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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Hi from an Expat in Germany

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Hello all,

Ive been lurking for a while and decided to take the plunge and say hi.

Living in Germany gives me very limited access to buying any type of classic mower that is worth working on.

Next time I'm back in the UK the wife and kids will need to pack light as I'll be bring a couple of years worth of projects back with me to Germany

so that's the ice broken I'll goahead  with a question..

im looking at a mower thats marked up as a Suffolk Reelmow Mark II, Motor-Typ: 75 G 14, Modell Nr.: 20E, sorry no pics

i have no dates or any further info, it has a cloth grass collector. Does anyone have any info, dates, maybe some pics etc

thanks in advance

 

 

 

wristpin Wed, 09/03/2016

Welcome,

Suffolk made several side wheel machines similar to your image. To pin down the model that you have we will need some more information to refer back to the exact specification and even then identification may be down to the practical knowledge of someone who has worked on them.

16" Demon and Demon De Luxe

Demon 48 (not yours as it had the later aluminium block engine)

Suffolk L40 (again with the later engine)

Suffolk 16 and 16 series 2

Suffolk Squire 19"

Suffolk Corporation 19"

So there's a need for some detective work : can you supply some more images taken from different angles and also the width of cut?

Newdur Thu, 10/03/2016

Thanks for the welcome and the info wristpin, I've asked for more pictures from the seller.

ive just bought and I'll collect it on Sunday a Atco 2058. Good price and in perfect condition for a full strip down and full resteration. Can't find much info on the 2058, can anyone point me in the right direction for a manual or spares catolouge. As I'm doing this from Germany I'm going to need to order any spares etc online :-/

wristpin Fri, 11/03/2016

An interesting machine particularly with those high cut castor wheels . The word "rare" gets rather over used, particularly by uninformed sellers on auction sites, but I would think that the high cut wheels were seldom specified in the day and could now be considered truly rare!

Now we get onto a delicate subject - preserve or restore?  May be the image is deceiving but other than the side of the box the machine looks in good condition - do you really need to strip it and repaint it and in so doing loose originality? If it's a rust bucket I quit agree with going the repaint route but if it has predominately original paint with a nice patina I would consider leaving it alone  - once gone it can never be recovered.

That said, it's your machine and you will do what you please.  I think that I can find an original manual and / parts list; I'll have a look.

Edit

Here's a parts list that I scanned earlier for some one else. Yours would appear to be a 20" Model F10 from 1958. Not sure wether I have an operator's manual.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cvq6f4x5c704nj1/Atco%20F10%20and%20H50001.pdf…

Newdur Fri, 11/03/2016

 

Thanks for the post wristpin. I must admit it's not what i would call an attractive machine but I love the high cut rollers and the more industrial look it gives it. Thanks for the scan it's very much appreciated. Any other documents you might find would be accepted with open arms.

to paint or not to paint that is the question. I must admit I'm a lawn fanatic, cutting a minimum of three times a week. I use a modern 15inch manual reel. 

Because of this I won't be using any mower I buy they are just for a project and for display. Because of that I'm currently on the total strip and authentically rebuild road.

im open to all comments regarding paint or not to paint

 

wristpin Fri, 11/03/2016

Doesn't look quite so good in these other images but miles better than the Suffolk that I'm doing at present where the only bits not rusty were those covered by the two original decals.

I've had a look at the manual "library" but can't find an operator's handbook  - sorry.

gtc Sat, 12/03/2016

See this thread: http://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/forum/atco-2058. Try sending a private message to Deejay. Meanwhile I'll try contacting him at the OutdoorKing site to let him now about this thread.

As to whether to restore or preserve, I think that most of us do at least one restoration for the experience. After that you're either bitten by the restoration bug, or it's enough for a lifetime. smiley

 

gtc Sat, 12/03/2016

I note that his last visit to OLMC was about 10 months ago, but he's more active in Oz, so I'm hoping he'll respond the PM I've left him on the Oz site.

Newdur Sun, 13/03/2016

 

Finally got it in to some light so I could brush it of and take some photos

 

What year do you think it is?

im going to take some proper pics and start a thread to record this project over the next few months

gtc Sun, 13/03/2016

I note that member Sir Chook has a 4S20 that he's posted about on OutdoorKing. In my experience, Sir Chook is a mine of information on Atcos. I have PM'ed him there about this discussion. Hopefully, he'll be able to contribute here.

Newdur Mon, 14/03/2016

Thanks GTC I've already contacted sir chook, he believes that they changed from the torpedo shaped tank to the version on mine around 1959 and produced until 1961. He will send me the manual  later in the week

@ Wristpin

the attachment of the F10 grass box is slightly different to that on mine. 

Is there any other way to date it, hidden date stamps, translating the stamp on the side on the engine cover?

wristpin Mon, 14/03/2016

Not to my knowledge, but some small detail may narrow the field a bit. Unfortunately the parts list that I scanned and sent to you has no publication date on it and that goes for all my early hard copy parts lists. I also have a parts list for the Model W2 rotary grass cutter with a vertical shaft Villiers engine and a "torpedo" tank and a later W8 machine with an Aspera LAV35 engine and your pattern tank but without publication dates it does not get us very far.

I guess that the long number on the engine plate is a Villiers serial number but I've no idea how to interpret it or whether it has any significance in dating the engine.

I've tried to enlarge the image of the Royal Coat of Arms on the grass box but have not been able to read it . Assuming that it's the original box and If it says "By appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2" it must be post February 1952, more likely post 1953. If it says ... ...."King George 6th " it is a little less useful as my understanding is that it could be displayed for up to five years after the death of the king - February '52..

Clive1997 Mon, 14/03/2016

Hello

Whilst not my area of expertise, I do have various Atco books lying around,

1958 Instruction book for 20 & 24in models (Torpedo Tank)

1962 Illustrated parts list 20in, 24in & 20in Golf green special  (Later Tank)

1962/3  Maintenance & Operating instructions for 20in, 24in & 20in Golf green special

Not scanned at present.

Let me know if of any use.

Clive

Newdur Tue, 15/03/2016

Hi Clive

Thank you for the offer if you could send me a scan of the  62 parts list and the 62/3 Maintenance manual, that would be great. I'm secretly hopping that it's a late 50s(59) model.

All the info I've been getting seems to show it somewhere between the 50s and 60s. 

Ian

wristpin Tue, 15/03/2016

https://www.royalwarrant.org/#how-to-apply

If my understanding of the above is correct the the minimum  time elapsing between the accession of HMQE2 and Atco's authority to display that crest is five years ,ie February 1957, and  possibly a couple of years after that .  So if it is the original box the machine was not made earlier than 1957 but how much later is open to speculation.