Buying a Donor Chassis

So the first thing is to do is get a donor chassis. If this was a Group 3 build then I would be looking for a Westwood  Lawnbug but as I’m building a Group 4 the choice is somewhat larger. My choice of donor mower is governed by certain things that I’ve learnt over the years of building and racing. 

• The mower must be small but not too small otherwise the track (overall width of the tyres) will be too small.

• The weight of the mower is also important so I look at the bodywork to see how much steel there is and is it necessary for the finished racer. You have to bear in mind that the BLMRA (British Lawn Mower Racing Association) rules will only allow a minimal amount of metal to be removed as the finished racer must closely resemble the original mower. When I’m looking at this I try to find mowers without a double tunnel transmission tunnel.

You have to remember that these are only my views and a successful racing mower can be made out of most mowers, the humble Westwood Gazelle is a case in point as one has won the 12 HR endurance race on more than one occasion.

Over the years, the domestic tractor type mower has grown in size so whist modern ones are ideal in that they have many plastic parts and thin metal their overall dimensions rules them out. Older mowers tend to be all steel construction so very little plastic or fibreglass is seen, however, during the late 60’s and 70’s some mowers were built with fibreglass bodywork. Both John Deere and Wheelhorse produced a limited number of mowers like this.

Most towns have a mower repair service / shop so they can be a useful source for a donor mower as can eBay and this is where I look. I have always liked the Wheelhorse range of mowers and my last racer was a Wheelhorse  of circa 1988 vintage but what I had always been on the lookout for was a Wheelhorse Lawn Ranger. This fits my criteria, made between 1969 and 1973, it is small and has a metal chassis but all other body parts are fibreglass.