OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Victa Viceroy Restoration

The Viceroy is a tricky one, and one of the cases where even the documentation comes into question...

The Viceroy in the museum image is indeed original and correct to the day of it's manufacture, it is technically NOS. This machine was a display model, and not just a display model in a shop, but one of a collection once retained by Victa themselves. 1n 1997 it was donated by victa to the powerhouse museum (MASS) in 1997. It has subsequently not been on public display all that much, and is kept in storage along with a number of Victa mowers. in 2010, after an enquiry requesting details about a number of machines in the warehoused collection, I had the pleasure of being able to view this mower and a few others in person, sadly I was not allowed to take photographs, but I was able to take notes, and somewhere in my storage unit I have a book in which I noted the engine number of this machine.

Now, as for the documentation regarding the Viceroy, there are two models of viceroy noted in the victa model guides, both of which are denoted as 1962-1963, these are the V14 and V15 or 505 and 517 respectively... However, it is also worth noting that the official victa model guides that specify these two models date from the early 1970's, and were created retrospectively at the point where the V-Code system was put into practice. There is not necessarily an assurance that all detail was taken into account in imagery designating which catchers or other parts were specifically relevant considering the near decade old mowers in question when these guides were released.

I do recal having encountered more detailed information that was released much closer to the date of these machines, however I'll have to head to storage and get the shovel out to see if I can't unearth that semi-formed memory...

My suspicion is that the viceroy was released in two consecutive runs, 1962-1963 and 1963-1964, the two different styles of grasscatcher flap on the chasis seem to align with other models of these two year brackets. I also note that I've seen little to confirm the imagery from Victa of a Viceroy with the tank mounted on top of the cowl, behind the starter, which leads me to wonder if this image could be somewhat incorrect, and indeed the later catcher design be what should be shown here.