Lawn Chief mowers, who knows 'em?

[earlyre]

My brother has a 1 acre lot about a half hour away from here, where he plans to build at some point, there used to be a house, there, but the prior owners knocked it down, and did a half-hearted cleanup. (looks like they shoved the wreckage into the foundation/crawlspace) he takes his rider up there to mow, but was looking for a "craigslist Special" push mower that he could leave in the shed up there and not wreck his good pusher on the drive back and forth.

My buddy recently inherited a house when his Husband's Grandfather passed, they took their own used mower with them, and now have purchased a cordless electric model.
knowing this i asked him if he had a used pusher that needed a new home. he did, and the other day brought me the better of the two, the late grandfather's mower.

it's an Old Lawn Cheif, with a 3.5HP Briggs (box on the front says "System 2 manual start".)
not sure how old, couldn't find much with the model number listed...
I know the brand was exclusive True Value Stores, but that's about all the internet gave me....

little further digging, it does have the safety blade stop lever, which was apparently mandated in 1982. so, I'll assume that 82 is the oldest it could be...

anywho, The Pics!

 

[spasm3]

Cool looking little mower!

 

[JTK]

Cool! I thought Lawn Chief riding mowers used to be made by Murray, but apparently push mowers were not. Based on the shrouding on that Briggs engine, the engine looks newer than the mower IMO.

 

[wag123]

It looks like a mid 90s vintage MTD to me.

 

[JLawrence08648]

This is what I call a lightweight piece of .... and one of many favorites because it is so light and easy to push around the yard, same as the Yard Machine, Weed Eater. The carb uses a rubber diagram which acts as the fuel pump. Over time it gets hard and needs to be replaced. You'll know this because the engine will be surging.

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted by JLawrence08648
This is what I call a lightweight piece of .... and one of many favorites because it is so light and easy to push around the yard, same as the Yard Machine, Weed Eater. The carb uses a rubber diagram which acts as the fuel pump. Over time it gets hard and needs to be replaced. You'll know this because the engine will be surging.

The MTDs of this era had a thicker gauge deck than the other cheap competitors from Murray and AYP so they did last longer. My recollection is that this particular mower design (which was sold with a variety of different names on it including their own) didn't cut very well, leaving grass clumps and plugging the discharge chute easily.
The pulsa jet carburetor used on the 3.5-5 hp engines was actually a good, reliable, and easy to service carburetor design that B&S used for MANY years. The biggest problem that they would have is that the top of the fuel tank, which was also the bottom of the carburetor, would warp from the engine heat if the cooling fins were not kept clean, so B&S had a repair kit for them.

 

[Oildudeny]

Sweet little mower

 

[Lubener]

I got the same mower, silver and it's made by Murray.

 

[izualangel]

My first thought was "look at all that metal!" For the date, look above the spark plug on the shroud. You'll have the model, type, and date codes. Date is YYMMDD and the last two are production line.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted by izualangel
My first thought was "look at all that metal!" For the date, look above the spark plug on the shroud. You'll have the model, type, and date codes. Date is YYMMDD and the last two are production line.

even the wheels are metal, with actual rubber tires!

 

[earlyre]

Underneath code, it says 8910251
So, 10/25/89 1st shift/ line 1 is when the motor was made.