OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Other Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers FRANKENTURNER

Hey guys,

Usually you cant shut me up,But right this minute I have just one word...HELLLLLP!

The Minister For War" (Wifey) Has charged me with the restoration of her Grandfathers mower...Sighs* Erm...I mean YAY!

Basically she wants to restore it for her mother at her fathers request,because she has very little of her father,who passed many years back. She used to follow him around mowing when she was younger and it was passed to her when she moved into her first home...yup there first mower.

Anyways all the mods you see in the images are the grandfathers handywork...custom tank early b&s engine,a cowl ive never seen,unknown front wheels and notched sure start cup for easy rope starting lols.

Anyways they want it restored as is...Gulps. As it was her Gfs handy work....

So ill get some decent front wheels and restore the rest. The b&s ive no idea of,ive heard of a 1300 but parts? the rest is easy.
So I have 2 options repair restore this engine or find a Vk30,which im sure will be different and they want to use the same cowl set up.....

The correct Model



So i guess what im asking is what can be done with the engine? and what are everyones thoughts as an alternative using the same parts as you see them now.
its a model f62 turner engine no is B 1300 230726.

Hi Mal,

Are you sure that is a Briggs engine, it looks suspiciously like a Kirby Lauson.

Certainly does, in fact the whole mower looks just like one I used to have (and hate). Seems as if someone carefully sandblasted the entire engine specification off the Kirby Lauson ID plate on the front, probably to avoid the embarrassment of having it identified. Personally I felt more inclined to apply a lighted match to the fuel tank of mine.

Seems like Mal has found a genuinely appropriate use for it, though. Make it a static exhibit for nostalgic display purposes only. Yay! Wish I'd thought of that when I had mine. I could have sat there every evening throwing food at it.

Yep your right Deejay and grumpy....And no I wasnt sure,hence my reason for sucking you both into my Nightmare! Mwaaahaaaa....I had seen reference to B1300 somewhere ages ago and thought it said it was for an early briggs. I found the original engine in the boat load of parts that came with it. its a kirby Lauson LAV 30. What threw me was the cowl,Its clearly not from this mower and looks very suspiciously like a pace fittment,but who cares,as it appears correct now. The original engine is plain silver/alloy,not red is the only diff. There are also new rings,a tin full of gaskets,engine and carby and a starter and cowl assy off a Victa Corvette 4 Vk30,so i can pinch the starter from it. Ok so I guess im all set to Put a bomb under it! Yay!!!!

Thanks guys,problem pretty much solved...now where to get 2 new front wheels and a correct cowl assy? If of course they want it back to original specs,and it will be accurate.

When I look at the original model image It might actually be a 2 piece system with my cowl being the under and the Tank/cowl assy in the image may actually sit on top, as the rear of my cowl has a plate with 2 holes that the uper cowl might bolt to..hmmmm.......

Mine had some kind of flat rectangular cowl, with an impulse starter. By the time I got it, it was painted in the many colours of Jacob's coat, and shape was difficult to recognise.

Mine had a rear catcher, which showed the marks of multiple amateur welded repairs. It wasn't a very effective catcher - I don't know that any of those early, low- or no-arch bases caught much grass.

On the positive side, in 1965 it replaced a 2 stroke Victa 18 (round pull-start knob with a steel cable), and was a better mower. At least it didn't need a new spark plug every year, and run like a 3 legged goat.

Lols.....This is side chute only,no provisions for a catcher,so at least i wont have to try and locate one of those! Yipppeee.

So ive gone over it in more detail and pulled the top of,and what appeared to be a home cut down oil can is actually the rear half of the original cowl/tank assy! too funny. Ok so this is getting easier,just need front wheels and a cowl assy.

Engine has no spark so stole the coil set off the vk 30/Victa thingy one, and we have a winner,compression seems goodso ill get it running assess then strip it down. the carby is earlier than my books show and has a few different linkage styles than the Zenith or walbro listed ...but mostly the same,im just assuming its a slightly earlier version...So what you saying Grumpy is this was actually better than a period victa afterall? lols. Joseph will be very happy to hear that!

But seriously,anything is better than a Victa 18/Special,although the one I just restored ran like no other ive ever done....Quiet smooth non smokey,didnt dribble at any speed and it even sat quietly and behaved itself at idle...who'd have thought it? Ha ha....So its of to find an original Cowl, like thats gonna happen lols,but ill try.....GETS out my Megaphone* hrrrrmmmmm ......TURNER EXPERTS PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Thanks for the imput Grumpy

Frankenturner Update,

Electrics sorted....No spark when I pulled the cowl off and gave it a spin. Popped the flywheel,took off the coil set and cleaned everything,checked the points and filed. Reset everything and pull...Still no spark. Whipped the head off so I could check the positioning,and find the points open at bottom...DAH! 180 out? WTF? Poor old man had the cam upside down...Switched it checked it 1/8 btdc, 20 thou on the points and they open perfectly, Another pull,still no spark. Grrrr! Switched the coil set with a spare,reset again another pull...Perfection! Nice bright blue spark.

Checked piston slap at tdc and its tight as....Strange,as i expected a wobble,like the old engine,but there are a lot of old rings lying around in the spare parts haul,so maybee its had a rebuild at some point( probably when he put the cam upside down,and spat the dummy after it never ran lols). Nope it looks real good and bore is tidy. this could be my lucky day,if its this good im not stripping it. Pretty strange for a 50 year old 4S.

Anyways head on tommorow and give it a start. And YES of course im expecting problems with the crappy carb! lols. But at least the electrics are sorted. If she fires up and responds to a tune,Ill start the resto, and see how a turner looks all nice and shiny!....Wish me luck, I reakon Im gonna need it! Pines for the easier life of Victas! Na this may actually be fun and ill learn a little on the way! Turner! ha,who'd have Thunk IT!

No need to be so negative, Blue. I bought my Turner/Kirby in a beaten up condition, used it as my only mower for 22 years, and dumped still working the same as it always had, without ever doing anything to the carburetor except adjusting the choke linkage when I first got it, then cleaning the rust out of the float bowl a couple of times, and adjusting the mixture screw if it started hunting (only happened twice in the 22 years). For all of that time it dripped fuel from the water drain button of course, and once it decided to spit during shutdown and set fire to the air cleaner foam. I also changed the oil once in the 22 years. I gapped the spark plug when I first bought it, then never gave the ignition system a thought, ever.

I have a low opinion of the pleasability of that engine, but not its durability, which is probably better than a Briggs.

Yeah your right Grumpy,Ive stripped it down and everything looks really good. Valves are good,no pitting on valve or surface,piston play is almost nil. Before i stripped it i threw down some Start up,and it fired and ran for about 10 seconds,so ive decided to strip it and check everything,relap the valves and maybee throw in the spare ring set thats here so its reliable for them if they wish to use it...Not so much negative,just not something im really into,but since ive started playing of course my curiosity and enthusiasm has grown...Very simple engine and an easy rebuild from what i can see. I have everything i need,rings gaskets and a fair few spares+ 3 doner engines,so it makes it that much easier. So this engine will be done quickly and test run,then the mower restore will commence. which is incredibly basic also... 2 axles 2 bars handle bar and base and thats it! really hoping now i can get a chute and cowl for it,as i kind of want it original now. Got a rover wayfarer with this as well,so i might do a wheel switch if the originals cant be found as they are similar styling,just in chrome:) And agree,so far on durablity as this engine appears to still be in very good cond...But then I guess the fact its been in storage for 30 years too helps....They bought a Masport in the early 80s and retired old turner then...

Some progress pics of Frankenturner" Or the mower from hell! What began as a simple resto turned quickly into a timeless parts hunt...Anyways its for a good cause so its been worth the effort.
Reassembling now and not far of completion. Still need 2 front wheels and a starter cup. An origonal cowl could not be sourced nor have I ever seen one. Ive opted for a victa corvette with the header removed as its closest to original styling. So its now become Victurner" all other parts are original Turner".
If Anyone has any decent wheels or std victa impulse starter cup please let me know as I need this finished for grands bday.





These are images front and rear off the wheels im after and starter cup I require.

Looking good awesome work, the Victa cowl does not look out of place..May have some wheels your looking for just have to get hold of you on the ph.

Hi Bluegmhtmonaro and ODK members,

This is another stunning restoration.
I have come upon this one late, but I do understand the Frankenstein ref.
Of course, Frankenstein was the doctor - not the monster ... so that's a good sign

Mal, could you tell me the width of cut of this machine?
I say this because it is possible that this machine is a F61,
assuming that the short motor is the original red.
[This would mean that the cowl would be easy to find].

If you're going for the trip-release starter, then the drum in the pic. would be incorrect.
You would require the drum with less teeth.



May I also say that this is not an un-hansome machine. It's no monster ... now.
You have, like a fine surgeon, brought this machine back to life.
A few more bits and it will be ALIVE![no electrical storm needed].

p.s. this base is a very good one. I love the twin crank arms connecting
the head to the torso. on the height adjuster. A very close version of this base
was used on the very rare Australian Qualcast rotary of this period.
Qualcast didn't copy Turner: they both used the same supplier.

Great Work Mal. Or is it ... Herr Doktor [insert lightning here].

All very monstrous.
------------------------------------
JACK.

Thanks Guys,
And yes it was Frankensteins monster I was refering to,but Frankensteinsmonsterturner just doesnt work.
Yes Jack your right:) in my decision to steer away from the Original Sure Start 12d,due to insufficient parts,Id neglected to note the cup,it never crossed my mind until you mentioned it...Thanks I have the correct cup in spares.
What must be kept in mind is the availability of parts for early Turner.
Yes it is definitely an F62. If you read the post I had to use 3 engines to make a viable unit. The original engine is grey as per F62 but the red version had the best block overall. The grey needing helicoiling and a terminal bore.
As for the cowl being an easy find...Id have to disagree. The engine cowl on the first image is actually original. The F61 and 62 used this cowl then the sure start 12d then over the top was fitted a secondary cowl assy which held the tank. This upper cowl is what I referred to as an impossible find. Unlike most mowers that run a single tank/cowl assy,rhis is all but unique in the fact it has 2. Ive never seen another Turner of this model let alone parts. So...all this led to the decision to use a modified Victa corvette cowl assy,which also arent all to common in 4 stroke form.
So ive made the best of whats available while trying to keep the Turner Styling".

Thanks guys for the info and imput

Regards Mal.

Hi Mal and ODK members and guests,

Great opening sentence. Yes, this machine must remain Frankenturner [insert thunder; lightning]

I should have read all the posts
But I'm sort of glad ... because something just occurred to me.
As the Forum Historian (with limited knowledge) I believe this machine is
very collectable, now that there is a story attached to it.
It has the magic word - provenance!

There is beautiful serendipity in your very-clever naming of this machine.
You had been assigned the task of restoring a butchered machine.
You have selected 'body parts' to 'create' a new, more beautiful, machine.
This makes you the true Dr Frankstein, and the new Frankenturner is your baby.

Mal, this is a great story and a sensational restoration.
We can't wait for the studio shots of the new baby.

All very creative.
-----------------------------------
JACK.

Finally able to log in long enough to post some Images...

Frankenturner is All complete and ready to run.

Need to clamp the fuel line and get a metal cap.

End result is an F62 Turner Deluxe 4 running a victa Corvette cowl and starter assy. All other parts for reference are Correct for this model.

A big thanks to ODK member Chris125 for supplying the correct front wheels to finalise the restoration,And Forum Hist Cyberjack for factual historical info relating to its origins.

Please note; For archival and historical reasearch,this machine is partly innacurrate due to unobtainablity of some parts...Ie the cap cowl starter assy being Victa. The rest is accurate as per release. These parts may be added if they become available.

Enjoy....

May be of interest.

An original unrestored Model 4BIM running the last of the Kirby GEB1s and the first to run the second generation base...Same as my F62.

Please move to your next model Turner thread if you like Jack:)

Hi Bluegmhtmonaro, ODK members and guests,

Yes, thanks Mal.

I think 'The Minister for War' should be very pleased with your creation.
It looks absolutely awesome mate!

I think the Frankenturner story has been very much appreciated here at ODK.
What started as a horror movie right there on my TV has become the romance of the year.

My people have told me that Steven King is VERY interested.

All very cinematic.
---------------------------------------
JACK.

Looks awesome blue, I can only hope to do paint jobs that floorless someday!...Have you run it yet if so how does it run?...Think I've got the Turner bug lol...