OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Finding and Swapping For Free Free Victa VC Mustang on Gumtree

Anyone in or around Sydney after a free Victa VC Mustang??


If anyone interstate wants it - I can pick it up and hold onto it for you (no charge of course) until you arrange transport for it.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/putney/lawn-mowers/lawn-mower-victa/1149176574



Come on lads - save it from the scrap heap.



Polybus

Could you grab it for me I'm in the blue mountains I could grab it next weekend. Where in Sydney are you located?

Thanks Lorenz

If Lorenz doesn't want it then I'll put my hand up.Although I'll want it boxed so I can freight it.

I will take it if it's available.

OK - I've arranged it with the guy giving it away - I pick it up tomorrow morning.

Once I've got it here at my place I'll let you all know.

I'll also post more detailed pictures and give you some sort of an idea what condition it is in to see if you really want to take it on.

For anyone who is interested, and prepared to ship... there is another one on eBay - bidding starts at $20 - it was on Gumtree for sale at $20, and it has already failed to sell with no bids once on eBay for $20 so you'll almost certainly get it for $20.

Here is a piccy:




Its in Springvale, Victoria

Interparcel Quotes:
$40 to ship it Springvale to Brisbane
$27 to ship it to Sydney


http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VICTA-VC-MUSTANG-ANTIQUE-CLASSIC-AUSSIE-2-STROKE-LAWN-MOWER-/112418546291?hash=item1a2caae273:g:FMEAAOSw3u1ZAX7s

I wish I had more room

Polybus

Did the seller give you those shipping prices? they are quite reasonable.

$15 is probably my limit on those but I didn't see it on ebay, maybe I did but flicked past it

Those shipping prices are from a Website called Interparcel.

It is a great site that I have used myself a number of times - and they usually have really good prices.

The prices quoted above were from me estimating the size of the box that a mower would ship in, and estimating the wieght.

The sizes I used were 60cm x 40cm x 40cm and a total of 35kg

Go to interparcel.com.au

Enter the Suburb for pickup
Enter the suburb for delivery
Enter Dimentions L x W x H
Enter Weight

And it will come back straight away with a list of quotes, starting with the cheapest.

I've always been happy with the quotes - always a lot less than I expected.As above $27 bucks to transport a mower from Melbourne to Sydney - that's less than I thought it would be - I was guessing at around $40 - $50.

And there is another great site I use called FreightSeek.

Go to FreightSeek.com.au

This is a site where you just enter in what you want shipped, Sizes, Weights and pick up/drop off points.

Then there are a whole bunch of people on there who will quote on it - some are outrageously expensive, but some are dirt cheap.

The people quoting are not necessarily professional transporters. If someone just happens to be driving from Brisbane to Sydney, have a bit of spare room in the car/ute/trailer or whatever, and want a bit of extra money to pay for petrol, they will quote a decent price - you are under no obligation to accept any quotes at all if you don't want. Sometimes you get reeeeealy cheap prices.

Anyway, check them both out - Interparcel is very easy to use - and only big name professional couriers.

Polybus

Norm,

You would almost certainly get the eBay one for $10-$15 - as I say, I've been following it now for about 3-4 weeks at $20 and he hasn't even got a nibble, so he's probably in the mood for haggling.

As a bonus - I note he says he's aso got a lot of other old mowers, so a trip to his house to pick up the Mustang may yield some other decent finds as well (or could be a complete loss I suppose)

Polybus

I guess it is the same seller who often has old mowers on ebay, Springy is fairly close, I might try and contact him if I can find the details

OK - so I've picked the VC Mustang up - and its sitting here waiting for its new owner.

Reasonable condition - bloke says it starts and runs OK - but there's no fuel so I haven't tried to start it. Catcher is pretty rough, cracked, repaired etc - not in good condition.

Photos:







I guess Lorenz gets first option on it since he was first to express interest.

If Lorenz doesn't want it - Blumby is next.

If Blumby doesn't want to ship it to BrisVegas (by the way - Interparcel quote $31 to ship it to Brisbane), then MowerFreak is next in line (shipping from Baulkham Hills to Woy Woy is $25 on Interparcel - BH to Woy Woy $25, BH to Brisbane $31 bucks, that extra $6 goes a long way....or of course you can come down and pick it up yourself)

So Lorenz - you want it? - or should I pass it on to Blumby?

Polybus

It's a shame the cover has a hole in it and the grating on the top is broken. You would need to source another cover for a full restoration.
I would just fix what needs fixing and use it as is.
I have a green thumb latch catcher from my side pull full crank Mustang I could use for this.

...and the wait has begun.

I'll take it off your hands polybus.
Is it possible to freight it to me to Katoomba in the blue mountains, at those freight rates it will work out cheaper then me driving to Sydney. Private message me and I'll organise payment for you.

Thanks Lorenz

Hi Lorenz,

I'm happy to pick it up and hold it for you until you can either come and get it or organise your own freight.

If you want it freighted, you'll have to organise it yourself, pay for it yourself and send them to my place to pick it up. You wont have to pay me anything.

The numbers I was quoting were off a site called Interparcel - but I just did an online quote with them for Baulkham Hills to Katoomba - $40 - ie: way more than the price to ship it Sydney to Brisbane, and that is without the catcher - the catcher added another $25!! I guess Capital City to Capital City is much cheaper than City to Regional centres.

So I guess your choices are:

• Drive down and pick it up
• Organise your own freight - likely around $40 ($65 with the catcher)
• Pass it on to Blumby

Polybus.

I'll try to organise go logistics to pick it up can you please send me a pick up address and I'll see what I can organise. If I can't sort out a reasonable price for freight, failing that I'll see if I can grab on the weekend.
I may need you to tape an address to the top of the mower but I'll let you know in the coming days. If haven't sorted a concrete plan by mid week I'll pass it on to Blumby

Thanks Lorenz

Made it to me today, needed a new fuel hose and she runs great. Thanks to polybus to picking it up from the original owner.

What mower shop is that label on the top. Don't remove it as it forms part of the mower's history.

I always like to keep the stickers in place. I agree it's all part of the history here's a photo of the sticker

Wow, that is awesome. I bet they haven't been around for a long time. One VC 160 I used to have sported a long defunct mower business label from near where I grew up. It was A&A Mowers of Epping NSW. of course, I now wish I had it still.
You may be able to save the BP Zoom label on the side with the careful use of degreaser to clean off the gunk and maybe some spray glue to re-attach the parts that have lifted.

A Happy Ending!!!

What are your plans for it Lorenz??

Using it? Or a restoration? I like the VC Series, and once I've finished off the Triplets, and my newly acquired 1971 Self Propelled I think I will be after a VC125, VC160 and a VC Mustang just like this one.

Just for your info - a bit about the mower's history as told to me by the owner.

The guy I picked it up from was the second owner - he lives in Putney.

He told me he bought it off the original owner about 30 years ago it was in really good condition when he bought it second hand. He tells me it has never missed a beat over all those years - even though he worked it hard and totally neglected it - hasn't been serviced in all the years he has owned it.

The original owner bought it from Forest Mower Service, as per the sticker on the cowl - as far as he knows - Forest Mowers closed down over 20 years ago.

He's not sure about the catcher - it's the one he got with the mower - but I don't think its the original - shouldn't they be the same green colour as the mower?

I hope you give it a good home, sounds like it deserves a rest and some TLC.

Polybus

Hmmm, after hearing that story, I think a full ground up restoration is in order!!
Thanks for sharing that with us Polybus.

Just checked out the address on street view and there seems to be villas on the former site now accompanied by old terraces.

Thanks for the mowers history great to get the story behind it makes it even more interesting when you know the history. Was there a reason why he was getting rid of it ?
My plans for it are to ad it to my victa collection, at this stage I'm happy to give it a good cleanup and service and keep it the way it is. May sound strange but I don't mind the well worn survivor look this mower has.I use all the mowers in collection I think using them is half the fun. May get a full resto when all my current projects are finished.

Sorry I should have mentioned why he wanted to get rid of it.

When I arrived at his house to pick it up, he was in the midst of some serious renovations - gyprocking, painting, concreting, decking plus adding about 50% to the size of his house, and on top of all that, having a big swimming pool put in with surrounding pavers etc.

Short story - he's got no lawn left, hence doesn't need a lawn mower!!

There's a lot of blokes out there who, like yourself, like to leave "restorations" original, showing all their battle scars and history. I am a completely restore type person, but there are times when I think I am destroying history when I clean away all the old battle scars and apply fresh paint - I think one day I might start doing half and half, especially my old Stationary Engines - repaint some, and leave the others original.

Polybus

I was just thinking from the standpoint of the machine having been through so much, that it has kind of earned a thorough restoration.
I think it is just as valid to just get it in sound order. That's the beauty about Victas is they manage to look good in well used condition.

Well I guess it went to a better home than mine.Just means I'm the loser.

No good work though.I'm wasn't real sure as to what I would have done with it.I was thinking more for parts,but after a bit of history I wouldn't have been able to do that.Any way that's how it goes,and yes Polybus

for doing that (even thought I didn't get it) you took the effort of getting it and saving it.We need more people like you in the world.Your totally,

Here here. Not many people would go to the trouble to collect a mower for the express purpose of saving it to give to a loving new owner.
Let's hope this inspires others.

It's amazing the things people throw out, the disposable society is so so frustrating. I always pick up mowers from curb side clean ups, the tip or ones that people are giving away. I usually fix them and sell them to someone who will get use out of them or give them to a family member (or like this one they get added to my collection). 90% of them are so simple to fix it makes me wonder why someone would be so silly to throw them away. Even to take them to a mower shop to fix would be a fraction of the cost of a new mower. Apologies for my rant but it's something that really annoys me.

On a happy note I gave the mustang a service today, cleaned the air filter, replaced the spark plug it fixed a fuel leak then put it to work.
Tackled my block of land along with my other victa ran it through 2 full tanks of fuel and it didn't miss a beat. As with all the mowers in my collection I like to use them all part of the fun. She's earned a good rest over winter. Long live the victa 2 stroke

One of my aims is to get as many 2 stroke Victas back into service because they are the toughest mower ever made. One of my big problems is with the full cranks, mostly the sidepulls, is any I get have either had the module ratted or it doesn't work and at $20 they make a mower really not viable to fix even though the the motor has years left in it even if it requires a $10 set of rings. This is the difference between the Briggs, motor gets to a certain point and it is only good for the scrap bin.