Cooper Mower

17 years ago

There is a cooper mower on the curb. I have passed so far but maybe I should take it. In good condition. Probably from the 60's. Has a 3.5 Hp briggs and some sort of non-steel deck. Does anybody have any information on this company and mower? Next to nothing on a google search. Should I let it go to the scrap or try to save it?

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Dave Parke

10 years ago

Cooper was one of the premier manufacturers in the sixties I believe they started business back in the forties I own a lawn mower shop in Hawthorne California for 33 years and four years we sold Cooper lawn Mowers. They were extremely well made and a very top end piece of equipment they made both rear throw and front throw reel type lawn mowers and they also made the rotary cycloval mowers. In the early 80's or late seventies the employees wanted to unionize and old man Cooper said if you unionize I will close the factory well the unionized and he closed the factory it was a very sad day for the power equipment industry another company started making parts or bought out the old stock of Cooper parts and support of the equipment for several years when I close my shop I actually had probably $1,500 worth of Cooper parts in stock but they would probably never have been sold.

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Comments (7)

canguy
17 years ago
They were a well known manufacturer of reel mowers but may be gone. Would be an interesting project.
droc
Original Author
17 years ago
This is a rotary mower. I wish somebody knew something about it. Maybe some info on a briggs 3.5 would help. I'll probably go get it tomorrow. I hope it is still on the curb.
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whirlwind1974
17 years ago
Some parts are still available, hope you weren't too late picking it up....

Here is a link that might be useful: Dandy Sales Inc
jimcurrie123_yahoo_com
14 years ago
Probably much, mush too late to be of help or interest, but the mower on the curb sounds like the type we, or I should say my grandfather had for his lawn care and gardening business. They were VERY reliable and easy to work on. The motor screwed to the deck and entirely exposed with easy access to air cleaner, and carb. The deck was cast aluminum. I wish I still had the one that came to me for my first house.
Mark Sloan
10 years ago
About 18 years ago there was a lady in the neighborhood who put this lawnmower out by the street. I asked her what was the story on it, she said she just wanted rid of it so I took it and put it in the shed and didn't think twice and actually thought it was a snapper lawnmower. In the process of moving and my other mowers are in Florida now so pulled out this mower and figured I would see if it would start. I went and got a new plug and filter at Walmart and to my surprise it started on the second pull. I took it out for a "test mow" and couldn't believe how easy it was to push. One of the other mowers is a front wheel drive and the cooper is easier than that one. I read the story where the workers unionized and the company shut down. Today we see fast food workers wanting 15 an hour where soldiers and EMT's don't make that. And like the former cooper employees it seems now Wendy's and McDonald's is looking to put in touch screen kiosks so history repeats.
HU-214848968
7 years ago
I worked in a shop in the early '70's that sold and service Cooper lawn mowers. As previous posters have said, they used high quality, cast aluminum decks and were available as push or self-propelled models. The self-propelled units had a two speed chain drive that used a derailler to shift (like a 10 speed bicycle) and a very unique double drum clutch. The B & S 3.5HP engine was the weak link in an otherwise excellent lawn mower. I think these may have been some of the earliest all-aluminum engines. They ran OK but the slightest bit of dirt that got past the air cleaner would score the cylinder and now you had a built-in mosquito fogger! Still, it was a well designed unit--a shame what happened to the company.