OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Reel-Type Mowers Scott Bonnar Model 45 - Restoration

Hey great news re honda they are a great engine.
Good idea re bearings as well. Good bearings make it all just work smoother and less wear on everything. I will be doing the same.
I just purchased a new stainless steel front roller as well as it has bearings in it as well instead of just plastic caps per the standard.
I have picked a colour scheme. I am going green hammertone. I am having the sandblaster who also doespowdercoating powder coat the sole plate, the cylinder in bright red. He is also powdercoating the black frame the front roller attaches to in satin black.
I am having handle bars, height adjuster handle, and engine engager handles and fittings all chromed as well. I know they werent chromed originally. But i want to be able to keep it all polished and smick and looking new.
Are you going to spray your chassis yourself? I looked at getting my chassis powdercoated again for durabilty and great finish but they didnt have the green hammer finish i wanted.
Are you in Brisbane?

Hey Jamskin. I will probable get the chassis professionally painted. I have never had any experience with a spray gun plus the company that performed the sandblasting can take care of the painting at a very reasonable rate.
And yes I'm in Brisbane.
Have you subscribed to the parts and manuals page on the forum? It was very helpful. I got the schematic and blew it up to put in the shed. Im hoping with this and the photos i have taken along the way plus the forum I don't have to many dramas putting her back together again.

Just a heads-up Jason, the frame that the front roller is situated in was always silver from manufacture, and the alloy bearing holders for the cylinder reel were left as they were and never painted.

Thanks Deejay - Yes Im leaving bearing holders as is just going to polish up to new. The black bar that runs along back of front roller and attaches to front roller on my model is black though. Are you saying this is different to normal or am I discussing wrong part?

No Jason, you are discussing the correct part; the whole frame for the front roller was silver on the Scotty....Rover must have changed it to black for some reason. I can't think why...

All sand blasted and primed up.

Thats interesting Deejay - must have been a Rover thing as mine was original (as I got it from the original owner) yet painted black in almost like a black powder coat.
Now Im torn

Hey Fantastic Manch - Great fun ahead now for you.

Hi Manch, all looking fantastic mate, can't wait to see it painted.
I see you've painted the bearing holders, that's OK on the outside, but be careful how much paint you apply to the inside of them, you will upset the fit of the bearings....don't forget these are also part of your reel to bedknife adjustment system.....if the bearing doesn't sit correctly, you will be in trouble with the final adjustment. You may decide to remove the primer from the inside of them.

On looking further, I see you've also painted the complete cutter clutch cone, you should have masked off the area that is the friction area that contacts the cork lining....it's a bit like you painted the inside of a brake drum...not a good idea, mate.

Hi Jason, sorry to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, It's up to your own thoughts mate....whatever you prefer mate!

Just a heads up on the cutter clutch cone, please don't refinish the area of the cone that contacts the cork lining, the clutch won't operate correctly if you do.

Thanks for the heads up Deejay. I will strip the primer on the cone that contacts the cork. I will also strip the primer from the inside of the bearing holders.
Cheers Mate

No worries mate. I think you have made the right decision.

Hi Manch
Something I thought of last night that hasn't seemed to be raised is that if you are upgrading to a Honda GX 120 Engine for your mower you will need to ensure the Clutch assembly is the right diameter for the Honda engine shaft. I think they are 3/4 inch where as briggs are 5/8th. Some of the more experienced forum guys would be able to shed some light on this. I just know when I just purchased my Honda engine I had to upgrade clutch attachment as well.
Jason

Hi to Jason and Manch, I have contacted grumpy (our technical guru) to try and find out the correct shaft sizes for both the Honda's and the Briggs.

I'm having some problems with this one Deejay. The 14" SB45s had the Briggs 60102 engine, which had a 5/8" output shaft. The 17" SB45s had the Briggs 80102 engine, and I can't find the output shaft size for that one. (The next size of engines up, the 9 series, had 3/4" output shafts.) The Honda GX120 normally has a 3/4" output shaft. There is a version of the GX120 with a 5/8" output shaft, but it is described as "threaded", so I doubt that would be much use.

I've heard there are SB45 clutches available with a 3/4" bore, which suggests to me that the wider models had Briggs engines with a 3/4 inch output shaft.

So Manch, I suggest you check the shaft diameter of your Briggs engine, and tell us what it is please, so we'll know next time. We already know that the 14" SB45 had a 5/8" engine shaft with a clutch to suit that, so conversion to a GX120 required a clutch change on that model. Your SB45 looks like a 17" in the picture. If its 80102 engine also had a 5/8" shaft, your clutch bore will be too small for the GX120. If your 80102 has a 3/4" shaft, the GX120 should fit without any changes being required.

Hi Grumpy, thanks for you time and effort mate....much appreciated.

Yes Thank you Grumpy & Deejay. I will check my Briggs size as well. The only reason I raised it was the guy who sold me my Honda GX 120 said I would need to from the conversions he has done before.

Will be interesting to know.

Hi Manch
How is the restore coming along? Any Pics you can share?

Hey Guys,

I see that you have been the most recent doing restos on SB from QLD. I recently picked up a 45 17" with a B&S 3hp on it which still runs like a champ. I was wondering Jamskin2 which shop in QLD you got to do the paintwork (sandblast prime, and original Scott Bonnar hammertone paint coat) on your resto? I have stripped mine back to just frame and bought a new 10 blade cutting reel as I cut my QLD blue as low 12mm in the summer.

Cheers and Thanks

Also another question for Jamskin2 how did you go with fitting your GX120 engine onto your SB? Were there any adjustments that needed to be made so the shaft was lined up with the clutch?