Hi, just got back from a hunting trip in the West Country!

The ident on your plate is not straight forward. The Mark 4, 14 inch Ransomes mower started manufacture in March 1938 and ended in August 1951, but production stopped during world war 2.Your machine T9714 dates to August 1949. Spare parts for your machine became obsolete on 31st of May 1966.
I hope this information proves helpful to you, However I did notice you asked elsewhere for help, with no one answering your quest, this is the site for honest answers

Andrew Hall
Archivist
The Hall & Duck Trust

Hi, Yes there was talk at Ransomes pre war over the Minor but as a lot of things did not leave the drawing board to much later, Your mark V1 overlaps the period. The true Minor which is styled differently started production in January 1951 and ended production in November 1955, This was classified as a mark 6.
You have to remember the war was 1939 to 1945, but the displacement of men and materials and rationing went on a lot longer, I’m afraid people forget with time, all the nasties in life!

I would say stick with the original design,