Calling all Snapper or John Deere experts!

[afoulk]

I started this thread on another forum and was hoping maybe TFB1 or somebody else here could help me with this question. I found this John Deere push mower on CL and was wondering if John Deere made their own push mowers back in the day, or if somebody else made this for them.
http://www.mylawnmowerforum.com/forum/42-lawn-mower-main-forum/7801-worth.html

Its obviously a Briggs and Stratton engine, but the deck looks very similar to the old cast aluminum Snappers. But then the front looks slightly different, with the wheel adjusting slots cast into the deck, unlike the Snappers that are bolted on, and then the rear of the deck looks different as well, with a single lever for height adjustment, and I'm assuming if it were self propelled, the components would have been under that hump in the deck, where as the snappers had most of their components on top. Any ideas guys? I'm tempted to buy it, as I love anything to do with the old tractor companies (would love an old Massey Fergueson garden tractor someday), but wanted to learn more about it first. Definately loks like a cast aluminum deck though

 

[DrDusty86]

New Briggs are junk eeewwwwwwwweeeewwww

 

[SteveSRT8]

Flaming troll postings mean little. I have had dozens of briggs engined OPE stuff across decades, with a new Platinum 26 hp twin working my lawn now.

No problems. Kohler made some junk too, everybody does, it's not quite as stark as you paint it.

 

[DrDusty86]

OK Steve you got me. OIL BURNING junk.. I've had some that will burn .5 quart in a few hours... and the plastic gas tanks on the larger push mowers seems to leak gas at the seams

 

[Pop_Rivit]

That looks to be early 1980's. I wouldn't be surprised if another company stamped the deck for Deere-possibly Snapper. Deere went through a couple different sub contractors for their consumer version equipment, as well as making some of their own.

You might be able to get a better idea by looking at the parts catalogue at http://jdpc.deere.com/jdpc/servlet/com.deere.u90490.partscatalog.view.servlets.HomePageServlet_Alt

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
New Briggs are junk eeewwwwwwwweeeewwww


The engine on the mower in question not a new Briggs, so not only is your post irrelevant, it's flat out wrong.

I have a couple newer Briggs engines that I've been extremely happy with (my DR trimmer for one).

 

[afoulk]

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
New Briggs are junk eeewwwwwwwweeeewwww

Looks like a 92908 3.5 or 4HP Briggs. Those things are hard to kill. Have the original one on my 78 snapper and its still going strong

 

[Hokiefyd]

Any of those Briggs side-valves with the carburetor-on-tank are very hard to destroy. They don't make enough specific power to really tax the engine, and the design is so durable, that it's STILL sold today as some of Briggs' entry level engines:

http://www.briggsandstratton.com/us/en/engines/push-mower-engines/300-series

I actually like these old (and small) Briggs engines. They're relatively quiet, and they're smooth due to being small enough to not have as much reciprocating mass as some of the newer and larger engines.