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

Hi to grumpy and all members contributing to this thread,

I have had a thought on this matter of tank size, it may be something to do with the design of the lower handle of the Scotty...I remember with mine, (when it had the Briggs fitted) that there was not much clearance between the fuel tank and the lower right hand handle bar...with a deep tank it may have fouled on that handle.

Also, some Scotty 45's mysteriously had the same one piece handle previously seen on the Model 33 and Lawn King...I have never been able to discover why.
Could it have been influenced by the engine fitment?

All food for thought.

Darryl, I think you are on to something.

Check out these pictures.




The twin rail model has an adjustment where the handle bars bolt to the frame as well as bent bars to clear the larger tank. The earlier solid deck has no adjustment and straight bars. On page 3 of this thread is a picture of another 45 with the 33 / lawn king handle. It's interesting to note that it has the shallow fuel tank and 2.5hp engine (rather than the 3hp). Perhaps using the lower output engine and simpler handle bars allowed SB to produce a slightly cheaper mower?

Hi guys. I just checked. And I have a shallow tank. I have straight handle bars but I do have adjustment at the bottom!!! Nothing makes sence

Hi Mike, you are quite correct...without records we are just guessing the reasons for this or that...from the records that do exist...we do know that Scott Bonnar Pty Ltd. were trying to produce more of a profit from their enterprise, thus decisions were made with the profit margin definitely in the forefront of their thinking...tariff reductions on engines, government assistance, opening up agencies in all states, overseas markets...Hong Kong, Malasia, South Africa etc. all chasing the elusive pound (or dollars after 1966)
But at the end of it all, they did produce a superior mower in comparison to what was available in the cylinder mower market,

Gentlemen,

Can I get confirmation that the Scott Bonnar decal found on the catcher of the mid-late 70's machines (pentagon shape) is white and black on a clear background? The only reproduction I've seen is a replica hammertone effect on a white vinyl, but I believe the originals are clear so that you can see the original hammertone paint work through the decal.

I'd like to get these made on clear but unfortunately the only original example I have is in very rough shape. Any advice or pictures would be most welcome

Is this the one you mean?



Other than these on ebay, which appear to be the vinyl type you mention, I haven't been able to find any others:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Scott-Bonnar-Model-45-Vintage-Mower-Hammered-Green-Decal-/251451825273


You could try emailing Rustic Spares. He doesn't have them listed on his site, but he may be able to help.: http://www.rusticspares.com.au/

Hi Michael,
You are quite correct, the original decals were black and white on a clear background so you can see the hammertone paint behind it...In fact, the pic that unkie posted is of my catcher...and it is all original....

I did happen to purchase one of these decals many years ago from Scott Bonnar in Adelaide....and subsequently placed it inside a book to preserve it....now I can't find it.
My wife donated some books to charity, it may have been inside one of those.
Good luck and good hunting mate,

That's a great help guys, thanks to both unkiemonk and Darryl

I have an excellent supplier for decals that we use for my automotive business. I already have the dimensions so I'll arrange for some accurate copies on clear.

Hopefully your original may still turn up one day Darryl

yes I hope so too Michael, it may come in handy if I do a restore on the old girl....
Please let us know how you get on with the clear decal.

Sometimes you can't believe your luck!

In the right place at the right time, NOS catcher decal for only $5. I wonder if the bloke found it inside a book

Hi Michael, I think you've been kissed on the ....by a fairy!
What good luck!

You could be right What are the odds of finding that decal??

Darryl, would you happen to have a good quality pic of the chain cover decal (and also the exact dimensions)? Is the Scott Bonnar written in individual cut out white letters, or is it printed onto a clear background like the catcher?

Hi Michael, my chain-case decal has been ruined by running close to edges over the years and paint is also missing, but it was the white letters on a clear background.
I will replace it with a catcher decal if I have to, mate.

Thanks Darryl, that's good info. I'll look into these as well. The chain cases on my mowers have the decals completely worn off also

Hi Michael,
I would be very interested if you could find any of these, that info could give a lot of late model SB's owners and restorers the hope that they could restore their machine to original specs.
All good stuff mate!

I source a lot of hard to get car parts through work and I can usually find the time to look around for some Scotty stuff while I'm at it - Finding original, unused SB decals is next to impossible though.

I've looked into the reproduction side of things very closely over the last couple of months and there's unfortunately no easy way to achieve the colours and quality of the originals. As we discussed at the very start of this thread, gold and silvers aren't able to be produced by conventional digital printing equipment. Alternatively you can have the designs cut of vinyl and layered over each other. That way you can match the colours, but not the flat printing of the factory decals.

To truly match the standard of the originals, they need to be screen printed, with gold and silver inks physically mixed to match. The problem with screen printing is it's not viable for small quantities and is geared towards large volume production runs. An ideal solution for Scott Bonnar themselves but not for the average restorer. The quote to reproduce the early SB45 decals was several thousand.

Some more info on Briggs engines fitted to early 45's.

Well it's taken a while to sort out but I managed to sneak these in with some other decals we needed for work. It's definitely not easy to get the correct metallic gold inks but not impossible. Very happy with the result!

Hi Michael,

on your efforts there mate, the decals look brilliant...a perfect finishing touch for a Series 1 SB Model 45 restoration...

Thanks Darryl!

I like them so much that they may find their way on to my series 2 resto (which isn't factory correct now anyway). I'm a little way off with the pentagon style clear decals and the mower is all but done. I really should put some photos up