Heh, I mow my 1/4 acre with a 1965 Snapper 308x rear engine rider. My great uncle bought it in 1967 when it had been retired from use on a golf course and repowered. I repowered it again in 2009 and intend it to be the last lawnmower I ever buy.
It replaced a 1964 Cub Cadet model 70 which I still have but is too ungainly to use on our small lot. It plows the snow real good though...

I have 2 Snapper RERs' one for usual use, and a spare if the other one gives up. I have also a very old Toro Wheel horse lawn tractor, which works well, for back-up. Also several other machines of various ages, and uses. I'm slowly giving stuff away, as i have too much for an old geezer to use, except in case one doesn't start, or two, or three! RJ

Yep, Yep, and Yep!! THen there's my '62 Gravely walk behind, two pulls and we're off and running.

The problem with the old and very well made machines is that the "business model" didn't provide for replacement machines, sell one and it lasted forever. Now, You're supposed to buy a new lawn tractor or whatever every 2-3 years....

Guess that economic intelligence goes along with the new trend in house building. Since our economy is measured by "house starts," including whether we get an increase in Social Security, (how many folks on SS buy new houses????), they're now leveling and hauling to the landfill perfectly good houses so "new" houses can be built in desirable locations.

To paraphrase Jack NIcholson in the original Batman, "This country needs an enema!"

Ev

I recently picked up a 1988 5/23 Craftsman Snow Blower with track drive no less!
I added some fuel to the bone dry tank and it started on the second pull!

The main drive shat end bushing was installed backwards from the last shop to work on it so it chewed up the shaft and bushing----BUT IT STILL WORKED!
Funny that shop is no longer around.

So I'm replacing it with an identical Ariens bearing unit like the other side has rather than a bushing.

Sears no longer offers the parts that hold the bearing in place, but Ariens does.

My '77 IH Cadet 80 sitdown looks like a moving junk pile when I mow. The faux Cub Cadet engine lid is off. It came to me without a seat, so I recycled the seat from a wicker bar stool. It is very comfortable, even if I do say so. There is tie wire, bungee cords, wood and sheet rock screws keeping it going. It starts and mows well enough to suit my needs. It was given to me in '02 and I,ve used it every year since for mowing about a 1/2 acre of yard. The back has a slope that made it a hard afternoon's work with a 21" mower. The Inty complains , but it will climb the hill. I can mow the lawn in an hour with it and the freebie LB trimmer. I picked up in '07 I dread the day , the hydro dies and I will have find another old sit down to fix.

OK, mine's not that old, but I got a 1998 MTD push mower with 6.5hp B&S. Must've been before MTD downgraded their equipment, because this thing just won't quit. Pulls on first or second start every time, leave it sit outside all the time, change oil once/year. Been waiting for it to die so that I can buy a nice self-propelled unit, but it won't give up the ghost.

The thing I like about this mower is that it has the big (high) wheels on the back, which makes it SO much easier to maneuver around my yard (hills, lanscape terraces with railroad ties, etc.). Why is it so hard to find a modern mower with the tall rear wheels that make them so much easier to use? All I want is a good reliable FWD mower with tall rear wheels...

p.s. - yes, the old equipment is definitely better, as long as you can still get parts for it.

I need to find a 10 HP replacement engine for my snow blowers 5 HP one.
If the snow is not light and powdery or even close to the max height it chokes unless I go dead slow.
The problem is it is a dual shaft engine and the auger belt runs in reverse direction to the other belt, so a single belt motor will not work.

After nursing my 15+ year old trimmer/wacker for the past few years and almost dislocating my shoulder trying to start it last summer I bought a new Echo SRM-225 on sale for $199.

Bought a quart of pre-mixed non-ethanol fuel and fired it right up. If there was any less effort to pull the starter it would start by looking at it. Ran like a top. Poured out the pre-mix and set the Echo aside for the winter.

This spring filled it up with the same can of pre-mix from last year and again it spun right up and worked like a charm.

BTW, that 40:1 or 50:1 pre-mix non-ethanol stuff you can buy for about $5 a quart works GREAT. Yea, I know, that's $20 a gallon but one $5 can lasts me all summer and there's no mixing oil and gas and no separate gas can and best of all no ethanol. Try it you'll like it.

Ran out of line and reloading the Speed Feed head that this model comes with was almost embarrassing. So easy and fool proof it's laughable.

Lot's of stuff was made better in the old days but once in a while technology pays off and this Echo is at least one instance.

Thing is, you can't be too narrow minded or stubborn or myopic to spot these rare occurrences where you get what you pay for today or they pass you by and you're left crying about the good old days.

I concur completely with JAL on this.
Started using Tru Fuel 3 years ago (in our aged Homelite string trimmer) and did it only because I was curious about the product (and because I got a gift card to Lowe's for my birthday, so it wasn't actually outta my pocket).
First season of use I noticed easier starting, heck.........my wife can start it.............and I love that.
And just as JAL reports, it starts first time of the season and all season long with 1 or 2 pulls.
Just having my wife volunteer to weed eat is worth $20 a gallon to me.
Yep, sometimes I get woke up on Saturday morning only because I hear her trimming outside the bedroom window.
Which means "Get the heck outta bed and fire up the tractor".
:^)

I did get a new Echo weed whacker and it's better than I expected.
Compared to tis new one, the old Sears we had seems cheap.
Starts with a couple pulls (first one pull with the choke on, then to 1/2), and so far I have yet to use more than 1/2 throttle.
As for replacing the string, no problem at all, just thread it 1/2 way through the head and twist it like a spool.

I'm using a seven-year-old Echo GT225 string trimmer. It usually takes 5 or 6 pulls to get it started, but it's still on the original plug and has had NO work done to it. We are lucky enough to still be able to get non-ethanol gas here, so I still mix my own fuel. I do add Sta-Bil to it, though. I go through a couple gallons of fuel every spring/summer (yes, I've got quite a bit of trimming to do, about an hour's worth every week). Put it up wet in the fall with fuel still in it, pull it out in the spring and it starts in five or six pulls. Been thinking about changing the plug, but I don't want to fix something that ain't broke.