OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Refresh that muffler

Most of the Victa mufflers i have are covered in a fine layer of rust and after washing and tarting up the mower they stand out like dogs balls as screaming for attention. But it just aint worth the hassle of doing a proper paint job on a quick fixer upper.
So had the idea today to hit the muffler with a fine wire brush and then paint with rust converter, converting the ugly iron oxide to a nice stable black iron phosphate. Took all of 5 minutes, used less than a thimble full of rust buster and it looks a million times better with a nice black patina finish...and it'll stop the rust from advancing too. So maybe an idea for your next mower refresh!!!

Good idea bud, I usually give them A real light hit of engine black. Have to run it afterwards though as the paint smokes a bit

What I use on exhausts, believe it or not, is White Night Hi Temp from Bunnings! There's a few colours, and I have never experienced it smoking or discolouring, a slight smell for a little while though. It's the best I've found. It's what I used on the Mobilco, and that pic was taken after I'd run it for about 2 hours! It's a metallic charcoal colour.

As far as prep goes, all I did was hit the muffler with an angle grinder fitted with a wire cup wheel. You can see in the pics what the muffler looked like before.

Worked a treat, and it stays there too. I've tried a few different brands, nothing seems to come close.

A lot of the old mufflers have little bits of the stuff that is inside, falling out and they are noisy. Any ideas about refilling them with something? I wonder has anyone tried this? I was thinking about ramming an old kitchen scourer into one, the stainless steel type. The look like a bunch of metal drillings. Then when the mower is running and warmed up, the smell of fried rice coming out of the muffler would make mowing the lawn a very pleasant task, and build the appetite.

I would replace the muffler if it were noisy (probably not if it were mine ) With my good mufflers I hit them with a wire burush then some nice flat black 700 degree paint.

I stuffed scourer after scourer into my my 6 cyl vk commodore, they always got blown out with every full thottlr run. That car was off the dial and I miss it dearly..

If you are going to use scourer pads you need to put them in from the front of the muffler, not the back, so they will get blown through until they hit the first baffle. If it is a full-width perforated baffle, they may stay there. If it is a part-baffle, of course they will end up coming out of the exhaust pipe if you open the throttle a few times. However, The Man might be off your back by then, so the problem is solved.

In my indiscreet youth I once needed to get a home-made car registered, and at that time you had to take it to the police inspection station for examination. I put long rolls of flywire, fairly tightly rolled, into both exhaust pipes. It still wasn't quiet, but the cop sort of gritted his teeth and tolerated it. Then I used a long wire with a hook in the end. Fortunately, the world has become more civilised since I was a lad. I hate loud exhausts now.

Yes I dislike loud exhausts noise also, but I do love the sound of a Simplex Twin marine engine.

I've never seen a Simplex twin. I can recall going fishing in a rent-a-boat with a Simplex single though, in about 1960. Even then I thought it was appalling old technology that should have disappeared by WW2. The Blaxland was even worse - model T Ford rod and piston. My recollection is that the Simplex had a reputation for being rather quiet at idle though.

grumpy, was that hire boat from Pompei's in Mordialloc? Most of Jack's hire boats were fitted with simplex singles, but he had a couple with the twins in them. One of them, nicknamed the Patrol Boat is still down there, Leon now owns her, his son, as Jack passed away this time a few years ago. It gives out the most beautiful note when running right, and they are not easy to get that way. I love the engine, they are Australian made, in fact they are still made to this day in Sydney. One day I hope to find a twin and fully restore her, and fit her into a suitable vessel. Huge job, but I am still keen.

Hi Wayne, it was a hire boat service in Mordialloc, but I don't recall the business name. It could easily have been Pompei. I was more or less used to a Seagull outboard at the time, and the low RPM, oddball starting method (turn the flywheel with the flat of the hand), and generally sluggish thudding of the Simplex didn't turn me on. It would probably have outlasted half a dozen Seagulls on a fraction of the maintenance, which was why it was in a hire boat, but it was a fairly huge object for its miserable power output. If I'd been hiring out motor boats in the late 1950s I'd probably have been putting Simplex engines in them myself, but privately-owned boats seemed to have Ford 10 (i.e. Prefect) engines, and they were a good bit smoother and more powerful.

Come on lads, you are being naughty boys and sliding off topic....

Quite right Deejay, we've drifted a long way from Victa mufflers. Glad you pointed it out, before we made this into an even bigger archive disaster. I'll close the thread.