briggs & stratton

by alan

Briggs & Stratton powered…

September 14, 2023 in Articles

Imagine going back thirty years to 1993 (yes thirty whole years) and, quite randomly, you are allowed to put a small Briggs & Stratton engine on absolutely any machine of your choice. What would it be? Perhaps a lawnmower or tiller that requires an engine transplant, or maybe a machine in the style of something from ‘Scrapheap Challenge’ – there was a B&S engine on one of their machines the other day.

1983 – Apache Kart with 3 hp Briggs & stratton engine

But how about something more heart-stopping than a mower, how about something to terrify yourself and panic the neighbours enough so that they ring the authorities? In 1993, a tool and machinery retailer was advertising four ‘Fun Karts for off-road thrills’ (larger photos at the bottom of this page) – they look brilliant and include the Apache 300 with a 3 hp B&S engine and scrub brakes (£579.99), the Chieftain 2-500 with a 5 hp B&S engine, band brakes, and optional rear spoiler and front fairing (£719.99), and the largest machine being the Wildcat 900 with a 9 hp B&S electric start engine, disc brakes and a roll frame (£1999.99).

1983 – Indy race car with 3 hp Briggs & Stratton engine

The most brilliant machine must be the Indy race car. ‘A superb looking Formula One style Indianapolis car’. It had a fibreglass body shell and a 3 hp B&S engine and cost £949.99. I’ve looked all over the internet to find further information on this car but have found nothing: I wonder what the mechanicals looked like, how fast could it go…and how well it stopped?!

Earlier, in the mid-to-late 1960s, BlowKarts, Oldfield Works, Chesterfield were advertising (image, below) a Kart with an 80cc J.A.P. engine, heavy-duty pneumatic tyres, rear wheel braking, and manually operated belt-tensioner type clutch. It was available in either kit form or completely assembled, priced from £65 in 1966. Examples were sold, but what happened to them all?

Villiers engines can be found in Buckler Karts made available by Buckler Cars, Crowthorne, Berkshire in the 1960s. There seem to be quite a few makes of vintage Karts from different manufacturers and with various small engines.

The point of this article is that it’s easy to forget that many small engines did not just get used on lawnmowers or garden machines. Small engines, whether B&S, Kohler, Jap, Villiers or one of many others were used (and still used) on a wide variety of applications. Two to have a look at are the 1920s Briggs & Stratton Flyer and the 1930s Atco Junior Training Car…

B&S Flyer (Smith Flyer): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Flyer
Atco Junior Training Car: https://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/vehicle-collection/atco-junior-safetyfirst-trainer/

by alan

Engine Replacement Guide

October 25, 2020 in Machinery

Sometimes it’s necessary to change the engine on a machine, usually this is because the existing one, often the original, has come to the end of it’s life and parts are no longer available or it’s just not cost effective. A new replacement engine is the obvious choice and there’s many brands to choose from including the ‘knock-off’ copies of many. Also as important is if the machine in question; a garden tractor, ride-on mower, lawnmower, tiller, etc is required to still look the part and have an age-related engine rather than new in which case a second-hand engine is an option.

From 1985 I have a useful brochure detailing a replacement engine guide from the Engine Division of ‘Autocar Electrical Equipment Co. Ltd’ at the time based in Barking Essex. This guide, which is actually a piece of marketing, details both vertical and horizontal engines between 2hp and 11hp from Briggs & Stratton which can be used in place of Honda, Kawasaki, Kohler, Robin, Suzuki, Aspera, Tecumseh, Villiers, Mag and Kubota.

It is interesting to see across the board how different engine specs relate between differing manufacturers. I’m sure there will many other engine replacement guides available.

For research purposes, this guide can be downloaded or opened on your computer as an A4 or A3 PDF, you can use the PDF controls to zoom in, often in the bottom right of the PDF screen, on the data.

Download A4 Replacement Engine Brochure

Download A3 Replacement Engine Sheet


by alan

Before Starting Engine…

March 19, 2017 in Articles

Briggs and Stratton engine with 1976 engine maintenance card

Briggs and Stratton engine with 1976 engine maintenance card

Engine maintenance is of the utmost importance, for without a running engine we are going nowhere apart from the workshop to do some problem solving. 

Illustrated right and shown as a full scan at the bottom of the page is a 1976 dated Briggs and Stratton engine instruction guide supplied with a new B&S engine and usually attached to the engine or pull cord.

These instructions were issued with engines as an important piece of information for the operator and as such contain the message ‘Keep and follow this guide to good engine performance‘ but we wonder how many instruction guides were kept or did they end up oil-stained on the workshop bench to be discarded at a later date?

Before Starting Engine…

The B&S guide details the recommended oil levels and also the oil to be used in summer (over 40F or 4C) and winter (under 40F or 4C) and colder (under 0F use SAE 10W oil diluted 10% with kerosene). These engines would have been supplied worldwide and powered many implements in varying temperatures from mowers in summer to snowblowers in the depths of winter. 

Looking at the offerings of cheap and cheerful mowers at a DIY store over the weekend we noticed they still have labels with instructions, although limited sometimes to just informing the operator that the engine contains no oil and needs purchasing separately. I know of someone who omitted to fill a new mower engine with oil and it had a very short life indeed. 

As we know, dragging the mower out at Easter, chucking in some of last years winter-stored fuel and hoping it starts is not the best idea, sensibly the B&S guide recommends for ‘Off Season Care’ to ‘Empty the fuel tank before storage and run engine until it stops’. For a new season then ‘Fill fuel tank completely (outdoors) with clean, fresh, regular grade automotive gasoline’. 

According to the B&S guide for regular maintenance the engine oil should be checked before starting the engine and after every five hours of operation. Also change the oil after each 25 hours of operation, re-oil the air cleaner at 25 hours, washing the oil-foam element in kerosene or detergent and then dry, saturate with engine oil and squeeze to remove excess oil – I remember that from college years ago. How many domestic lawnmowers get that treatment nowadays? 

Finally ‘Service Notes’ on the guide helpfully advise that if the engine is difficult to start when cold then rotate the carburetor needle 1/8 turn counterclockwise, if it’s hard to start when hot then turn it 1/8 turn clockwise. ‘When working on engine or equipment disconnect spark plug wire…to avoid accidental starting’  – I’m sure we all know stories about someone accidentally starting an engine via turning the mower blade.

Briggs & Stratton Engine Maintenance Card

1976 Briggs & Stratton Engine Maintenance Card – Side 1

Briggs & Stratton Engine Maintenance Card - Side 2

1976 Briggs & Stratton Engine Maintenance Card – Side 2