Wards Push Mower Restoration

[Flinter987]

Just starting a restoration/custom job on this vintage mower! I thought the motor was original until I saw the plywood spacer! It is a Briggs bolting pattern on the deck though. Anybody know what motor was on it originally with a 1-2” shorter shaft? I believe the mower to be 1960s vintage but haven’t been able to narrow a date down more on that either yet. The two front metal wheels are original! It’s had a rough but fulfilling life thus far! Looking forward to getting it back into the grass!!!

 

[The Cobbler]

lots of motors had different lenght shafts to accommodate the manufacturers. your's could have been a short shaft originally

 

[laser3kw]

what is the possibility that the spacer was added so the mower could be used as a leaf grinder or a field mower? Looks like the wheels are set to max height. Maybe take the spacer out and set the wheels to mid position and see how close the blades are to the ground.
Check th model/serial/date code on the shroud just above the spark plug. That will at lease give you the age of the engine.

 

[Flinter987]

what is the possibility that the spacer was added so the mower could be used as a leaf grinder or a field mower? Looks like the wheels are set to max height. Maybe take the spacer out and set the wheels to mid position and see how close the blades are to the ground.
Check th model/serial/date code on the shroud just above the spark plug. That will at lease give you the age of the engine.

Model: 92502 Type: 0866-02 Code: 75030729 I did try to get ahold of the small engine place listed on the tag but they are no longer in business. The address isn’t even modern. The city chamber gave me the name of a small engine place to call who might know more but none of them knew anything about the place listed.
Without the spacer in there, the deck blades are even with or lower than the bottom of the deck. I’d have to look again to see which way it is but I know it sticks way down there! I have a replacement motor for it because the original is locked up. It’s a 3.5 classic, But it has the same shaft length as the “original”. I’m thinking about making an aluminum spacer with integrated rubber mounts to dampen vibration.

 

[The_Geologist]

From the code number off the motor, I can tell you the motor is from 1975 (built on March 7th, to be exact).

Other than that, I agree that the mower is likely from the 1960s.

If you need more info (and cannot find it here), I'd suggest checking out either MyTractorForum (http://www.mytractorforum.com/index.php) or MyLawnmowerForum (http://www.mylawnmowerforum.com/). There are likely some folks there that could also be of assistance to you. They have helped me out a lot over the last few years with projects like this one.

 

[Flinter987]

From the code number off the motor, I can tell you the motor is from 1975 (built on March 7th, to be exact).

Other than that, I agree that the mower is likely from the 1960s.

If you need more info (and cannot find it here), I'd suggest checking out either MyTractorForum (http://www.mytractorforum.com/index.php) or MyLawnmowerForum (http://www.mylawnmowerforum.com/). There are likely some folks there that could also be of assistance to you. They have helped me out a lot over the last few years with projects like this one.

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[Flinter987]

Getting going! It appears that all corners were originally riveted to the deck. Only one was still in that state. The rest were all drilled out a bit larger and bolts of various lengths had been inserted to hold the wheels on. The engine I’m thinking of mounting on it is a 91 Briggs classic series 3.5 hp. Got carb and misc parts ordered for it tonight. Found a new blade I had laying around that will be a good fit for the mower. Up next is dismantling a few small parts yet, then sandblasting!

 

[Flinter987]

Probably some helpful info here, but I’m hard pressed to be able to read all of it.

 

[four.cycle]

Hi there.

From the design of the deck, I'm going to guess 1960s.
The little Briggs "Quattro" was added later on at some point.
The spacer was placed between the deck and the engine to prevent the mower from scalping the lawn. Obviously the original engine had a shorter output shaft.

Even if you had the complete model number on the sticker affixed to the deck, it probably wouldn't do you much good unless you were able to find somebody who kept a database of old obsolete Wards mower models.

I have a Briggs "Quantum" engine here with a shorter output shaft. I believe it's a 5.0 or 5.5 HP engine. Came off a running mower, but the deck was trashed, so I pulled it off, cleaned it up, and went through it with new parts (carb kit, filter, gaskets, etc.) Let me know if you're interested.

I do not have any steel wheels, only plastic.

You could also try mylawnmowerforum.com , which is focused more on mowers than is mytractorforum.com. It's possible somebody there might be able to help.

If restoring old mowers is your thing, I've got a gem here: a 1955 Toro Sportlawn. Needs a little TLC and a new set of tires.



I think there are about 35 mowers out on the side of the house as well. Maybe more.

 

[Stuart in MN]

We had a Wards mower very similar to that when I was a kid. I think it had a 3hp Briggs, but no idea on what specific model engine it was.

 

[Flinter987]

We had a Wards mower very similar to that when I was a kid. I think it had a 3hp Briggs, but no idea on what specific model engine it was.

Yeah, did some more digging last night, and while I can’t find one that is exactly like mine, it looks like original engine was probably a 3hp Briggs with the windup crank on top.

 

[four.cycle]

^ yes. I believe I have a couple early Snapper Hi-Vac models with that earlier design engine on them. point-triggered ignition. bitchy carburetor. (just two reasons why they get trashed and replaced)

 

[Flinter987]

After not having much luck in finding someone to build an affordable engine spacer for me, I started second guessing my engine choice for this project. I considered four.cycle’s engine and some others I had laying around, which led to some interesting looking modern engine reinventions of my mower! Finally I was sharing about my project with a friend when he told me his brother in law is a machinist. He got in-touch with him and he laser cut me an affordable spacer! I looked tonight, and found I have a twin for my engine sitting in the garage on a different mower, so between the two engines I should have plenty of parts! I also looked at a sheet of metal I’ve been hanging onto in my garage for forever and I believe it is the proper gauge to fix the deck with! Stoked!

 

[Flinter987]

Mocked the new spacer up tonight and I think it’ll be about perfect. It’s a bit difficult to determine exactly where the blade should be located height-wise in the deck. Previously I spent a good bit of time trying to determine where that should be. I measured various mowers, all of which varied a bit, but gave me enough info to make an educated guess. My thought is if it is too close to the bottom of the deck you lose some of the protection that the deck provides from the spinning blade, on the other hand, too far up in and you’ll have a hard time pushing the mower through the grass, trying to get grass under the deck and to the blade.

 

[four.cycle]

^ that TVS series Tecumseh would be more along the lines of "period correct" for that deck. (it's also a better motor.)

blade height: about ... 1/2" - 3/4" of an inch UP from the bottom edge of the deck should work fine.

too low you're going to scalp your lawn. too high it's going to make a mess of things.

 

[Flinter987]

It wasn’t until I started playing around with the tecumseh that I realized it had a cut shaft.
Yeah, I should be right in that range once I add the blade adapter to the shaft. Currently at about 7/8 without the adapter.

 

[theundermount]

Cool project! I wonder why someone cut open the front of the deck like that

 

[Flinter987]

Yeah, I really have no clue! After cutting it out they went and screwed two pieces of metal over the opening... that makes sense! Maybe they decided to use it as a leaf mulcher before deciding to mow lawn with it again?

 

[theundermount]

Yeah, I really have no clue! After cutting it out they went and screwed two pieces of metal over the opening... that makes sense! Maybe they decided to use it as a leaf mulcher before deciding to mow lawn with it again?

or maybe the back 40 got to long lol had to take drastic measures to getr done

 

[larry4406]

or maybe the back 40 got to long lol had to take drastic measures to getr done

Ugh. We had one of these “open fronts” as mid-teen to go tame the back 40 just as you suggest! Push forward and buzz blade slowly into the brush. Then back up lift deck and lower to chop. Dad put us to work as kids. I’m 57 and thankfully may family wasn’t injured. No clue if dad did the open front conversion.

 

[four.cycle]

^ That's really the only thing that makes sense. It would be easier to simply push down on the handlebars and raise the front end of the deck to mow brush or stickerbushes, but some people like to do things the hard way.
When I first saw it I thought "Oh, maybe the front rusted out," but lawnmower decks don't rust out in front - they rust out at the rear driver's side corner first.

I certainly wouldn't run it with that front end opened like that unless you have a lot of extra money to buy window glass.