OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Collectors General Discussion Battered GTS Mustang.

I was expecting to break this for bits but was surprised at how well it went so haven't had the inclination to pull it apart as yet.
The cowl is badly yellowed ( not very obvious in the picture) and scratched with a nasty split on the side, but still manages to look smart despite itself.

That would make a perfect candidate for a full restore.Just the type of condition I'd like to find one in.

I don't know if a full restoration could be achieved.
You could certainly get it looking presentable, but I think another base would be needed as well as another engine cowl, unless you don't mind using car body filler and painting it up to make it look new. Even the black vent above the engine head has plastic missing.
In the right side view you can see where I have filled in a 1" hole in side of the base with Selleys Knead it epoxy filler. This mower has has a hard life bodily, but won't die.

Forgot to mention, I have replaced the wheels on this beater with much better ones. The ones it came with had outer edges "stripped to the bone", giving them a white walled look and making this machine extra shabby. I actually didn't mind them tbh. They still worked fine, bald tread and all, but these wheels became available when I put even better ones in my '82' electronic ignition side pull Mustang.
All I can say is these mowers deserved their design award. They have a beautiful shape to them and leave today's mowers for dead in the styling stakes.
They look like something from 2001 A Space Odyssey but sound like a Victa from the time the film was made lol.

It looks like it needs a coat of grey paint and the words US Airforce on the side, that's a stealth mower........
speedy

LOL speedy I might just do that, however that all goes out the window once you "zip on the doodah"...

I've certainly restored a lot worse.It may need some parts but it could be done.Nothing wrong with a little bit of hard work.

Hi all, I just pulled it out after a long time and have decided I will tidy it up. It's a bit hard to start but runs really nice once you do.
First thing to do is to give it a blast with the pressure washer. The cover needs some mending and body filler before giving it a paint.

MF, Is that the muffler they got? Or just a shroud?

It's a metal shroud that envelopes the regular muffler to stop the radiant heat damaging the plastic all over cover.

The fancy cowl amounts to a flimsy cleverly designed veneer that's effective in giving the feel that there's a giant hi tech engine under there as you push it around.
It's enjoyable being fooled by it though. It's very stylish looking from certain angles. No wonder it won a design award.

The biggest drawback of these is that the cover is nothing more than a huge grass and debris trap and keeps the engine choked up with crap and thus gets hotter than it should.

Cheers,
BB.

PS. I had one of these and can support the opinion of a stylish look and how it attracts peoples attention.

I didn't think about that before, but after 5 seconds of looking at it, it all seems obvious. I always give the mower a washdown and a blow off after use, and these would actually be a pain in the rear in that regard, unless there are sections that allow easy points to stick the hose in without getting it on the engine itself.

I certainly wouldn't want to have to take the shroud off after every mow.

I couldn't give one away that I had that had had very little use, I had bog standard PT's for sale at the same time and every time I offered both the Vortex was always left here. A mate ended up taking it just to put in his collection and was not going to use it. The conclusion was that because the motor was not visible it confused people

It's amazing how the appearance of an engine sells a mower isn't it ?

Just going back to the cowl over the engine, I found it amazing how much debris ended up inside after cleaning and then just one mowing session. When I first removed the cover when I originally brought it home it was absolutely choked full of dry grass. Not a real brainwave of an idea is it ?

Cheers,
BB.

Was that with or without that black piece of flat plastic in front oh the carby area?

Yes it had the plastic in front of the carby that helps make it difficult to turn the tap on

The slightly lower price V40 Mustang of the same period I put up here recently would be your dream catch then!
Looks great and easier to clean.

I recently got another base so I'm preparing the cover for paint. It needs a lot of spot putty for all it's 33 or so years of battle scars.
There are no less than 8 cracks to repair as well.
Not looking forward to the sanding ugh!!

Comes back quickly if you block wet sand it MF