OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Identification of Particular Machines Victa Rotomo Specifications

Throttle control does this help
Ian
From a 1963 parts book


From the green book

My Rotomo's
Ian

My Rotomo's and numbers
Ian

Thanks heaps Ian....Interesting all the 70's serials being so close.
For your reference,

17420 early model 2 tin wheel possibly using some model 1 parts...need to see more images.

60435 mid run model 2 tin wheel

The remaining are later rotomo model 2 plastic wheel.

Id like to see the complete 17,000 serial if thats ok and see what chassis and parts its running:) nice little collection.

Hi Bluegmhtmonaro is this what you want(mower 17420), this mower is a little bit said BUT did come with a recondition cylinder and piston
Ian

Interesting all the 70's serials being so close.

Being the mid 50s Townsville was a long was from Sydney (still to far) the roads were not the best and I would say they came up by truck or maybe boat as one order for North Queensland for all the dealers, does that make sense
Ian

I've been doing a bit of research on finding the original spark plug Rotomo's were released with and found some info some of you may find interesting. A copy of VICTA CUTTINGS for March of '57, includes this:


So I'd always used the Champion N21, but according to this the Bosch 175/T2 was used before the Champion. Reading back, it looks like any plastic wheeled Rotomos (75,000 onwards) should have the Bosch. Any before 75,000 should have the Pyrox plug, no idea which number though if anyone wants to chime in!

I'd never heard Pyrox before, so did a little reading, and it turns out that they were an Australian company based in Melbourne. In 1955 Pyrox and Bosch formed a joint venture manufacturing plugs at a factory in Clayton. In 1958, Bosch took over Pyrox completely.

I'm now on the hunt for the correct Pyrox plug number for the 125cc. Anyone?

Hello bestseller

Well that is, indeed, new information.
And a warm welcome to these forums.

I am not a plug aficionado, and had not heard of Pyrox either.
I have since found some things of interest, including the fact that Pyrox
were making spark plugs (under licence from Bosch) since ... 1931!

More to follow.
----------------------
Jack

I will check my spark plug collection and see what I have.

An advertisement I've found appears to backdate the release of the Model 1 by a couple of months:

June 8th, 1955 - Richmond and Windsor Gazette




I've also tracked down Merv Richardson's earliest patent, which predates the release of the Model 1 by only a couple of months. It possibly also represents one of the earliest illustrations of the mower:

Hello Bestseller

That is a treat for members.
The idea of remote air-cleaners was not knew, but their application
to rotary lawnmowers in the 1950s certainly was. This patent recognises
that.

This patent appears to deal with less the air-cleaner, and more with
the 'snorkel' design itself. However, the restrictive aperture in the
air-cleaner body seems to be an important feature of the design.

Thank you, again, for this great information, bestseller.

Cheers
-----------------
Jack

Hello bestseller

That is great additional information. I may be able to add something here.
The earliest record I can find referencing the 'new' Rotomos is from
13 April, and then 20 April. These articles indicate that the Rotomo
was pending ... available soon.




Release: well, Penrith had them in mid May.


My best guess is that the first Model 1s became available in May of 1955.
As more records become available, this may be brought back to April.

All very chronological.
-----------------------------
Jack

Great find there Jack.

So we've got release dates:

May, 1955 for the Model 1
March, 1957 for the plastic wheeled Model 2 (serial c.75,000)
September, 1957 for the Automatic and 2A
March, 1958 for the Special

Not sure on the Model 3 but assuming it was also around March, 1957.

Adding in patent dates etc would also give some insight into the development cycle.

Think I need to start working backwards from the Model 1 for some further clarity on the chronology. The work done by the guys at the start of this thread has been an awesome help!

So I was just cleaning up a Mk.1 blade holder and noticed some interesting differences below the blade support washer (9-003). There was some nice original paint remaining below the washer - almost an exact match for Deep Brunswick Green on the blade carrier, but on the washer it was much paler and very close to Mid Brunswick Green. The blade assembly came off a Model 2 in the 17,000's with a model 1 style base.

Was there a change of colour on the Rotomos from Mid to Deep green around this serial number?

Also, is there any issue putting a Mk.1 assembly on a Model 2 base (clearances etc)?

Hi

All this info is a bit to take in. I have parts books etc. titled Victa 125cc Two stroke service manual 12 pages on blue paper, Victa spare parts manual A to O and approx 100 pages, Spare Parts & Price list about 30 pages but no illustrations, another service manual with illustrations. I own a couple of green victas of around 1957 & 1958 I think.

I need educating on downloading this info. I have a couple of Greenfield ride ons and have had heaps of help on these from this site.