Topcat58, with these you need the full travel as the easier start also means slower rate of spin for the motor which means it needs to spin as long as practical to get a chance to fire up. That's why it makes a difference when you tighten up the tension so a length of rope isn't dangling off it at rest. They're not hard to do, just easy to lose track!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I was reading further up the page about the Victa adaptor plate for the 2 stroke engine and from memory these were on the self propelled mowers from the sixties as they didn't make a 2 stroke self propelled Victa base ,they just used the four stroke base with an adaptor plate to fit the 2 stroke motor.
TC, I was given a side pull start mower that had been unused 20 years the owner claimed -seemed true as the body had lots of surface rust, but all the labelling was intact and not damaged or peeling, plus the axles and bushings were like new with zero play.
Anyhow, no spark. It turned out it had a dead ignition module. I replaced it with one off an old seized Powertorque engine and away it went.
MW, I wonder if that adapter plate lets you fit a full crank two stroke onto a four stroke or even a Powertorque Victa base? The SP mower itself would be too valuable to take it off unless it was too far gone.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, I have always wondered about the failure rate on the modules on the side pulls where they were mounted on the underside of the plate without any airflow over them. I always mount the module on these on the upper side of the plate so it gets air flowing over it from the fan. Also doesn't help that these modules are no 40 odd years old
I took your advice on that mower I mentioned, and placed it above. Not sure that's practical with the original chunky module mounted underneath. I will just leave well enough alone on the one or two I have that still work and fit any replacement module on top.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Do you know if any of the later production Super Start full cranks got the smaller module from factory? The one I mentioned already had the smaller one fitted underneath. Maybe that had already been replaced before, though I find that strange on a relatively low hours mower.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
No idea MF, but I guess it's possible Victa would order so many modules and the PT style was probably cheaper being much smaller and doing the same job, when they ran out of the bigger module towards the end of the F/C motors it would be a no brainer to just start using the small module. All speculation though
MW, I wonder if that adapter plate lets you fit a full crank two stroke onto a four stroke or even a Powertorque Victa base? The SP mower itself would be too valuable to take it off unless it was too far gone.
Yes I've seen a few Victa motors on other bases with the adapter plate Mf.
I don't think mounting the module on the top of the plate will make any difference ,it may be hotter on the top side as heat rises.
Old modules fail, doesn't matter if they are the old 1983 type used on full cranks and powertorques or the later powertorque smaller module.
It should be easy to see if the full crank side pull originally had the small module standard as the small module has one hole but the earlier module has 2 holes so if the full crank has 2 holes in the alloy it originally had the old big module.
I know all the 1983 Super Starts were still using the old big module.
It should be easy to see if the full crank side pull originally had the small module standard as the small module has one hole but the earlier module has 2 holes so if the full crank has 2 holes in the alloy it originally had the old big module.
I know all the 1983 Super Starts were still using the old big module.
Cheers Max.
Hi maxwestern, here's a pic I took of the mower and of underneath showing there are two holes, one holding a small module on top. The large one must have been replaced in the past with a small one underneath riveted in using one of the holes before that failed also. Maybe that's why the mower fit put into prolonged storage before I saved it from going to land fill and replacing it myself, getting the mower operational again.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
The population of most of them have probably been thrown away! I remember but that long ago I found four different ones on a matter of a few months. One (for parts only) got chucked by my father while I was away, one I couldn't load in the car as the handle knobs were seized, another I took the starter and wheels off as it was trashed and I had limited space. And another I got going but was smokey and was a tired motor, so sold it on the cheap as a parts donor. This one came home with me and kept under lock and key!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
