower, but it may also be a Simplicity or Gilson, looks like a Tecumseh on that also.
@@WildBill236 Nah, that's a fallacy about Eager-1 engines (which were "143" model prefix Tecumseh supplied engines to Sears). I have several of them, including some that are "Eager-1 Winterized" (Tecumseh Snow King). They are just as good as any vintage Briggs of the same era. I have Tecumseh engines that are 20, 30, 40, 50 and in some cases 60 years old and with the proper care, they all run fine. I use a couple of Tecumseh powered snow blowers at my workshop property and they start with a very light pull of the recoil. In fact, I've never used the electric start on them one time (I know it works, I just don't have to use it). Most Craftsman equipment of this vintage (at least push mowers and snow blowers) were Tecumseh powered. Briggs powered equipment from Craftsman came a bit later on. Now it's "MTD" or Loncin or some other Chinese supplier instead of the venerable Tecumseh. I have a Vector series Tecumseh on a 1996 Sears Craftsman mower. The Vector is the unit with the plastic carburetor bowl. I've changed it a few times, but that's about the most "major" repair I've had to do to that mower since pulling it from the curb in 2010. Other than oil changes, spark plug and after filter changes, I've done nothing more to it. You could put a glass of Merlot on that engine and it won't move. It's that smooth.
@@hilltopmachineworks2131 I had one on a minibike and it too ran like no tomorrow. It had the checkered flags on the blower shroud with the Indian head logo. They reproduce that decal now.
I love my Toro "Personal Pace" self propelled mower. It's rear drive, but it moves at the same pace you do. I use it quite frequently, as not to get lazy by sitting all the time. Great video Steve!
My sister had one of those, bought new in 1999. After sitting several years, my sister decided she would save money and do the lawn herself instead of hiring a landscaper. I did a service on it, replaced the carburetor and fuel line and the machine roared to life. When she sold her house in 2021, she sold it for $100 and it was running perfectly.
I have a Toro 22 inch cut Recycler self propelled mower. It belonged to my Dad and is an early 2000s model. That thing sat unused for nearly a year and when I put some gas in it and tried it out, it fired right up on the 2nd pull. I Love that thing!!!
Toro’s Personal Pace drive system is pretty much the best self propelling system I have ever used or serviced. It’s very simple, very effective and very easily maintained. I hope the inventor or design team was very well compensated for that stroke of genius! That cog-wheel drive system, on the other hand, was the biggest POS to ever hit the market! My dad “cheaped out” in 1972 and bought one of those from Two Guys on sale. Grass would immediately clog up the cogs and it would stop working. It was too heavy to push so I’d have to clear the cogs out with a screwdriver every few rows. I hated that thing!!
I got a good chuckle out of this video and appreciate the variety. Small engines are a FANTASTIC, inexpensive way to learn how things work. I owe a Great deal to single cylinder engines of all shapes and sizes in my mechanical education.
Ironically, I have always preferred to work on a V8, than a single cylinder mower engine. They are so simple, yet I can never seem to wrap my head around them.😁
@@willhorting5317 I totally get it and try to stay as far away as I can from small engines now. However, the fundamentals of mechanics, electrical, and fuel delivery are very basic in those small engines, if you can wrap your head around these concepts in a small motor it is much easier to apply them to something larger compared to trying to do it the other way. 1 cylinder making power can't lie.
I have my dad's old simplicity like the one there. Mine is older and bigger. 1968 simplicity 2110 landlord. It's a shaft drive. The thing is a beast. It pulled cars on flat tires. Only 10hp. But geared in a way to do it. I love cutting grass. Everyone has new mowers and I have that old beast. I think I have the coolest mower around.
Ha! This is different. my father and law was a magnet for the most oddball riding mowers i have never heard of from the late 60's and 70's. He settled on Bolens, but before that he had a RAM, an old Yazoo, something that was rusted when he got it but still ran with a Wisconsin Robin engine on it, and this weird 30" single bladed ride on with no steering wheel, it had a big arm on it that sat in your lap and you had to push it way over left or right to make the front wheels turn. Like a wagon pole turned up backwards onto your lap instead of out front. Engine was in back, I think it was only 6hp. it was like these companies were all trying to reinvent the wheel back then.
Steve the snow blowers were driven by the number 35 chain which is the same as mini bikes of years ago and now. There was no safety levers for the auger, drive mechanism or shear pins, so once they were engaged off you go. As a kid i slipped on the ice and it dragged me down the hill, it hit a curb and snapped the drive chain. While clearing the chute one time with packed wet snow and the auger was running i used a broom stick handle to clear it. The auger took off about two inches of the handle and still to this day people stick their hands in the chute.
I remember those days, in the mid 70s. Dad would tell me, don't come to the shop after school. We aren't that busy, go straight home and mow the lawn. It was like being punished. But I would get it done quickly, and work on my GTO.
I made good money mowing lawns in highschool. It helped that I was a state champ runner so I would run and mow and could do 3 lawns quick. Most fun was a riding mower with a messed up clutch so every time u move it does a grass burnout. Nice
I had an older reel type mower that I sold a gentleman last summer. He planned on using it as punishment for his son. If he did good, he got to use the gas mower, if he was bad, he got the reel mower. Nice to still see parents still using character building discipline with the younger generation.
I always liked mowing lawn... currently own 3 older gas mowers ...total investment of 25 bucks... people just leave them out as free junk and i like to try and bring them back to life... thanks for sharing👍
Well, that was kewl Steve, the best part, was that It was never expected! 👍 Several years ago, a guy that owned the lot next to me had his riding mower broke down, the repair shop was the local garage, two & a half blocks away, so he ties a piece of rope to it to drag it to the garage, thing was, while he was dragging it, the mower would swing side to side, looked to be 10-12 feet, he never did hit anything, but the anticipation! 🤣 P.S. I like seeing "buckie" out there......
Steve in our age bracket these riders were our first experience behind the wheel! Dad had a Lowe which my grandpa converted it to go cart for me.I would say the rear engine snapper rider was the toughest mower you could get. Today I have a John Deere 102 that I purchase in 2006.The best mower I have owned
LOL. Boy Steve did this bring back memories of when I was 7, operated a power Jacobson reel-type mower doing my parents yard for a buck a week. Some woman freaked out, stopped and grabbed me running us up to our front door, where she announced that I was "playing" with a dangerous mower. My father, says "Hes mowing the lawn".
When I was about 12-13, I got a Sears riding mower for free. This thing was BASiC. 1 forward gear, neutral and 1 reverse. The blade was bolted direct to the engine. I used to run Lemans races in my back yard, making lap after lap, and even making pit stops. I'm pretty sure my neighbors hated me!
Very cool to see. I fix and repair mowers on the side. cool to see. I mow my backyard with a 1968 toro whirlwind due to its compact size to get around all the trees.
Dad had a power equipment dealership when he was still with us. As a kid I spent my summers as his "road tester". Trying out repaired equipment. I mowed Soooo much grass . It was a good thing we had over 10 acres of grass at the house.
Nice Steve! Back in the 70's we had a snapper which the deck was cast iron and the rest metal. It was heavy and had no self propelled system. I remember pushing that boat anchor up the hill. Starting? That was comical and took many pulls. Today I have a toro personal pace and it starts on the 2nd pull, it's like driving a Cadillac on the lawn it's so pleasant to push
had many mowers over the years including a Sears rider with the wind-up start. One of the more recent mowers was a Toro GTS and when the magneto failed (no start / no spark) I found out it was a Kawasaki engine. That magneto was almost $200 so I junked the 30 year old mower. I have never actually bought a mower in my 69 years. There's always been one waiting in the wings that just needed some TLC.... and I would keep it for another 20 years.
And for the finely manicured lawn, a gas reel mower. My dad had one...and though I was in grade school when he ripped out our front lawn I never recall it being nice enough to warrant it. But I do recall the story that he bought a push version but the guy at the loading dock brought out a self-propelled one. Well, he's never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth! It was a quality one too, McLane. I believe they are still based in Southern California and their factory is here too.
I have an uncommon and unique self propelled mower. Its a 2 stroke 1958 Jacobson that I plan to restore. I didnt even know they had self propelled mowers back then. Everything about it is unusual including the blades -- it has 4 short blades bolted to a large disc.
That snow blower has an insanely rare version of early electric starter. Im still cutting my lawn with a 1929 Locke reel mower made in Bridgeport CT with a Briggs FI engine with exposed valves like early Harleys used. Still runs and cuts great!
It also has a spring-loaded bowl drain, a feature that most Tecumseh carburetors had up into the late 1960s or so. You simply depress the plunger to empty the bowl without having to remove the bowl. My 1960s Toro Whirlwind mowers I used as a kid all had this feature and I used it every fall!
Ah, dang! When I seen that you were going to talk about lawn mowers, I was hoping to see you mention a Swisher "Big Mow" three-wheel zero turn. I don't know when the Big Mow mowers were originally produced. I only remember that my family had one, in the late '60s through early 1970s. It was the first riding mower that my parents ever bought. Admittedly, it actually was a true zero turn. But man, was that thing terrible to ride! Three-wheeled, so you had to be extremely careful on a slope. And you had that hot engine under your outstretched arms (on the steering wheel)... and literally between your legs!! I don't recall if it was a 30" or 36" cut. We used that mower for 7 or 8 years. Then in like '73, my folks got rid of it, and bought an electric John Deere 90 riding mower. (They eventually bought a second one.) Using the John Deere was considerably better. Problem with the JD, was we had to mow the lawn in sections. It would run out of battery power after about 1/2 acre. But, living on a farm, our lawn covered 4 acres. 😎
I have a Toro front drive self propelled 22 inch cut mower as well as a Wizard front drive self propelled 20 inch cut mower, a Yard Machine 20 inch cut push mower, a Craftsman LT2000, 46 inch cut lawn tractor and my Grandfather's old 1970s AMF Turfmaster tractor style riding mower that is a 24 inch cut. My Grandfather's old riding mower from the 1970s was the first riding mower I had ever used and I found that if you throttle it up and pop the clutch the front wheels will come off the ground!!! It has a chain drive system whereas my newer, (2013), LT2000 has a belt drive system. I have also had a Yazoo self propelled 24 inch cut mower that had 20 inch wheels and was rear wheel drive with rollers that locked down against the rear tires, that thing would march through anything and I had a Troybilt Tuffcut 22 with the same rear wheel drive roller system, wish I had those two back. Yep, lots of different takes on how to cut some grass that's for sure.
The weirdest mower I remember seeing as a kid in the ‘60s was a friend’s Clinton, which used a two-cycle engine. It also didn’t have a conventional blade, but instead a large disc bolted to the crank, and six or eight triangular shaped blades bolted around the perimeter of the disc. The blades were bolted on with some kind of spacers, so they were free to swivel and move. I imagine that setup was a huge pain to sharpen and balance.
We had a Huffy electric mower with a similar design blade except it had four blades instead of six, it was powered by a Delco electric motor similar to a washer motor of the era, the handles flipped from one end to the other so you could go to the end then flip the handle and go the other direction.
👋😂👍boy I remember those day’s back in the 80s! I was living with my older brother at the time in HIS house for free!! So he used to make me cut the lawn once a week! I couldn’t say NO! 😂I remember he had an electric one at first, boy that was a safety hazard! Because if it’s started raining or the grass is wet! The he purchased a toro self driven one, boy did that one made a difference! So easy to use! Great stuff Steve! Thanks for bringing back fond memories of the 80s!👌😂👍
Road a million miles, it seemed, on a Simplicity Landlord 1110 as a kid. Got the nickname "Crash" after running it into a tree while not paying attention to where i was going. Thanks for posting.
Lol , now get that thing going and pulley swap it . Then mow the yard for best time ! Please dont do a lawn mower hub cap show , we can't take it. Love ya man keep bringing us good stuff .
My mom had a mower with the second cog style. I remember she had to replace the driven wheels almost yearly as they wore smooth by the end of the season 😄
Back in the 70s a few of my friends and I would have rider lawnmower races....no mower decks on of coarse. We'd also mess with the governor rolling backwards then let the throttle rip popping wheelies haha...ahhh those were the days.
Who else used a Craftsman wind-up and release start mower? I know I’m not the only one! Who can forget the sound of an old rotary grass cutter... back then our parents didn’t have to tell us to keep our fingers away from the blades. A flood of memories with every video!
I didn’t use one of those but my uncle Charlie had one So two or three of my cousins could answer yes to your question. My dad had a Locke, a two wheel Gravely with a 30” rotary and a sickle bar, and a Rototiller that had a 24” rotary that went on the front of the machine. All three dated back to the late forties and were still in regular use into the seventies.
Oh yes, definitely owned and used many a Craftsman mower with the lightweight magnesium deck and the crank-up impulse starter on top of a Tecumseh LAV-30 engine. Loved that ratcheting sound of winding it up, then closing the crank handle down and “WHACK”…chug chug chug purrrrrrrrr!
No driven mower for me when I was a kid.My Dad bought this HUGE craftsman (because Sears was THE store) The thing had this wind up crank start system on top. I didn't mind cutting the grass( I also cut several neighbors grass to make money to buy model cars) but I hated that mower.
Oh yeah...the hand crank! You'd wind it up and turn a little knob to release the spring tension and it would spin over the engine. A neighbor lady I mowed for had one of those when I was a kid. Pretty cool
Many moons ago, my neighbor bought a rear engine Ariens mower and a snow plow blade for it. Didnt take his son and I to discover that if you took the deck off, it pulled some great wheelies
great video steve. You hit a nerve with this content.I could not do anything until i mowed the lawn every Saturday .Push mower of course. And north east winter in the 70's was brutal. Shovel and if lucky an ice chopper . You can be quite funny. Please make more like this.
And the Snapper self propelled mower used a vertical rubber tire pressing against a horizontal metal disc. Speed was changed by adjusting the position of the tire inwards or outwards on the disc.
@@thefordmaniac Drive disc/platen system. Some snowblowers actually had a transmission instead of the platen system. I have a 1979 Sears Craftsman (made by AMF) that has a Peerless transmission, not a platen system.
@@ctprecast7437 There's a chance that someone may have made that for them. A lot of competitors believe it or not made products for others. Depends on the model and year of course.
About 5 years ago we had a aluminum deck 2 stroke push mower. Best we could guess it was from the 80s. Also got a husqvarna 4wd push mower lol. Works great in a straight line but is a pain to turn.
When I was a kid back in the 60s I had a great uncle that would have me mow his side lot and it was done with riding mower. It was a three wheeled Job and the front wheel was the drive wheel but when you wanted to go in reverse you just turn the front wheel all the Way around 180° and a thing would go backwards it was quite a contraption.
My grandfather had an old Lawnboy where the front wheels were actually gears driven by smaller drive wheels that locked into them. After it died, he shoved it in his out building. After he died, my uncle stuck it out by the road, where someone snatched it up in a matter of hours. Those things are worth some $ nowadays.
Once I went electric I never went back. Cheap, dependable, no maintenance besides sharpening the blade every few years. SO much torque, it cuts through everything even stray branches....
This was fun. In the fifties and early sixties we had a "reel" mower and it was heavy as hell for me at the age of 10. Then Dad got a Toro with Green stamps, which cut great but had a mechanical parts made of pock metal. My Dad used to get mad at me and he just didn't understand the mower was not high quality. Around '69 Dad bought a little Gravely riding mower and it was reliable. I eventually cut many yards in the neighborhood.
First power mower we had in sixties was a reel type mower with engine above it. That thing was dangerous, lock it in gear and it would go over anything!! I took the engine off it and mounted it on a piece of wood on a bicycle with a long V belt to the rear wheel ( can’t remember the exact setup but was fun till the Detroit police took it away from me, and my father said good!! We didn’t go get it back
A neighbor had a huge reel mower with the engine on top. He hired me to mow his yard one summer as he was recovering from some sort of surgery. I must have been around 11 yrs. old. That mower dragged my ass all over that yard and it was unstoppable! How did we survive back then!? 🤕
Too bad you couldn't find some 1950's mowers. Magnesium or aluminum decks, two stroke (to kill mosquitoes 😀) and space age styling. Some of those mower decks even had fins! I used a couple older ones that didn't even have recoil starting, you wrapped the rope around the pulley. The worst was 'the wind up a crank and press a release button' . The ones I knew of didn't last very long and were converted over to the regular recoil rope or scrapped.
Nice to see that they didn't have any Snapper mowers self propelled walk behinds , Or the rear engine riders some the best made mowers IMHO I still use a 1974 Comet Snapper rer . thanks for the video Steve .
Back in the day it was the John Deere might 110 that was the Cadillac of lawn mowers. I mow my lawn with a 1974 110. Try getting a new mower to last 48 years.
I cut 5 Acres with a 1980 Cub Cadet 782. It was here when I bought the house, and I still use it. I even hook up a blade to the front to push snow off the driveway. New stuff certainly isn't as good as the old lawn equipment. I doubt the new plastic and light weight transmissions in the new stuff will be around for 40+ years. My old IH Cub will probably still be around in 40 years and your will your John Deere.
That snow blower looks like an old Ariens, maybe from the late 50-early 60s. worth fixing up. I have one that I put a Predator on. Thing is built like a tank.
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Idgaf if he is showing us a roladex... The explanations, the understandings, and the history lessions, in EVERYTHING he brings us... I can honestly say, I take away something from every video... Guys like this, and uncle tony, are national treasures
I hated the front drive mower with the cogs. My dad refused to buy a self propelled mower so we push mowed our yard. However, I mowed for an older gent who had a gift shop. When the grass was wet, and it frequently was, the wet clippings and other garbage would stick to the front wheels and get into the cogs and the drive. I frequently had to stop, shut the thing off, and clean off the wheels and the drive. It could be a real PITA. Thanks for the blast from the past, Steve.
"The wrecking yard is a classroom", i agree 100%. I spent many days, of my youth, in wrecking yards, neighborhood garages and body shops. I vicariously relive it all in your video's.
See, I come here to learn every morning before work, and you never fail to provide something new. Thank you Steve for sharing your knowledge.
My pleasure!
Interesting video Steve. I recently rescued a '68 Ford 120 garden tractor that was literally one front end loader scoop away from being dumped in the compactor. Paid $300 and took it home. What was crazy was the previous owner sold it for scrap for no other reason than because it was old. A length of fuel hose and a battery and it started right up. Plan to restore it.
would you like another one ?
@@TheCrowdsourceFisherman Gotta finish the one I got. Lol!
@@DeadInsideButStillSmiling I went through it a few years back and it's been sitting in storage since then. Let me know if you ever want another.
@@TheCrowdsourceFisherman I sure will
@@TheCrowdsourceFisherman So, uh, how many days journey are you from Harrisonburg Va?
First thing I ever drove was my grandpa's 1963 simplicity just like that one. That brought back memories. Thanks.
Remember using a reel type to mow my grandmothers lawn. Back in the day push mowers had throttles, being a gearhead at an early age ours was equipped with a straight pipe, I'm sure that was annoying. You could swap pulleys on old riders making them way faster than they should have went. Pulling the governors off small engines was the norm, as was the rod exiting the block shortly after. Great memories.
I still have a mower with a throttle rather than one preset unchangeable speed. Why were throttles done away with?
My dad accidentally blew the rod out of an engine on a pull behind mower. He was trying to adjust the governor a little and his finger got stuck holding it truly wide open. Didn’t take long for it to rev to the moon and eject the rod.
@@rcnelson My guess is most the old mowers were 3.5hp and had to run wide open. My trim mower is 7hp and is preset to about half throttle, which is more than adequate.
Steve. You're a Big kid, with big toys, in a big playground. Never stop having fun. 🙂
Only Steve can make mowers interesting!
Only Steve can make lawnmowers interesting
My high school didn't have auto shop, we had power mechanics. Our final exam was to go out and find a Briggs-Stratton mower engine and completely re-build it including grinding the valves and seats. Our shop teacher even showed us how to hop it up by milling the head and ditching the muffler replacing it with a 8 inch long open header made from galvanized pipe.
Now there's a proper education!
Us too, we did Briggs and Tecumseh. That and auto shop the following year were the only classes I always got a straight “A” in!
I still mow with a ‘65 Cub Cadet 100 riding tractor. It’s almost all original including the original Firestone tires. It’s fun to use and I just love the way it looks.
Good stuff Steve brings back memories when I was younger
You have said it before but I can never get enough of hearing that the junkyard is actually a classroom. Love that reference....
The second machine is a Sears Craftsman with a Tecumseh Products engine. The machine was made by Rally for Sears under the "131" model prefix. Later on, Rally merged with Roper to become the Rally-Roper Corporation. Sears Craftsman push mowers have either been made under the "131" model prefix (Rally or Rally-Roper) or "917" (American Yard Products/Electrolux Outdoor Products/EHP/Husqvarna). Most Sears push mowers were made in McCrae, GA which started operation in 1971 and closed in the past few years. Most Sears Craftsman mowers will have a date code as a serial number and an "M" after that to likely denote being assembled in McCrae. Based on the logo style, it's no newer than 1984 (my guess is around 1982 as it says "Solid State Ignition" which debuted around that time for Tecumseh) as Sears changed from "Sears|Craftsman" to just "Craftsman" on many products by 1985 or so. The label on the deck with the date code or the engine stamping serial number will give more clues. I don't spot a "zone control" cable" which was required on all walk behind mowers sold in the US since 1982. Craftsman products today are supplied (and have been for several years, even to Sears) by MTD (Modern Tool and Die) under the "247" model prefix if sold at Sears and under another number if sold through Ace or Lowes. Stanley Black and Decker bought MTD a few years ago. MTD, like Murray and AYP has done private label manufacturing for years.
The McCrae facility spun out a dizzying arrray of brands, mostly private label. Sears riding mowers were made by either Murray (502 or 536 model prefix) or Husqvarna (917 model prefix). Products like edgers, snowblowers and other wheeled lawn and garden products were also typically made under the "536" model prefix. Interesting fact: model prefix code 536 was American Machine and Foundry/Western Tool which from 1969 to 1981 also owned Harley-Davidson. I have several "536" made Craftsman products and most came from the curb, and all run and operate as new with nothing more than basic TLC and upkeep by me. I have quite a few "131" and "917" series Sears product as well. The 2nd mower has a Tecumseh flat head engine---the best in the business and very misunderstood. Tecumseh Products stopped making engines around 2008 and their engines actually had an "oil pump" which gave superior lubrication over a Briggs and Stratton. Strattec (B&S) made lock cylinders for GM, Chrysler and others. Simplicity bought Snapper in 2002 and then in 2004 Briggs and Stratton bought Simplicity. Simplicity still exists today. Tecumseh's motto was "Better From The Start".
Tecumseh engines, like Rochester Quadrajets are often misunderstood and then labeled as "junk". This is utter hogwash. There is nothing, I repeat nothing wrong with a Tecumseh engine. If you maintain them with clean and full oil, a clean air filter, clean spark plug and clean fuel, they will run for 25+ years without ever having to be torn apart. I have Tecumseh engines that are 25, 30, 35, 40, and even 50 years old and they have never been apart. Most were from the curb as well, so who knows what if any maintenance they got before me. I haven't bought a lawn mower since 1992 and I still own the one I bought in 1992. I find one, fix it up and use it. Then I put it into storage when I find a better one or I'm in the mood to use something different. I also still have the 1979 Rally Roper made Sears Craftsman frame from the first mower I learned how to mow the lawn with (my parent's house which I now own). I hit a tree stump in 1992, salvaged the machine, bought a new machine for $199.99 at Sears on sale (I still have the receipt for it and all the original paperwork) and I still own the machine.
With Tecumseh engines, it is not the engines that are the "problem". It's the "mechanics" that attempt to "fix" them. I maintain two properties with curbside find Tecumsehs, so to say I'm a dyed in the wool Tecumseh fan is an understatement.
It's funny how we all get brainwashed about things. I was a B&S engine guy, hated them but always bought them. The odd Tecumseh would come alone and I be disappointed and not really deal with it. Later on, I had gotten accustomed to the Tecumseh (and Kohler) and kinda felt they were the better engine. It was a big loss when they stopped making them.
I guess it's like Beta vs VHS and many more examples where the lesser product becomes mainstream and the better one is known as poor in the public mind. I guess its advertising or marketing that controls people's choices when shopping.
Ive garbage picked thru the last 20 years also and recall having both of the walk behind models before. That "magnetron" style B&S is a good engine. The side shaft is just an extension of the camshaft thru the case. That is about a 1989 or 90 mower. Quantum B&S series replaced those, i think in about 1994. The Craftsman mower made by Roper is very similar to Murray's Ive also picked, but I think those were mostly Briggs powered. Those Tecumseh engines I like better than the later Eager-1 series. I have definitly seen more Tecumseh engines with rods thru block vs Briggs, Honda, or small Kohlers. Many 2nd hand mowers with Tecumseh were a harder sell than Briggs, thats why I referred to them as Tecumsh*t, but my oldie but goodie Ariens horizontal shaft 8hp "ST80" series with points and condenser ignition, sure run and start great in below zero weather, except when they have SAE 30 instead of 5W30! That Simplicity was owned by Allis-Chamers back then, and was a good mower also. Most likely has a vertical shaft Briggs. Hard to tell the make of the snowblower, but it may also be a Simplicity or Gilson, looks like a Tecumseh on that also.
@@WildBill236 Nah, that's a fallacy about Eager-1 engines (which were "143" model prefix Tecumseh supplied engines to Sears). I have several of them, including some that are "Eager-1 Winterized" (Tecumseh Snow King). They are just as good as any vintage Briggs of the same era. I have Tecumseh engines that are 20, 30, 40, 50 and in some cases 60 years old and with the proper care, they all run fine. I use a couple of Tecumseh powered snow blowers at my workshop property and they start with a very light pull of the recoil. In fact, I've never used the electric start on them one time (I know it works, I just don't have to use it). Most Craftsman equipment of this vintage (at least push mowers and snow blowers) were Tecumseh powered. Briggs powered equipment from Craftsman came a bit later on. Now it's "MTD" or Loncin or some other Chinese supplier instead of the venerable Tecumseh.
I have a Vector series Tecumseh on a 1996 Sears Craftsman mower. The Vector is the unit with the plastic carburetor bowl. I've changed it a few times, but that's about the most "major" repair I've had to do to that mower since pulling it from the curb in 2010. Other than oil changes, spark plug and after filter changes, I've done nothing more to it. You could put a glass of Merlot on that engine and it won't move. It's that smooth.
I had a Tecumseh engine on my go-cart when I was a kid back in the 80's. That thing ran like a scalded dog.
@@hilltopmachineworks2131 I had one on a minibike and it too ran like no tomorrow. It had the checkered flags on the blower shroud with the Indian head logo. They reproduce that decal now.
I love my Toro "Personal Pace" self propelled mower. It's rear drive, but it moves at the same pace you do. I use it quite frequently, as not to get lazy by sitting all the time. Great video Steve!
Grass whip? I never know what I'll learn on Steve's channel. Today it's a new name for an idiot stick.😎
My sister had one of those, bought new in 1999. After sitting several years, my sister decided she would save money and do the lawn herself instead of hiring a landscaper. I did a service on it, replaced the carburetor and fuel line and the machine roared to life. When she sold her house in 2021, she sold it for $100 and it was running perfectly.
I have a Toro 22 inch cut Recycler self propelled mower. It belonged to my Dad and is an early 2000s model. That thing sat unused for nearly a year and when I put some gas in it and tried it out, it fired right up on the 2nd pull. I Love that thing!!!
@@Funsho97 Same with my sister's. Sat for years and with some TLC, it started right up.
Toro’s Personal Pace drive system is pretty much the best self propelling system I have ever used or serviced. It’s very simple, very effective and very easily maintained. I hope the inventor or design team was very well compensated for that stroke of genius!
That cog-wheel drive system, on the other hand, was the biggest POS to ever hit the market! My dad “cheaped out” in 1972 and bought one of those from Two Guys on sale. Grass would immediately clog up the cogs and it would stop working. It was too heavy to push so I’d have to clear the cogs out with a screwdriver every few rows. I hated that thing!!
I got a good chuckle out of this video and appreciate the variety. Small engines are a FANTASTIC, inexpensive way to learn how things work. I owe a Great deal to single cylinder engines of all shapes and sizes in my mechanical education.
Ironically, I have always preferred to work on a V8, than a single cylinder mower engine.
They are so simple, yet I can never seem to wrap my head around them.😁
@@willhorting5317 I totally get it and try to stay as far away as I can from small engines now. However, the fundamentals of mechanics, electrical, and fuel delivery are very basic in those small engines, if you can wrap your head around these concepts in a small motor it is much easier to apply them to something larger compared to trying to do it the other way. 1 cylinder making power can't lie.
Oh the memories.. Thanks Steve!
Seeing those relics makes me appreciate my battery operated Makita that much more.
I have my dad's old simplicity like the one there. Mine is older and bigger. 1968 simplicity 2110 landlord. It's a shaft drive. The thing is a beast. It pulled cars on flat tires. Only 10hp. But geared in a way to do it. I love cutting grass. Everyone has new mowers and I have that old beast. I think I have the coolest mower around.
Ha! This is different.
my father and law was a magnet for the most oddball riding mowers i have never heard of from the late 60's and 70's. He settled on Bolens, but before that he had a RAM, an old Yazoo, something that was rusted when he got it but still ran with a Wisconsin Robin engine on it, and this weird 30" single bladed ride on with no steering wheel, it had a big arm on it that sat in your lap and you had to push it way over left or right to make the front wheels turn. Like a wagon pole turned up backwards onto your lap instead of out front. Engine was in back, I think it was only 6hp.
it was like these companies were all trying to reinvent the wheel back then.
one of the most under subscribed channels on RUclips
Steve the snow blowers were driven by the number 35 chain which is the same as mini bikes of years ago and now. There was no safety levers for the auger, drive mechanism or shear pins, so once they were engaged off you go. As a kid i slipped on the ice and it dragged me down the hill, it hit a curb and snapped the drive chain. While clearing the chute one time with packed wet snow and the auger was running i used a broom stick handle to clear it. The auger took off about two inches of the handle and still to this day people stick their hands in the chute.
I remember those days, in the mid 70s. Dad would tell me, don't come to the shop after school. We aren't that busy, go straight home and mow the lawn. It was like being punished. But I would get it done quickly, and work on my GTO.
I made good money mowing lawns in highschool.
It helped that I was a state champ runner so I would run and mow and could do 3 lawns quick.
Most fun was a riding mower with a messed up clutch so every time u move it does a grass burnout.
Nice
I had an older reel type mower that I sold a gentleman last summer. He planned on using it as punishment for his son. If he did good, he got to use the gas mower, if he was bad, he got the reel mower. Nice to still see parents still using character building discipline with the younger generation.
I’m liking that red Craftsman self-propelled and Tecumseh push mower!
I always liked mowing lawn... currently own 3 older gas mowers ...total investment of 25 bucks... people just leave them out as free junk and i like to try and bring them back to life... thanks for sharing👍
The man can make a lawnmower interesting!
Well, that was kewl Steve, the best part, was that It was never expected! 👍
Several years ago, a guy that owned the lot next to me had his riding mower broke down, the repair shop was the local garage,
two & a half blocks away, so he ties a piece of rope to it to drag it to the garage, thing was, while he was dragging it, the mower would swing side to side, looked to be 10-12 feet, he never did hit anything, but the anticipation! 🤣
P.S. I like seeing "buckie" out there......
Steve in our age bracket these riders were our first experience behind the wheel! Dad had a Lowe which my grandpa converted it to go cart for me.I would say the rear engine snapper rider was the toughest mower you could get. Today I have a John Deere 102 that I purchase in 2006.The best mower I have owned
LOL. Boy Steve did this bring back memories of when I was 7, operated a power Jacobson reel-type mower doing my parents yard for a buck a week. Some woman freaked out, stopped and grabbed me running us up to our front door, where she announced that I was "playing" with a dangerous mower. My father, says "Hes mowing the lawn".
was her name Karen ????
I’ve got 3 old Gravelys. 39,70 and 1984. Tough machines.
When I was a kid, giving someone a lawn job was doing a burnout in their front grass and tearing up the yard.
When I was about 12-13, I got a Sears riding mower for free. This thing was BASiC. 1 forward gear, neutral and 1 reverse. The blade was bolted direct to the engine. I used to run Lemans races in my back yard, making lap after lap, and even making pit stops. I'm pretty sure my neighbors hated me!
Very cool to see. I fix and repair mowers on the side. cool to see. I mow my backyard with a 1968 toro whirlwind due to its compact size to get around all the trees.
Dad had a power equipment dealership when he was still with us. As a kid I spent my summers as his "road tester". Trying out repaired equipment. I mowed Soooo much grass . It was a good thing we had over 10 acres of grass at the house.
Nice Steve! Back in the 70's we had a snapper which the deck was cast iron and the rest metal. It was heavy and had no self propelled system. I remember pushing that boat anchor up the hill. Starting? That was comical and took many pulls. Today I have a toro personal pace and it starts on the 2nd pull, it's like driving a Cadillac on the lawn it's so pleasant to push
had many mowers over the years including a Sears rider with the wind-up start. One of the more recent mowers was a Toro GTS and when the magneto failed (no start / no spark) I found out it was a Kawasaki engine. That magneto was almost $200 so I junked the 30 year old mower. I have never actually bought a mower in my 69 years. There's always been one waiting in the wings that just needed some TLC.... and I would keep it for another 20 years.
You can buy chinese magnetos for $10 bucks, and swap on a new motor in like 10 minutes if your good. But you scrapped it like everyone else.
And for the finely manicured lawn, a gas reel mower. My dad had one...and though I was in grade school when he ripped out our front lawn I never recall it being nice enough to warrant it. But I do recall the story that he bought a push version but the guy at the loading dock brought out a self-propelled one. Well, he's never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth! It was a quality one too, McLane. I believe they are still based in Southern California and their factory is here too.
Thank you Steve
I have an uncommon and unique self propelled mower. Its a 2 stroke 1958 Jacobson that I plan to restore. I didnt even know they had self propelled mowers back then. Everything about it is unusual including the blades -- it has 4 short blades bolted to a large disc.
Its amazing how many different designs are out there,and the features, thumbs 👍 up double, cars rust away, that snow thrower still looked pretty solid
That was Gold, Steve. Green gold. 🟢🏆
That snow blower has an insanely rare version of early electric starter. Im still cutting my lawn with a 1929 Locke reel mower made in Bridgeport CT with a Briggs FI engine with exposed valves like early Harleys used. Still runs and cuts great!
It also has a spring-loaded bowl drain, a feature that most Tecumseh carburetors had up into the late 1960s or so. You simply depress the plunger to empty the bowl without having to remove the bowl. My 1960s Toro Whirlwind mowers I used as a kid all had this feature and I used it every fall!
To cool Steve. I make a lot of my money repairing lawnmowers.
I have a 1970 simplicity broadmoor
like that rider!! works great!!
Very interesting!! Love the variety!!
Glad you enjoyed!
Ah, dang! When I seen that you were going to talk about lawn mowers, I was hoping to see you mention a Swisher "Big Mow" three-wheel zero turn.
I don't know when the Big Mow mowers were originally produced.
I only remember that my family had one, in the late '60s through early 1970s.
It was the first riding mower that my parents ever bought.
Admittedly, it actually was a true zero turn.
But man, was that thing terrible to ride!
Three-wheeled, so you had to be extremely careful on a slope.
And you had that hot engine under your outstretched arms (on the steering wheel)... and literally between your legs!!
I don't recall if it was a 30" or 36" cut.
We used that mower for 7 or 8 years.
Then in like '73, my folks got rid of it, and bought an electric John Deere 90 riding mower. (They eventually bought a second one.)
Using the John Deere was considerably better.
Problem with the JD, was we had to mow the lawn in sections.
It would run out of battery power after about 1/2 acre.
But, living on a farm, our lawn covered 4 acres.
😎
I have a Toro front drive self propelled 22 inch cut mower as well as a Wizard front drive self propelled 20 inch cut mower, a Yard Machine 20 inch cut push mower, a Craftsman LT2000, 46 inch cut lawn tractor and my Grandfather's old 1970s AMF Turfmaster tractor style riding mower that is a 24 inch cut. My Grandfather's old riding mower from the 1970s was the first riding mower I had ever used and I found that if you throttle it up and pop the clutch the front wheels will come off the ground!!! It has a chain drive system whereas my newer, (2013), LT2000 has a belt drive system. I have also had a Yazoo self propelled 24 inch cut mower that had 20 inch wheels and was rear wheel drive with rollers that locked down against the rear tires, that thing would march through anything and I had a Troybilt Tuffcut 22 with the same rear wheel drive roller system, wish I had those two back. Yep, lots of different takes on how to cut some grass that's for sure.
The weirdest mower I remember seeing as a kid in the ‘60s was a friend’s Clinton, which used a two-cycle engine. It also didn’t have a conventional blade, but instead a large disc bolted to the crank, and six or eight triangular shaped blades bolted around the perimeter of the disc. The blades were bolted on with some kind of spacers, so they were free to swivel and move. I imagine that setup was a huge pain to sharpen and balance.
We had a Huffy electric mower with a similar design blade except it had four blades instead of six, it was powered by a Delco electric motor similar to a washer motor of the era, the handles flipped from one end to the other so you could go to the end then flip the handle and go the other direction.
👋😂👍boy I remember those day’s back in the 80s! I was living with my older brother at the time in HIS house for free!! So he used to make me cut the lawn once a week! I couldn’t say NO! 😂I remember he had an electric one at first, boy that was a safety hazard! Because if it’s started raining or the grass is wet! The he purchased a toro self driven one, boy did that one made a difference! So easy to use! Great stuff Steve! Thanks for bringing back fond memories of the 80s!👌😂👍
Road a million miles, it seemed, on a Simplicity Landlord 1110 as a kid. Got the nickname "Crash" after running it into a tree while not paying attention to where i was going. Thanks for posting.
Truth be told every one of those small engines would run after about an hour of work. They are so simple to repair and cheap to properly maintain.
100%. The 2nd one is Tecumseh powered and will probably run with a fuel system cleaning.
Another great video!
Lol , now get that thing going and pulley swap it . Then mow the yard for best time ! Please dont do a lawn mower hub cap show , we can't take it. Love ya man keep bringing us good stuff .
Looks like Steve fell under the lawnmower (haircut) 😂
My mom had a mower with the second cog style. I remember she had to replace the driven wheels almost yearly as they wore smooth by the end of the season 😄
Junkyards are history class rooms for sure. Good stuff Steve
Back in the 70s a few of my friends and I would have rider lawnmower races....no mower decks on of coarse. We'd also mess with the governor rolling backwards then let the throttle rip popping wheelies haha...ahhh those were the days.
A wonderful detour! I loved mowing the lawn as a kid. It wasn't too big and dad had a self propelled mower so it wasn't too much of a chore.
Steve a man of many talents didn't know he was the lawn mower Man Too I love it
I love this dude’s videos, but I can’t believe I seriously just watched that. 😆
The Simplicity Garden Tractor is a part of the Allis Chalmers farm equipment family
Simplicity is part of B&S now, but yes, it may have been under Allis-Chalmers at the time that machine was made.
Who else used a Craftsman wind-up and release start mower? I know I’m not the only one! Who can forget the sound of an old rotary grass cutter... back then our parents didn’t have to tell us to keep our fingers away from the blades. A flood of memories with every video!
I didn’t use one of those but my uncle Charlie had one So two or three of my cousins could answer yes to your question. My dad had a Locke, a two wheel Gravely with a 30” rotary and a sickle bar, and a Rototiller that had a 24” rotary that went on the front of the machine. All three dated back to the late forties and were still in regular use into the seventies.
Oh yes, definitely owned and used many a Craftsman mower with the lightweight magnesium deck and the crank-up impulse starter on top of a Tecumseh LAV-30 engine. Loved that ratcheting sound of winding it up, then closing the crank handle down and “WHACK”…chug chug chug purrrrrrrrr!
A Graveley... yes. I miss mine!
I believe the mower was gold and the engine was white. It’s been a few years.
No driven mower for me when I was a kid.My Dad bought this HUGE craftsman (because Sears was THE store) The thing had this wind up crank start system on top. I didn't mind cutting the grass( I also cut several neighbors grass to make money to buy model cars) but I hated that mower.
Oh yeah...the hand crank! You'd wind it up and turn a little knob to release the spring tension and it would spin over the engine. A neighbor lady I mowed for had one of those when I was a kid. Pretty cool
Spectacular
Many moons ago, my neighbor bought a rear engine Ariens mower and a snow plow blade for it. Didnt take his son and I to discover that if you took the deck off, it pulled some great wheelies
great video steve. You hit a nerve with this content.I could not do anything until i mowed the lawn every Saturday .Push mower of course. And north east winter in the 70's was brutal. Shovel and if lucky an ice chopper . You can be quite funny. Please make more like this.
Anything with an engine! Maybe Steve will find some more snow blowers! Mine is a 1978, vintage machine
Next week, the evolution of the electric tooth-brush!
And the Snapper self propelled mower used a vertical rubber tire pressing against a horizontal metal disc. Speed was changed by adjusting the position of the tire inwards or outwards on the disc.
Like a snowblower transmission
I had 3 like that. One was an early cast deck and the other were stamped steel. Amazing mowers.
@@thefordmaniac Drive disc/platen system. Some snowblowers actually had a transmission instead of the platen system. I have a 1979 Sears Craftsman (made by AMF) that has a Peerless transmission, not a platen system.
Had a late 80's Ariens self propelled same setup.
@@ctprecast7437 There's a chance that someone may have made that for them. A lot of competitors believe it or not made products for others. Depends on the model and year of course.
Very cool !
It wasn't my dad saying it, it was my grandfather. And luckily for me he didn't want anybody touching his lawn or his lawn mower LOL
In my neighborhood it's "Where are the lawn guys?" STEVE! give them a call! LOL
I remember a 1920s or earlier push cast iron wheel mower. Used by a neighbor.
About 5 years ago we had a aluminum deck 2 stroke push mower. Best we could guess it was from the 80s.
Also got a husqvarna 4wd push mower lol. Works great in a straight line but is a pain to turn.
Steve don't forget about the German flymo hovercraft lawn mower that you pushed it was electric so you would drag a cord pretty cool
lawn tractors/garden tractors are typically either shaft driven or belt driven, the latter being more common. Never seen one that uses a chain before.
I found a Toro Sport Lawn Motorized Reel Mower. I never knew rotary blade mowers had power. It went pretty well.
Steve you're so fun to watch
When I was a kid back in the 60s I had a great uncle that would have me mow his side lot and it was done with riding mower. It was a three wheeled Job and the front wheel was the drive wheel but when you wanted to go in reverse you just turn the front wheel all the Way around 180° and a thing would go backwards it was quite a contraption.
Great work Sir thank you
My grandfather had an old Lawnboy where the front wheels were actually gears driven by smaller drive wheels that locked into them. After it died, he shoved it in his out building. After he died, my uncle stuck it out by the road, where someone snatched it up in a matter of hours. Those things are worth some $ nowadays.
Once I went electric I never went back. Cheap, dependable, no maintenance besides sharpening the blade every few years.
SO much torque, it cuts through everything even stray branches....
I miss my old lawnboy 2stroke mowers. They where so light weight
This was fun. In the fifties and early sixties we had a "reel" mower and it was heavy as hell for me at the age of 10. Then Dad got a Toro with Green stamps, which cut great but had a mechanical parts made of pock metal. My Dad used to get mad at me and he just didn't understand the mower was not high quality. Around '69 Dad bought a little Gravely riding mower and it was reliable. I eventually cut many yards in the neighborhood.
Recently picked up a Simplicity riding mower 16 hp twin cylinder engine and triple blade 42 inch deck I use it weekly
Leave it to me to click as fast as humanly possible on a lawn mower video from Steve Magz. Fuckin legend!
Grass whips, I like that. I always knew them as weed whackers
I remember having to mow the lawn with an electric toro mower-what a pain moving the long wire around-yes wire got clipped more than once!
I have 2 old Sunbeam lawnmowers from around the late 60s to early 70s.1 of them is electric.I also have an old 1/4" drive Sunbeam electric drill.
That was cool and different
First power mower we had in sixties was a reel type mower with engine above it. That thing was dangerous, lock it in gear and it would go over anything!! I took the engine off it and mounted it on a piece of wood on a bicycle with a long V belt to the rear wheel ( can’t remember the exact setup but was fun till the Detroit police took it away from me, and my father said good!! We didn’t go get it back
A neighbor had a huge reel mower with the engine on top. He hired me to mow his yard one summer as he was recovering from some sort of surgery. I must have been around 11 yrs. old. That mower dragged my ass all over that yard and it was unstoppable! How did we survive back then!? 🤕
Yes, they used to slip when it was wet. The tractor lawnmover was the greatest thing to use.
Too bad you couldn't find some 1950's mowers. Magnesium or aluminum decks, two stroke (to kill mosquitoes 😀) and space age styling. Some of those mower decks even had fins!
I used a couple older ones that didn't even have recoil starting, you wrapped the rope around the pulley.
The worst was 'the wind up a crank and press a release button' . The ones I knew of didn't last very long and were converted over to the regular recoil rope or scrapped.
Totally forgot about those “wind up and crank” systems from back in the day…….🤔
@@ddellwo ... wind up and release was mid 60s and worked well till the spring failed. Much easier on the shoulder!
Nice to see that they didn't have any Snapper mowers self propelled walk behinds , Or the rear engine riders some the best made mowers IMHO I still use a 1974 Comet Snapper rer . thanks for the video Steve .
Back in the day it was the John Deere might 110 that was the Cadillac of lawn mowers. I mow my lawn with a 1974 110. Try getting a new mower to last 48 years.
I cut 5 Acres with a 1980 Cub Cadet 782. It was here when I bought the house, and I still use it. I even hook up a blade to the front to push snow off the driveway.
New stuff certainly isn't as good as the old lawn equipment. I doubt the new plastic and light weight transmissions in the new stuff will be around for 40+ years. My old IH Cub will probably still be around in 40 years and your will your John Deere.
@@cub1009 yeah I think the old Cubs are of the same good quality.
That snow blower looks like an old Ariens, maybe from the late 50-early 60s. worth fixing up. I have one that I put a Predator on. Thing is built like a tank.
It was a glorious day when Dad bought a 22" push mower to replace the 19" one to cut our 1/4 acre field.