OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Other Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Old Villiers up for restore!

Another recent find is this old Rover with a Villiers on it.

I have another Villiers engine that came with it to pillage for parts (or possibly swap)

Also another base, depending on the condition of this one (the other base is in the last pic!)

I'll keep everyone posted on the restore, and get some photo's up soon of the spare engine!

the blue mower is a 1962 rover royal,i have one ,unfortunately the plastic handle badge is broken .
the rover diamond badge on the chassis has the production year on it

Thanks for that steve, I will have a closer look at the base, and see what is there!

Here are some more pic's, including the second Villiers engine, and the spare muffler, sadly, the intake it snapped on the spare engine, however, that can be replaced!

That electrical box (cover held by wire clip) appears to be a crankcase magneto. I haven't seen a Villiers like that, as far as I recall. From the layout it seems it may be a purpose-designed vertical crankshaft mower engine, which implies it would be no earlier than late 1950s. It will be interesting to see just what that engine is.

I'm sure you would have seen one of these before grumpy...It is a 4HP Villiers "Torque Master" 2 stroke without its brass fuel tap and glass bowl filter. My Dad had one of these engines on a "Pace" back in 1959.
The colour of my old mans engine was the same red as on the underside Ty's engine.
For a photo, this is the best I can do....Click HERE

These were a very strong engine, and also had a cast alloy recoil starter and an engine cut-out switch on the top of the engine cowl.

I've seen Pace mowers of course Deejay, but I don't recall a mower engine of that complexity, let alone with 4 hp, from those days. I only remember the little ones, like the commendably light one on my old Superswift mower, probably made in the early 1970s. It was a sad story, really. The little engine was very light, but in those days I think only Victa was making pressure-cast aluminium mower bases. Most mowers had gravity cast aluminium bases, and they were very thick and heavy. The Superswift ended up as a heavy mower with a light engine. Of course the gravity cast bases were pretty much indestructible, unlike the pressure cast ones, but it wasn't much fun when you wanted to put the mower in the boot or on the trailer. However, I digress. I'm not familiar with that whole family of Villiers vertical crankshaft engines from the 1950s.

Hi grumpy, I've done a bit more research on this engine...The "Torque-Master" is 98cc capacity and from what I have read is only 2 HP and known as the Villiers Model 7F engine. Here is a pic of the Pace, same as the old mans, with this engine fitted.

I compleatly forgot untill you mentioned 7F Darryl, I popped a Villiers 7F User manual & parts list in the manuals section a little while ago!

I'll have to have a look over these ones and work out their capacitys etc. I'll note down the serials and so forth as well!

When they were current I was just a kid, Deejay, and I certainly didn't ever operate one, so I don't recall them at all. Villiers 7F is a type I've probably heard of, but I don't think I've ever actually looked at one. In your picture the electrical box fastened to the side of the crankcase is rather visible, and seems like something I'd remember.

Meanwhile I've been recalling a horizontally-opposed twin cylinder 2 stroke engine, water cooled, rotary intake valve, that my father installed in a sort of motorized aquaplane he bought in about 1962. On paper it was the most powerful tiny engine he could get, but it failed to get that little hull to plane, and the project was abandoned. I've been trying to search out the source of the engine, which if I recall correctly was called Triton. I expect it would probably have been of Australian manufacture. Anyone heard of them?

Hi Ty, these were a very reliable and strong engine...I remember earning my pocket money pushing one of these around the yard when I was a kid!!

Sorry Grumpy, I have not heard of that one, I'll ask a few people around here who may have though, see what i cant find out.

Darryl, I have seen this and similar Villiars engines here and there, and I am quite excited to get it running.

I like having some macines restored, like new, and others with all the wear of their age visible. as this one came with a lot of restored and re-painted ones, yet it is not restored, I will probably be keeping its appearance as-is, and simply getting it running, then giving it a full service.

It will therefore become one of my regular use machines, so I am looking forward to giving this one a go around the yard!

Hi Ty, I would sure like to see a video of it when you get it running again mate, it would sure bring back some memories!!

Will do Darryl!

I will be heading out your way later in the year to catch up with a few people, you never know, I just might pop it in the boot, and you can give it a run yourself (I'll let you know in advance, and you can let the grass grow!)

For now, Lets see how i go getting this one up and running, all i am missing is the air filter, and I'm sure i can rig something up for that!

Did we break that piece off,or was that due to being thrown in the bin?

That would be due to it being thrown in the bin, or Rob got a bit too eager to get the carby, or it came to him like this.

I have made an inquiery about the air filter, and the glass fuel filter, with a fellow I have had reccomended to me, so I will se how i go with that.

I'm thingking between the 2 engines i will make one good one, and then pick it out a base, either from the 2 pictured, or anything else i have that suits the job (thanks to that 4-stroke adaption plate)

I will probably use the red engine as my base, it seems a bit neater, however, I'm undecided yet.

Here are the two serials, the first is the blue engine, the second is the red.

[IMAGE 1 CORRECTED IN REPLY FURTHER DOWN]


I don't know if these have any particular meaning.

Here is what i have heard back RE; my parts enquiery.



I will see if the red engine is any different, as it does not have the pulley, so maybe it was recoil.

And I will also get those carby numbers across to him, see there to go from there.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE:
After sending him the serial numbers, I received this response

Well, A bit more to add on this one!

I pulled the carby off the blue one (Someone seems to have forgotten to tell villiers that the first two little piggy's died because they forgot to make their carburetors accessible!)

Its a B12/5


While i was wrestling off the carby, I noticed two things:

1) The serial for the Blue engine


If you look up, you will notice i previously missed the 5 at the start, I will see if this makes a difference to John, who as you can see, was unable to help with the 77X

2) I had not realised i was missing this


I'm sure i will be able to get a blade disk onto it somhow though.

Here are a few more shots of the carby




The last photo is the numbers stamped under the choke assy. inside the intake flange.

And here is some more detail to that magneto Grumpy, It's quite a unique one!








The first three pictures are taken of from the Blue, while the rest come from the red (cowl was easier to get off)

While the cover is reminiscent (although smaller) of the Lawn Cub, the coil still sits under the flywheel, the box at the front holds the breakers and condenser. Although, as you can see, the magnet is not housed in the flywheel, but in its own separate wheel.

Blue rover?? they are both blue rovers.


I have a mower here the same as the first one but with a Briggs on it.
I think i got a home made catcher for it in the hard rubbish too.