OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers Scott Bonnar Supercut

Hello,
new to this. I'm not a mower collector, just seem to have acquired a few, just recently a Scott Bonnar Supercut that I would guess is c1954, having a 2-stroke Villiers and serial No SCP769. It's in original unmolested condition and hopefully goes. Will post some pictures when I can. This mower is of interest to me as my Grandfather worked at SB and possibly helped design this model. He was responsible for the first rotary but retired before its completion. Would love to know more, but had no interest when he was alive.
I also have a Mobico model CR that i have been unable to find anything about.

Hi Geoff, welcome to Outdoorking.

That mower looks interesting. Do you have the chain cover and/or grass catcher, and are you going to get it into working order?

One of the interesting features of the mower is the engine, which does not look like any Villiers I can remember, but is a lot like a Tor I used to have. More information on it (and more pictures) would be of interest. Hopefully Deejay or willingworker will help us out with some background both on the mower, and SB's use of that engine.

The engine of the Mobilco is a Trojan, made in England. Unfortunately I dont have the chain cover or Catcher. I have no immediate plans to get it going due to the one or two other projects on the go.

Sorry I should have said the pictures were of the Mobilco, I still have to take some of the SB, hopefully this weekend.

Thanks Geoff, when I obtained my Trojan in about 1960 it was new but incomplete, and I was told it was called a Trojan Tor (Tor apparently being the model name). However it was obviously the same engine. On mine the cylinder was painted black and the crankcase white - I can't recall whether the cylinder head was white or black. I completed it with new parts, and put it on my bicycle with a roller on the front wheel, like the Solex moped of some years later.

That Mobilco mower looks interesting, I hope we'll hear more about it in due course (including, but not confined to, how you were supposed to start the engine, perhaps with a hidden device down there under the protective cover). I couldn't do much with your picture of the identification plate:

Here is a press report on its commercial release in 1956:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/84385915

Here is a published advertisement (from The Argus, a Melbourne daily newspaper which disappeared not all that long afterward):
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/71767331

Hi guys, just a reminder that we are sliding off topic......
Looking forward to seeing the pics of the Supercut.

Geoff N mentions that his grandfather worked on the first Scott Bonnar rotary. It's a long shot, but was his grandfather by any chance Mr Sid Bowditch?
Regards,
Grant.

You are right, to start the mower you lift the cover and use a rope. I will take some more pictures and download at a later date. Here's a larger version of the name plate. Just under the plate you can just make out the Cruiser name, just noticed that yesterday.

Hi Grant, I was thinking the same thing, wow, that would be great if it is!

You would be right, my grandfather was Sid Bowditch, unfortunately he passed away many years ago, I can remember e took me on a tour of the factory when I was about 10, but the memories are brief.

I see that the model name is CR, for Cruiser presumably. It is potentially a very interesting mower - perhaps you could start a separate thread on it, and include some detailed pictures. Meanwhile, as Deejay said, we should focus on the Scott Bonnar mower in this thread so that the thread title will make sense.

I've attached a photo of a gentleman I believe is Mr Sid Bowditch. This photo could be from the late 1920s. Sid was involved in the design and production of S-B mowers for 30 years. I wonder if anyone in his family has retained photos, catalogues or papers relating to Sid's years with the company. Of course it was a long time ago, but it is still a thrill to have "Mr Bowditch's" name come up on our Scott Bonnar forum.
Regards,
Grant.

Yes I believe that the bottom photo is of Sid Bowditch. Unfortunately I have only one other mower related photo, but no other information. I have taken some pictures of the Supercut which appears to be mainly in original untampered condition. I noted that on one topic that the colour of red on the plate behind the reel was wrong, but this appears to have been red all the way down. There is also a picture of other Scott Bonnar made items, all with the ESBE name on them. I have found brass taps (Scott Bonnar started with these), 1/4 stroke pumps, stirrup pumps and bean slicers. I would be interested to know of any other items made by SB.






Observant persons may have noticed the cars, Lightburn Zetas, also made in Adelaide and also powered by Villiers 2 stroke engines. However unlike the Scott Bonnar the Zeta was destined to failure from the beginning.

Geoff

Geoff,
It's great to see photos of your collection of Scott Bonnar products and especially the photo of the old heavy roller mower. If you email me your postal address I'd be happy to send you a copy of the Scott Bonnar booklet which contains the photo and a couple of references to Sid. My email is jansimp@adam.com.au and I live in Glenelg. At some stage I'd love to get a copy of your heavy mower photo. I'm sorry about the small size of the photo in my last post, but nothing larger would load.
Regards,
Grant.

Geoff,
Your photo of the old electric roller mower is a real discovery. I've attached one page of a Scott Bonnar Patent Application of 1927 for this very machine called "a combined power driven roller mower and lawn mowers operating mechanism therefore." Like the Zeta, it apparently didn't catch on! I've never seen a photo before.
Regards,
Grant.

A History Record is now available for the Mobilco Cruiser HERE.

A History Record is now available for the Double Mower HERE.

A History Record is now available for the Model 17 HERE.