OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Model identifaction Victa 2 stroke

Hi all, hope everyone is well, I'm new to the forum.
Great amount of info on here, from heaps of members

Need some help if possible identfying a 2 stroke Victa mower,
Ive read a few other posts on here, which has helped but still cant id what mower it is:(

Number on block behind carby is 260 87 and also EN72804Z
Im guessing the 87 is the year as i read that in another post.
From what ive read it is a POWER-TORQUE 2 stroke

No sticker on top of the air filter housing im afraid, there is a 427 stamped into plastic on the side of air filter housing however.
And also a 427 stamp on side of head
No sticker on top of mower cover either which makes it a little harder again (well for unexperienced like myself)

Ive also posted some photos
hope you guys can help.

Thanks very much in advance

Hi Charlie21 ,

I would say this Victa is a Commando, build date of the 42nd week in 1987. POWER-TORQUE 2 stroke.


Cheers
Max.

Max, not 100% sure, but by 1987, I think commandos had chrome upturned handle bars (my 1985 does).

Charlie21's seems more like a matador 2 stroke or Pacer - but then it has ball bearing wheels ... interesting

Matador and commando

commando and pacer

Regards
Tyler

Hi Charlie
Welcome here, what are your plans for this and do you have the missing carby?

It is an early PT base as it still has the 3 ribs along the top of the schute. Apart from that they made millions of those and by now many parts have been mixed and matched so identification is often iffy..

Morning guys,
thankyou for the posts,

WOW old newspaper photos those were the days:).
I noticed both photos of the commando cowling on newspaper photos are not the same as mine (the cowlings flat part and cowling sticker goes from front to back on the commandos while it goes left to right on my 87 and the pacer and matador newspaper photos

I imagine over the years some parts have been changed which makes identification hard. I took some more part numbers to maybe try and help identify
ST12644A - taken from starter wheel assembly
CA09338G - Blade holder assembly
AF07481 - Inside snorkel

However i have compared these part numbers with all the "87" models on this parts book https://pushmowerrepair.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Spare-Parts-Reference-1970-1991.pdf
And none of them matched. (sorry to link to another website - i could not find this parts book on outdoorking)

The only "visual match" i could find was the cowling with the newer parts book (but this parts book is dated 1990-2002 and 1999-2002 on front cover) https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/images/...%20Manual%201990%20to%20Early%202000.pdf

The match i found was "V160 cowling vantage" on page 24-25


I actually picked this mower up as it was being thrown out. The carby had been dismantled and missing a few bits in carby, no spark plug, broken spark lead
I originally brought it back home to use for parts for my 83 silverstreak, as the reving on my silverstreak is being a little irratic lately, so i took some carby parts and sparkplug onto this 87 mower, and it started first pull!
While stripping the parts of my silverstreak, i noticed the carby was filthy on my silverstreak, so ive decided to purchase a couple carby kits for both mowers, to try and get the both going.

The G4 or LM (im not sure of difference if some1 could point that out) carby on my silverstreak and this 87 mower are different

My old silverstreak has a very different black diaphram and also a "fast slow" dial, while the newer 87 has the green diaphram and does not have this slow fast dial

Ive taken some more photos for you guys which might help in further identifcation, plus of the differences in the carby between my 83silverstreak and this 87 victa

Thanks again!

Hello Charlie21,
nice to have another Victaphile join the Victa 2 stroke army lol.
Good on you saving it instead of going down the path of stripping for bits. It looks to have a good body. That top belongs on the lowest priced models with it's smaller fuel cap and more exposed engine.
I quite like the exposed engine look myself.
In the 80's era there were three main tiers of engine dress cowl. Your one shown, a lower slung square one with bigger fuel cap that covered the engine fins, and a more fancy one that sloped at the front beyond the exhaust. I have examples of all three in my collection.
Can we see your Silver Streak? That chassis was way better than the pressed steel version. Does it have a good catcher? They were the weak point as well as erosion of the base in extremely sandy soil and damage from striking rocks and stones.

Hi All,

Yes it is difficult to positively id this mower when you don't know if the parts are original ,like
fuel tank ,wheels,handle bars,engine ,etc.

The 1987 newspaper ad was the only 1987 ad I could find with the large Victa decal on the front of the base instead
of the small Victa badge.

I found a 1985 Commando Victa mower rusting away out back and thought it looked very similar except for the
top plastics on motor and my model number on the air cleaner says it's a 1984 model but the engine number
shows 1985.

Cheers
Max.

Hello Max, MF, Norm, Tyler, and Charlie.
I'm glad this is not my area of expertise!

Charlie, you have Victa experts commenting here.
I'll just throw in what I found. I don't know what it means.

Victa does seem to follow a certain logic.

Max has pointed out the difficulties here - after three decades!
Replacement parts, etc.

But even if the parts were original, it may not narrow the field to identification.
This is because Victa never published parts lists for store brands.

Victa were quite happy to customize mowers to client's need, but would never
offer the latest features for store brands. At best, Victa offered the
same features as their then current budget range.

Looking at this case, the best evidence was the '260 87' Charlie gave.

In my incomplete Victa Spares Manual for 86-87 I found a reference to a '260'.
[see below].

Also note that the 'Wildcat' does appear again in the Victa Code reference for 1987-88,
but does not appear in the 1987-88 Victa Spares Manual.

My best guess is a Wildcat, or a store brand made with premium wheels,
but with budget cowling, handle and decals.

Maybe ...
------------------------
Jack

Jack, I think you have hit the nail on the head

One of the store brands with a few little up market add ons for the shops newspaper ads ' now with ball bearing wheels for only...'

Maxwestern's mower in his pics is an example of the 1980's mid tier cover I talked about in my last post.
Here is one with the "highest status" cover with the protruding front.

Hi guys,
sorry for the delayed reply.
been doing 15 hour days this whole week... wake up, work, sleep, repeat. joys of coming to the silly season!

Thanks for the posts, and i think Jack might be on to something there espicially since it had the 260 on the wildcat
I see what Mowerfreak and Maxwestern are showing with the different cowling tiers. Thankyou for showing them

From re lookin at newspaper ads, the matador Tyler mentioned looks like it had a full sticker on front of mower (see where the white is) so it could be that still but the 260 jack showed, looks like it has the most revelance

I got some photos of my Silverstreak 83. Shes not in the best shape, but, best mower ive ever used.
Dad bought it second hand in 96, which we used heavily to cut an almost half acre block. (used to take me a good half a day to do!) eventually dad bought a 4 stroke masport maybe in 2002, and i continued to used this silverstreak over the masport as i felt like it didnt bog down as much as the masport if the lawn was abit long, plus the masport catcher used to give me the sh!ts!, dropping all the time. So when I moved out, dad ended up giving me the 83 silverstreak, i ended up doing piston and rings in it about 8 years ago, and has been brilliant since, and my god can does she rev!, like shes going to take off! Just lately a little carby issues but now i got all the parts to redo carby. Only other thing it has, while cutting the lawn, the height adjustment will jump. I need to check why its doing this.

But overall the catcher is brilliant on the silverstreak.. it never and i mean never falls off. Good solid mower, apart from dad having to rivet an aluminium plate:D. This is why i cant let go of it and continue to repair it:)

Mowerfreak, "Does it have a good catcher? They were the weak point as well as erosion of the base in extremely sandy soil and damage from striking rocks and stones."
For which mowers had these common issues? Was this the silverstreak issues or the 87 series issues?

Charlie21 thanks for the pics!
That looks to be a Corsair base with a Silver Streak engine/ engine cover fitted. The Silver Streak base is painted in hammered silver but is otherwise the same as that.
It looks like that base fell victim to a rock strike hence the armour plating. That machine sure looks like it earns its keep, good on you for replacing the rings and piston so it can continue going strong. Too many of my mowers sit for years at a time unused. Your one works hard!
That particular catcher shape is a keeper. They were one of three main catcher shapes that fit on that series of mower base and that moulding seems to be the most hardy from cracking in my observations.
If only Norm K lived within reasonable driving distance from you, as he regularly throws away good bases like yours as he has no use for them without a suitable catcher.

I have a similar mower in my collection called the Corvette with the older non ball bearing wheels. You certainly notice the difference in the pushing. This one is the first series, the mark II got the ball bearing wheels like yours.

I was thinking the silver streak didn't have a green deck MF - although they are completely identical under the paint.

Like the 'vette, I have an identical one from the curbside collection in march - need to patch the muffler, new pull cord, and gap the coil (rounded bolt though and can't get it off) - will get done over christmas

when I picked it up I had the big bob in the boot, and the corvette and Monaro 4 stroke on the back seat haha

Hi Tyler and Charlie 21,
Tyler, on your first point that is correct. Exact same base.
On the second paragraph regarding the rounded bolt, have you tried vice grips? Two other options are the Super wrench set that grip pipes. One saved my skin removing a rounded nut in a tight spot holding the metal covering on the 160 on a beaten up VC 160 bitsa I covered in another thread. Also you can get these clever sockets with inward facing teeth that are designed to tackle rounded bolts it nuts and other odd shaped fasteners.

Charlie 21, I forgot to clarify that the mower prone to cracking catchers and rock strikes is your older alloy deck mower, as shown with your dad's patch up job.
Your catcher appears to be in good nick although the lip at the bottom of the entry isn't visible and that is a vulnerable part to cracking and damage. With the second 1987 mower it's rusting of the steel base you have to worry about. That's why it's important to wash and/ or brush out any caked up clippings from nooks on the underside regularly, especially where the handles attach too the body as that is a notorious rot area, particularly the left hand side.

MF, tried vice grips as well, no go.

Those gripping socket sets are on special at repco this week, so I plan on picking up a set, soaking some penetrene into it and giving it a go

I broom and scrape out the deck after every mow - should extend the life a bit hopefully

You've got your finger on the pulse. I picked up a 3/8 set for $29.00 last week at my local Repco. Made in Taiwan not China, that's what really sold me.

Hi Tyler,
as a last resort if you can get at the head of the bolt with a cut off wheel and cut the head off, then you can remove the coil and then get the vice grips etc onto the stub to get it out.

MF,
I used to have loads of the F/C alloy bodies here but the supply of these seems to have completely dried up, once where I could pick up 10/15 mowers in a job lot is no more. Not that I want them but even Briggs and Stratton have almost vanished, I only have 4 untested/looked at Briggs in the shed. 12 months ago I never thought I would ever get close to going through all the mowers here. I have about 30 tested/running PT motors but I only have 2 F/C tested/running ones. They are getting really hard to find these days, I might have to start paying more for these.

I wonder if that pattern is nation wide and power torques are well on their way to getting rarer since production ceased? I think people are still throwing them out at a feverish rate due to little issues or attrition due to increased incidence of straight fueling by people who have no idea.
Hopefully people are discovering them and taking then away before the trucks arrive to crush them in the compactor.

Not seeing any mowers being thrown out of late, not even Chondas, no idea where they are ending up. I still have over 30 running PT's that I can build into mowers if I can come up with wheels.

Still plenty on the roadsides here in Medowie, geebuz, I'd be divorced well and truly if I picked up every mower I see here with monotonous regularity.
I throw newspapers 2 to 3 days a week and at O dark O 'clock you'd be surprised how good the pickings are for an alert "that'll come in handy one-day" picker like myself
I question the mentality and the capabilities of most modern-day households these days, how hard is it to change a spark plug or clean the air filter on that mower before you decide to hoik it out?.
Honestly, the waste I see is stunning, to say the least.

If I had $1 for every wheelbarrow or bbq I saw last curbside collection, I'd have at least $100 in my pocket if not more

I am also a 'that will come in handy' picker. And it also shocks me at how inept at basic repairs and maintenance most men are

The tip was full of stuffed chondas last time I went, only old briggs on stuffed masport and victa decks the time before.

Curbside not too bad - last collection (about 18 km^2) yielded a FC charger, quantum 35 masport, a tonne of whipper snipper parts, stihl fs66, honda gx110, honda deck, kaaz trimmer (minus engine) and some other good stuff.
Lots of things, but not many 2 strokes. The collection before (although I didnt look as well) yielded the corvette and some 4 strokes
Maybe its still ok over here because WA didn't get aldi stores (and $129 aldi mowers) until years after the east coast - but masters and bunnings had plenty of cheap mowers so I don't know

MF, I can just about assure you that the only mowers that seem to go in the crusher are ozito electrics

Got the non slip sockets at repco today by the way

I'd be happy with .50c for every pedestal fan thrown out.

Must be a lot of money wasted on gym equipment as it is always in the hard rubbish piles. Some years ago a mate brought over a walking machine somebody had given him, it was in excellent condition. I ended taking it around to the tip shop but they didn't want it, didn't bother looking at it, said they had too many and couldn't sell them, told me to dump it in the scrap bin

Note how I said that Medowie was a goldmine of "that'll come in handy one day" stuff?

Well also remember how I said I throw rolled newspapers a few days a week?

This was this morning's picking for you 2 strokeophiles to feast your lavicious eyes upon.

Oh, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

I might have to move to Medowie

Ooh lord, someone stuck a Tecumseh on that classic base! Never seen that before. Judging by the orientation, it shouldn't be too hard to fit a PowerTorque to it.
Proof's in the pudding. Unfortunately, you don't find many mowers on the Central Coast, or at least I'm missing out. May have to start hunting.

Not to mention the 2 Chondas I have saved from destruction.

They both were used to power those popular Pressure Cleaners from Supa Cheep, Repko, Oughto Shed and the like.

The Chondas all worked like a dream when disconnected from the incredibly complex and equally Poo quality water pumps they were meant to drive.

A 5.5hp Torini Horizontal drive and a 3 hp Not Sure Horizontal drive as well.

Got the Corvette out, grabbed the new toothed socket set - has 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 mm etc sockets - and the coil bolts are either 9mm or imperial ... bugger

Grabbed the penetrene and sprayed a bit on - could see the rust bubbling. Tried again, nothing. Sprayed again, went away to move a pot plant, came back and there was some movement.

Wriggled back and forth and the bolt finally came undone. It really is marvelous stuff - sprayed wd40 and rp7 on it 50 times without improvement.


OF54, yesterday I went to Karcher to see how much a hose, lance and nozzle would be for one I picked up on the curbside last week (briggs quantum engined late 90s model).

Almost had a heart attack - he said $350 for a hose and lance - insane

Sorry for the delay guys, its been crazy busy with work
MF thanks for the info regarding the bases

I found some time today to get in the garage and rebuild both the carbies and fix up a few issues with them. It seems all that was majorly wrong with the 87 model apart from the carby being stripped by previous owner, was the fuel cap had no hole in it, so the tank couldnt breathe and the motor would starve for fuel after about 1 min run

And my old dads mower, the filter in the bottom of the tank was clogged.... so it too was starving for fuel. ah well they both got a carby rebuild and a service and they should be good for a while
Just need to get a couple of air filters for both, and i need to work out the blades as im majorly confused.
Bunnings sell genuine Victa blades with model CA09434B, but the old victya parts list showed the part number is CA09306S.... so im not sure what the go is there...they look the same to what was on my mower

Regarding dads mower, when they put the silverstreak cover on it, they must of swapped the air cleaner hose assembly aswell, and i just checked the Victa parts book........ Dads mower which is a KU398 A1 Is actually not listed in there.... so it might actually be older? as A2 means revision 2 right?

Catcher is great on dads mower.
I used both mowers today and i gotta say... dads mower, is so much nicer to use... the high arch of the catcher allow you to cut overgrown lawn so much easier ( yes it was high cause boht mowers out of action).

Regarding people throwing things out.. i do electrical maintenance as a job..... Im a 86 born and i can tell you the generation born from the 80's till now have little to no knowledge in how to repair or even use simple tools like a screwdriver. There is obviously a small percentage that do .. but you would be surprised what people cannot do. I cant comment on how many jobs ive gone to, because they cant change simple light globes. Its actually quite pathetic in my opinion, makes me wonder how they get by with every day life. Its either they are just too lazy or really have no interest in learning to be able to do anything for themselves........ aswell as it has become a throw away world unfortunately.. and the second an item doesn't work, instead of spending 5 mins on it to see if it can be fixed, they would rather just throw it out....

Such a waste of resources, people dont realize that one day.... it will run out..
And manufacturers are half to blame to for the crap that they make today. They make nothing to last, and thats a huge waste on resources aswell. They shouldnt be allowed to make anything unless its half descent.. all these ozitos and aldi equipment.,... *rolls eyes*

Good to see you NormK not letting them go to waste... its quite amazing 30-40 year old 2 strokes still going strong and people throwing out 5 year old mowers.. probably only because the fuel filter got dirty like my dads one

Tyler i have never heard of that penetrene stuff... i think i might need to get a can of it for a rainy.. defenitely will come in handy one day

Also what does F/C stand for?

Hi Charlie21

FC stands for full crank - meaning the engine has a bearing at both ends of the crank shaft, half cranks have one so there is a cantilever effect. Having 2 bearings result in longevity, smoothness and less vibration.

Your silver streak is FC, the other is HC half crank (which we generally refer to as PT - PowerTorque

Also https://www.bigw.com.au/product/supercut-blade-bolt-kit-victa-18-inch/p/501179/ . Made by GA spares - half the price of bunnings

Penetrene pressure pack is $20 at Bursons - but is worth every cent

I have personally had really good runs out of cheap tools like ozito, xu1, kmart performer, aldi. But I take care of them - they aren't hardy like metabo, Hilti or old Makita's