Figured that it was time to show off the mower I've been working on for a while now. It's not a "vintage" or desirable machine, but it has some sentimental value, since my parents bought it new in 1990 and was the first mower I used. It was also the first mower I learned to fix, eventually being seriously upgraded by me around 2000.
In any event, this was not going to be a "restore it back to original" project. The idea was to restore the components that I used in the 2000 build & sneak in a few upgrades. Without further adieu, here is a "Before" picture:
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As you can see, it is a Meijer-branded machine, which is basically identical to Rally mowers of the same era. The condition was beat up, but solid & running. Its engine plastics had turned from a bright yellow to a sickly pale yellow/gray color, while the bag had suffered a similar fate. So, it came time for some disassembly;
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Ugh...
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Now, back in "the day", I only had a couple lawnmowers with yellow plastics, and since a lot of time had passed, I expected replacement yellow plastics to be hard to find. This was partially true - I easily found a new fuel tank, but have not gotten a new rewind cover or air filter cover. At this point, I'm probably going to have to find some paint:
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The deck was in need of some TLC, so I opted to have it professionally powder coated. Now, I didn't have them remove all the "battle scars", but it turned out really nice:
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And finally, The key to this rebuild was that I did not want to redo this if I could not get replacement decals for it. Now, I'm not sure if replacement decals were ever available for these things, but thankfully, I found someone willing to repro them for me (hope you don't mind the plug):
http://www.clickitandstickit.com/meijer/
The new decals were great! Here it is with the main decal + serial number sticker on:
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And a current picture (not the best quality) with a NOS Briggs engine sitting on there temporarily & and the protective film still on the decals:
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I still have a few parts on order to finish it up, but once it's done, I hope to get a little photo shoot of it next to the bone-stock Meijer I picked up.
I know it's not a particularly exiting build, but I hope you guys like how this one is turning out.
-Rob
