Well okay, I did have to drive an hour and a half one way and then coax it into the back of my SUV and then it followed me home! I saw this on Craigslist in the Cedar Rapids area and it was listed as having only 10 hours on it. I thought, okay, it is probably a restore that has 10 hours on the motor so I sent a message to the seller. Turns out the fellow, who is 83 now, bought this new in Cedar Rapids back in 1979 when he was 47 years old and used it briefly before putting it away. He said he had a couple of other Lawnboys but neither of them died so he ended up only using the 19" model 5247 briefly. He and his wife are moving into a condo so he said he had no more use for the mower.
I checked the mower over completely and for a 36 year old mower it looked great. The chrome on the handle was as nice as a new one with absolutely no rust. The handle cover had a couple of rub marks but nothing worn through. The shroud was near perfect with just a couple of tiny scrapes and the decals were perfect as well. The wheels showed a bit more wear than I thought 10 hours of use indicated but they were nice and white and in good shape with no wobble. Under the mower was the original blade and stiffener, a bit rusty from sitting but appeared to have the original factory edge. There was some paint left under the deck and all in all it was in great shape. The paint above the deck was mint with just a small amount of rubbing on the left side and two small chips. The side discharge plate looked like new from the top and the trailing shield and clips were in good shape.
Anyway he actually put a bit of mix in and it started and ran perfectly, both on high and low. He was asking $165.00 and I offered $150.00 and we had a deal.
Last night and today I worked on cleaning and detailing everything. A bit of touch up here and there, some cleaning on the trailing shield, a good cleaning under the deck, well you get the idea. I also had a period correct new gas cap for this mower and I installed a brand new set of triangle wheels. Very minty model plate too!!!
With it all done I have to say this is the closest I will probably ever come to a brand new real (pre Toro, pre compliance) Lawnboy. To say the least I was excited to bring this one back and give it a new home.
Oh and I forgot to mention that I even came home with the original box!!
Anyway, hope you enjoy the pictures. Bill
I checked the mower over completely and for a 36 year old mower it looked great. The chrome on the handle was as nice as a new one with absolutely no rust. The handle cover had a couple of rub marks but nothing worn through. The shroud was near perfect with just a couple of tiny scrapes and the decals were perfect as well. The wheels showed a bit more wear than I thought 10 hours of use indicated but they were nice and white and in good shape with no wobble. Under the mower was the original blade and stiffener, a bit rusty from sitting but appeared to have the original factory edge. There was some paint left under the deck and all in all it was in great shape. The paint above the deck was mint with just a small amount of rubbing on the left side and two small chips. The side discharge plate looked like new from the top and the trailing shield and clips were in good shape.
Anyway he actually put a bit of mix in and it started and ran perfectly, both on high and low. He was asking $165.00 and I offered $150.00 and we had a deal.
Last night and today I worked on cleaning and detailing everything. A bit of touch up here and there, some cleaning on the trailing shield, a good cleaning under the deck, well you get the idea. I also had a period correct new gas cap for this mower and I installed a brand new set of triangle wheels. Very minty model plate too!!!
With it all done I have to say this is the closest I will probably ever come to a brand new real (pre Toro, pre compliance) Lawnboy. To say the least I was excited to bring this one back and give it a new home.
Oh and I forgot to mention that I even came home with the original box!!
Anyway, hope you enjoy the pictures. Bill