Wow, both 1959! Must have been a great year
Your suggestion on the MK2 being off a Villager or Vampire looks pretty spot on from the images I've seen. What a gem of a motor though. The engineering of it is of an amazing standard, and pains me to admit that it is by far superior to Victa's of the same era, not to mention the availability of new/repro parts on A couple of UK websites, unlike the poor old Victa donks. It's sought of inspired me to pursue other earlier Villiers fitted mowers from the 50s, and I'm finally starting to understand why the fan mowers are so desireable.
Regarding the 3G/5G, I'm confused. Which is it or are they both the same? The Pace production list notes the Standard as having a 3G but John reckons its a 5G. Forgive my ignorance on this one!
A quick google search turned up a reference to Condeco being the parent company of Austral Villiers, so your theory proved correct, Mal. Nice work mate!
Thought I would post a link in this thread for a very cool Frankenstein of a Victa/Villiers edger that has come up on eBay. Looks to have a nice MK2 on it:
Victa Villiers edger A cheeky request, Mal. I'm neck deep in a model two Rotomo in the early 50 thousands, and am trying my best to make it a concourse quality restoration. I was hoping you could post a thread specifically detailing your collection of model twos, with a particular focus on a photographic progression from the early model twos through to your later examples. The minute details including fuel tap type, painting, decal positioning, throttle type etc, would make creating an accurate, factory correct restoration so much easier for myself, and I'm sure, many others. I ask this as many of the restorations I've seen lack consistency, and I'm pretty sure with your thorough and extensive knowledge on the model, would be able to clear up many of the discrepancies I've encountered. Feel free to tell me to go jump
