Mowin' grass

[Gregor 4,846]

I had all the tractors out of the shed today, rearranging things, to make more room. This is a 1962 Lawn Boy Loafer. You probably won't see many of these around. It was Lawn Boys first, and failed attempt at a rider. After this, they went to a more conventional tractor design. But this thing is a lot of fun. You can remove the mower deck, and attach sulky wheels. Then you can simply pull a cart, or even plow snow. Although I wouldn't recommend over 18 to 20" of snow. I mowed most of my side yard with it, but after running out of gas the second time, I switched to a tractor. If I ever get caught up on tractors, this will get completely rebuilt. When I got it, both motors were froze. I was afraid they had been straight gassed, but they were simply stuck. Everything inside is new, and they both run like a champ.

[Skwerl58 704]

This is cool! Interesting stuff back when I was a kid before liability attorneys got involved.

[OutdoorEnvy 1,522]

That is really neat!  I never knew they made those until now.  Gotta be very rare.  I imagine they collectors go crazy for that stuff.  Now I'll know what it is if I ever come across one.  Thanks for the share and looking forward to your restore!

[WHX?? 48,813]

16 hours ago, Gregor said:

afraid they had been straight gassed,

Guessing 40:1? Try running the canned fuel too. Canned fuel has an ungodly shelf life they claim. 

[Gregor 4,846]

Both of these motors actually run on 16:1. I only have a few mowers old enough to require 16:1. The newer Lawn Boys, like my '93, run on 32:1. The pre-mixed can fuel that I have seen is 50:1. Many say it's OK to use in any Lawn Boy. Their claim is the better oil products of today, mean you can run with less. Personally, I wouldn't.

[Pullstart 62,834]

Wow those are cool!  So the rear is a powered sulky pushing the mower?

 

@Stepney @ebinmaine I figure you two would enjoy a look...

[ebinmaine 67,401]

7 minutes ago, pullstart said:

Wow those are cool!  So the rear is a powered sulky pushing the mower?

 

@Stepney @ebinmaine I figure you two would enjoy a look...

Thanks man!

 

 

2 hours ago, Gregor said:

Many say it's OK to use in any Lawn Boy. Their claim is the better oil products of today, mean you can run with less. Personally, I wouldn't

 

It would take an awful lot of convincing for me to believe that's true. I certainly acknowledge that the oil products of the last 10 years are a very very far cry from the stuff that was produced in the 50s and 60s. I really do find it hard to believe that you can take away 70% or so of the potential lubrication whether the quality is that much better or not. 

 

Unless a specific oil company was willing to warranty an engine I think I'd stick with the old 16 or maybe 20 to 1. 

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

I like it!!

[Gregor 4,846]

I went to my storage locker, and brought home a few Lawn Boys to sell off. If I can get rid of a few, it would make more room for . Let's just keep that between us. Just because my wife thinks she knows everything, doesn't mean she has too.

I also brought home a few of the more interesting ones, that I will never sell.

The first one is a 1985 (?) 8243AE. Self propelled, electric start. Notice, this mower has no pull rope option. If the battery went dead, or bad, you were simply out of luck. This didn't seem to sit well with John Q Public, hence not many survived. But on a bright note, It's 12 volt. You could jump start it with your truck.

This is a 1982 5006, Bricktop. It is widely believed, that Lawn Boy made this mower, from a variety of inventoried parts, they simply wanted to get rid of. Not many were made.

The Pride Of The Fleet. This Is a 1964 model 6250 Commercial. It was billed as a commercial use mower, and was sold as such. Consequently it was pretty much beat to death, and again, not many survived. I was VERY lucky to find this mower. A lot of Lawn Boy collectors have been searching for a long time. It was a barn find in Iowa.

Edited May 13, 2021 by Gregor

[Stepney 2,325]

Those LB mowers are always a hoot. I used to rebuild about 30 a year out of the junkyard and had massive inventory of any part you could think of. Nobody in New England will touch one now.. pity.
I have a 1959 QuietFlite.. with the 1 wheel front suspension, rubber mounted engine, and massive muffler that is still somehow VERY loud.. they never took off either. 

Always wanted a Loafer. I ran one at a show once, but never had the chance to actually buy one. 

[Gregor 4,846]

5 minutes ago, Stepney said:

I have a 1959 QuietFlite..

I have only seen a few Quiet Flites. Would love to have one.

[EricF 589]

17 hours ago, Stepney said:

Those LB mowers are always a hoot. I used to rebuild about 30 a year out of the junkyard and had massive inventory of any part you could think of. Nobody in New England will touch one now.. pity.

Maybe that's why I got so many looks when I lived in New Hampshire and was running my M-series! 

 

I can't say I ever saw another Lawn-Boy of any sort when I lived there from 2002 to 2019 -- except for some worn-out commercial models used on the state government grounds in Concord when I used to work there. But I don't recall seeing a single one in private hands.

[Gregor 4,846]

They were originally built in Lamar Ms. Then Lawn Boy moved their plant to Galesburg IL. Which is where Vinylguy is located. About 45 minutes from me. Then Toro bought them out. Then the government stepped in, and that was the end of Lawn Boy 2 cycles. You can't mow your grass with a 2 1/2 HP 2 cycle engine, but you can run you 200 HP 2 cycle bass boat down the water. There are still plenty around here, if you know where to look. But they are getting scarcer.

[OutdoorEnvy 1,522]

21 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Thanks man!

 

 

 

It would take an awful lot of convincing for me to believe that's true. I certainly acknowledge that the oil products of the last 10 years are a very very far cry from the stuff that was produced in the 50s and 60s. I really do find it hard to believe that you can take away 70% or so of the potential lubrication whether the quality is that much better or not. 

 

Unless a specific oil company was willing to warranty an engine I think I'd stick with the old 16 or maybe 20 to 1. 

 

Not trying to start an endless debate but I've been running my 94 lawnboy 2 cycle on 50:1 Stihl full synthetic mix with no issues.  Granted I've only had it a short time and only have about 4 hours run time myself on it.  But it was in 80 degree temps and it seems fine.  I'll post an update if I run into any issues throughout the summer when get hot temps here in the 90's.   

[ebinmaine 67,401]

2 minutes ago, OutdoorEnvy said:

 

Not trying to start an endless debate but I've been running my 94 lawnboy 2 cycle on 50:1 Stihl full synthetic mix with no issues.  Granted I've only had it a short time and only have about 4 hours run time myself on it.  But it was in 80 degree temps and it seems fine.  I'll post an update if I run into any issues throughout the summer when get hot temps here in the 90's.   

No worries on the endless debate. We're all here to learn.

 

I would appreciate you posting updates. I'd be curious to know how it does long-term. 

[OutdoorEnvy 1,522]

Heck of a nice Lawnboy assortment Gregor!  Those look really kept.  That 12 volt starter one is unique and handy for the jump start option.  It's cover looks like mine so a pull start assembly may be able to be switched in it. 

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

4 hours ago, OutdoorEnvy said:

 

Not trying to start an endless debate but I've been running my 94 lawnboy 2 cycle on 50:1 Stihl full synthetic mix with no issues.  Granted I've only had it a short time and only have about 4 hours run time myself on it.  But it was in 80 degree temps and it seems fine.  I'll post an update if I run into any issues throughout the summer when get hot temps here in the 90's.   

 

You're living on borrowed time. I owned a 1980 LB and you do need the 32:1 mixture.

[Gregor 4,846]

5 hours ago, OutdoorEnvy said:

 

Not trying to start an endless debate but I've been running my 94 lawnboy 2 cycle on 50:1 Stihl full synthetic mix with no issues.  Granted I've only had it a short time and only have about 4 hours run time myself on it.  But it was in 80 degree temps and it seems fine.  I'll post an update if I run into any issues throughout the summer when get hot temps here in the 90's.   

No debate here either. With a '94, you probably have an "F" engine. Just about bullet proof. Any older engine, It would keep me awake nights. Either way though, at $80 a gallon, I can mix a little oil with my own 91 octane gas. I hope I live long enough to hear about long term effects.

[OutdoorEnvy 1,522]

2 hours ago, shallowwatersailor said:

 

You're living on borrowed time. I owned a 1980 LB and you do need the 32:1 mixture.

 

Now you're scaring me...may have to go to a 3 gas type supply...thanks for the heads up though

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

3 hours ago, OutdoorEnvy said:

 

Now you're scaring me...may have to go to a 3 gas type supply...thanks for the heads up though

 

Just buy chain saw oil that you mix yourself. It should have a mixing ratio on the container.

[Digger 66 3,478]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:41 AM, Gregor said:

Both of these motors actually run on 16:1. I only have a few mowers old enough to require 16:1. The newer Lawn Boys, like my '93, run on 32:1. The pre-mixed can fuel that I have seen is 50:1. Many say it's OK to use in any Lawn Boy. Their claim is the better oil products of today, mean you can run with less. Personally, I wouldn't.

 

One thing for the back of your mind , these were engineered to be run on leaded fuel .

I always add a cap-full of lead substitute to my mix for the '76 McCullough 

[tom2p 2,394]

On 5/14/2021 at 10:32 AM, OutdoorEnvy said:

 

Not trying to start an endless debate but I've been running my 94 lawnboy 2 cycle on 50:1 Stihl full synthetic mix with no issues.  Granted I've only had it a short time and only have about 4 hours run time myself on it.  But it was in 80 degree temps and it seems fine.  I'll post an update if I run into any issues throughout the summer when get hot temps here in the 90's.   

I ran a lawn boy for years on 32:1 - 40:1 (approx) premix I used in my off road motorcycles 

 

Golden Spectro primarily ... later used Bel Ray and Maxima ... 

 

figured if it was good enough for my off road bikes it would be more than sufficient for a lawn boy mower 

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by tom2p

[tom2p 2,394]

lawn boy mowers sell quickly at the flea markets I go to

 

I have a simple non-self propelled low-end lawn boy ... Scamp ... great mower ... at times I used that thing as a poor-man's brush hog ... (cringe) ... continued to work well 

 

even though I have not used it in years I would buy another if I had the room to store it 

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by tom2p