OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Finding and Swapping Rare Finds & Donations victa VC 160 series 1

found this 1 thown out started 1 st go cuts good cheers steve.

Nice find there Steve!

What you have is actually a second series VC-160, the first had a wind up starter, and different badges.

Looks to be in immaculate condition, and almost perfectly original!

If you decide you want to restore it to original, Like Jeffery (Blumbly) has done, Its a great starting point, You have a few things on your side, such as what appear to be the original cowl screws (Slight lip on the outer edge) and the correct green pull cord handle, and fuel cap.

What i can see that you would need to change would be the cap on the air filter (what you have is a 1971 model, Parts code V96) and the plastic head on the throttle lever (should be thumb grip, not t-bar)

Also, the spark plug is supposed to use the cable that has to be screwed on, I cant tell if that's what you have or not, but the cover is not original either.

Apart from those 3 things, I cant see anything in the pictures that should not be there.

If you decide you want to do a full restore on it, Let me know, as i can send you some of the parts you need!

[Censored] I wish I could find more like that.Would make restoring a lot easier.

Yep It sure is a great example of this mower, I'm sure you will find one like this one day Jeffery!

Here is a little more for you Steve:

1)These Pictures show you some of the Original things you will need.
2)And here are some links to parts for this mower you can get from the online store
3)This is the start of the thread on The VC-160!

Yeah but by the time I do I will mostly likely have my 3 restored.Speaking of which.What else do I need now.I have the Mark I,II and III.Is there are IV?

Good job deviosi.That's is a good find.I wish mine had have been in that condition when I found them.Much much worse that that.My VC-160 Mark II was in such poor condition it was nearly not worth restoring.

It can be seen HERE!

That's how bad it was when I found it.Not great,but almost completely restored now.This is the same version as your one.

There Were only the 3 VC-160's Jeffery!

Also after I get a bit further through the VC's restore I will start a restore forum.I have been taking pictures along the way.

Steve, Have you decided to see what the futre holds for your VC-160?

This particular mower is one of my absolute favorites, and I love seeing collectors restore them, as they are oly now starting to hold collectable Value.

I have seen some of your restoration work here Steve, and it is amazing, I would love to see how you would go with one of these! I'm not sure if you are subscribed to the Lawmower Manuals Section, But if you are, I have uploaded the Original Sales Brocure for your mower (it's an early 72 brocure i beleive, Covering your V96, but also compatable with the V111)

g day! mr davis ow typo. Series 11 it was ment to say, model 71 vj the air filter cap is in fact of a 1970/71 corvette 2 model with the impulse type starter code v65 cheers steve....

Thanks for that Chris, properly getting a little to far for me.We have a place at Fyswick called Everlast Automotive.They do just about anything & everything for the automotive industries.I know they do chroming there. I have had some mower parts before re-chromed by them.Thanks Chris I do appreciate your help though.If I do have any dramas with them though at lest I have a backup place to go to.I do always like to use places recommend by other people.Normally they have already done the hard work.

So are you going to restore it? or just leave it as is?

Also Steve, What does the Series 11 mean, I have heard terms like this a few times, but never narowed it down.

I know this is the second model year of VC-160's, 1971-1972, and that it should be running a Series 70 MKII engine (Recoil Start, Auto Decompession Valve, G3 Carby with Metal Bowl & Black Float)

I Am very curois to know why people refer to this as a series 11, and also as to what you plan to do with it?

Hi guys,

I am amazed when I found this forum at how dedicated the users are to their mowers- just like I am! I was searching for spare parts, using Google Images as my main search tools, and there it was- the Victa 160 exactly the same as mine!

I have a Victa 160, assuming it's a series II, which lost a wheel yesterday while I was mowing. Basically what I need is to replace the cir-clip and bearings in the left-front wheel but noticed on eBay that you can buy bearing modules like those used on skateboards. Would this suffice for my unit?

I'll post pictures of it when I get home.

OK, I've got photos now. I think it's a series II unit:












My handle broke one day and my father-in-law fixed it:



And this is the bearing parts which I am looking to replace:



So where's the best place for me to pickup a new bearing unit for the front wheel? Remember that I'm in Melbourne, Australia. Thanks.

I have steel ball race bearings in mine, I cant remember what the bearing size was but I think they would outlast the mower being a solic sealed unit.

Anyway, those plastic ball bearing units should be available from any victa outlet or on our online store here

I am not an expert on these but according to your air filter cap it should be a mk3 vc160....

Thanks Joe, I'm so proud of my Victa mower. I've had it since 1994 and used it once a month to mow around 40m of front yard and back yard and it has never majorly failed me. What year do you reckon it could be from?

I think I've replaced the spark plug once and the throttle cable and lever was replaced last year due to cable fatigue. I run the unit on Caltex Unleaded 95 mixed with 2-stroke oil and it starts everytime, within the first half-pull of the cord.

I hope it sticks around for a long time now.

Hi JDMils It is a Mark III.As I can see by the handle bar brackets on the base.I do believe (that's without checking my record.Don't have them with me)your Victa code is correct for a Mark III as well.As for what year,it should be 1972-1973.If you look at the engine number lower crank case half.If it is the original engine.The number should start with 5272 or 5273.You are looking at the 72 or 73.That is the year date.So if it has 72 it would be 1972 and 73 it's 1973.Do you know where you got the throttle cable from?I need some and I'm having trouble finding any.

Just to add to that, Yep, this is a third generation VC-160 (MKIII) with a Series 70 MKII Engine, G3 Carby, and all the original stickers and fittings.

The engine number may not begin with 52, althoug this appears on MKIII's, it seems more common to MKII's & MKI's, however, ther is still a good chance of it being, as Jeffery said, a 52 number, In fact odds are it will be 52720XXXX...

Tha wheel bearing, as Joe mentioned is Very common, any parts store or mower shop can help you there mate.

There is one part missing from your carby, it's not much, just a dust cover plug from the end of the throttle valve shaft. if you look in hte above pic's, there is a raised hole with something brass inside it, that hole should have a small white plastic plug in it, I'll get a photo up for you.

Here you go, it can be seen here, just about where the centreline of the govenor post would cross the centreling of the venturi.