Well it didn't turn out that way Jack. It wasn't obvious in the picture online but there was a LOT of deep rust in the body, the steering pillar had been reattached with welds and angle iron and the cutting deck had huge holes in it. Needless to say I passed it by.
I set about yesterday to swap out the gearbox and was again hindered by the fact that my various (quality) sockets and open enders needed to be forced onto the nuts and bolts. Something has happened to them over the years it seems, they have swelled up (mild surface rust ) or perhaps they made them a tight fit from the factory? Then a POXY circlip on the input shaft held me up for an hour as well as needing to find a replacement as well as buy a pair of small circlip pliers to reattach it.
I have never worked on a vehicle as cantankerous as this one and I own three 1977 hiace vans. And this a simple older mower? I'd dread the thought of working on one more complicated. A friend who repairs ride ons from a back yard workshop, and that's all he does, warned me about them years ago. They a mongerals alright lol.
