OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Welcome to Outdoorking Forum HELP Area Introductions 1st Mower Project - Beginner

Hi All I'm new to this hobby and I've only got basic mechanical skills with lawn mowers. It's a great hobby from what I can see. What would be a good 1st project to start that's not too hard but where I could learn some stuff? Would it be trying to find a dead mower on a hard rubbish collection and see if I could get it started? Thanks Ted

Hello Ted and welcome,

Sounds like a plan. What mowers have you used before? I would suggest grabbing an old Victa 2 stroke and seeing if you can make her run, but I don't know whether you have used a 2 stroke before? I am a newbie as well to this, and apart from some light work on my own gear, I am in the process of acquiring my own first 'project' which I have to pick up from an ebay seller. But since I have previous experience and enthusiasm for the Victas, it was an easy choice for me.

The only problem with picking up a dead mower, as I see it, is if it has some issue like a ruined bore, or some other problem that would require specialist tools and experience to get anywhere with. It could lead to frustration, unless you just want to open it up and see how everything fits together, which isn't a bad idea in a way.

Good advice. As per other post. I got the Victa commando in my avatar photo she it supposedly didn't run but I just changed the fuel and spark plug and it started 3rd pull It had a note saying it didn't run stuck on it but I reckon someone had just out straight fuel Ill let you all know what I get up to Thanks Sapper

Hi Ted, you only get about 10 mins out of these motors if they are straight fueled, then it is a scrap bin job.

Ok

looks like you have caught the bug Ted12 . there is a wealth of info here. and plenty of us to help .👍

Hi Guys What do you think about the green Victa mower in the photo as a first proper project ? Guy is only asking $25, he said it stopped working some years ago and has been sitting in the shed. Worst thing is I can't get it going and I just end up taking apart the carby and engine and learning a bit. What do you think?

Perfect for a first project. My first Victa was a 1990 Standard 2 (identical to this but grey - actually might have been 1 below this green one as mine has the more basic wheels) - I paid $15 for it with catcher

I see a muffler rust hole at the front (probably patchable, but a very clean deck - no rear left rust near the handle mount.

All round looks very reasonable - rip the muffler off and have a look for piston scoring before having a go at repairing - wouldn't suggest this before sale as they can be a PITA to get back on

At the very least, its good for a play around with the carby - the starter alone is worth $25 online

Hard to check for compression without isolating the decomp valve, you could just try to compare the degree of wooshing noise with your keystart commando - that being said a straight fueled engine still gives a decent woosh sound from the decomp, so no easy way. I would suggest removing the spark plug and checking for speckles of aluminium transfer - a sure sign of engine damage.

I would snap it up Ted if it is reasonably local. Offer him a redback for taking it off his hands. If nothing else it will be good to play around with and looks like it has some usable common parts that could be used on other projects.

Be careful Ted, I only offer $10 for a non running Victa with a catcher, $5 without, as it is not running you can never tell if it has been straight fueled and I always point this out to the seller. If you ever see a plug that is a light brownish colour you can 90% guarantee it has been straight fueled

Thanks for the advice Norm

I secured the mower above for $20 yesterday late evening. Seems really solid to me, wheels and catcher good and surprisingly little paint missing. I really like the green, cool color. The cap over the air filter is missing and filter looks like its ruined. I just had a quick look this morning before work in the dark. Took the plug out and looks okay from my layman eyes. I checked and also the plug is getting a spark. The tap from the fuel tank definitely working but when I pushed the fuel primer bulb didn't hear the whooshing sound of fuel. Got a feeling it could be a carby problem. I'm away this weekend but can't wait to get in to troubleshooting it next week. :yay:

Hi Ted12 You don't hear any sound when you push the primer bulb so I wouldn't be worried about that. If you have spark, compression and fresh fuel it will run. If it doesn't then the diagnosis begins. Don't be tempted to keep pushing the primer as they flood easily. If the air filter housing cap is missing it is not a problem if it has been stored under cover but make sure the air intake is clear. If they are left outside rain or sprinkler water will run down the air snorkel into the engine which is not ideal. A word of warning about beginning to play with mowers, it's very similar to the coronavirus ( in your case Victavirus ) and once it takes hold is very difficult to contain. Start clearing out the shed now or start plans to get a larger one. Have fun wce

Thanks WCE Unfortunately I've only got a small shed so will have to keep it under control :) I'll buy a new spark plug next week and change the fuel and give a try. Previous spark plug was in the port a bit sloppy so the previous owner must have played around with it but I can see its old so hasn't replaced it. I reckon a bit of rain could have got down the air filter snorkel thing on the push bars as it might have been stored outside in the rain and the cover is missing off the air filter snorkel thing so some water could have drained down. Do you know where you can buy one of these covers from ? I've seen the air filter on ebay etc but not the cover. Yes when you put your hand over the spark plug port with the plug removed it makes a nice whooshing breeze when you pull the starter. Do you bother to use a compression tester ? If so what one do you have ? Do you really need it ? Thanks

Hey Ted, You should be able to find another Victa soon enough that has a cover. Or try contacting some of the online stores and see if they have one. Quick tip; Don't start looking to see if any more Victas are for sale or around. You will start finding multiple bargains, and maybe just one more mower could be squeezed in...I am desperately trying to fight off the virus at the moment.

Funny you guys mention keep mentioning coronavirus , someone will read this forum in 10 years time and won't know what you are talking about

Hi Ted12 Only spend the bare minimum to get it going then decide what you are going to do with it. If it looks like being expensive to get it going keep it for spares and move onto the next one, they aren't worth much even in good running condition ( unless you can convince someone it's an SB 45 ) Don't worry about the filter cap til you have it going and your happy with it, if the spark plug has a decent spark don't replace it. Not sure what you mean by sloppy in the port, was it finger tight or does the thread in the head look damaged, the plugs don't need a lot of tension when tightening, its Alloy. They have a decompression valve so you wont feel full compression when you pull it over. If you take the valve off and fit the spark plug into the hole then put your finger over the spark plug hole there should be a heap of compression when you wind it over. The head bolt in the picture doesn't look right which indicates someone has had a go at something. Cheers wce

That is a funky colour alright. A set of yellow wheel covers will set that off, as I used to see one in that combination in the former mowed shop down the street and it always caught my eye -then again any mower catches my eye lol.

Plug doesn't look the best to me, I guess somebody cleaned it trying to get it running. Even if you have spark on the plug don't trust it try a couple of plugs

Hi NormK, what colour should it ideally be? I look for any sign of life and run with that. Has worked 99%'of the time.