OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Cylinder Probably one of the Last 14 inch SB 45's made.

Hi All,

I have accidentally fallen across what is one of the very last 14 inch Model 45's made in the Scott Bonnar range.

There has always been a bone of contention as to when the 14 inch twin railer ceased production. There was a line of thought that the 14 inch unit finished up at the end of the Kirby equipped machines but I have proof that the twin railer lived on into the orange painted Briggs days.

Have a look at the following photos and you'll see that this one is of the Apple Green variant, and has a 2.5 Hp Briggs & Stratton engine that's dated the 3rd of October 1975, which means that with the date of motor manufacture and assembly of chassis normally being around 3 months later that this machine would've been assembled at the end of December 1975. One must take the Christmas close down period into consideration with that being at least 3 weeks from December 24 and thus that would put the assembly date around the end of January.

Note that the handle bar still utilises the earlier throttle control as used on Kirby powered machines and the first Silver Briggs Powered 14 inch solid deck machines and there are no screw holes in the bar for the newer designed black plastic unit that was fitted to just about all the a Jonathon Apple coloured machines, which is proof of this control being fitted as original equipment. Also it has a new model number meaning the Briggs is original and not substituted for an old Kirby. We have already established that the change from the Kirby power plant to the Briggs units across the range happened while the 45's were painted in the darker Alpine Green and were fitted with the black chain case and handle bar shield. After that colour scheme SB changed to the Jonathon Apple Green which ran right up to the companies acquisition by Rover in 1980.

The handle bar grips are also of the later version. All in all a very important find for the history of the 14 inch machine and providence of it's demise being somewhere around 1976 and no earlier as it's been commonly believed to be.









Lastly the sticker on the Briggs engine proves that this engine was fitted to a 14 inch Scott Bonnar. (the "1" has been accidentally scratched away due to the line in the block casting and thus it reads like it's a 4 inch machine which we all know never was made)

The machine is an original one owner machine and was discovered by myself as a job for a reel grind at an Adelaide mower shop.

I don't think much more proof is needed to support what I've suggested.

Cheers,
BB