OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Rotary Lawn Patrol

Yes the golden years are well and truly behind us 2011 -2016 or so. Your signature provides a clue as to why. Victa discussion just got exhausted out during that period, and former Victa die hards have become more sophisticated and switched interest onto more exotic machinery. I don't see myself ever reaching that stage, but you clearly have.
The tragedy is that I actually joined in 2006 but all everyone wanted to dscuss were those boring Victa 18 dinosaurs ( I make no apologies for saying that) that were before my time. The period of my passion -late sixties to early nineties were discussed in my absence, long after I had given up.
I only found out through google and the astonishing level of discussions and pics of the target machines I love. At least I got to look through this very interesting period at ODK.

MF just a couple of observations, the dinosaurs as you describe changed the way that lawns were cut in this country, and while they were dangerous they did an amazing job and because of their shape and style they became a collectors dream. The next 10 years of full cranks lost this appeal although still a fantastic motor. The appeal to me was lost due to the lack of catchers still around. If catchers were still around I would keep putting them back into service because people are becoming aware of the fact most of the new stuff is rubbish. These days I keep the full cranks for slashers and utilitys , people still want those. Then we have the PT's that will never be collectible but are probably the best workhorse mower ever made with the exception of the bad points BB often mentions, metal base with badly designed handle mounts and a carby that can be problematic but this can be modified into a very reliable unit

Shape and style? Maybe if you're on LSD or some other mind altering substance. They were as basic and unstyled as you could get. That is arguably their appeal in the first place, to collectors.
The VC -125 and 160s, disco purple VC -Sports and the Vortex as well as various higher end powertorques from the 80s were the pinnacle of the styling stakes. Don't forget the Mustangs.

I do actually have 2 of those Victa 18's, a rough VC-125 and a Sunbeam Victa. The signature was just a spur of the moment thing. lol
Why don't I get notification of replies to this thread? Getting them for my introduction post

G'day Vmow
You can follow any thread of choice and get notifications.
Simply click on 'Followed Lists' from your RH profile menu.
Then click 'edit followed forums'. It's a pretty good system'.

Hope this helps.
------------------------------
Jack

p.s. Research continues on Boundy mowers.
A record on the Boundy Model 1 should appear shortly.

Not quite ...
I think responses just take longer with older mowers.

In terms of dating your machine, there are clues -
the most important is the 'Diaphramatic' snorkel, introduced in late 1958
for the 1959 model year.

I do not think the muffler is original on your machine.

Hope this helps.
----------------------------------
Jack

That's a great advert there Jack!

Hi guys,
Not left the house at all, just in shock we have another LP owner!! and one that's going lol

You've certainly got yourself a beauty there Vmow!!

AS I know things, the BMS engines were produced in house after the JAP engines were dropped. This would make it 1957 as to the addition of height adjustment.

I know mines a '56 with a '55 JAP 80C engine. Seized to buggery and no height control.

Cut will be 18" unless you have the CUB which I think was also introduced in '56 / '57 with a 15" cut.

There was also a Scout, but unsure if this was a rebadging of the older 18" Lawn Patrols or different size again.

Good Afternoon ODK Members,

I have often wondered about colours used for the Boundy mowers, yellow, silver and red base plates being seen. I have a green engine which looks to be original paint and I thought it was a bit odd to put a green engine onto a yellow, red or silver base but now after looking through older posts I have found a set of green bars.





The bars look to be original paint as the remnants of the decal are sitting on top of the paint


The bars also have the starter rope guide which is the first time that I have seen it apart from adverts.



I wonder if the base was also painted green? Perhaps to blend in with Victa mowers sold at the time.

I also have a blue cowl, makes you think about the odd colour matches.

Hi Paul,
provocative thoughts there. Red and green are complimentary colours
and were 'in the day' used on a number of classic mowers ... certainly
Austral-Villiers rotaries used the scheme in the late 1950s.

I'm not so sure about Boundy ... but will keep an open mind there.

That is very interesting!
The feature, I believed, was limited to the Lawn Scout.

By late 1958, the first re-introduced Lawn Patrols had lanyard start
but no guide. By very-late 1958 the recoil starter became standard on Patrols!

Many thanks for pointing out this feature.
I completely did not notice, or forget about it.

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

Hi Jack,

In relation to the rope guide, I think it would not be long before a new owner removed the rope from the tube and just used it as per normal. I feel it would be awkward to use. Some interesting things in the advert below, I always thought the Gold Cheetah engine was introduced with the 8 bolt cases but I think it came in with the cooling shroud. Incidentally there are 3 types of cooling.

1. Large one piece pulley with fins underneath.

2. 2 piece metal shroud consisting of an upper and lower section fixed to the engine with brackets held on by the case bolts and a metal fan.

3. Single piece metal cowl secured to a large die cast base and a combined metal fan/starter assembly. This was to enable the use of a recoil starter, the metal fan is similar to an alternator cooling fan and probably was sourced from an automotive contractor.

Nylon wheels, which I thought I had spotted in other adverts but this one is quite clear.



I will do a more detailed comparison of the engines in another post.

All the best
Paul

G'day Paul and Jack

That starter rope guide looks interesting it reminds me of the 16 inch Whirlwind mower with the pulley
wheel attached to the side of the handle bars.

One of the problems I have heard with the Boundy motor was that the small push rod that opened the
points wore out then the points won't open ,I haven't seen any specs on push rod length ,
I would guess making a custom length push rod is the only way to get the ignition timing right once the push rod
is excessively worn.

Cheers
Max

I like the thought of the rope starting guide. Forward looking IMO.

If you have all look at modern mowers, almost all have the pull start up on the handle somewhere. It's again a selling point that goes under various names like "zone start", etc. Whether you like it or not is personal taste. My Greenfield has it, and I do kinda like it...

A few pics of my Boundy mowers while I was cleaning up the shed today. Lawn Patrol, Lawn Scout, Lawn Cub, Pathfinder and the very last of them the Model 11 Briggs powered Lawn Patrol.





















I have also taken pics of the variants in height adjusters etc which I will post later, I can confirm that Boundy did use nylon or plastic wheels on some models in the end. My 15” Lawn Patrol is fitted with them, they are the Olympic brand and were painted silver. They seem to have been fitted to the 18” mowers at one stage but not as a complete change over as the Model 11 still used the metal wheel sets.

Some of those bases like the restored red one look quite modern for their time. A vertical pull Briggs would be a suitable upgrade on one of those.

They made some great looking mowers. A shame they didn't stick around. Was the Wiltshire acquisition the end of Boundy mower manufacturing?

Hello Mystyler
I think that too. This is an early example of a rotary safety feature.

Hello Paul
Great images - again - for the record.
That's a sound example of the last Patrol.

I feel Boundy mowers are starting to get recognition as a great AUS mower.
They started with a modern alloy, skirted base (with USA style influence),
but had a great single-point height adjuster within a few years.

Mystyler, that's an important question. I'm not sure of any simple answer.



I do not pretend to know why Wiltshire acquired Boundy.
Wiltshire clearly were serious in the late 1950s - when marketing
the brilliant BMS series Lawn Patrol.

There are numerous employment ads at the time, all
claiming a 'progressive and rapidly expanding company'.

But by 1960, when the rotary market had matured; and there was a
move to rear discharge and side catcher mowers, Wiltshire seem
to have decided not to take the 'next-step' - to design and develop
their own newer designs for the new decade.

It's not as though they didn't try. The last Lawn Patrol
was clearly a Wiltshire ... but same old formula.

As the industry consolidated into a half-dozen 'big players' I guess
Wiltshire realised that their capital was better utilised elsewhere -
like their 'stay-sharp' knives ...

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

Good Evening CyberJack, Mowerfreak and Mystyler,

Jack, I think you stated that at one stage Boundy was number 3 in the mower market? That is quite something, when I look at the serial numbers on the chassis I am in awe of the number of machines produced. My Model 11 is numbered 2003 and my Lawn Scout is numbered 1921, I would love to see some record of actual numbers of models produced.

G'day Paul,
Good luck with that! If you can find any record extant today, apart
from a few primary sources, then all need to know about it.

I should point out that serial numbers lay within the specific model;
not overall production.

I have made a broad view of the 1950s situation. My best guess
is that Boundy were number three in 1958. I have based this
on about a dozen categories of information. Boundy were claiming 1,000
mowers a week at this time.

I have worked on a general assumption: Victa held about half
of the market; all the rest held the other half.

I feel No 3 puts that in a relative and fair perspective.

As an added thought, at the time of the Wiltshire takeover, no-
one could have foreseen how the industry would consolidate
into half a dozen 'big players' in the 1960s.

Pope, Turner, Scott Bonnar and Supa-swift entered the rotary market
in the second-half of the 1950s. It was a volatile environment.

I have said that some 90% of 1950s mower makers simple
ceased mower making by the 1960s.

A few stragglers - who made money in the 1950s, simply
lacked the capital or commitment to compete at the top-level.
Here I include Wiltshire, Ogden, Austral-Villiers and Villager.

But for a brief period, Boundy gave it a very good go.

What are your thoughts Paul?

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

Hello gents.

Just a little additive to the Boundy story. It seems Lawn Patrol was a named variant in the 'Lawn' range in 1957.


CANBERRA TIMES (ACT: Thu 28 Nov 1957, page 24)

Nagle Breaks Record 10 Lead Golf Tourney Melbourne, Wednesday;
Kel Nagle broke the record of[b] the Croydon Golf -course today with 67 in the £2,000 Lawn Patrol Tournament:[/b]


He might have been a bit of a driver too: note the last sentence.

August 6, 1956
The Age from Melbourne, Victoria · Page 3


The Victorian Automobile Dirt Track Club is now negotiating with the two bodies to stage regular production-car dirt -track events. Unlike the former stock car racing at Brenock Park, where a winner was determined by his ability to bump his opponent out of the way, this type of racing relies on manoeuvrability and the driver's ability to skid, rather than speed, to win. Anawnereas stock cars were well protected and "souped up," production cars have no more refinements than those provided by the maker. Test Trials About 20 of these enthusiasts took part in trials at Brenock Park yesterday to test the suitability of the track for such events, and to explore the possibilities of production-car racing In Victoria. A spokesman for the club (Mr. H. E. Salter) said last night the response from drivers was encouraging, and, if other factors were favorable, regular events would be held at Brenock Park. "At the moment, however, the track is not wide enough, so we are negotiating with ii me pars irus. Leading cars are expected to reach Rockhampton early tomorrow morning. A competitor, Mr. J. E. ODonnell of Port Kembla, was disqualified when he reached Dalby without his log book. The first car Into Murgon tonight, between Kingaroy and Maryborough, was car 2, driven by John Boundy of Clayton, Victoria, in a Spacemaster.

Luv the info gents - keep it up.
Steve

[b][/b]