OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Reel-Type Mowers Model 45 - Just a Little Winter Project

I thought I would share a few pics of a project I have been working on for a few months. Sadly I didn't take any 'before' photos. But you can imagine, series 2 SB45, below average condition, repainted poorly etc.

Pretty much gone all-in with this one. New 10-blade reel, new B&S engine, new clutch housing, new chains, new bed-knife, new rear roller bearings, new front roller etc. I even replaced all the fixings with socket head screws.

Assembly began a couple of nights ago.





To be continued..

Hi Simon,

It looks Absolutely Fabulous darling ! (no I'm not batting for the other team)

I have to ask about the colour match which is dead spot on for that era machine (Alpine Green), where did you get it done ?

BTW I thought you'd become a Toro man now and moved on from these babies

Cheers,
BB.

Hi BB,

I think it may be the light as I have just used Hammerite Dark Green. It is closer to the series one colour than the alpine green of the twin rail.

The Toro is a sweet machine, but there is always something about your first love. The 45s are just such a joy to work on.

Simon

Hi SimRice,

Just to clarify, Alpine Green is the darker colour used on Series 1 and early Series 2 machines, while the lighter and brighter green was "Apple green" (similar to Jonathan apples) and that was introduced in 1976 on the then made twin railers.

Where have you sourced the "Hammerite" from and in what format is it available in, eg. spray can or 1 litre cans for spray gun application ?

Cheers,
BB.

Masters have the Hammerite range in tins and spray packs, as do some Mitre 10 stores.

Sorry for the confusion with the colours, however I think we were both thinking the same way, be-it in different terminology.

Hoping with some clear weather over the weekend I might be able to fire her up for the first time and have a quick shake-down.

Finished her up over the weekend. This one was such a joy to do and came up better than I had hoped. I gave it a quick fire up on Saturday and noticed more vibration that I was expecting. I will play around with the clutch positioning and maybe try the standard set-screws as I used socket-head cap screws.

Congrats on the 45, great job!

What are your plans for it?

Hello Simrice
I guess this is the highest speced Model 17" we'll see.
That Briggs looks awfully big ...

Beautiful photos of the end result.
I love the way the sun glimmers off the reel.

I guess the 45 - with its brilliant landroll clutch - will enable you
to savor mowing at a comfortable pace - rather than going at it like a
... bull - Toro!

--------------------------
Jack

Hi SimRice,

Yet another nice result, but then we've come to expect that from you being that you're a Senior member in the group.

I have to ask, was this mower originally the lighter "Apple Green" as I feel it would've been due to it having the kinked lower handle bar section to accommodate the 3 HP Briggs powered unit that would've been it's original power plant. If it wasn't that colour then it would've more than likely had the black chain case and Alpine Green Chassis.

Can you please confirm as you've not put up any before shots, regardless I can't speak any higher of your work as it's always top notch.

Cheers,
BB.

That looks deadset amazing!!!

Thanks Cirillo, this will be my daily mower. I have some tighter areas that the Toro can't get into easily.


Thanks Jack, because the reel on the Toro only spins when there the landroll is engaged (fixed clip-rate) it makes it hard to start and move slowly around obstacles. Surprising, but the B&S is actually taller than my GX160 on my 20" and does certainly look much larger than the original 80202.


Thanks BB!

I must admit I wasn't thinking when I brought this one home and stripped it down. I can confirm it was the apple green series 2, however it had been repainted quite poorly. I went with the darker green, just because I prefer that colour over the apple green. I wasn't going for the true to original restoration, more of an improvement of the design.


Thanks Matt, I look forward to seeing your work on your projects.

Simon

Looks great Simon!!

mmm 10 blade reel.....