I mentioned this mower over in the Fourth Annual T.A.A. meeting thread, and said I'd tell a little bit more about it here in the Toro forum. This little mower has kind of an amazing story and this post, I suppose, is just as much a testament to Briggs and Stratton engines, and Toro aluminum decked Personal Pace mowers as it is to this particular mower itself. Certainly it should stand as a clue to those who see mowers set to the curb and don't think they should bother with them.
Judy and I make an annual trek with friends of ours to an auto salvage yard located a few miles up the road from our house. We mostly go for the fun of looking for odd bits and pieces of who knows what, but also for things that might be useful or artsy. The place is called Turek's, and they have an interesting assortment of cars, trucks and what have you of various vintages, with a smattering of outdoor power equipment scattered here and there.
On our outing last summer, I had seen this very mower, and thought it looked pretty darn clean, but I didn't act on it then. I saw it again last fall when I went out to pull a gas tank off of an old snowblower. I still didn't act on it, but I had to wonder what was wrong with an otherwise decent looking mower that it wound up in a salvage yard.
Anyway, one of the first things I wanted to look for this year was that Toro mower I'd seen several months before. I figured by now it would be a mangled up hunk of junk, probably crushed under a stack of old car parts. Much to my surprise, however, the darn thing was sitting all by itself behind a few other odds and ends of mowers, and a battered Chevy pick up, on a mound of fairly dry ground surrounded by a water puddle as if it had dug a moat to protect itself from the enemies surrounding it.
I looked it over and pretty much everything seemed to be O.K. with it. The paint, wheels and tires were good, the engine looked complete. It was a Toro model 20039 which I later found out to be a 2003 year model.
So, here is this 13 year old mower, a Toro Personal Pace with aluminum deck and an electric start Briggs and Stratton 6.75 Intek engine sitting out in the mud. Heck, the battery was even still in it and there was still paint on the underside of the deck! I flipped it up on its side and gave the rope a tug just to check to see if there was any wobble in the PTO, and there wasn't. Found that it had spark and the gas tank was empty. I didn't try the electric start myself because I figured there would be no way it would work, but my friend pulled the zone start lever back and gave the ignition key a twist. Darned if it didn't click and turn over until it hit compression! Amazing. This thing had been sitting out on bare ground in the elements for the better part of a year that I knew of. Gosh only knows how long it had sat out there before that.
So I figured, what the heck. This thing is worth bringing home. I worked up a deal for the mower, a broadcast spreader and a 20" bicycle wheel that Judy is going to turn into some kind of artsy whirly gig some day, all for the amazing sum of $20.00.
Now, here's the kicker. I put some fresh gas in it, made sure it had oil, gave the primer bulb a few pushes, and started tugging the starter rope. After several pulls on the rope, it spit, it sputtered, and it coughed. After several more, it spit, sputtered and coughed some more, then came to life! It was a little rough, but it was running. I'll be darned.
The air filter wasn't even dirty! I pulled the carb and gave it a quick squirt with cleaner, put it back on and started it back up again. The manual I had found indicated that the engine has a charging system, so I puttered around with it for 20 minutes or so, and sure enough, the battery showed signs of taking a charge. The longer it ran, the better is sounded. It was like it had been awakened from a long winter's nap. I think I'll name it Rip, as in VanWinkle.
I have treated it to an oil change and a new spark plug. It needs a new fuel line, and I'll put a fuel shut off in the line. I put a Battery Tender on the battery overnight, and now, give the primer three squirts, pull the zone start lever back, turn the key, push forward on the Personal Pace handle and away you go. Boy, the things people throw away...
It is missing the cover for the battery box, and one of the wires leading to the coupling for the factory charger had been pulled loose, which is no problem at all. I think I'll replace that with one of my leads for my Battery Tender if I decide to keep it.
So there you have the story of Rip VanToro, the mower that slept in a junk yard for 40 weeks. Here's some pictures of it again.
Before clean up together with the broadcast spreader. You can see we still have a ways to go for things to green up here.
![]()
The deck before clean up.
![]()
After clean up.
![]()
Under side of the deck. Heck, there wasn't even any grass stuck under here!
![]()
Judy and I make an annual trek with friends of ours to an auto salvage yard located a few miles up the road from our house. We mostly go for the fun of looking for odd bits and pieces of who knows what, but also for things that might be useful or artsy. The place is called Turek's, and they have an interesting assortment of cars, trucks and what have you of various vintages, with a smattering of outdoor power equipment scattered here and there.
On our outing last summer, I had seen this very mower, and thought it looked pretty darn clean, but I didn't act on it then. I saw it again last fall when I went out to pull a gas tank off of an old snowblower. I still didn't act on it, but I had to wonder what was wrong with an otherwise decent looking mower that it wound up in a salvage yard.
Anyway, one of the first things I wanted to look for this year was that Toro mower I'd seen several months before. I figured by now it would be a mangled up hunk of junk, probably crushed under a stack of old car parts. Much to my surprise, however, the darn thing was sitting all by itself behind a few other odds and ends of mowers, and a battered Chevy pick up, on a mound of fairly dry ground surrounded by a water puddle as if it had dug a moat to protect itself from the enemies surrounding it.
I looked it over and pretty much everything seemed to be O.K. with it. The paint, wheels and tires were good, the engine looked complete. It was a Toro model 20039 which I later found out to be a 2003 year model.
So, here is this 13 year old mower, a Toro Personal Pace with aluminum deck and an electric start Briggs and Stratton 6.75 Intek engine sitting out in the mud. Heck, the battery was even still in it and there was still paint on the underside of the deck! I flipped it up on its side and gave the rope a tug just to check to see if there was any wobble in the PTO, and there wasn't. Found that it had spark and the gas tank was empty. I didn't try the electric start myself because I figured there would be no way it would work, but my friend pulled the zone start lever back and gave the ignition key a twist. Darned if it didn't click and turn over until it hit compression! Amazing. This thing had been sitting out on bare ground in the elements for the better part of a year that I knew of. Gosh only knows how long it had sat out there before that.
So I figured, what the heck. This thing is worth bringing home. I worked up a deal for the mower, a broadcast spreader and a 20" bicycle wheel that Judy is going to turn into some kind of artsy whirly gig some day, all for the amazing sum of $20.00.
Now, here's the kicker. I put some fresh gas in it, made sure it had oil, gave the primer bulb a few pushes, and started tugging the starter rope. After several pulls on the rope, it spit, it sputtered, and it coughed. After several more, it spit, sputtered and coughed some more, then came to life! It was a little rough, but it was running. I'll be darned.
The air filter wasn't even dirty! I pulled the carb and gave it a quick squirt with cleaner, put it back on and started it back up again. The manual I had found indicated that the engine has a charging system, so I puttered around with it for 20 minutes or so, and sure enough, the battery showed signs of taking a charge. The longer it ran, the better is sounded. It was like it had been awakened from a long winter's nap. I think I'll name it Rip, as in VanWinkle.
I have treated it to an oil change and a new spark plug. It needs a new fuel line, and I'll put a fuel shut off in the line. I put a Battery Tender on the battery overnight, and now, give the primer three squirts, pull the zone start lever back, turn the key, push forward on the Personal Pace handle and away you go. Boy, the things people throw away...
It is missing the cover for the battery box, and one of the wires leading to the coupling for the factory charger had been pulled loose, which is no problem at all. I think I'll replace that with one of my leads for my Battery Tender if I decide to keep it.
So there you have the story of Rip VanToro, the mower that slept in a junk yard for 40 weeks. Here's some pictures of it again.
Before clean up together with the broadcast spreader. You can see we still have a ways to go for things to green up here.
The deck before clean up.
After clean up.
Under side of the deck. Heck, there wasn't even any grass stuck under here!
