Picked up this Victa, Excellent base and pretty good overall, would like your thoughts on model / age. I'm presuming it's an earlier model having an impulse starter, metal fuel tank, metal cowling and brass fuel tap. Engine number is 368012601. The base has an opening under the engine as per picture, not sure what the purpose is and looks an overkill for a fuel run off from the carby after priming. I have another couple of mowers with a very similar bases and colour but they are all different.
I should have put a smiley face thing on my post but was busy having giggle at myself and Max's post. Wound her up yesterday afternoon after draining the old fuel and started fine but goes straight to fairly high revs. I'll check the carby linkages/springs but suspect it may have a minor air leak. Probably won't go too far with it as it's a bitsa. Lots of good parts and the grub screw out of the fuel tap will be going onto the Corvette which is a part i have been after for a while.
Wce, being a g3 carby , you may need to lift the governor vane upwards and turn it. There may be a clip to remove
There is a set of teeth on the bottom of the vane that mesh on a set on the throttle linkage (best way I can describe) and if someone bumps the vane upwards and around (eg when cleaning) it will either rev harder or wont rev at all.
In a word no but could it be opposed v's ? The wheels look original enough to me and the wear and tear is consistent on all wheels, all 4 wheels have the same cap. I posted the picture as it looked different from the other Victa wheel caps iv'e seen but as I have already displayed my eye for detail on vintage mowers has been a bit out of focus but should deteriorate nicely with age.
Hi Tyler Thanks for the tips on this carby, sounds like you have had a deal of experience with them. It is a good strong engine, maybe that's why it got parked in the shed in the first place ?
Had a little bit of experience with them, but I do more with G4/LM carbies. I have 2 mowers with G3 - 1973 ish Monaro and a 1972 Sunbeam.
I read a lot of different workshop manuals - I effectively never read a fiction book, but have always liked reading gregory's manuals, service manuals, and other car/small engine or home repair related literature.
Just bought an old readers digest book with a big section about mowers - everything from changing oil to renewing the clutch in a SB45. Has a page on the G3, so I will scan that in and add it on the weekend
Wce, being a g3 carby , you may need to lift the governor vane upwards and turn it. There may be a clip to remove
There is a set of teeth on the bottom of the vane that mesh on a set on the throttle linkage (best way I can describe) and if someone bumps the vane upwards and around (eg when cleaning) it will either rev harder or wont rev at all.
It doesn't quite work that way; it shouldn't be possible to move the vane very far vertically.
The part that moves to adjust the governed speed is actually the lower governor spring seat, #25 'Tension applicator', in the exploded diagram on Page 7 of the repair manual excerpt. That's the bit with the teeth, that engage with corresponding teeth on #26.
The clip Tyler mentions, #35, locks that seat to #26, the throttle connector, when installed - so it's best to replace it after adjustment.
One thing to check on these carbies [they're not very prone to air leaks, unless the butterfly shaft is a very sloppy fit in the carby body] is the timing of the governor bevel gears. They can slip, and throw the governed speed out of whack. The correct setup is described on Page 8 of the doco. Need to have the carby off the mower, to check this.
Looks like the carburettor is a probably a G2 (3-260). It has a large metal flag and a slightly different governor arrangement, but the same governor vane gear and pinion as the G3. If you do remove it from the mower I'd be keen to see a photo, especially of the governor spring.
Given the engine date and the G2, it does seem to correspond with a Mayfair 68-69 Deluxe 2 Model 559 (V76). The chassis base CH81648A (8-1648) does have a slot (drain?) towards the rear, as per your photo.
Here are some more pictures and pictures of the carby, the other carby picture is a complete unit that came with a few spares when I picked up some mowers a while back, which model carby is this one ?. The problem with the lack of throttle control was the nut directly above the bowl primer holding the linkages in place was slightly loose allowing everything to tilt when throttle is applied so it would not return to idle, I relocated the linkages, tightened the nut and the throttle control is now much better. Some adjustments of the Governor spring have been made in the past by the look of it and am not sure which hole it should be located in. What wasn't evident until I gave it a wash this morning is that there is a fuel drain hole in the base below the fuel bowl. The other 2 mayfair looking mowers i have both have the box type mufflers with the outlet via the slot in the left side of the base. The interesting thing about the base slot in this mower is that it is in the centre rear of the base and the left side of it is higher than the right so when looking at it on an angle as per picture 4 in the above post you can see clearly through it. For want of a better description it resembles a horizontal letter box opening. You couldn't place anything in it vertically unless it was curved at the end. The slot is at least, by my estimation 90 to 100 mm in length. A couple of other things with this mower is that you cannot remove the end from the air filter housing and on the rear flap there is riveted a spring steel plate i presume to give some tension to keep the catcher in place when installed. The other 2 mowers have the spring system.
Hi Mowerfreak After doing some homework the answer to your question regarding the logo on the wheel caps is that it is the Mayfair logo, same as what is evident on the front of the base of some models. I could be wrong but it looks identical.
With this Mayfair with the slot in the base ,I have a 1969 Victa Corvette with the slot so (the slot under the cylinder) I was thinking if the mower has a late build date in 1968 it would be the same as a 1969 model Mayfair.
My 1967 has no slot and the 1970 has no slot but 1969 does with the Corvette bases.
The Mayfair bases I checked all had no slot but I may not have a 1969 model.
Checked a 1968/1969 Cortina base and that had the slot.
Just saying it's likely that the engine for that base is original.
On the rear flap there is a riveted spring steel plate / that holds the flap open when not using a catcher.
The double arrow hub caps are probably as hard to find as Pace caps.
MarkN's comments are interesting, is the carby a G2 and would it be the correct one for that engine year ? In March last year carnut posted pictures of his machine under Victa Mayfair identification. This was the only other picture i have seen of a mower with the same gold metal cowling, front sticker, handle bars, air filter/throttle control body and spring steel plate on the rear flap. The base looks the same but is green and a shame no picture of the underside is there to check if the slot is visible. In the comments on that thread it is mentioned that the original G2 carby has been replaced with a G3 as they were more reliable ? I wouldn't know. Mine came with a plastic catcher bit it appears a metal one would have been the original type. The indication from that thread was that carnuts machine was a Mayfair deluxe 2. https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/.../victa-mayfair-identification.html.
