Thanks for the research Max,
Interesting bit of history there. I sold my two very odd-looking early Rover mowers to concentrate more on the blue era ones. The design phase of Rover seemed to reach its peak in the 1980s and was further refined into the 1990s, with a fairly standard 18" red mower frame with chrome handlebars. This basic design changed very little in over two decades, although they did switch from aluminium alloy bases to steel bases in more recent times, which was a shame. You got a stronger base in the short-term but paid for it with rust in the long term. The plastic powdercoat paint looks great when new, but all it takes is one puncture and the water gets in. It spreads in no time and before you know it you are poking your fingers through the base. Powdercoating the base was a bad mistake in my opinion. The old aluminium alloy would go powdery with age and exposure and was prone to cracking if mowing amongst rocks and sticks, but you find lots of aluminium bases still around after 30-60 years or more, but not many steel bases. I am always coming across them at tips. The powdercoat still looks good on top, but tip the mower over and you can often poke your fingers through the rusted areas underneath. Just powdercoat on the surface and nothing beneath it.
