G'day

This is my first post, so please let me know if I'm in the wrong space.

After my grandfather's axe Victa mustang broke down last weekend I did an inventory:

Body - cracked in several places, golf ball sized hole in one side, flap mounting warn elliptical
Carb - leaking, electrical cut-out disabled/split, not much discrimination on throttle before it gave up,
Snorkel - taped up/ held in place by cable ties
Plastics - all broken in some way
Fuel tank - flopping about
Height adjuster - useless as has to be used on one of 3 highest settings
Motor -power torque retrofit missing top seal
Handle - bolted together with nylock nuts, bit wobbly
Wheels - bit wobbly
Starter - spring broken
Catcher - repaired with riveted steel plates

I decided, after having the body last 35+ years and this motor at least 15 that I needed a new basis for my workhorse mower. I have a couple of old "decorative" machines but this old thing didn't have a single good component.

Now, I don't like pressed steel bodies. They seem too impermanent, alloy bases for me and I like 2-strokes. The sound and smell are just "right" in my view I also appreciate their lightness and relative simplicity.

So, a bit of hunting on online sales and I found a "Celebrating Six Million Mowers" Gold Edition. My very brief research puts this machine at around 1999. The base looked good and the catcher seemed newish. It was all there with no obvious missing or broken parts. A few scuffs on the body and some torn stickers but overall it looked good. So I made contact and did the deal.

It starts first pull and runs well, but I think it needs a little tlc to give it some longevity. I have a few issues that I need to sort out.

Starting with the wheels - what a disgrace. These things are 15 years old and the mower seems to have had a relatively easy life, but they have plastic bearing cages, and one has collapsed and scored the axel where the balls have run directly on it. Both back bearing seats are out of round and loose due to the poor engineering. My old machine had bearings replaced a couple of times but it still sported original wheels.

So my first question: can someone please point me toward a good source of quality replacement wheels preferably with proper bearings? The fronts are 7" and the rears 8" and the axels are 9/16" (14mm). I'd like them to visually match the originals if possible. I'm hoping that the new bearings have broad seats to sit over the axel scoring.

Thanks for any help.

Ironbark