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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

What engine is this??

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I have recently found an atco mower extremely similar to this one. The deck measures 18 inches and is cream with the complete engine and fuel tank painted green. The only number I could find on it was 15180344A. It needs a new head and air filter assembly which is why I wanted to know what engine it was. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks, Aaron

Aaron Wed, 24/04/2013

I don't think the picture has uploaded. It's the one of the atco rotary on this site.

Thanks

olcadmin Wed, 24/04/2013

Aaron

I think you mean this one...

Atco Rotary

In which case the engine is possibly an 87cc  BSA four-stroke.

hortimech Thu, 25/04/2013

and possibly not laugh

The engine in that picture is an Aspera LAV30 or 35, all be that it has been fitted with a later type airshroud, you can see the slot for the later type airfilter.

Aaron Fri, 26/04/2013

I cant find any BSA lumps that look like what I've got. I've been looking around my mower and found parts of the air shroud which looks like its made from a cream plastic and is possibly square in shape. Does anyone have any idea where to get parts for this engine? I need a new head and air assembly. Thanks

olcadmin Fri, 26/04/2013

Aaron

Sorry for the confusion. I was referencing a document I have found reasonably reliable in the past when suggesting BSA. I have looked at a spare parts list for Atco in 1966 which is around the time when your mower was made and they are listing Atco Villiers engine with a vertical shaft. This configuration would only be suitable for a rotary machine.

Here's a small image of the page from the parts list. If you click on the image it will load a larger version which you should be able to read more easily.

Without seeing the machine first-hand it's difficult to identify. It's entirely possible that the engine is not a Villiers but I would be surprised if Atco was fitting Aspera as standard during the 1960s. However, anything is possible.

wristpin Fri, 26/04/2013

The  model illustrated with the Aspera engine was known as the W8  and there was also a 21" version, the W9. Prior  to the Aspera engined machines the same chassis was produced with the vertical crank Villiers the 512V & 515V Lightweight 4 stroke and known as the W6(18")  and W5(21") . Before the 4-stroke machines there was a similar but not identical chassis fitted with Villiers 2-stroke engines. - the W2 and W3.

hortimech Sat, 27/04/2013

Not sure just when, but Atco started fitting Aspera engines during the late sixties and by the time I started as an apprentice lawnmower mechanic in early 1973, all the Atco rotaries I saw were fitted with Aspera engines, including the short lived self-propelled version.

Is there a chance that the OP can post a picture of his machine, so the engine can be properly identified.

 

olcadmin Mon, 29/04/2013

Aaron asked me to upload the images of his machine to help with identification. Click on the image to view the full-sized version:

hortimech Tue, 30/04/2013

Now that I have seen a picture of the machine, I can confirm that it is an Aspera LAV35 engine.