OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Finding and Swapping Tip & Curb Side Finds Latest tip find. Victa Mustang

My latest tip find

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$10 with a catcher. A very quick carby and fuel tank clean and she fired right up. Mowed my lawn with it for about half an hour and didn't miss a beat.i place it at about 77/78 model but stand to be corrected. Any thoughts welcome.

Nice pick up there BigTed

Thanks Jonesy, i like these mowers as a general rule but am not a collector so this will move along to a new home eventually. They have a nice rigid feel and will power through just about anything you put in front of them. They dont make them like they used to.

I'll second that. The full crank victa's have plenty of power and the bearings in the crankcase seem to nearly always be in good condition and not grinding/ noisy like many of the later model powertorques. I am guessing its simply because of the full length balanced crankshaft instead of the half crank model. I am sure grumpy will chime in on this one.
Theo, does your model have electronic ignition or points/condenser type ignition. Normally the side crank's I have repaired have electronic ignition however for the first time I found a full crank with a side gear starter that had points! I didnt actually click to it until I went to check the top seal. After a clean up and regap of the points away it went!

Good find, Its in excellent conditions for the age - did you get a good catcher?

Nice workhorse ya got there looks in great shape as well, wheels look as new so not done much work

Yeah Chris, it hasn't done much work for its age. Wheels have plenty on them and bearings are nice and tight. Pete, the catcher is in reasonably good shape, one small crack on the lip but nothing to worry about for the money i paid for it or what i'll be selling it for. The side start models are a mixed bag, the earlier ones having points/condensor and the later ones having the module. A lot were changed over to electronis in years gone by and i still come across a few with points. I also come across a few cup starter type that have also been changed over to electronic.
Grumpy doesn't like Victa 2 strokes and tecumsehs for various reasons so he probably won't jump in here but yes, the well balanced full crank would contribute to longevity of the bearings in these machines.

At the risk of repeating the same old lament. Why would anyone in their right mind send that piece of machinery to the tip? As you can guess it irks me. Out.

Irks me too Christo, Especially something obviously with to much good use left in it.. Joe Carrol once said in a YouTube video "Most of these (referring to thrown out machines) are still perfectly good, The people who owned them just wanted a newer item"


Kori

I'll make a comment on the 2 stroke and half crankshaft issues. First, I think 2 strokes have a place, which is mostly where weight is of paramount importance. Hence most line trimmers are still 2 stroke, though US emissions regulations are pushing them out of the market these days. However, those are good 2 strokes. In my opinion Victa made bad 2 strokes, and continued to do so - in fact made them worse - when a number of Japanese mower engine brands had begun selling good or very good 2 strokes. Furthermore I do not see a need for 2 strokes on mowers, where the weight of a suitable 4 stroke engine is usually not a problem. Line trimmers yes, lawnmowers no. Someone will no doubt point out that there is still a special case for mowing steep slopes, where 4 strokes may run into lubrication problems, and I agree with that but I have to add the obvious point that a lot of this steep slope mowing is unduly dangerous and should probably be done with a line trimmer.

On the subject of half crankshafts, even for very small engines such as line trimmers, this is an undesirable technology. Vibration tends to be worse than full cranks, and main bearing life tends to be short. There isn't a weight saving, because the half crank needs to be made extra rigid to keep it from breaking. I regard half crank engines as simply cheap and nasty.

Having said all that, for people who hate mowers and mowing, if you can sell them a half crank Victa cheaply enough they may not care about its inferiority to a full crank Victa. These people sometimes buy 2 strokes because they've found 4 strokes always mysteriously seize up after they haven't put oil in them for a few years.

A long time ago I worked in an engineering department where the engineers reacted badly to this kind of user behaviour. They liked to complain that they didn't design low quality products, they just had low quality customers. That is a recipe for going out of business. The customer is the one thing you can't change, so make it your business to supply something that will work in his or her hands. If you want to not just survive but actually thrive, create a product that real-world customers will enjoy using and be proud to own. If they won't put oil either in the sump or in the fuel, you'd better make them an engine that doesn't consume its oil.

Hi All, just rebirthing and old topic here. i bought this off ebay 2 days ago for the meager price of $2, buy it now, yes you read right, buy it now for $2. The daughter was doing a house clean up after her father passed away (i think) and didn't want to throw it out so thought she'd "give it away" in the hope someone gave it a new life. It was advertised as needing a service.
I brought it home and did a very quick visual inspection and everything appeared complete and in order. Put fuel in, primed it up and presto, off and running on the 2nd pull. I ran it for about 5 mins and it ran like a clock.
What can i say, typical full crank, smooth, well balanced and a pleasure to use.
Anyway, just thought i'd share.

Hi bigted,
And on a great score there mate for $2, and all complete and going.....Are you going to give it the 'treatment' or leave it in its working clothes?

Its a bit newer than 1977 as electronic ignition didnt come out till 1980. my guess is that this one is about a 1981/82 model why victa ever stopped making the full crank engine and replacing it with that power torque rubbish is beyond me, there in my opinion one of the worst engines ever

Yes your coolrussy about the year however this mower still had a full crank engine.It doesn't have a power-torque.

Two great Mustangs for $12, hard to do better than that!... and with catchers...

Great score for 2 bob. I just sold one and delivered it today actually, nowhere near as neat, but still a good mower....

Grass hasn't stopped down here in TAS, that's 10 in 14 days. Can't keep up :p

Good score, notice you're in Victoria, which tip do you frequent?