OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Rotary What Grass Catcher is This? [Rover Fairway]

I've seen a few of these old steel catchers turn up lately. There are a couple on gumtree and ebay at present. In fact this photo came from ebay. I doubt if the plastic blower housing sitting behind it in the photo has anything to do with the catcher. Seems like a mismatched part - looks to be the wrong era to me? They are always advertised as "unknown catchers", although some people have suggested Rover as a possibility. They do have the right shape for early Rover mowers, so I think Rover is a definite possibility. The shape of the opening with space for the rear flap to rest on, the two hooks on either side of the front opening, and the shape of the air vents on the sides all say "Rover" to me. I would like to try one on my old 70s Rover to see if it will fit, even though Rover were using plastic catchers by that time, but I have never found one of these steel ones close enough to home to try it. I asked a seller one time if he could give me the dimensions of the opening, but he didn't reply. Perhaps he knew I was only being snoopy and not really genuine about buying it.

Does anybody know what brand of catcher this actually is?

Source of photo: ebay ad.

Pity Victor didn't go steel with their 1970s thumb latch catchers, as the plastic they used wouldn't make the grade for cheap Hong Kong toys at the time.

Hello vint-mow and Mowerfreak
I think you are pretty close there. ...
It's a Rover by another name.

My best guess is that this is a Fairway catcher dated late 1960s or very early 1970s.
Most of the big makers changed to plastic catchers by the new decade, but some did not (Pope),
and some kept steel catchers on specific models (like Rover Model 14 and 32 side discharge mowers).

Like Mayfair was to Victa in the early days ('Victa' did not appear on early Mayfairs),
the Fairway was Rover's stencil brand in the 1960s ('Rover' did not appear on Fairways).
Fairways were originally 'toe-cutter' utilities, but later were offered as rear catcher models.

Note that a steel catcher was still being used on the standard Fairway in late 1970,
whereas the Fairway Deluxe had the newer plastic catcher.

Hope this helps.
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Jack

Thanks Jack, I think you are probably right. It is a very good match.

Mowerfreak, the early plastic Rover catchers were not the best either. They were made of blue plastic and not UV stabilized. Anybody who left their catcher out in the weather soon found them fading and cracking. Hard to find any these days that do not have big cracks and holes in them. Rover released a black catcher later on which was far more durable. Both the blue and black catchers had the Rover logo in big letters on either side.

Howdy vint_mow,
yes this seems to follow in both brands. The later Victa catchers that used the flap to attach have proven durable.

Good morning ODK Members,

Here is a pic of the Rover Fairway that the catcher belongs to,



Very lucky that it still retains its badge, only a thin plastic type. Earlier Fairways had a decal or more likely just a paper type label.

G'day Paul
That's a great image of the Fairway.

I find it amusing that a parallel universe existed between Victa and Rover.
Victa had its Mayfair; Rover had its Fairway.

In the 1960s, both companies presented aloofness to
their respective stencil brands.

'Mum' was the word.

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Jack

Good Evening ODK Members,

A few months back a friend dropped me in a Rover catcher, I thought it looked a bit smaller than the usual catchers and it had a smaller shaped side vent. It is the plastic version of catcher to suit the Rover Fairway mower. I have taken a few comparison pics of it with the larger 18” standard catcher. So we now have pics of the metal and plastic a Fairway grass catchers.

Incidentally the first catcher in this thread has found its way to my place and is back behind a Fairway.

Metal catcher



Both metal and plastic versions



Plastic version both sides





Comparing the smaller Fairway catcher with the larger standard size one






Pretty hard to find either of these about, lucky to have them.