Welcome to Outdoorking, wilsoac. Your Briggs engine was made on 30 June 1998, which is as you said rather recent. Our resident SB guru, Deejay, will be able to talk about the implications of that.
Your restoration is going well. My only comment is that the reel still looks as if it could stand more work to be up to the standard you are working toward with the rest of the mower (the blades do not make perfect helixes), and of course there is no limit to the amount of panel beating you can do on the catcher, it is just a matter of time and practice. When you get the reel sharpened, you may find you can get the blade shapes corrected too. Meanwhile you have the opportunity to practise with the mower if you wish. I believe that if you do get the reel blades straightened, you will have to paint it again afterward, but painting has to be finalised before you get it sharpened, so you may have some decisions to make there.
