Hi all,
I've recently joined ODK and WOW - I have learnt more about lawnmowers in the last 2 days then I thought was possible! I've just bought my first ever cylinder mower on the weekend. It's a 17" Scott Bonnar 45 and from what I have read on these forums I would place its approximate build date somewhere in the late 70's.
I am actually waiting to pick the mower up until this weekend so I will post plenty of photos and information on the model number stamps etc. as I have seen that often the pictures are requested to help the rest of the community identify the exact model. I'm not sure if this will count for much, but mine looks to be exactly the same as 'peettees' in this thread
SB 45 Rebuild First Timer. It also appears to be in similar condition to peettee's (prior to his rebuild of course!)
I am interested in doing a bit of a rebuild myself but unfortunately I have zero experience in disassembling and reassembling an old mower. To be honest, I have been trawling the restoration section of the forums and a few of the guys on here have mentioned it isn't as hard as it looks - this has probably encouraged me more than anything to take on the challenge!
The mower has the original 'international orange' coloured 3.5HP B&S engine on it. Ideally, I don't want to shell out to replace the engine just yet as it works great currently, but I would consider a new one a little down the track if necessary. For now, I was hoping to spray the engine with the 'chevy orange' high heat spray paint from Super Cheap Auto as I have seen in other threads. Ideally I would also like to fully dismantle the entire mower, have everything stripped back and sandblasted and repainted in the hammertone dark green colour.
There is a brand new bedknife on the mower but the cylinder was at the end of it's life. The gentleman I bought it off has forgotten more about Scott Bonnar's then most people have ever known (well at least that was what I thought until I discovered these forums!). He estimated I might get a few more years out of the existing cylinder, but since then he has offered to fabricate one for me. I understand that might send off a few alarm bells with people on here, but he seems to know what he's doing and has handmade plenty before so I'm thinking I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (plus it seems like a pretty good deal for $150).
My apologies for the long winded post. Can anyone comment if the above restoration is feasible for someone with little-to-no experience to undertake? I'm up for the challenge, but just don't want it to cost an arm and a leg!
Many thanks,
Kenny.
