OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Off Topics Deal of the Century (for me anyway)

Thanks fellas,

Some more pictures I took earlier. Also looks like a new way they connected the cutout cables.

I'm jealous with that new baby of yours. We'll done!!
I notice it's got the more emissions friendly set up.

The 84 looks in very good nick apart from the obligatory worn left side. Mine has that too. I had to use Selleys Knead It "steel" to reconstruct my repainted FC gold base LH side. There was just enough aluminum left to use to build upon. It was horribly worn. Looks great now.

I want an honest review in your proposed mow off of your parents yard!!

Thanks for the pictures!

Hey MF,

Still waiting for the grass to grow super thick and long. It took some persuasion, and the promise I would show up to do it promptly, to allow it to happen haha. Hopefully this week the PT Mustang will face the FC Corvette.

I know most people on here will scoff at these two just being Powertorques, and they prefer the vintage mowers, but I have always liked the PT mowers. Hopefully one day the longest serving Victa engine will get the love it deserves .

Yeah, I have never understood the worn left sides on every second hand mower. I used to get blown up whenever I got lazy and tried doing that when young, and that was when we had to use an edging tool (wheel on a stick) and a tomahawk and shears to cut the grass around the trees, etc.

I know the new Mustang has an 'Eco Torque' engine, but what are the exact differences from the earlier engines? Are those cutouts part of it? I don't want to stumble on something if I ever have to fix them and think 'wtf is this?'.

Don't be jealous mate. It was blind, ridiculous luck. And the stupidity of a chain of people that allowed me to score it for a fistful of dollars. I doubt I will see that kind of luck again. And then when we take into account all of the mowers you have...GTS mustang, Vortex etc etc...now I'm getting jealous!

Just an update here.

Mower runs perfectly, however, never having used a 4 bladed mower at my place before, and the front yard being a notoriously dry dusty lawn (I always give it a light sprinkle with the hose before mowing), jesus....what a dust storm! Is this normal to have such a huge difference with 4 over 2 blades? I pushed on and finished, but I was sorely tempted to switch off and grab one of the 2 blade victas to finish the job with. Never had that amount of dust with them. If this is normal, I think I might take 2 of the blades off the Mustang, as I cannot see a cut quality difference.

I can't see how four blades kicks up more dust any more than it cuts better.
I say why spend twice as much to change the blades.
You can save the blades and bolts for when the remaining two eventually need replacing. Double your mileage out of the four.

Those two mowers look great as a pairing. No way they look 35 years apart.

Yes Sapper - much more suction. It sand blasts the lawn and the alloy deck (wears it out over time). Very common over here in wa

This is why honda sell pairs of high and low lift blades - marginally better cut of 4 without too much vacuum

I push my steel deck mowers down to the verge and run 2000 rpm for 30 sec to a minute - gets 1/2 the grass off and halves my cleaning work after each mow. Only takes 15 minutes to get the mower ready for the shed

2 sharp blades better than 4 blunt in my opinion

Hi Sapper and Tyler,


The blade carrier you would have in the 4 blade machine would be the "Mulch and Catch" unit which creates far more turbulence underneath, also the blades would be the bigger high lift units as well which wouldn't be helping your cause.

Cheers,
BB.

Sapper,
The mower is no good, so just put it back in the shed and next time I'm up your way I will give you $50 so you get your money back

Hey guys,

Thanks Norm. You are a life saver! I will polish it up so you can pick it up once we all leave quarantine.

Tyler, I see what you mean. It is a sandy front yard.

BB, so even with two blades removed, it will still create a lot of suction?

MF, I was kind of thinking about saving costs along with toning down the Vortex. Perfect excuse.

I have to admit, that is one area in which I hadn't really given much thought; turbulence underneath the mower. Here I was thinking I have the perfect mower and boom, gotcha! I guess I will have to put some effort into laying down some topsoil and see if I can get some decent grass growing out the front, and until that happy day, the Mustang will be shorn of a couple of blades and be relegated to backyard duties. Until Norm picks it up anyway...

Thankfully I have spare mowers eh?

The Wife will have to listen to science; the right tool for the job. Thanks fellas.

Hi Sapper,

You'll see the extra upward sections pressed in that create the upward draft in the carrier.

I guess two blades will ever so slightly reduce it but you'll hardly notice the difference I'd say.

Cheers,
BB.

Hey Sapper,

B_B brings up a factor I didn't think of. The fins in the disc must be the main culprit. You can always bolt in a regular blade carrier if you don't want to mulch with it. I have a four blade disc without the fins in the disc.

I think you have found the perfect purpose for the Tornado. Front yard duties. Sand will gradually weather away an alloy base. I have seen the result on a 70s VC -Sports after years of sandy soil and there were entire gashes through the base!

This may work in the Tornado's favour in keeping the underside clean of rust and preventing it's spread.

Yep it's those Mulch and Catch fins indeed. Just change to an earlier carrier and your problems will be solved, now on to Corona Virus, how do we solve that issue and all the price gouging that's now happening now..........wow $10.00 for a 5 Kg bag of potatoes that were around $5.00 normally.

BB,
that is not price gouging, it is supply and demand, I've got it, you want it, how much do you want it, just like gold and silver prices are up and down

So that makes it right does it ? I always find that when there's misery going around some people use it as an excuse to extort and make hay.

Sorry not in my book.

Hey MF,

What I will do is give the Tornado a thorough check all over, and see how much rust, if any, has developed. And then make a decision. The engine is in perfect condition. All the seals are perfect, and the bore, piston and crank area is clean as a whistle.

I have always cleaned the bottom off, and then applied WD-40 under the deck. I then also spray WD-40 on various metal bits here and there (handle bolts and so on). Some areas where a bit of rust has formed, I have rubbed it back and applied penetrol, which is an old army trick the oldsters taught us years back. I think it was an old Navy thing they used on the docks, ships, etc. This stuff really stops rust in its tracks, and forms a hard coating, but I haven't used it under a deck before, so don't know how well it would do there.

There is some emotional attachment to it, so I will really give it a good looking over.