But one of the things I like about restoring anything, not just lawn mowers, is putting something back to as close as I can to the day it came out of the factory.
Yes exactly I'm very much the same way,but if you have to re-bore to save the cylinder (of which I highly doubt it is very very rusty)Re-boring mean that's it not the same as it was from the factory.If I'm restoring a engine and find that is has been re-bored.I straight away take it off and put a standard bore on it.As re-bored cylinders are not original.
In your case you will be lucky if you can even get it apart and what then? Nothing will be usable and you would have wasted so much time in getting it apart.I'd just start looking for a new cylinder.Will save you time and at the end of the job you will still be just as happy.As you will have saved something that was dead.
