OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers HG Noble & Co - Rotomo 2

Well I picked up these 2 mowers a couple of weeks ago in Brisbane.



The Rotomo 2 was meant to be for parts to restore my other model 2 but think it's too good to wreck , even though I now have to find 8 wheels instead of 4 Doh! It has a H G Noble plate steel riveted to the base.

Mystery how it got bent under like that !
The flywheel and head have no broken fins and after a bit of cleaning it's producing spark. It is fitted with a model 1 carby, piston is standard.



There is no Victa emblem fitted, would it have been originally badged or were they removed by H G Noble & co ?
When I compared the base to my other model 2 (97747) I noticed that the rear mounting point was different. 80682 has the same gauge bars front and rear but 97747 (pictured) has thicker bars on the rear. Would this be a cross over to model 3 ?

I want to cut my own gaskets, barrel ,head ,ports , does anyone know what thickness they should be ?
Thanks for reading and hopefully replying
Cheers

Hello rufasttoo

A warm welcome to these forums.
I will attempt to address your observations and questions.

From my perspective, and machine with an agent's plate is more 'valuable'...
because its provenance is more complete (we know who sold it).

The H.G. Noble story is somewhat important to QLD history.
H.G. Noble was a prominent Ipswich businessman that made good in Queensland.

Family social history has revealed something interesting. An ex-employee, Val Smith,
has claimed that Nobles sold the first Victas in Queensland. I doubt that,
but this is an extract of her story:-



It would have been originally badged. An agent's plate had a different role
to a maker's plate. A previous tenant has removed it - probably for a separate
sale (unfortunately).



Who would know? With the lack of factory records, it may be simply a
case of different base suppliers to Victa.

I'm not an engine guy. Hopefully, a member will chip in.
I do believe, though, that purpose-made gasket material be used.
I'm not sure Kleenex boxes would be suitable

All the best with your project.
----------------------------------
Jack

I was going to get them but you beat me to them! They were nice and cheap.

What are the engine numbers on the spare engine if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks for the info Jack, I hadn't thought of using a Kleenex box, I was leaning more towards a Keens mustard powder box for the head but still pondering about the others. There just seems to be a lot of choices for thickness when looking at gasket material so thought someone could recommend the best to use.
Cheers

G'day rufastoo and Kye,
Yes, very funny rufastoo ... and thanks for the Keens' endorsement.
I feel we need to bring in the Kellogg's Company at this point ...

I am confident you will get a reply on this.

My general observation is that the base gasket will be thicker
because Victas did not use locating lugs on the crankcase halves -
meaning that mis-allignment was very much possible. A thicker
base gasket was the solution at design stage.

I have noticed the head gasket (and transfer ports) were made
from a different material - I guess because the mating surfaces
were better assured, and considering the higher temperature
(and pressures) encountered.

Please keep up in the loop as to how this project progresses.

-------------------------
Jack

Well Kye you are right about being cheap but once you factor in the 2200km round trip and a busted fanbelt to boot then maybe not so cheap, don't regret getting them though. Here is the other motor.

Is it unusual to have a letter bellow the engine No rather than a number ?

Geeze 2200k round trip and I thought I was mad with the running around I do

I was hoping that the engine would be between 100 000-130 000, then it would be Automatic. The letter before the number is just the code they used later on.
You went far for these!! I was just down the road when they sold. They would have gone to a better home with you though, I was going to use the parts for my HG Noble and sell the rest of the parts to other collectors.

Yes, the original Victa base gaskets were thicker than the head gaskets, and different material. They were a paper/card material, but a bit better quality than a Kelloggs/Kleenex box.

The head gaskets were made of a graphited material, as were the transfer port cover gaskets. The head gaskets were a lot thinner than the base gaskets, but I have an idea that the transfer cover gaskets were a bit thicker than the head gasket - however, it's many years since I worked on one of these.

For cutting these gaskets, a standard oil-jointing gasket paper would work for the base gasket, but something better is required for the head/transfer gaskets, to handle the service temperatures. It probably won't be easy [or cheap] to find a suitable gasket sheet for these.

As these gasket sets are still readily available [including the fibre washers for the transfer port cover studs], personally I wouldn't be inclined to go chasing materials to make these. Unless you really like the challenge of sourcing obscure stuff!

I was actually referring to the S under the engine number as I have only seen numbers previously eg 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 etc. So what does this engine belong to ?
I hadn't planed to travel so far but seller wasn't helpful in regards to pick up and didn't want to lose them so jumped in the ute and made a 4 day trip out of it visiting family and friends along the way.

Thanks Gadge , I'm not usually one to shy away from a challenge but you have convinced me not to bother making something I can easily obtain online. I guess I'm just a bit too much old school in my thinking (make it, modify it, adapt it).
Cheers

The significance of the single numeral/letter on the bottom crankcase half isn't known, and it's unlikely we'll ever find that out.
That letter prefix serial number belongs to the Model 5 Series 2 as far as can be worked out, so probably 1958-9 era.

I have a H G Noble Victa - I have had it for approx 30 plus years and there is no place for a Victa sign on the front - only the H G Noble plate. It turns freely but has never run since I had it- it was part of my Victa mower collection but this one I withdrew from sale when told about the history of HG Noble. I was told by an expert in motor mowers that H G Noble sold some of the earliest mowers in Queensland.

Another thing that had me puzzled was the plastic wheels - I have since learnt that they were as ordered- special order placed with Victa Mowers

The serial number of my mower is 82088 with a 0 under the 8

Hello Bill

A warm welcome to these forums!

HG Noble clearly sold some of the first Australian-made rotary mowers in Queensland.
Makes from other countries, and other AUS brands, certainly sold in Queensland before this.

The significance of HG Noble is probably over-stated (they were never 'specialists'),
but the provenance and significance of agents' plates is under-stated for any
post WWII mowers. That is my view, anyway.

Of course, plastic wheels made their appearance with later Victa Model 2s,
and the earliest Noble mowers have been ... Model 2s!

I am keen to record any objective proof (rather than hearsay) of your learning
of a 'special order', as this may indicate other possibilities hereto not recorded.

It would be of record significance to record your mower.
Information on uploading may be found HERE.

The old Queensland catalogue companies, like Noble's, ESCA, and QPS
are important to vintage mower history.

-------------------------
Jack

Jack sorry to say but I have tried many ways to get the photos on this site - even tried with my iPad - think old age must have something to do with it.

Tried to email them but could not find your mail address.

Vintage Mowers, they were the ones that told me to withdraw the sale as the mower as it could well have been in the early sales - the statement that Noble sold mowers that were ordered sole for them to sell, I regrettably have forgotten who did say it.

Maybe with a email address I can send the photos to you.

On closer looking at the base there are two small hole in the casing at the front of mower so that could very well have had a Victa sign on it at an earlier stage.

/Users/williamc/Desktop/IMG_0404[1].JPG/Users/williamc/Desktop/IMG_0420.JPG.pdf

G'day Bill

The file extension (above) is a pdf - meaning it is a document
containing a JPG image, rather than just an image.

I have sent you a PM with my email address.
I am more-then-happy to upload the image.

Just look for the small flashing email icon on the menu bar
at the top of this page.

All the best.
------------------------
Jack

Jack I sent 3 emails this afternoon - I followed this with 2 others I obtained from Vintage Mowers .com - they had pictures of Model 1 and Model 2 - it seems as though my mower is a Model 1 as there is no Victa 125cc stamped on it whereas the model 2 has - model 2 started with steel wheels then went to plastic.

I have resent the mail but it also is coming back will try to give you my email then on receiving yours I can once again resend.

Bill

G'day Bill
I finally received the emails tonight.
These are great photos, helpful for the record, and as follows:-





Experts should be able to date this machine from the images.
It's exciting to see an agent's plate in such good condition.

Thanks for sharing these!
-----------------------------
Jack

Many thanks for putting them on this site - much appreciated for your efforts.

Bill