Thanks Grumpy. A forumn that actually offers useful advice is a breath of fresh air. Here are a couple of pics of the mower(he types optimistically before attempting to find out how to upload pics). Suspect it is an el cheapo made in china version as is the motor.
One rear wheel appears to be missing the drive cog, both wheels appear to missing a bush or bearing. I have not had time to investigate further but the previous owner (elderly gentleman) did say the motor ran perfect and I just needed to re attach the wheels. I suspect there may have been a problem with the drive mechanism as you intimate and he pulled off the rear wheels to investigate then ended up losing interest as well as a few parts.
Suspect I will similarly loose interest and it will end up on ebay as is because I am just too snowed under and can't spend too much time on it. I now have 3 Honda mowers in the cue and as much as I'd like to I just don't get the time to tinker with them. [Linked Image]
[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]

Thanks again for your advice.