OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions on Other Engines Old villiers

Hi I'm looking to buy an older cylinder mower I'm buying an older one because I don't have much money but most of the old ones have villiers motors are they good, easy to work on and reliable?

The Villiers motors were probably competitive when they were produced, Michael but getting parts for them now is likely to be both difficult and expensive compared with Briggs and Stratton engine parts. Personally I'd leave the Villiers stuff for collectors nowadays, unless it is a 2 stroke engine in sound condition. Things like magnetos are likely to be a headache if they give trouble. Also, if you have the misfortune to buy a pre-WW2 Villiers it will probably have an 18 mm spark plug thread, which is quite an exotic item now. (My only ATCO was a 12 inch from the 1930s - its Villiers engine had many unlovable features by modern standards.)

Easy to work on: Yes, but 50+ year old bolts can be hard to undo without breaking nowadays, I have several ways og working on them.

Reliable: My motors are only for show, most have done many decades of work, I wouldnt expect them to go back in full service again. They do run well however.

Hi Michael, Firstly, let me say that I agree with grumpy's thoughts, I have owned quite a few cylinder mowers with Villiers engines in my time and found that they are not reliable to use as a working everyday mower these days owing to age and availability of some spare parts (like the plugs that grumpy mentioned)

However, if you want a cheap cylinder mower with which to mow your lawn, it is possible to purchase a complete mower cheaply from eBay and re-engine it with a later model engine that would be reliable and spares easily purchased...such as a horizontal shaft Briggs and Stratton.

Are Villers Engines impossible to find parts for. As I am interested in rebuilding one.

Not really that hard to find parts for as compared to some, in the uk you can buy most parts either remanufactured, NOS or aftermarket.

I got a full set of beearings for one of my mk10's for $27 at a local shop, a pretty cheap and simple engine