On a whim I looked on FB Marketplace yesterday and saw a listing from a local backyard small engine mechanic for a couple of mowers that he wanted gone and were priced that way. One-a 70s or 80s F-engined self propelled model(no blade brake) was already gone, but the other two showed promise.
The first of these-I can't find a whole lot about it, and unfortunately it may be parts because there's a big chunk out of the deck that I didn't notice(wasn't really paying attention to it). It's a model 8125P, which apparently was a 1-year only model(1984) and was one of the few "square wheel" 2-strokes they made. It was also one of their first with geared self propel. This one turns over but I didn't do a lot to try and get it running.
The second was the real prize, though, and I'd hoped this winter to find one similar to it. This one is a 10547 with all the goodies-3 speed transmission, electric start(not sure if that works) and alloy deck.
It looks a little rough, but is basically solid. I was able to get it to cough a few times. The compression is a bit low(~92psi, manual says 80psi minimum) but I have the cylinder filled with PB Blaster now hoping that might free up a bit. I couldn't do a side-by-side with another carburetor/air box yesterday when I was playing with it, but I feel like something isn't right there(no big deal as I have another). Still, though, there's life in it and worst case I can pull a Duraforce engine off a rough deck I have and put it on here.
Pretty happy with these, and especially the fancy Gold Series one. I'm just debating about whether to even mess with the electric start...
The first of these-I can't find a whole lot about it, and unfortunately it may be parts because there's a big chunk out of the deck that I didn't notice(wasn't really paying attention to it). It's a model 8125P, which apparently was a 1-year only model(1984) and was one of the few "square wheel" 2-strokes they made. It was also one of their first with geared self propel. This one turns over but I didn't do a lot to try and get it running.
The second was the real prize, though, and I'd hoped this winter to find one similar to it. This one is a 10547 with all the goodies-3 speed transmission, electric start(not sure if that works) and alloy deck.
It looks a little rough, but is basically solid. I was able to get it to cough a few times. The compression is a bit low(~92psi, manual says 80psi minimum) but I have the cylinder filled with PB Blaster now hoping that might free up a bit. I couldn't do a side-by-side with another carburetor/air box yesterday when I was playing with it, but I feel like something isn't right there(no big deal as I have another). Still, though, there's life in it and worst case I can pull a Duraforce engine off a rough deck I have and put it on here.
Pretty happy with these, and especially the fancy Gold Series one. I'm just debating about whether to even mess with the electric start...