I inherited a Scott Bonnar 45 17" from the previous owner of my home, a lovely man who has since passed away, back in 2007. I used it a few times and it ran well. After a while I reverted back to my rotary mower as the Scott Bonnar took a while to start. Maybe its the spark plug? What do they use? Not sure. Maybe lacks compression also. I'm thinking of restoring it as a project as they do cut a beautiful lawn. Would I be better off restoring the original motor or buying a new one I've seen on websites for approx.$275. What do you think guys will it be worth the effort or maybe spare parts? Anyway hope you're all surviving the Corona virus. Take care. Cheers Greg
One of our Scott Bonnar guys should be able to give you a more indepth rundown on it.
I would personally keep the old engine in the shed, and put a new ohv briggs on - this will prevent any damage to the rails the engine sits on (the old engines cause bending and cracks)
The rails don't seem damaged, but take a few photos for us to look at of around the engine mounting bolts (with dirt removed) as some cracks may be appearing
Your post is not the first of this type that I've answered to previously, so you're not a Pioneer in this instance.
I guess I'm going to have to ask you a pertinent question here and that is what is your end result here ? and what are you aiming to achieve as an outcome ?
Once we've got the answers to those questions then we can move forward and organise a plan of attack for you.
Cheers, BB.
PS Tyler makes some very good suggestions in his post above.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Thanks for that. I have read on the forums about the vibration issues on the twin deck. So I most likely will go down the new engine path. Will be stripping it down shortly so I'll post some better pics then.
Cheers Greg
Last edited by Greganator64; 15/03/2011:33 AM. Reason: forgot the i in Hi
The aim will be to strip it back, check the availability of parts vs $$. Assess whether it's worth doing up. If not I'll buy another one in better condition and keep this one for parts. I intend to do it over a period of time. The end result will be an as new Scott Bonnar 45 for me to use at home. I'm reasonably handy with the tools being an Ex Fitter and Machinist. I will even measure and document all parts as I'm a Design Draftsman who uses 3D software. Might be handy for others. Also there's a "Scott Bonnar Fabrication and parts" facebook page that I've been told about. Has anyone on here used them? Im sure there are others out there.
That page you refer to is run by George here in Adelaide. He's a really nice bloke and has helped me out on the thread "Rise of the Phoenix" which I'm sure you've pondered over. That thread shows how that the most delapetated machine can be brought back to life and look like new.
It's come to the point now that no Scott Bonnar 45 is to be cannibalised, regardless of it's current state. Must admit this wasn't the case 5 years ago when plenty were still finding their way to the scrap yards for recycling, but now even a rusty bucket of bolts is worth $350 plus on the open market. Staggering isn't it ?
Regardless of the condition of your chassis, it must be either repaired / renovated or completely / fully restored.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
I've finally got around to stripping my machine down. Woodruff key issues very similar to another user 'Foles' above. Main problem though will be the rails. Please see pics and rate out of 1 to 10 how bad they are. Front is cracked right through and Rear has signs of cracking. I'll try my best to repair them regardless. Other than that it most parts don't appear to be too bad. Bit of wear and tear. Reel and Blade will need to be sharpened. Any recommendations in Melbourne would be great. Will be putting a new motor on and getting the old one going and up for sale to help pay for parts.
Wow the clutch body on that would've been absolutely SHOT ! as that's what has done all the damage.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people will let a machine get that bad as it would've been vibrating it's head off to get like this.
This one would qualify to have the Jones Gusset repair method applied to keep the broken rails straight while all the the rest of the fractures are zapped up to neaten it up as if nothing was ever done to it. The other option is to send the chassis over to WA and get Shane to replace the full rails with newly manufactured ones.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Will try to repair myself with a mate who can weld. Sounds expensive sending over to WA. When you say the clutch body is SHOT. What do you mean? It appears to look ok although I haven't pulled it apart yet. Is it out of balance?
I've just had another closer look at your original photos and it seems as thought this mower has had a clutch body change to an early cast iron body which should be fine from the original diecast unit that became flogged out.
Just to clarify can you please provide a few close up photos of this clutch body...........the part that slides over the engines PTO shaft.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Yes I'd say that your clutch was replaced with this pictured Series 1 unit after issues arose with the original diecast unit. The one you are showing is now considered as GOLD and thus I wouldn't part with it. These will last forever.
The cotter pin only requires for the nut to be undone a few turns and then tapped back inwards so that the body can then be removed off the PTO shaft. Once it is removed off the shaft only then can the cotter pin be totally removed from the cast iron clutch body.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Thanks mate. Happy with your news. GOLD will do me. Will sort the Cotter pin issue tonight. A couple of the Woodruff Keys will have to be sacrificed. Maybe Torque over the years has caught up with them. The one at the reel came off easy. No big issues so far except for the rails. Hopefully I can repair. If not I'll measure them up, draw and Laser Cut a whole new frame.
You may find that the clutch body doesn't just slide off super easily and thus may require a 3 jaw puller as an aid due to a bit of slight burring of the keyway when the previous clutch was still attached and self destructed.
Alternatively you may be in luck and find it just slides off with a bit of muscle applied.
Just spray a bit of WD-40 or equivalent into the side of the clutch body which is on the engine face side.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
