Hi Styx, nice job on the rebuild mate, it looks good. I'm a big fan of all the Victa 18" utilities. They're a tough, robust little mower that will mow just about anything you put in front of them.
As far as you're non starting problem is concerned, have you checked the piston and rings? Pop the muffler and have a look, they could be fried and not creating enough comp to start up.
When i have a non starting 2 stroke i do a couple of check in this order:
Check for spark, check for fuel, remove plug and check for flooding by pulling starter a few times, if no flooding is evident I spray a little aerostart to see if i can get it to fire. If it still wont fire i remove the decompressor and block hole with an old spark plug, if still no start remove muffler and blow through to see if it's blocked and do a visual inspection of the piston/rings.
Generally if i've gotten this far more often than not i've located the problem otherwise my last resort is to remove the head, inspect the head gasket to see if it's been fried in any particular spot and then replace it with a new one and try again. When changing any victa head or barrel gasket make sure to smear oil on it first prior to re-assembly.
Youve done most of these checks so do a visual of the rings and see how you go.
