Dan bought, in May 1997, this vintage 1979 Big Mow riding lawn mower from his uncle.
May 1997 update:
It runs and starts pretty good, but hasn't yet been used for mowing the lawn. The engine
is a 6 horsepower Tecumseh, and the cutting width is 32 inches. It has a one speed
transmission, front wheel drive, and reverse is obtained by turning the front wheel all
the way around (just like the bumper cars at the amusement park).
Mid June 1997 Update:
I have been using the mower for a month now, and it works pretty good. The only trouble it
has given me is the transmission broke as I was putting the mower away in late May. I was
concerned that something major was wrong, but it turned out that a pin that attaches a
gear to a shaft broke. Less than five dollars for parts, and new lube in the gearbox, (not
to mention 3 hours of my time) and we're mowing again!
Mid August 1997 Update:
After using the mower for half the season, I decided to raise the blades. It was kind of a
chore, because to adjust the cutting height, one removes the blades and blade spacers, and
puts the spacers and blades back on the blade shafts in a different order. Well, some of
the spacers were rusted in place. This necessitated the removal of the shafts. Once the
shafts were removed, the spacers were soaked liberally with penetrating lubricant, and
summarily beat into submission. While the shafts were out, I replaced the noisy bearings
on one shaft, and inspected the bearings on the other shaft.
Fall 1998 Update:
The most trouble I had this year was starting it in the spring. For some reason, I assumed
there was gas in the tank. After cranking over and over for 5-10 minutes, It finally
dawned on me to fill the fuel tank (Do'h). The only significant maintenance I performed this year
was to sharpen the blades!
Spring 1999 Update:
The drive chain is coming off the sprocket! I was mowing the lawn over at my
mother-in-law's home when the drive chain kept coming off the gears. I pushed the little
machine on the trailer to return home, and placed the chain in solvent to clean it up. a
few days later I removed one link from the chain, re-installed it and lubricated it well
with oil. It's working quite well for now, but I fear I may need to buy a new chain and
sprockets.
The carburetor is also leaking fuel when the mower is not in use, so I have installed a fuel shut off valve in the fuel line. I need to rebuild the carburetor, but I'm just too busy this summer and the thing runs..... Maybe next year.
I've also sharpened the blades this year, and the oil needs changing (badly). I also think it would be fun to repaint the mower. Yellow and green. Apologies to Mr. Swisher and Mr. Deere if I do.
Fall 2002 Update
Last fall I had a major failure. The front fork/gearbox assembly failed. I took it apart,
and eventually took the assembly to my uncle who welded everything back together. The
wind-up starter also failed late in the mowing season, and I replaced it with a recoil
starter that was in my spares. Other than that, it's been working fine all summer. I
really must change oil in the spring, and I've not painted the mower - yet.
Spring 2005 Update
Last summer I needed to sharpen the blades and replace the blade drive belt. The
deck is rusting through and I will need to do something about that soon. What
really needs to be done is to tear the machine down, repair the deck, paint the
mower and recondition everything. (I've still not changed oil.... but I do
check it before mowing every week!)
Other Information
One place I have found on the 'net that sells these things new is Rural King. Do a search on Swisher, dig through all the repair parts, and you will find the new "Ride King" mower retailing for about $750. (update - I checked in early 2004, and noted that Rural King was not advertising "Big Mow", and Swisher no longer listed them in their catalog either.)
The white box on the rear is a homemade "pick 'em up" box. My uncle used it to give his young children rides. I use it to haul stuff around the yard.
This mower was produced by Swisher Mower and Machine, Warrensburg, MO. In later years the name of the mower has been changed to "Ride King". For more information (and a parts list) about this mower, see Swisher's web site.
If you have any questions or comments, E-mail me!
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