The architecture of machine self-reproduction proposed by John von Neumann is studied within an artificial life platform known as Avida. To shed light on the evolutionary potential of the von Neumann style self-reproduction within the Avida world, we preliminarily characterise a hand-designed self-reproducer by extensive single-point mutation analysis. Although not surprisingly, the vast majority of the single-point mutants were classified as infertile, whereas the rest minorities as fertile and as yet unclassified. We conclude this paper by suggesting the possible enhancement of the analysis.