OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Replacing 2 Stroke with B&G 450 Series 4 Stroke

Hi all,

I am looking at replacing the 2 stroke engine on my 2003 Victa Vantage with a new 4 stroke B&G mower, but I am aware that I will need to also source a mounting boss that goes between the engine and the chassis??

Does anyone know where I can pick this up from and how much they retail for?

Any help would be great!

Ben

Hate to say this but it would probably be viably cheaper to buy a new mower with the engine attached, the briggs 450 series engine is arounf $170 (make sure the crank is victa length) the boss is $40, spacer ( not sure if available new), throttle cable around $15 for a generic universal one.

Or buy the new mower with that engine already fitted brand new for $250.

Personally I would stick with the 2 stroke and sort any issues with that out, as the new 4 stroke engines are short lived.

I would suggest the same, Or looking into a second hand engine (which if you source it correctly will be ready for your base)

I have an 06 Mulch & Catch here, which I use for my lawns, I was not keen on the 06 Chinese power-torque, so I pulled across the engine from a 95 Craftsman, and put a nice cowl on, now it runs beautifully, and to this day starts first pull.

The craftsman engine was off a mower I got for free!!!

If you really want to swap to a 4-stroke, look for a suitable decent brigs or Honda engine on a base that is not up to scratch, most tip shops can help here, if your lucky, it will be a Victa base, and all the rings etc for fitting will be there.

Otherwise, if you do decide to go with the new engine, i would look for a dead Victa four stroke with the same or similar engine, and rip the ring off it, just be careful of shaft lengths, if you pick the wrong new Briggs engine, you might need 3 rings, and that could be a little precarious!

thanks guys! the issue with the power torque engine on this mower is that there is damage done to the piston due to incorrect mixture i guess.. i was given the mower for free so i would like to rebuild it :-) i was given a quote for $260 to rebuild the shortblock by my local mower shop. is this reasonable and are there any other options i can take, is there anyone on this forum that does rebuilds etc?

I would buy another short block second hand, millions of em about and not that hard to freshen up and have ready for another round. When I finally get a day off I will make a video on this, my boss is on holidays at the moment and doesn't get back until this weekend.

You could rebuild the motor yourself for probably under $100 as long as you have the tools and a hone. Plenty of info on here about how you do it.


Or as was said, find a mower with a rusty/broken base and swap the 4 stroke off it.
If you want less hassles steer clear of a not running Tecumseh. Good thing if they are running right. They are OK, if you have the parts.

If you can, take a 1/2" socket and ratchet with you. Any mower you are looking at buying pull the head off and check the condition of the bore, thats the most important, second would be rust in the bottom of the fuel tank. steer clear. The rest is not hard to get up to scratch, set the valve clearances, A carb diaphragm is $10-15 from a mower shop and easy to fit.
Best bet would be a sideways mounted, black geared start motor. Dont stress if the starter wont retract theres usually stuff all wrong with them.
You dont need primer start. You are better off with out it. Any carb with primer start has fixed jetting, its better if you can actually tune the motor.

My sister in law has a manky old high arch with an old (white cover points ignition) geared start Briggs on it that i sorted for her. It goes first pull every time. She says it does a better job than her less than 10 year old sprint powered SupaSwift.


A new 450 is $170, an extra 60-70 gets you the whole mower. Not a Victa but an orange Victa by another name from Bunnings. You could of course, buy the mower, strip the engine and sell the new base and catcher. Not sure if you would get the extra coin back.
The Orange Victas dont have the right boss for the Victa disc, they use a bar blade and i think its a Masport boss. You are getting what you pay for thats for sure, cheap and nasty.

Thanks! is there somewhere I can pick up a rebult block already and trade in my old one?

You can get one on eBay.