Vintage, Heirloom Lawn Mower, Will it run?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มิ.ย. 2020
- I inharated this beauty from my aunt and uncle when they passed away, lets see if I cant get this sweet heart running and mowing again!
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Damn It, I laughed till I cried when I saw that lawnmower taking off by itself, You can't fake that. They really made stuff better pre 90's
I worked for toro in the late 70s early 80s I may have touched that mower at one time.....small world we live in!
indeed it is! they dont make them like this anymore
I’m sometimes think that those “unsafe” days were safer in a way. You had to pay attention to what you were doing and stay on task. Now, your mind can wander because you think you’re protected. And that’s when you get hurt.
So true.
Agreed
These new ones I don't like the self propelled on some of them will leave you behind and want to drag you all over the yard where the older ones where walking speed.
People back then had more common sense the. People today
Stephen Stuart very true. Common sense is clearly an endangered species.
That is a 1978 Toro model called the Home Pro. It was made in 1977 and 1978 based on the revised 1972-1976 Whirlwind deck. The factory color scheme for that model was yellow with a plastic shroud that was rootbeer brown color. The Home Pro returned a couple of years later, with the same color scheme, but the deck was changed to all-steel and was basically identical to the Toro 'Standard' line. Your mower is very rare today and yes with that ultra-low serial number it was one of the first assembled on the first day of production for the 1978 model year.
Those old Briggs & Stratton engines are so easy to start, that vacuum-operated choke was a stroke of genius, I've wrenched on many engines and I'm a big fan of old school B & S.
The starter clutch is a very simple and durable design too, those engines were hard to kill!
Matt you want an aluminum key so that it shears first before the crank breaks if you hit a large rock or immoveable object.
yes im thinking that one was I wasnt remembering thet were aluminium for some reason but I knew that....
@@DieselCreek The same design feature was to be found in the older Evinrude outboard motors using a shear pin on the prop just in case you encountered a solid object! You venture out on the water, you got a couple shear pins in your pocket and basic tool to get the prop nut off, to slide the prop off, replace pin, reassemble and your good to go. Now your paying close attention to where your going, especially if that's your last shear pin! Augh, the humanity of it all!
@@DieselCreek After the shear pin design disappeared, the prop factory was working over time trying to keep up with demand.
Been working on these things for years and never once observed an aluminum flywheels key save a crankshaft. Pure snake oil by Briggs and Tecumseh. Honda has a steel key.
@@ericowens235 Bull shit, I've seen it break several times. It does work. Aluminum will always shear before steel.
My dad bought a red self propelled toro in the late 70's when I was in my early 20s. He's 85 and still chasing that same mower across the front lawn every week or so. I thank God in Heaven they both are still in good working order.
Just like when I was young! All the mowers were "safe" like that.
better check make sure you got all your digits!
That was a fun video to watch. I remember my grandpa had a mower that was small but looked like it had take teeth on the front. To start it, you would flip over the crank handle on the top about three or four times to wind up a spring and when you flipped the handle back over and pressed on it, the spring would crank over the motor.
@@patamos7019 My father had an old Toro mower like that when I was a kid. He let me use it to mow neighborhood lawns - if I remember correctly, I got paid about $2.00 per lawn. Of course, that included edging, raking, and bagging the clippings. Most of the lawns were about 1/4 acre or larger. That poor old mower actually made it through 4 summers of me doing about 15 lawns per week.
Chuck Preston
I did 1/2 acre lawns for $5
@@patamos7019 I have one of those wind up starter mowers, I have a video of it on my channel
This old mower ready for another 20 plus years of service Nice video Matt 22:54 @Diesel Creek
Reminds me of my father’s birthday 1973 craftsman lawnmower with Tecumseh engine. It was used from 1973-1998. After which it was given away still working.
"it's just the weeds that cover the dirt" yep sounds like my back yard too.... LOL
I read this as he said it in the video and it freaked me out 😂
Loved the bit at the end! I really wish I'd brought home one of the mowers from the cabin when we sold it; it had a unique starting method. You flipped a lever, cranked it, then pushed a button to release the spring and pull over the mower. It usually started on the third release. And I always enjoy watching Matt playing with Meatball... that dog is such a goof!
Meatball is such a cutie
That mower is probably from the mid 70’s. If u look on the side of the blower housing you will see model, type and code numbers stamped into it. The first two numbers of the code are the year it was built, the next numbers indicate the month and the next indicate the day. A code number 740812 for example would indicate that the engine was built on August 12th of 1974. Those aluminum deck Whirlwind Toro mowers were awesome, they started making them in the late 50’s all the way up to about the late 70’s. Your uncle was a smart man, that’s a great mower to keep running!
"WiLl It StArT?" Lol its a briggs if the connecting rod is still on the inside of the engine 98% chance XD
yep have a briggs mower that i use on rough parts with roots and i swear its unkillable just gotta clean the spark plug and keep the oil popped off because the piston rings are pretty much gone and i swear it doesnt have a flywheel key last time i hit a root hard enough to dead stop the engine and it fired back up no problem (although knowing the repair shops here maybe my dad hit a root blew the key and the repair shop welded it)
random stuff true that
brigger stragglers i love them they still out last any other mower
i still have mine riding mower it out last other mower still 13 years survivor
The things are brutes
@@randomstuff-cu4of lol...same username
You have no idea how much I enjoyed this video. Brought back memories of my father teaching me how to maintain and/or repair the old Kmart mower we had as I was growing up. Used that mower to get gas money for my first car. Thank you for posting this video. I'm 68 now and riding a John Deere to get the grass cut.
PS, give Rosco and Meatball a milk bone for me.
I love these old mowers. The old briggs is what my dad taught me on as a kid. I still love the sound of those old recoils.
I have the same exact story. Lol
Whenever you want to start one of these B&S with the carb on the tank, always fill the fuel tank to overflowing out the filler hole. There is a "bowl" built in just under the top of the tank which is filled by a pulse pump in the diaphragm. This diaphragm is a rubber which dries out and becomes inflexible..and doesn't flex..and won't pump fuel into the bowl. By filling right up, the bowl is full, and by the time the bowl has emptied with the engine running, the diaphragm has been fuel-soasked and become flexible again. That is why it took so long to start..no fuel in the bowl......
The starting fluid spraying and subsequent throwing across the garage is something vice grip garage would do
Zip Ties and Bias Plies would be proud of the ether usage lol or in his words Crosby in a can
Perfect...
I was just thinking that Matt probably was watching VGG :)
@@dingdong2103 CLEAR!
Matt, you won't believe this . My dad bought a lawn mower in 1964 it was a 16 inch cut with a 3 hp briggs the engine lasted longer than the deck. It has been in my dad's (non) climate control garage. I clean out his garage 7 seven years ago he gave it to me.. The Damn thing 2 pulls it started right up . Now i'm still use it every two weeks to mow my yard. Of course i put it on a another deck .....still runs no oil leaks or using oil... LOVE THAT DAMN THING....
nice!!
When Toro mowers were actually made by Toro.
Don't understand what that means, you mean when Toro still made them in Bloomingdale Minnesota? Because Toro still makes Toro, their just manufactured in Mexico now, but their still Toro, they never sold out or merged with anyone, so what do you mean?
I think he means Make Toros Great Again!
@@StickyKleenex Cheap means everything is now made to be broken.
Meatball sure does love his toys
Old mowers will built to last! Our main mower is still a 1986 Snapper!
Man I would be all over restoring that Toro Mower, that's a nice machine.
love the vintage mowers
I had a Montgomery Wards mower with that same motor back in the mid 70's that reduction gear type pull start stood out,it wasn't self propelled though. My folks got it for me and I ran my little yard mowing business with it for years. I used it hard year in year out and just kept plugging away. It payed for itself many times over, and provided me those extras a kid wanted like a 10 speed bike, and hunting or fishing gear.
Back in the day I was lucky enough to find one like that. Fixed it up and thought I was so cool to have a self-propelled lawn mower.
Being lazy and wanting to experiment a little, I drove four steaks in the center of the yard, tied a rope to the steak and then the other end to the mower. Then let it go and watched it while I drank a sweet tea.
When finish my yard looked like a target bullseye. Those were fun times.
Back when common sense and fear of getting your leg cut off was the only safety features needed.
Back I'm my day, we got sepsis with our friends, and drank sewer water
On some of the older mowers it says that on the warning label. “Use common sense”
@@lawnmowerdude oh?
@@lawnmowerdude unfortunately common sense isn't common anymore, I guess it hasn't been for a while since everything has more and more safety features on it now. Safety features are only put on because of a flaw of more likely because enough people using said item were dumb asses.
@Wk900 sounds good to me, time to let the herd thin itself
Hey Matt, 3 years later………I’ll bet she’s still running well. Great old mower.
I had a lawnmower like that I loved the vertical pull start
Those little three horse Briggs engines are pretty much unstoppable
Love the dogs. Love the old but still runs and better than a $500 Honda mower. Love the videos. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks 👍 i love em all too
While not quite as old as this, I am still using my dads john deere 14sb circa 1995 that I used as a kid to mow our yard, now using to mow my yard 25 years later. I dont think he ever changed the oil on it but it still runs and mows like a champ.
Bet ya felt him walking right beside ya. Beaming with pride👍
Hey Matt glad you got that old mower up and running I like old machines and equipment and old trucks . ( A-Car )
Right on, hope to get started on the A car before too long! been getting my driveway into her done!!
June 5, 2021, binge-watching Diesel Creek. It's going to be a good day.
Reminds me of the days working at the hardware store. When I had some down time I used to go back and talk to our small engine guy while he was tuning up mowers. Granted, he wanted to make his hourly rate and he had the parts at hand, but when he got the flywheel off, that thing was getting a new condenser and points whether it needed them of not. BTW, I've been taking care of my second-hand MTD for thirteen years now and it keeps going strong. Maybe the deck will rust out someday, but they're still pretty reliable. People just aren't used to actually fixing a thing when it breaks anymore.
Good job I like the old ones very simple engines
That was definitely top-of-the-line push mower in its day...
"Oldy but a goody" I lived in Lancaster County years ago and had some great Amish buddies. I used to drive them to the Auctions in New Holland. They would always bid on the oldest stuff they could find.
1) Most of it didn't require electricity - most were belt driven.
2) the shit was made out of the heaviest, purest steel and/or cast iron from those days.
3) all those old tools , even from the early last century were made to be taken apart and repaired.
4) if they didn't have a use for it they would sell or barter it within the community.
I love the soundtrack with meatball and roscoe !
I spent a year or so working out there and I loved seeing them with their old school wit and make it work attitude. great people most of em
@@DieselCreek Yea they are made out to be primitive idiots by the MSM but most Amish i knew were crazy smart with repairing just about anything.. (exluding digital stuff) Analog? they all over that!
Oh the memories, still wish I had one like that.
Never thought of trying to start the motor with a cordless driver doing the spinning. I've just put the whole thing back together and pulled on the cord again. Thanks. You just saved me a bunch of time next time I'm at this spot again. And sooner or later, I will be.
I grew up in the 70's and 80's and we had very similar Toros. I liked them for exactly the same reason your uncle did, front wheel drive made trimming between the shrubs easy. Just tip it and pull it back. Then my parents bought a rear-drive Lawn-Boy, and I wound up IN the shrubs.
“ Take care of things they last” let’s just give it a crap load of ether. 😂😂
Beats tearing the motor down to deoil the cylinders. Eh!
It's what I started working on over thirty years ago , good old mowers .
Roscoe is such a good boy
I love watching small engine rebuilds, and espiecly when you actually tell us what your doing, thats wht i love this vid man, keep it up
watching you work on this was a nice tribute to your friend
The dogs are so cute 😊
I had no doubts Matt after i seen that it still was able to crank it over. Finding out the reason for the no spark from there wasnt going to be challenge lol. An awesome video man.
I am restoring a 1980s Snapper hi vac powered by Wisconsin, Robin. I love these old mowers.
That shot at the end was crying out for some Benny Hill music.😂
I remember we always had a Toro fwd. Mowed a lot of area with it. Also recall a model with the crank winder. Always liked that method haven't seen one in yrs.
I remember my grandpa had one with the crank top, cept it was a Sears mower, crazy things
We had a crank one also.
I’m glad this came up in my recommended
We had some mowers on a property my parents inherited. There were a lot of mowers and I wanted to fix them and they put them to the curb without telling me, some dated to the late 60s.
Your Uncle would be proud of you! Bet he is smiling up in heaven. I had a mower I used from 1974-approx 2009...never did anything to it ..add oil every now and again...started in less then 3 pulls every year....finally the rod let loose and that was that. Pennsylvania here also.....must be the good air LOL.
Thanks 👍this one uses some oil too but it runs like a top!
The first two numbers of the code is the year the engine was built, 2Nd two is the month and the next two are the day of the month. Glad you saved this ol girl. Numbers are stamped on the blower housing above the spark plug.
the engine is probably not original, i know hes gone through several overhauls on the old girl
matt restore it paint it ! it will shine again !
#Greetings From GRECCE
Hey Matt, I really like your videos, it gives me confidence on doing things that I never thought I could do and now that I’m retired it gets me motivated to keep myself busy so thanks for the content you do and keep it up!
Ya it has lots a schmootz on the deck. Im Amish an understood ur German words. I enjoy ur videos
Back in the day when I used to flip push mowers.. I deleted the points and condenser system and old coil used a electronic ignition coil from a newer Briggs engine instead.. It made it more reliable.
The makers of mowers do not want them to last 40 years these days!
you are lucky to get 5 years out of the new models just like water heaters or 7 - 10 years on washers and driers and 10 to 15 on Refrigerators
I think youd be hard pressed to get that out of a fridge!
@@DieselCreek going on 8 yrs on a fridge. Some shelves are cracked and crisper are contrary but still cools!
I have to say .. I bought a Honda (forget the model silver body red motor) About 12 years ago (2008 ?) and lent it to a tenant of mine. She NEVER put in her shed. I live in Maine and we often get 4-8 feet of snow every winter. She just left it out all winter.. But she was such a great tenant I never made a fuss about it. To this day that mower will start with one two pulls..
My dad always said 30 years on all appliances. I say the same and my wife laughs at me. Sadly, she's right.
My dad bought a Toro self propelled in 1964, it had the exact same front wheel/drive mechanism as that one. The difference in my dads was that the Briggs could be pulled from the mower deck (which was magnesium, not aluminum!), and put onto a snow blower, edger/trimmer, and rototiller. A 3 of which he had. He also came across two more engines and mower decks once, so we had 3 motors, 3 decks, snowblower attachment, edger trimmer, and rototiller. He passed in '93 and they were all still working after 30 years.
Back in MY day before all this safety hoooey. We used to spin our bulldogs around on a soft frisbee....And we liked it!
"Blow jobs fix everything" I died of laughter 🤣😂
Nothing better than old, well-made mower with bit of patina that still works perfectly well and has years of service left.
my kids will be using it no doubt
They do not build them like that any more . that type of carb was known as a choke a matic carb.
"Choke-a-matic" Sounds like an option on a sex robot..... :D
@@ZeroBlackfire lol 4real tho xd
was this built in the era of "built for a purpose, not to break in 1 year"?
seems like it
@@letterslayer7814 it was, i have maybe 15 yr old 4.5hp briggs and startton mower still a beast, štart on the first try, plenty of power, the old mowers are still unbreakable xd
We had a couple of Toro front wheel drive mowers like that in the seventies. One of us kids would cut the front yard while the other cut the back with the second mower. Very reliable. One of ours had a battery starter that hooked onto the push handle. It didn’t work as well as the pull cord. My dad still had one of them when he sold their house six years ago and it still worked. Good memories.
Nice one it was fun at the you had a run away lawn mower 😂😂
Last year both my grandparents died and I helped clean out their farm. Both born during the depression there was a lot of stuff to clean up and sell off. My family was cleaning out the garage and we knew that they had three John Deere lawn mowers but I found under a bunch of stuff a pristine fourth John Deere lawn mower. I was like jackpot.......Pretty much I got that mower(it was a vintage 1979 John Deere model) and a John Deere sign(I like John Deere). Took it home and only needed one little valve which had dry rotted over the 40 years. I think my grandfather had used the mower maybe once or twice and parked it. Nothing runs like these older mowers, hence I only own older mowers.
I Love an old lawnmower! My love of engines came from old mowers in the shop my father used to work in, i used to love getting them to run. Great video, cheers Matt!
From 1955 to 1968, I repaired a great many B&S engines and mowers. Started when I was 10 years old. B&S were very good engines. However the best lawn mower engine was the two cycle engine. They never lacked good oil, and ran forever. B&S engines had to have good oil, and good levels to survive for the long haul.
Totally needed mrs Creek to make a quick cameo appearance while you were cleaning the points - "is that my nail file!?" 😅
Great teardown and troubleshooting demo, as always. I learned a lot from this, thanks!
I knew this guy who had a bull dog and it loved to grab a 2 x 4 and hang on as he swung it around in the air. He would let go and the dog would fly thru the air and land rolling over several times and come back to him with the 2 x 4 in its mouth wanting another go around. Tough dogs. It's a shame when a holes make them fight.
indeed, hes gone after rosco a few times... scary what hes capable of!!
We like meatball! Makes my day when I see meatball! 😁
Nice mower. Sure don’t make them like they used to. Tip: Turn the folding handle knobs around to the inside of the handle and they don’t get broken when hit against something. Cheers, Jeff. 👍😀
I did the same when I got my new Troy Bilt in 2009. I took the bolts out and flipped them to the inside. I also do not stretch the starter rope through the handle. I leave it in the engine. It saves the starter rope from wear and damage and keeps it tight. 13 years of weekly use and it still starts on 1 pull.
My first inherited mower was a 1950's era Cooper with wraparound-rope loop and pull start. What it lacked in power could be compensated by the inertia of full throttle 3600 RPM. And could throw objects long distances since there was no side shield.
Been a long time since I saw one of those fancy gear drive starters. Had an old self propelled "Lawn Chief" like that. It used a horizontal drive pulley that came off the side of the block.
we call those keys, shear pins, they aren't steel but heavy cast aluminum, you would be surprised how many motors those shear pins have saved. One difference between you and my dad is, he would clean everything to factory clean before putting it all back together.
Yes, that is the deal with the keys.
its a nice mower, but still just a mower, paint dont make it work any better. if i had unlimited time id do that too, im just too dang busy
@@DieselCreek He's talking about the points area and the grime around it. Plus cleaning around the flywheel and removing rust and such around the magnets.
Setting the gap between the flywheel and the coil pickup too.
@@DieselCreek Its a mower not a shower, as long as it works its all good.
@@DieselCreek It's ALLU-MIN-UM, she no be rusting! Eh!
Good old Briggs and Scrap iron..... everything is so simple and easy to fix.... and not a metric nut or bolt in sight :-) Waves Hi from the UK.
the good ol days
Very cool to keep your family fore Father's machines alive and useable. My cousin still has my uncle's ski boat. I love the lack of safety gadgets. lol. Back when you had to think ahead to safe your own life. lol. Great video. Be safe!
You’re Uncle would be proud of you Matt.
Youd make your paps proud seeing it run reasonably like the old days
Know where you’re at there. Just inherited my father in law’s Dixon Ztr308 that he used for 30 years. Even though it’s retired it’s staying in the family. The 30” cut is too small for our two acres so it’ll just be used for trimming.
Wow my grandfather taught me this when I was literally about 8 .30 yrs ago 6 hp Tecumseh on a little craftsman tractor the same way with a hammer and screwdriver and they had floats in the carbs you know what im trying to say .I never would have got as good of a mechanic if it wasn't for the time he took to show me those things that started everything.
I am glad you got that mower sorry for your lose Matt. Amd yes I am a mower guy to.
Runs like a charm
The flywheel key is two pieces fused together somehow, so it will sheer. They mean don't put something like a piece of key stock,in it as it will damage your crankshaft if you were to hit something. My dad showed me that a long time ago. Look at the factory key, and you can see the fuse line on the side of the key. If it doesn't. You definitely need to get a b&s key and put in it.
You can use a test light or ohm meter to check continuity of points. Also, an old trick, after filing points, use a clean dollar bill and drag between points. Cleans them of oils and debris great
That's an awesome mower! I'd love to see you fully restore and paint it!
I’ve gotten a ton of comments for that! Really didn’t expect that at all. It’s worth fixing and using but I don’t see it being with a resto but hey that’s just me
Glad you got it going. Happy memories while mowing from now on.
Back when I was in high school several decades ago we had a mower almost identical to that one. It wasn't self propelled but then, it had me as it's mobile source. That thing was so bullet proof with that aluminum deck almost nothing could stop it. I wound up with it many years later after I left home and had a place and family of my own. It was still running and cutting like it always did. The one thing it would do that very few, if any, of the Chinesium knockoffs will do today is mow a ditch with water still in it. If the carb wasn't in danger of getting water in it you could actually run the mower into the water and it would cut just as well as if it were dry ground. I would never have believed it if I hadn't tried it. Today most riding mowers come with an attachment to allow for a water hose to be hooked to the deck to clean out the excess buildup. That mower was just ahead of it's time! Sadly, some (expletives deleted) prankster drove a piece of pipe into the ground inside an area I had been cutting for a long time and I hit it with the mower. Sheer pin did it's job but not before it managed to cut a piece of the pipe and slam it through the body, knocking a big hole in it. I've never had a mower since then that was as solid and reliable as that old mower was.
Always loved first start up of my three small engines in late February. The tiller wanted a shot of starting fluid but had no problems after start up. The push mower always surprised me, would start on first pull. The Snapper rider I'd only have to hit the starter maybe 5-10 seconds. Then let them run about 10 minutes.
This mower reminds me of the Craftsman one I inherited from my grandfather, he got older and couldn't pull the cord anymore hard enough to start her up, he got a mulching mower instead with the new style assisted pull cord. I loved that craftsman one, it had a good engine and fired up in 2 pulls every time. It is with my parents still probably. Dad got a tractor but never let me drive it. he didnt trust me not to hit the house, even after i could drive a car. it was before it had the new style pull where there is like a pull assist to it. i mowed the lawn at my parents house so many years growing up with that craftsman. it didn't have the safety bar on it either but no self drive. just push by me only. I did love that i could walk away from it for a moment with it running to grab a branch or something. I used to throttle it down when i did that. no throttle adjust on them nowadays. I have a toro one now that can be stored standing upright! no need to change oil in her either, just check and add it says...and i leave the gas in it all winter, add fresh and she fires up on one pull every summer season
That machine was known as a Toro Whirlwind, it had an S shaped blade and could of had a cloth bag to catch the grass . I have the same deck design that was made with an electric motor, it was not self propelled. Toro has been around a long time.
I remember when I was a kid we used to have a lawn mower like that that you can pull up to started cool video Matt that was a throwback on that mower
Safety what?? Lol as the mower drives off alone🤣🤣🤣
Not a bit of blue smoke, zip-Nadia. Engine gotta be pretty tight. Another great find/gift!!!!!!!
Great work, your Uncle and Aunt would be proud. Didn't need safety features back then cos everyone had common sense, I know, I'm old enough to remember.
Awsome last shot