A few weeks ago, this mower was sitting out for trash pickup just up the street from here. A house had been sold and the last of the junk had been cleaned out. Whether someone passed away a while back, or just what the circumstances were, I don't know. The rest of the stuff was junk, but this mower wasn't, even though it might have looked like it to the average passerby. The shroud was off and upside down, the gas tank was tossed in one direction and the dipstick and tube in another, and one of the handle bolts/knobs was also tossed aside. I gathered up what was there. The intake, carb, air cleaner, engine control, and links and springs were all nowhere to be found. Still, I thought it had possibilities.
I did a little research and found that being a 131 90300 it was a 1973 model. The engine is several years newer. Someone had mounted the engine on a wooden collar, because the shaft was longer than on the original engine.
In the past couple of days I finally had time to work on it. I found that I already had all the necessary parts on hand to bring it back to life. Interestingly, the oil and spark plug were new. The ground wire for the coil had been cut, but I fixed that. I was quickly able to get it all put together and running like new. The engine is smooth, will idle down to a quiet purr, and burns no oil whatsoever. I am also very impressed with the quality of cut. Even at a slow engine speed and with a blade that I have not put a fresh edge on yet, the cut is very good. I only encountered one small problem. It had a rectangular muffler on it that looked fine from the outside but was rusted down low on the back side where it passed through the deck. It allowed hot exhaust to burn away a bit of the wooden collar. So, I put on the round side-exit exhaust and plugged the hole in the deck. A cap from a quart bottle of motor oil was a perfect, snug fit. I filled the wood in with some hi-temp red silicone.
I will be keeping watch for a pair of hubcaps to replace the two that are missing. A friend sent me a couple, but while the pattern looks superficially the same the diameter is a little different and so is the back side. Just another case of a company not wanting parts from older products able to be interchanged onto newer ones. I will paint the mismatched white wheel silver and call it close enough to chrome-plated like the others. The style of wheel is the same.
On YouTube there is a 1971 Craftsman mower and the engine is black with the orange deck. Seems like when they went to the red engine they changed the decks to silver. This may be a rather unique 'Frankencraft'. (Hey, I just finished reading Stephen King's novel 'Revival'. LOL) In these photos, you can hardly tell the difference between the color of the deck, which is more orange, and the color of the engine which is more red. It looks like a very integrated combination....very eye-catching.
I mowed the neighbor's yard with it today. It earned its first $20 in its new life.
Definitely a keeper!
I did a little research and found that being a 131 90300 it was a 1973 model. The engine is several years newer. Someone had mounted the engine on a wooden collar, because the shaft was longer than on the original engine.
In the past couple of days I finally had time to work on it. I found that I already had all the necessary parts on hand to bring it back to life. Interestingly, the oil and spark plug were new. The ground wire for the coil had been cut, but I fixed that. I was quickly able to get it all put together and running like new. The engine is smooth, will idle down to a quiet purr, and burns no oil whatsoever. I am also very impressed with the quality of cut. Even at a slow engine speed and with a blade that I have not put a fresh edge on yet, the cut is very good. I only encountered one small problem. It had a rectangular muffler on it that looked fine from the outside but was rusted down low on the back side where it passed through the deck. It allowed hot exhaust to burn away a bit of the wooden collar. So, I put on the round side-exit exhaust and plugged the hole in the deck. A cap from a quart bottle of motor oil was a perfect, snug fit. I filled the wood in with some hi-temp red silicone.
I will be keeping watch for a pair of hubcaps to replace the two that are missing. A friend sent me a couple, but while the pattern looks superficially the same the diameter is a little different and so is the back side. Just another case of a company not wanting parts from older products able to be interchanged onto newer ones. I will paint the mismatched white wheel silver and call it close enough to chrome-plated like the others. The style of wheel is the same.
On YouTube there is a 1971 Craftsman mower and the engine is black with the orange deck. Seems like when they went to the red engine they changed the decks to silver. This may be a rather unique 'Frankencraft'. (Hey, I just finished reading Stephen King's novel 'Revival'. LOL) In these photos, you can hardly tell the difference between the color of the deck, which is more orange, and the color of the engine which is more red. It looks like a very integrated combination....very eye-catching.
I mowed the neighbor's yard with it today. It earned its first $20 in its new life.
Definitely a keeper!