My "new" curbsider LawnBoy

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petek

petek

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A week or so back I noticed a neighbor had left his Lawnboy out by the curb and then I saw him toting other items there as well. So naturally, instinctivly, nosily, whichever fits best , I sauntered over for a look-see and we started chatting. Yada yada yada.. I'm pushing the LawnBoy home, along with  his now discarded Echo weedwhacker and a fertilizer spreader as well.  

 

The mower works, it just needs a new rubber primer bulb up on top. This late in the year I'll probably leave it till next spring along with the Echo.. which also works according to him. He hadn't used it in a year or so so it's probably all gummed up. but I like it.. much lighter than my Homelite.  I don't know what I'll do with the lawnmower though,  it's not self-propelled either and not too many people want 2 strokes, just have to wait and see. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

petek++9-10-2012-16-14-48.jpg
 
That curbside find is great.  That is a truve Lawnboy to me.  With the offset wheels and it has the aluminum base nad the exchust has to be in the bottom so noise is quiter.
 
Lucky Guy

A ture Lawn Boy with a 2 cycle engine. I love the ones with a magnesium deck and the offset wheels accomodate the long banana shaped bag on the early models with the rods to hold them up.
 
That mower is a great mower we have always used Lawn-boys 2 Stroke ..Lawn business want them because they run for ever and hills don't starve them for oil like the ones today..You can't get 2 strokes mowers anymore and the engines were bullet proof in them and simple..
 
I have a 2-cycle LawnBoy I've not used in probably 5 yhears.  Needs a new primer bulb like Pete's.  I doubt I'll be able to mow my yard in the future.  So here it sits.  WAs only used about 4 years, 5 at the most.   This was the only lawnmower my Dad would buy for the last 20 or so years he mowed his own yard.  My mom did "kill" one when she put regular gas in it. 
 
We have a "Snapper" brand 2 cycle mower. The motor is a 4 horsepower, self propelled, with bag/ side discharge, with removable dethatcher. It cuts the grass very well but is having an issue recently, after it warms up it slows down and eventually stalls. I agree they are smelly.
 
A Honda-powered Lawn Boy? I didn't know about these! I've been given one this year too. But it was not exactly from my next door neighbor! It was from Roger (Firedome)...

 

I didn't clean it before I took the picture but it works great! It's a self-propelled 21" magnesium deck from 1976. Some Lawn Boy mowers already had electronic ignition then but not this one (and I prefer it like that!). 

 

I do collect Lawn Boy mowers too...

philr++9-10-2012-23-09-45.jpg
 
Phil, that newer LB of mine, they aren't really LB's anymore. Toro bought the company and morphed them into that design with the 4 stroke engines, Honda's or Briggs I think were available at the time.  They didn't and still don't share the same deck design though unless that's recently changed.  If you know of anyone going to be in/around London/Windsor heading back your way let me know and they can pick it up for you if you want it. . 
 
That Mower

Is one of the last good LB 2 stroke machines. They were made by Toro in the early 2000's. These mowers worked very well untill you had an engine problem. Then the parts were astronomical to fix it. I sold some of these when I worked in the hardware store. (My job was small equipment technician but I sometimes worked the floor as well) At the same time as Toro was marketing these mowers they were also building the LB gold line using a 4 cycle Briggs and Stratton or Tecumseh engine. Of course no residential mower ever matched the quality and vesaltility of a Toro Super recycler.
WK78
 
My 'boys...

Green 1989 model, beginning of the Toro'ized Lawnboys. A good machine.

Tan 1965 model. My favorite! A real Lawnboy by OMC. Sounds just like an Evinrude outboard. Still starts on the first pull.

wiskybill++9-11-2012-14-51-19.jpg
 
I'd like to get a tan '65 like yours.  Here are some of my other OMC mowers. Canadian made gold 18" model (I think they were made between 1958 and 1961) and an OMC Marauder from the same vintage and a 1962 21" Lawn Boy all with Iron Horse C series engines.  And a MTD Lawn Flyte with it's original white "D" series OMC "Iron Horse" engine.

philr++9-11-2012-16-07-24.jpg
 
Growing up we had a green Lawn Boy 2 stroke that looked similar to the gold colored one in the previous post by PhilR. But it did not have a recoil starter. You had to wind the rope around a pulley and PULL. It always started and the old man always had a gas mixture prepared. But I must have pushed theat thing what seems to be a million miles. I have a 20+ year old John Deere now that runs perfect, starts on the first pull, weighs a ton and still has the original spark plug.
 
vintage OMC Lawn Boy mowers

I LOVE the old Lawn Boy mowers. This mower is a 1963 Automower that was restored in 2006.I have since added a mulching plate to this mower. There is a local guy that restores these fine old machines. Right now he is restoring a 1976 model for me. We have 3 lots to mow, and I want to save the wear and tear on the 63. The 1976 model is also self propelled, and will do fine.

rickr++9-11-2012-18-26-29.jpg
 
Back in the 1960s, the instructions on these mowers suggested that we mix SAE30 oil in the gas in a 16:1 ratio. The instruction manual from my father's former 1975 19" solid state ignition mower suggested to use OMC 2 stroke oil in 32:1 ratio or other brands in 16:1 ratio. I'm wondering if they lowered the mix ratio because of improvements in the engine lubrication or because of the new two stroke engine oil? Older "C" and "D" motors had 3 piston rings instead of two until somewhere in the early seventies and I don't know exactly when they switched from crank bushings used in all the "C" engines I have seen to needle crankshaft bearings but I'm guessing it's in the "D" engines. I really like the older motors with the recoil on top (or no recoil at all!) and a choke instead of a carb primer as they are usually easier to start but even the 1976 mower (with a primer bulb) I got from Roger is easy to start.

 

Tim, was your's featured on this ad? The guy who sold me my 1957 Control Tower washer/dryer set had sold a green 18" Lawn Boy "special" mower just like the one with a green handle in this ad to someone else I know just a week before I got my washer/dryer set.

philr++9-11-2012-21-00-17.jpg
 
Tim here but

I dont know if you are refering to me, as there are lots of Tim's here. My families Lawn Boy died in the 70's and went somewhere I did not have a clue and was replaced with a cheap thing that you could wind up the top and let go and it never started, no matter how many times you did it. Ours looked more like the one they guy is pulling the cord in the bottom left side of this ad. I do remember a switch on the top that went left, right that shut it off/on. But I will try to keep my JD going as long as I can. Closest I could get to a real Lawn Boy and its green! Its getting to the point here that mowing season is pretty much done and we better get ready for the upcoming cold season and the dreaded snowblower.
 
Wayupnorth, 

 

Yes I was referring to you!

 

I can't tell if there was a model with an off/on/pull choke switch on top and no recoil as models without a recoil usually have a metal tab that grounds the plug to stop the engine and their choke lever is below the gas tank but I guess it's also possible that the recoil was just removed from yours if it had a "brick top".  When the recoil broke on my '62 LB many years ago  (well not the recoil itself, but two small springs under it), I started it with a rope until I got the replacement parts to repair it.
 
@ Wayupnorth

For Snowblower season all you need is a good 2 stage Toro machine.  I have a 1999 824-XL and a 1980 421.  Both start on the 1st pull and never need elctric start.   The Toros are designed and built  here in Minnesota where we know a thing or two about winter and snow clearance.

Nick  WK78
 
PhilR

Glad you like our Granny's old '76 Lawn Boy, I know it's in good hands! My Dad always had Lawn Boys also, but those are long gone. Remind me to give you some unopened cans of LB oil, still have a couple. Notice the magnesium deck model's deck design changed very little from the mid 'to '76 and maybe later, the '76 was still an OMC model... I happen to collect a few late '50s to late '60s Johnsons and Evinrudes, from 5 1/2 to 60 hp, and a later 80s Johnson 3 cyl is on our "daily driver" boat, as Phil has seen at our place in VT... I'm glad VT is close to Canada so my CA friends can visit!
 

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