jeudi 29 mai 2014

Comparison 1969 Simplicity/Montgomery Ward riding mower still going

In 1969 my FIL bought a new 8hp Montgomery Ward riding mower. He used it a couple of years and sold it to me. I used it for thirty-five years, mowing an acre of rough lawn and plowing snow in the winter. It was worked hard, but maintained well



Little things did wear out. The front spindle where the drag link connects required several repairs. The transaxle shafts wore deep grooves in the housings, so I turned them one-eighty and installed bronze bushings. The deck blade arbors required reaming and shimming. The motor mounting plate required welding a couple of times. The rear deck alignment bracket required welding. The brake caliper broke years ago. The front wheel bearing areas wore out, so I installed bronze bushings and shimmed them with washers.



The amazing thing is the Briggs and Stratton still is running strong. The whole machine was getting tired but I couldn't bear to scrap it, so I parked it in the attic of the garage. After several years, my wife said it was time. Today, I got it down and out, aired the tires, poured in some gas, connected a battery. It started on the first spin, runs strong and idles down to counting the licks. It mows just fine.



Simplicity and Briggs and Stratton can be proud of this one. It's been a tremendous value for the money.



Jack Vines




Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire