Can your 50-year old equipment do this?

[KentT]

Well, it's actually only 48, but close enough...

A club member's 1961 model Simplicity and the work it just did -- I thought it was worth "showing off" a little. BTW, that's a 42" mower deck being driven by a whopping 7.25 HP engine.

 

[bontai_Joe]

Ooooooooo, pretty!

 

[robertm]

My 1967 Allis Chalmers (10hp) did the same thing, but after I dumped way to much into the set-up to geep it running, I found out it was the one model year that was built in some junk factory in Arkansas and parts were no longer available for the self destructing rear end. I sold it to get my first B7500. Then a B7510. And now, a BX2660. I don't miss the A-C. The BX is 100x the tractor, and does a better job in 1/4 of the time. A 42" deck w/ 10hp was way too small for almost 2 acres.

 

[KentT]

A 42" deck w/ 10hp was way too small for almost 2 acres.

Sounds like you tried taking a pocketknife to a gun fight...

 

[asylum575]

I just mowed an acre of lawn yesterday with a 15 yr old Craftsman 18hp/42 deck. Just didn't feel like taking the FEL and BH off the BX. Plus, we've had rain 35 out of the last 42 days around here. 5 inches so far in June. Ground was a little soft . I mulched with the Craftsman. Took a bit longer than the BX, but no damage to the lawn.

 

[soulasphil]

My 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 with her rotary cutter managed the grass on my few acres until the beginning of this month when she retired to a smaller place. I believe there are many 50 year old machines still doing an excellent job.

 

[DaddyRabbit]

Shaweet! How did you get it to stripe like that? Very nice indeed.

Well, it's actually only 48, but close enough...

A club member's 1961 model Simplicity and the work it just did -- I thought it was worth "showing off" a little. BTW, that's a 42" mower deck being driven by a whopping 7.25 HP engine.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Very nice!

Does it have a stripping kit on it ?

 

[KentT]

They did and do come stock with the striping kit...

Simplicity mowing decks on all but their cheapest machines have always had full-width rollers on the back. The deck is only attached to the tractor up in front of the deck, and the rear of the deck rolls on those full-width rollers. They patented that deck design in 1960 or so, and until the patent ran out, had the only one in the business. Here's an ad for a '61 model, advertising the move from a 36" to a 42" deck:

 

[mjncad]

I like the way Ward Cleaver is dressed in the ad.