I am new to tinkering with mowers, and have had a lot of fun over the last couple of days getting a couple of old mowers going again. My dad has always had Victa mowers, and i think it's like being either a ford or HOLDEN!! family, I grew up in a Victa family. I remember a couple of old mowers that dad had, rope start ones with the tank in the handles, looking at the listings i think they might have been the Model 5 utility.
My tinkering started the other week when the new plastic fantastic Victa crapped out whilst mowing. I wanted to get the lawn finished so i got the trusty old 67 Utility out and fired it up. I probably hadn't been going for 10 years, but after a plug clean and a spray of WD-40 down the plug hole and a couple of pulls it fired back into life and i finished the mowing with it. I forgot how good it was to use, no automatic rev thing, if you want to rev it into long grass it just keeps on going I fixed the plastic fantastic machine (Commando VSX160) but i kept using the old Utility more. The pull rope broke so i went and brought some more and also some new plugs. The carby started leaking so i pulled that off, cleaned it out and put it all back together with a new gasket i had to make myself. Next i got my late uncles newer Utility out, it was covered in dust and maybe not started for 15 years. Pulled it all apart and gave it a good clean, and flushed the tank (looked like all the fuel had evaporated but the oil sludge remained). Had to replace the ignition lead cap aswell. Gave it another squirt of the WD-40 down the plug hole put in some fresh fuel and it started on the second pull. I then remembered the problem this mower had, it has a bad sounding noise like metal knocking about (see video). Despite this it still worked fine on a test run and performed well. Next i decided to get the older maybe 65 model Utility out for a clean. This mower was my old uncles first mower before he brought the newer utility, and since i now live on his old farm it has a special bit of history. I pulled the cowl off and cleaned off a tonne of gunk, pulled the muffler off and gave that a tap and blow out. I then pulled the carby off and apart for a clean and i was surprised how well it looked despite the broken bit of brass on the cable that screws into the top. I flushed the tank and was ready to fire it up when i went to pull the plug out for a clean. The plug had been shimmed up to try and hold it in, but there was no thread left at all for the plug to grip on. Besides the stripped thread, it is also missing some vanes off the flywheel thing. I am not sure how this will effect it, i guess it will run hotter but im afraid it might also be badly out of balance aswell. This mower is the one i now want to fully retstore, and repaint as you can see they have been painted by my dad in a darker green. I then found another old (plastic carb model) that dad got somewhere for parts or just the wheels. Im not sure what it's like but i will probably try and get that going aswell. It might get attacked with some flames from my airbrush!
I race Nitro rc cars, which has inspired me to try my hand at fixing the victa's (if i can put a pull start back on a .12 motor a Victa is so much easier), the two strokes are such a joy to work on. If it has fuel and spark it should go.... in theory!
I am now on the hunt for a Model 5 and also parts for the 65 Utility so i can restore it, namely a new head and perhaps a name plate that i think was bolted on the front.
Anyway so heres my video
And a few questions.
1. What will the missing flywheel vanes do?
2. Is there anyway to fixed the stripped plug hole?
3. Where can i find a listing of the mowers since 68?
4. I think the older 65-67 utilities i have are 125cc, is this right? I was hoping i could steal the head off the other one but it's 160cc.
5. Did the 65 Utility have a brass name plate?
Any info on the identity of the mowers would be appreciated.
The missing flywheel vanes may make the engine run unbalanced and a bit hotter, if it were only one or two missing ones it may be okay, but any more you are really ytring to push it.
Easiest way to repair that head would be to replace the head from another victa 125.
to fix the stripped plug hole you could buy a helicoil or timesert or keysert spark plug kit, or ring around to find a lawn mower/auto shop that would be able to insert a new thread for you.
Hi marty,good to see you are a carefull tinker,with my 63-victa i got the info on (history of victa mowers)and printed all models.lots of info on this site and the web in general...ken
Hi all, i did a ring around the other day to see what i could do about the stripped thread. One mower place said they could do it, vbut they needed to order a special heli coil or something and it would cost around $80! One place i rang told me to ring another shop, the local Victa dealer as they might have a few out the back ... no luck. I also asked them about a throttle cable for one... they nearly laughed at me
I found a seller online that has offered a head for $5, Flywheel for $5, Throttle cable $10 and maybe some wheels cheap.
I also placed a free advert on my local radio stations "Tradeo" Buy swap and sell section, and said i was after an old rope pull model and parts.
Got a call from a guy called Graham Anderson in a nearby town who i think mainly wanted to chat about Victas which was good. This guy is a real enthusiast, and has been in a few articles like below http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/20/1032054916265.html
Another guy from my town rang and it turns out i know him fairly well. He does up old mowers now he is a retired mechanic. He has offered to give me for free an old rope pull model with the tank in the handles!!! I am about to go out to pick it up soon. I will post some pics once i bring it home. Stay tuned.
Ken i will have to have a look for some more info online, i have collected that brochure from the victa site, its been helpful to try and identify them. Hoping to get some manuals too but i will have to wait to pay the subscription here to get them.
Turns out the mower wasn't a rope start model at all....It's actually a newer version of the 67 Utility i already have. Looks very similar but has a more light weight handle and a plastic pull start cover, and the tank in the front. Was going to use it for parts as the wheels look good, but the whole mower is fairly complete so i will probably restore get it going again.
Also spoke to another guy from town who is probably the most well renowned mower fixer for miles around. He has around 30 victa models and all the early ones except a model 2 and a peach tin. Taking the camera there tomorrow so that should be good!
