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1967 Lawn Boy 7256

4K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  Lawnboy77 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
You all... when the bug bites, it bites hard!

On Tuesday, I made the trek to northwest Kansas to pickup some more LB stuff. Namely, it was a lot of two mowers: one being an M21EMR, and the other being the model listed in the title.

So, for the last couple of months, I've been scouring the web, and local classifieds, trying to find a mulch plug for an M-series. I now have three, but they all came with parts M-series mowers. That's a thread for another time...

Back to this 7256. This is my first LB of this vintage, and certainly the first I've owned powered by the D engine. Overall, it's in good shape for it's age, but definitely needs restored. I also received the matching grass bag rod and chute. The bag has the LB green logo, so I'm guessing it's not original.

The resin used to make the shroud is brittle, cracked, and weakened at the rear, next to the fuel cap. Any tips for restoring it? I'm thinking de-grease, sand, use some kind of body filler to repair the cracks and chips, then repaint.

Repainting the deck seems straightforward.

The front left height adjuster has a broken lever/detent. I found a replacement lever on eBay, but it appears to be riveted to the height adjuster. I've got to figure out which type of rivet is used because it doesn't appear to be a standard pop rivet.

The handle has some minor rust - does anyone know of any shops that perform decorative chrome plating in the midwest (preferably affordably)?

Lastly, I know that some have modified their D engines with a two-ring piston, allowing for one to run 32:1 premix in these old mowers. Is that all that needs to be done? If so, I'm hoping someone can point me to where I can find a proper piston and ring set.

I'll add to this thread as I progress with the restoration. For starters, I've found a repro decal kit on ebay that I'll be ordering shortly...

PICS! (sorry they're sideways - I don't see a way to rotate them after upload - they're oriented correctly on my PC....)
 

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#2 ·
Nice model! Looking in pretty good shape too. For the engine to run 32:1 all you need is the two ring piston and connecting rod with the needle bearings part numbers 606607 for the piston and 682865 for the rod. Ebay has a few of the rods in new condition.

A good used two ring piston will suffice as new pistons have dried up and current ones are really expensive. Some scothcbrite and 800 grit emery paper polishing and it'll be as good as new. A light hone (3-5 strokes ) to the cylinder and you're all set. Currently running two LBs with recycled pistons and they're doing great! New piston rings can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Piston-Rin...hash=item5d64c3d8ec:m:mxVVihEBKEmLKL-3hqzsVgQ

Hope this helps! :)
 
#3 ·
hello there
great looking 1967 7256 also to share i have two of them they both have two ring pistons in them
also hope you find a two ring piston as SETH has said a good used one will work after a good cleaning
i have done that to with new rings and a gasket set and oil seals and parts cleaning and engine will run
good and and wheel adjuster is one piece for that model and if you need good advice please ask always
willing to help out your lawn-boy friend Scott
 
#4 · (Edited)
That’s a good find! It sounds like you have a good idea of what you need to do for a restoration. If you just have scratches and gouges on that shroud bondo will work fine to fill those, for structural type repairs you will probably want the epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth. Those shrouds are a bit tougher to deal with being fiberglass, as opposed to dealing with steel shrouds. I had to invest a bit more money and time to get the results that I was looking for on my 1966 model 5234, and that was a shroud that didn’t require structural type repairs. In hind sight it might of been cheaper just to take the shroud to the local body/paint shop that deals in fiberglass repairs and painting (A Corvette guy) and let them do it. The good paints, primers and epoxy resins, etc. aren’t cheap.

As for the deck, I just took the easy route and hired the local powder coat shop. The 1966 mint green was not available in powder, so they got as close as they could, and I then scuffed it up and shot the custom acrylic used for the shroud on to the deck as well. Yours is beige, or more commonly called Bermuda Sand and they have a great match for that in powder so no need to shoot a top coat over that. You can go the rattle can route if you don’t want to spend the extra money on powder. I hear that a good match in rattle can paint is Krylon Almond.

The handle getting rechromed is expensive. I’ve had two done at Paul’s Chrome in PA about 7 years ago and it was $350.00 each, not including shipping. I know they have a faux chrome nowadays, but I have no experience, knowledge on the particulars of that, other than it’s not nearly as durable as the real deal chrome.

The broken wheel adjuster can be disassembled by drilling out the rivet and punching it out with a pin punch of the appropriate size. Usually rivets are drilled on the head side, then pryed off with a pin punch, then the rest can be driven out with a punch, but in this case carefully drilling the bucktail off and punching out the other end toward the head works better in my opinion. The rivets are no longer available, so you will replace with a shoulder bolt and nut. Assemble with the new lever tab using the same part number shoulder bolt and nut used on the rear wheel adjust lever on the early 70’s models where the adjust bar mounts to the handle brackets on the left and right side. I’ll get you part numbers later. The one in my avatar was repaired using that method and it works great, actually better than rivets in my opinion.
 
#12 ·
In reference to my last post where I discussed repair of the front wheel adjuster, here is the shoulder bolt p/n# 605797 and nut p/n# 602830 required to replace the rivet. They are items #44 and #12 in the IPC link below.

https://www.partstree.com/parts/law...with-grasscatcher-model-5022-19-special-push/

and below is an ebay link to the new tab, p/n# 604078, that you need to replace the broken one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-OE...308465?hash=item3d84d13631:g:0FsAAOSwHkBceqec
Thank you for this information! Off the top of your head, do you know the code or manufacturer for the powder coat that closely matches the Bermuda Sand color? I think that would be the best way to repaint the deck. And man, if re-chroming is that expensive, I might just try the aluminum foil trick, and polish what's left. I appreciate the part numbers for the bolt and nut used to repair the height adjust lever. I'm really excited to get this thing restored.

The last thing I noticed was that the on/off switch / primer was not properly secured to the engine housing. I found a part# 604249 that looks like a retainer for the switch. Is this all that's needed to secure the switch/rod and spring? I can't easily tell how it is supposed to kill the ignition system to stop the engine.

Thanks to all of your for your help!!

-Tyler
 
#8 ·
That shroud looks great, but it's not the same as the OP's shroud. Yours is a shroud off of a 1965 model and his is from 1967.

In regards to the piston, when looking for an upgraded donor engine. The 2 ring pistons with all-needle bearing connecting rods came out in 1970. That doesn't mean yours is a 3 ring though, it might of been upgraded to the 2 ring all-needle bearing rod by a previous owner. Usually when looking for donor pistons and connecting rods we look for post 1970 engines.
 
#7 · (Edited)
#10 ·
good morning
just to share with all the 1965 7254 is a rare mower only this style shroud for 1965 then changed in 1966
also to share with you a lot of good helpers here with great advice hope it goes well for you as Rex has said
the two ring piston will interchange for your 1967 7256 lawn-boy mower take care Scott
 
#14 ·
Nice mower. Definitely one worthy of a restore. I have it’s little brother the 5265 that I restored a few years ago. Sorry about the poor lighting. I didn’t bother taking it down off my trophy wall to snap pics of it

Also snapped a pic of the handle for it. In Canada we didn’t really use much chrome. Almost all our models had the painted handles

If you need any additional pics etc to help you with your restore don’t hesitate to ask as I can take it off the shelf and get some close ups of anything you might want to see better
Good luck with your restore. I’m looking forward to following your progress

G


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#15 ·
That explains why YouTuber Jon3800’s 7217 has a green handle. I kind of like the look of the painted handle, but still prefer chrome. There are chrome plating services near me, but they only offer industrial chrome plating, and not decorative.

I may just be taking you up on your offer for some detailed pics. The parts diagram on Partstree.com leaves much to be desired. So far, I think the only thing I was a little confused with was how the primer rod is installed, but that question has been answered.
 
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