Old Start of 1953 Briggs and Stratton 5s on a Reel Mower

In addition to picking up my Bolens tractor, my uncle also gave me this 1953 Craftsman power reel mower, powered by a Briggs and Stratton 5s engine. This is part 1 of a many part series as I make this unit operational again.
As found, the unit was dirty and a bit rusty, but fundamentally sound. It has a rope start, and dirty carburetor, but has all the parts. Once I get the engine puring like a kitten, I'll move on to the reel power and the wheel power for this mower. It was built by Yard-Man machines for Craftsman.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Briggs
• Strattion
• 5s
• 1.0
• HP
• Craftsman
• Yard-man
• reel
• mower
• maine

[ChargerMiles007]

Sweet, it fried up pretty good there! :)

It must have taken Arnold to manuver that monster around a yard!!!

[Turbo231]

@ChargerMiles007 Thankfully it is self propelled...which could be a bad thing if the operator slips and falls.

[MrDjThijs]

i think i have the same engine but i don't know it for sure. i could only found a number above the crankshaft : e8207. do you know what witch engine that is? and about your engine, is that a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke eninge?

[Turbo231]

@MrDjThijs Sorry, can't help you there, if it is missing it's build plate then going by looks is your best bet. Think there are a few more engines similar in design, but it's pretty much the Briggs of its era. As for stroke, this unit is a 4 stroke unit, she just burns oil as a hobby.

[jack9102]

i think you need to change the head gasket

[Turbo231]

Yep...it needs one, especially when it miss-fires. In other videos, it runs well enough without further financial commitment.

[ChargerMiles007]

@Turbo231

Yes, that could result in an accident that would make the newspaper!!!! >:((

I still like old stuff, even if you have to be more careful around it!

I still don't own a push mower with the blade brake safety bar you have to push down all the time, what a pain those are! I would remove it, just make sure you never follow the mower down hill, incase you slip!

[LinnTractorNut]

All my little Planet Jr Super Tuffys use the same engine, my grandfather's would run even though you can turn it over with your fingers with the plug in, just won't move anything.

[blabblab1212]

Would there be any way to bolt this reel cutting unit on to the front of a Harley chopper via some elaborate bass-ackwards chain drive mechanism? That way you could get some riding time in while cutting the grass and impress the neighbors. Kill two birds with one stone.

[Hallaran]

Year of my birth! Great old lawn mower!

[sheddski]

wow i just dumped my 1953 motor from the same exact mower my father had back then we dumped the mower back in 1970 but kept the motor till i had to put it out with others that where newer those were taken but they left the old briggs it did run but gas tank was rotted and no muffler found out neibor took it to school for project .