OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Other Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Rover super four 53 self propelled

G'day guy's....Ive been on the lookout for a mower to do up thats a bit more a challenge and not very common,to what Ive done before..Finally got one this old Rover....I got it from the tip so far it's a good start as it runs fine..Well it should be a challenge and an interesting restoration...Cheers.

I cant find much on the net about it I think its 5.5hp?...I plan to use it to mow with when done as I do with all my mowers...

After a quick clean to see what I have on my hands,its not to bad..The base needs a repair at the front and that's about it as far as damage goes but should be an easy fix....

5hp, motors are oil drinkers but are a tough solid unit, They also give a fantastic cut, I used one for my mowing rounds for ages, if the lawn was one of my regulars you couldnt even tell I didnt use a catcher.

After I sent it to scrap (somone wanted an engine badly so the rest went into the "pile") I did manage to get another one, but have never looked at it, its under a ton of cedar tree leaves.... "one day"

As far as I can read it from the picture, that is a model 130902, type 0424-01, code 75102006. If that is right, here is the Illustrated Parts List:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/Z6kpuBVJ1DajI.pdf
Here is the Operator's Manual:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/msotJO-K_ny7tH217FzoPu.pdf

It was made on 20 October, 1975 in the Murray, Kentucky engine plant.

Thank's heaps grumpy for the info and yep numbers are right so 1975 briggs,bugger me thats getting on...And Joe any chance you could get some pics of the one you have? I only have like 4 pics I found on the net of this kind of mower....I pulled the carby off to give it a good going over,but one thing I will say is the 1st thing I do is take a pic of how the springs and linkages go its a good start even if wrong, and I never remember how they go back on! haha... Talking of carbies here is a good link on Carburetors I found ,thats if its ok to post? well here is the link http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/

That is a great carby servicing link.
I have a 5 hp engine like this on my Deckson slasher.
Powerful but noisy.

Interesting, The self propelled feature reminds me of the older Lawn-Boy Self Propelled method.. The system itself is called a "Capstan Drive" in which a rotating roller of some sort is pushed against the wheel causing the machine do drive..

On the lawn-Boys they worked exceptionally well.. Hardly wearing the wheels down at all..

This is the best picture I could find, I will take some better pictures when it's not -30c Outside..



Kori

Done some work on the tank and carb side of things,am happy with how its looking so far.....

Love the paint job, looks

Chris, your base looks in good nick, hope your engine is good internally.
I have a feeling this machine will be something special.
I noticed the bore size is the same for the 3.5HP engine, like on your orange rover, just a larger stroke giving 206cc compared to 147.8cc.
Could be the same piston, I haven't looked at the part numbers to compare yet.

Thanks guy's and yeah I think it will look the goods when done as well..And mark I did not know that so its 206cc with same size bore as the 3.5hp engine interesting indeed... Im yet to pull the engine in half will know more when I do....Here is a pic of a test run of the blue hammertone paint Im going to use and it looks ok to me so think I will go with it...

Yea the hammer tone looks good :-)

Hi guys looks like i've got a winner with the engine, seems to be in great shape for a 35+ year old engine it may not be perfect there is wear here and there but it will be a runner...It must have had new rings as they seem like new to me. And a question for grumpy is the 2nd ring in the right way? Ive not pulled them off the piston that's how I found them...Cheers

Wow, Very nice Job!

Did you brush or spray the Carby and tank?

Kori

G'day Kori, And thanks yeah its looking good so far......I spray paint everything dont think I even own a paint brush haha....When I paint the block I will show some pics of how I go about masking off when I spray paint...The more time spent in prep and then masking off the better the end result I find...

Chris, that is a somewhat unusual but not rare, scraper-type second ring design. It is called a Napier ring, probably meaning it was pioneered by the Napier cars of the very early 1900s. Yours is installed the right way up.

Thanks grumpy and I see what you mean about the Napier 2nd ring (thanks to google)....Well so far Im getting there slowly but surely with this mower , I was looking for a challenge and so far it has been just that...There are lots of parts to this one and seems to go on forever and ever haha but so far what I have done Im very happy with its looking good I think ,and the only parts I need are head gasket/spark plug/and a carb diaphragm and where I could I just made gaskets.....few pics cheers

Getting there...

No words just smiling.

Working on the wheels and axles, I like the old rover cast wheels very strong and more than likely out last the rest of a rover mower in the day...The 5hp briggs is just about done as well its a big engine...The old briggs and stratton engines have grown on me after working on a few I like them they are easy to work on parts are cheap and there is a wealth of information on the net about them on the karting forums and such...few pics Cheers

Here is a link on how to adjust the governor on a briggs http://www.briggsandstratton.com/us/en/support/faqs/adjusting-the-governor, there are some very good vids that show how to as well out there......I only go over a mower like I do to keep the restoration process going as long as I can,I enjoy tinkering on mowers and its just one of many hobbies..For me to do a basic restore on a mower I can do that on one saturday so to keep things interesting I get right in there and keep it going as long as I can haha...Its just a hobby and Im no expert alot of things I could do better and Im getting there, but I do enjoy tinkering and for me the best part is when I fire them up for the 1st time and put them back to work.. There are plenty of mowers on shelves to be looked at saved for the future ,so I dont mind putting the few I have back to work ....Cheers

Hi guys making progress now base is done,I used fiberglass to repair the base...

Beautiful work and attention to detail. The repair to the base looks great, as does the blue hammertone. Fantastic!

Cheers, Michael

Very impressive.

Fiberglass what an awesome idea

Congrats mate

Thanks guys...Few pics its looking like a mower again ,am going to order new engine decals should look good..Sure is a big beast of a mower Cheers Chris..

Love your work Chris,
this looks like a museum quality restoration....well done mate, I can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks Deejay its getting there...Has been a busy week and ive not had much time to work on it but got some done...The only thing with this mower is the guard that goes over the drive pulley,I dont have one so am looking at making one I have found a few pics of how it looks to go by....few pics

If you get stuck for that peice let me know, I have one of these sitting here doing nothing, I will dig it out and see if the parts any good.

G'day guy's not much of an update on the rover... Got a new muffler for it, it's starting to look to good to mow with lol...Just to give you an idea of the size of the big beast here is a pic next to my little 125...