You never know what you'll get yourself into next. Had a pair of cable pullers with Magnums on them that had sat i was told. Dropped the bowl on one and figured I'd have to soak em, so I bought some nice Kohler carb kits. Went to do the second one, I don't think that I've ever seen a carb so rusted. Thought I'd better eval further, no spark, no compression. Pulled the head thinking I'd find a rusted up valve, but no. the cylinder was about an 1/8 inch bigger than the piston. Guess this one came from an auction....

Yep PO pick ups require the purchaser to know what he is purchasing , Buyer Beware is the Norm . Actually Rustys customer got off rather easy just keep an eye on the oil level and happy cutting . :)

Rusty, there are 2 in the free stuff within 40 miles of me , a Toro and a Murray. That is what they do with them now-a-days. Get rid of them at the first sign of trouble. The Murray just needs a struggle string. Both were rear baggers. Thanks to the internet, I will never pay for another push mower.

Yeah, i agree! And, the mower is still here! He never came to get it. Guess he doesn't want it. And, i'm not getting into a massive overhaul on it. Way i figger--if ya want a machine the runs like new---buy NEW!
And, even if i overhauled it, and did a complete refurbish, he'd go ballistic if i asked for the money it cost to do it! I can use it if he never comes back.

Yeah, a 'refurbish' is only worthwhile as a project to do for yourself - I learned that many years ago when I 'fixed-up' old bicycles for people. You cannot possibly charge what it's worth because they could buy a new one for that. However, when our boys were young, they got some very cool bikes. I would work all fall/winter on them in the cold detached garage/workshop to get them ready for Christmas. One of my sister's grand kids still talks about the BMX I fixed up for him one year - red day-glo front, white mid and blue day-glo rear with black rims/spokes. This was about 1985. I've done mowers for myself and friends, but it's just not cost-effective for a shop to do.
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The LB 10201 on the right is my first LB. Somehow I kept it going for nearly ten years before finally selling it. Those, with the 'V' engine, were rolling nightmares.

Saxman: I have a red mower like the one you show here. I got it as a gift about 8 years ago, cleaned it up, used it for quite a while, then sold it to a guy who was "out of breath" from years of smoking, and needed a self-propelled for his small level yard. He used it for 3 years, but his son-in-law tried to mow yard edging stones with it, and bent the crank. Vibrated the carb assy right off the engine! Guy said to keep it, so my son needed an el-cheapo, and took it home. I gave him a carb out of stock to put on it. Runs fair, a little vibration, couldn't see any wiggle in the blade. I have a few extra used carbs for later.