"New" Lawn-Boy 8157

[Hokiefyd]

Thought you guys might like this. This is a "new" Lawn-Boy 8157, from '87. It's never been run until today. The original owner of it won this Lawn-Boy in a contest; whomever had the oldest serial number of a Lawn-Boy mower would win a new Lawn-Boy. He had a an old reel mower from the 1930s, and won this 8157. He had a riding mower, and never did use this. It never even saw fuel.

Fast forward to today, and the man's son had the mower and was looking for a home for it; they're friends with my parents and just happened to mention that they had this Lawn-Boy looking for a home, and that it had never been used. My mother said, "my son would drive down to Florida to get that." And I almost did; we shipped it UPS instead, and it arrived in excellent condition.

This is the video I shot today of it running. This was about 10 minutes after I got it running. It sounds just like my old Yamaha Waverunner out of the water. I really like it. Cuts excellent as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwfZJtnVE3k

 

[Hokiefyd]

For what it's worth, here are all my mowers. A 2001 Honda Masters HR215SXA, this new 1987 Lawn-Boy 8157, and a 1999 Lawn-Boy 10330 that I re-powered with a Honda GCV160. The original engine was a (blown) Tecumseh LEV-100 4-cycle. The new 'Boy slots right in.

 

[Steve S]

Lucky you!!! I would like a 2 stroke Lawn Boy.

 

[Johnny]

Darn, some folks have all the luck. Those are excellent mowers and it should give you many, many years of trouble free service. My old Lawn Boy is 44 years old and it still cuts grass as well today as it did when new.

Do not buy in to all the hype about how to mix your oil, mix it at the 32:1 ratio that Lawn Boy always recommended.

Congrats on an excellent mower.

 

[Scienceman]

nice mower!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Thanks guys. Tractor Supply Company has genuine Lawn-Boy Generation II oil cans on clearance for $1.99 each (originally $2.49). I bought 4 already. I may go back and clear them out in another few days.

I mowed with a Lawn-Boy as a kid, and never really liked it. But now I can appreciate the engineering behind it, and the quality and durability. I'm looking for a staggered-deck SP model with the F engine, and that'll complete my collection. Something from '90 or later because I don't care for the capstain drive. There are plenty out there, but I'm being patient to find the "right one".

 

[bluestream]

I recently saw some NOS Lawn Boys for sale, but can't remember where it was . EBay maybe, may have been a link from this site. I think the place had about 6 new in box mowers. I have two LawnBoys now, so I wasn't interested and didn't take much notice of them.

 

[_Wes_]

Hello!

Man that thing looks sweet!... Does the handle portion stay at that odd angle?... Is that something lawn boy does or is that an old school angle? If that's the mowing angle, how does that compare to the more modern mowers in your fleet as far as walk behind comfort? (could be no difference I guess)

Pardon the random questions, but I've never had much exposure to push mowers, due to where I live.

 

[Hokiefyd]

The handle stays at that angle, and it's actually more comfortable for walking in a straight line. The self-propel on this 8157 is like an early version of Toro's "Personal Pace". You just "walk into" the handle...push it forward...and the mower moves forward. Slow down and it slows down. It's all dependent on the forward pressure on the top of the handle.

It's not as easy to use in corners. A conventional straight handle lets you push down on it and pivot the front of the mower up very easily. This does not. With my other mowers, I can also easily turn it while keeping the self-propel engaged. With the 8157, I cannot. It'll take some getting used to I think. But for general mowing, it's extremely ergonomic.

 

[Propflux01]

My father has that model. Runs and cuts great, but he has had it in the shop repeatedly for ignition units.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Little-known trick: you can "bake" the CDI in the oven at 200*F for 20-30 minutes, then re-seal the unit with silicone. This bakes the moisture out of the coil, which is often what causes it to fail. Sometimes this trick doesn't work at all; sometimes it fixes the coil and it seems to work "forever" after that. It's free, so it's certainly worth trying before buying a new coil. Almost all Lawn-Boys with the "F" engine use the same coil, so new parts are out there if you need them.

 

[tomcat27]

thats beautiful! almost brings tears to my eyes! I am envious!

 

[01GTB]

What was the drive system called on those back then? I had two of them back in the late-80's. I believe the ones I had did have a bigger fuel tank, maybe commercial units. Been a lot of years ago, so I don't really recall.

One thing I do know, the drive system was a PIA! The dealers said they would go as fast as you could walk. That's because you were pushing it!

The best way that I could describe it is, power-assist. Man, I hated those things

But as a piece of history, it is unique. And I can appreciate it for that.

 

[RWEST]

My Uncle Warren had one of those - what a great piece of equipment it was!!

 

[super20dan]

the drive system was called the pos

 

[Johnny]

If you are talking about the drive system where you moved the bail forward and two gears, one on each side would engage the rear tires, I loved that system and have never had a problem with it. If your talking about another type of drive I am not familiar with it.