OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Finding and Swapping Tip & Curb Side Finds Modified Victa VC160 Scrap Yard Find

G'day everyone,

Found this today at the scrap yard and I was really thinking about not bothering with it as it's a bit buggered and modified all over. Then I thought it's a good thing to grab for show and tell on these forums. Also I was thinking even if it's butchered a bit it's a classic Victa VC160 and they aren't that easy to find these days, also the bulldozer was nearby and was starting to clear and pile up the metal and it wouldn't have been too long until this was also destroyed and thrown on the scrap pile. I paid $10 for it. I just couldn't let it get crushed as I have never seen one of these being dumped with hard rubbish or in a scrap yard for a very long time now.

Check out the photo's I have added of this poor beast, it has had the wheels changed to something else, looks like they also welded one of the front axles up where the wheel sits. Then there is the welded on handles. But wait there's more! lol. There is also no more height adjustment setting for this mower, it's sort of all been welded and wired up to their favourite cutting height! lol

If that's not enough wait there's still more great features fitted to this lawnmower! Check out the 4 stroke lawnmower later style throttle control fitted to the handle and connected to the old G3 carby. I tried moving it and it seems to work ok...lol.

Cheers!

Saving the planet...........one Victa at a time ?

Hi Converse,
The pull start looks ok and if the decomp valve is ok it is worth much more than the $10, they are like gold and you did the right thing to save it. Besides that it probably would run with a bit of work. Good score.

Old mate certainly got his mileage out of that one! What are you plans for it Converse?

G day Converse,
yours still looks like a VC 160 compared to this butchered one I found and eventually got going:
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/85386/1.html

Hi everyone,

Well I know I have not seen one of these in hard rubbish anywhere since the very first ever mower I found back in 2007 which was another VC160. I think that mower was also the reason I jumped on the internet back then and started searching for some parts and also some help on how to repair and rebuild it. Which led me to sign up to these forums back then. So you could say the old Victa VC-160 has a bit of history with me and joining these forums that's for sure.

Hi Bonnar_Bloke, don't know about saving the planet mate but I know it's saving us backyard collectors classic Victa parts that are only available from old machines now. If you want to keep these old things running, you have to stock up on old parts!

Hi NormK thanks mate you know as well as I do any parts for an older FC are only getting rarer to find now. I will try and salvage anything old school Victa 2 stroke that's for sure!

Hi Mystyler for now I will just try to see if I can get this old beast running. One thing is for sure, it has the most solid feeling handles you will ever get on a VC160! LOL! welded solid! One thing I remember on my original VC-160 hard rubbish find was the sloppy worn out lower handle bushes that I was trying to find back then to repair it. I'll see how it goes anyway.

Hi Mowerfreak, gees mate I had a look at that one you found, yes that one didn't look like a VC160 much at all. It's like they tried to make it look like the later green deck FC with the black top cowling look. It's amazing though how many repairs and modifications people did to these back in the day to keep them going for as long as possible.

Cheers!

Converse,
Funny how 90% of people would consider these to be complete rubbish and we consider them to be gold

I gotten great amusement from the modifications /hacks I have come across over the years and appreciate other's efforts and ideas I get from them. It saves me the work lol!!

What I find most interesting is what is correct, there are some things there that are not only original, but in surprising condition when you consider the mower itself, whilst it's seen better days, the spark plug boot is the right one, so it's likley held on since 1971, and this is indeed a V96, MKII VC-160, so that air filter cap is correct...

Both are parts that I've seen replaced or missing more often than not on far less... um... re-engineered? machines...

I've seen handles welded like that before, and all sorts of wheels... but the height adjuster... well, that particular style was honestly rubbish, and most of the ones iv'e seen have some form or repair or another, or just fail 2m into the yard... but that fix... going to the level of pulling out the welder, then finishing it off with a scrap of fence wire... the "best" of both worlds?

^Then we got the plastic toothed height detents, which Victas got for decades afterwards. One instance of plastic being the better solution.

My markII gave me crop circles on a number of occasions.

Did you see the link to my Frankensteined VC Mr Davis? The engine wasn't even original as it had a G4 carb but it went well once I put one together for it.

G'day everyone,

Thanks for the information on this exact model and features Mr Davis. Yes Mowerfreak my other VC-160 must be the later model as it has the plastic toothed height adjuster even though it's missing one tooth, it still works ok.

I had another quick look at this VC160 scrap find today and I noticed as I tried the pull starter gees this thing has a ton of compression for an old mower. Then I had a look underneath the top metal cowl and as I assumed there is no decompressor there and a spark plug has been put in it's place. They also just cut the plastic vacuum line and just put a screw in to block it off near the carby.

As for cutting height, I think it's way too low and the deck is slightly scrubbing on the ground where they have left it. Maybe if I try and chuck some original Victa wheels on this thing it might raise it up a little.

Cheers!

I'm not sure I did mate, where was that one?



Now that's a far less unusual fix! I honestly can't begin to count how many times I've seen that one done! for the most part I find it somewhat unusual on these older machines as generally, the decompression valves are quite easy to repair, being a serviceable part. most times it's a matter of taking it off, opening it and cleaning it up. I've not all that often seen the diaphragm deteriorated beyond saving and even leaks around the plastic nipple at the top can often be dealt with by tightening the grip and adding an o-ring or gasket paste... the support stems often become loose from the base cup, but this has to get pretty bad to effect operation...

G'day Mowerfreak and Mr Davis,

Yes at least the missing decompressor can be easily fixed, I have a spare one in the shed. I think the top fitting is a bit loose on it but at least these can be repaired and put back into service.

I had another look at this mower today and I tested a few things to see if it will fire up. First thing I checked was for a spark, yep great it's got spark. It's also got a really old rusty looking Motorcraft spark plug part number "A7N". I wonder how old these spark plugs are and are they still available today?

The old spark plug was still sparking so I just put it back in to see if it will fire. I also noticed that they have also used some tie wire in the governer flag area on the carby, it looks like it's holding it together. This thing really has been patched up all around...lol.

Even the rod you press for the tickler has been patched up a bit with tie wire near the top. I pressed it quite a few times and still can't get a steady flow of fuel. Anyway I managed to get some fuel to flow out so I thought i'll see if it starts now.

After about 2 or 3 pulls there was nothing at all. Took the spark plug out and it's completely dry. Ok now let's try putting a tiny bit of 2 stroke mix straight into the spark plug hole and try again. Great it started up and ran for a bit then stopped! That's great because at least it looks like it hasn't been straight fueled! I am amazed because of how old this engine is and looking at the head bolts they look like they are rusty and have never been removed at all. Not bad for an engine that was made back in 1971!

Cheers!

Hi Converse

so now all you have to do is work out if it is a carby or a seal problem, for one of those reasons it is not drawing fuel in

Hi NormK, Converse and Mr Davis.

Visually, those wheels look to be the same diameter front and back. It seems all mowers sold in Australia have either 6, 7 or 8 inch wheels.
Yours look to be 8" rear and 6" front as original, and they have good unworn looking tread.
I quite like them myself. Sure, not original but part of it's history now. Kind of like a car with aftermarket mags fitted lol!!!

Here's the link. It has a black VC Sports style cover with it's nose cut off.
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/85386/1.html

G'day everyone,

Cheers NormK and thanks again for all the help mate. I will probably just start with the carby first I think. They are pretty easy to remove and give it a bit of a clean throughout. The last time I worked on one of these G3 carbies was back in 2007 on my other VC-160 hard rubbish find. As long as I can get it to let fuel in to the engine and run i'll be happy and i'm not too fussed if all the governing parts are working, as it looks like it's been patched and wired together anyway.

Also NormK I have heard you mentioning that you can somehow use an old Rover catcher on the back of these? I think I have a couple of Rover catchers out the back of the shed that I found in hard rubbish a while ago. If I can somehow try and use one of these on the back of this VC-160 it would be great. I don't really want to go and modify or drill much on the original deck as it does look like that's one thing they haven't drilled or modified at all. I think the rear flap also looks to be in good original condition on this mower. If you have any pictures or details on how to use a Rover catcher on this mower it would be great!

Hi Mowerfreak, yes those wheels do look like they have brand new tread on them. The wire they have wrapped on the height adjuster looks like it can be removed and possibly I can then move the lever a little bit higher. I can probably bolt in another bracket from their welded on bracket to raise it a little bit more so the deck isn't scraping on the ground so much.

Cheers!

Hi I had a look at these Rover catchers that I have and they are not both the same size, one has a longer front lip and the other a shorter one. I am not even sure if they are proper Rover catchers or from something else..lol

Anyway I tried to fit one on the back and had a look how it would fit up. I think it would be better if I changed the rear flap if I was going to go down that path. Doesn't matter I can just use this as a every now and then mulching mower for now, a nature strip beast...lol.

Cheers!

Hi Converse,
been a few years since I fitted the Rover catchers to the Victa high arch, From memory I made up a new flap from a piece of sheet metal and then I riveted that to the existing flap to extend the flap out with a turndown to grab onto the catcher. I also had to cut a bit out of the tounge in the left corner to clear the high arch section. Wish I had a few Rover catchers at the moment because I have a few High arch that I could put Rover catchers on. Buckets of catchers here and nothing I can use. The Rover catcher on the High arch is a perfect fit
I usually throw the high arch bodies out,pity because the bodies are much better that the steel pressed ones but without catchers they are useless to me. I usually just pull the motors off and fit them on slashers, about all I can do.

G'day everyone,

Thanks again for all help NormK but gees mate this VC160 I have been messing around with for a few days now and I think it still needs a bit of work.

Firstly I thought i'll try and sort out the height adjustment on this mower. I removed the tie wire and screw they had holding the handle in place. Then I noticed that only the back wheels seems to move a little bit but the fronts were pretty much locked in place. The bar and linkages all looked ok then I had a look under the deck and found the problem. The front of the alloy base had been bent in that much that it was resting up against the front wheel axle. So I removed the front wheels and axle assembly then I managed to straighten out the front of the base with a large metal stake for leverage in between the front lip and the inside alloy part. Luckily it turned out great and nothing cracked. Now the height adjuster can freely move all the wheels like it should.

Because the height adjuster was modified already I just thought I need to add another bracket onto the already welded on bracket to give the mower some extra height. I just found a peice of scrap angle alloy from an old deck chair in the yard and added it onto this bracket. It didn't really work properly and the handle sort of pops out and was loose so I just used a bolt and secured it for now at a nice cutting height.

After all that I have also removed the carby and cleaned out the jet and all the small passages for the fuel. The main jet did feel like it had a bit of rubbish in there. I managed to look after the gasket and I just re-used it. I also managed to get the flag and governor working again as close to an original. I also removed the tie wire from the tickler push rod and installed a little e-clip on top to hold the spring in place. Looks and works a bit better now than having tie wire wrapped and sticking out everywhere...lol

I also removed the spark plug and installed a decompressor with some new rubber line. All working good now.

Ok it starts up great and idles nicely, only thing is I can't seem to be able to rev it up too fast it cuts out all the time. So I thought maybe it's that old blocked up fuel filter as I remember the flow of fuel from the tickler wasn't all that fast. I changed out that gold coloured fuel filter to a brand new one and it seems that it did increase the fuel flow so I thought great it should be good now. It now flows fuel from the tickler exactly like my other VC160 mower, and that mower works great. So at least I know the fuel flow from the tank to the carby is ok.

Well not so, it's still idling perfectly but when I go to rev it up it runs and stops all the time. Sort of like it's a fuel delivery issue or something.

I looked at the bottom of the engine near where the seal is and it looks like it's leaking a bit near there. Looks like petrol and oil seeping out. It's not much but it's got a slight leak. I am not to sure if this could be the reason for it not being able to rev up properly. But it idle's nice and slow like a dream, I would have thought a leak from a seal would also cause it to have a faster idle?

The only other thing I haven't had a look at yet is the ignition system. I tried to remove the top flywheel nut late in the afternoon but it looks to be rusted and seized a bit on there. I tried tapping with a hammer, WD-40, socket and breaker bar. Nope won't budge at all. So I just left it for now until one day I fire up the air compressor and hit it with a rattle gun. Who knows when was the last time this thing had the points cleaned or adjusted? lol Luckily I have a new set of points and condensor here that I can replace with if I manage to remove the flywheel. Heck I may even try one of those electronic ignitions on this beast.

I also found a nice hard rubbish newer style black Victa catcher with white printed "VICTA" on the sides the other day. I always wanted one of these to see how it would look on my older FC Commando. I also just sat it on the back of the old VC160 to see how it would look on one of these...lol

Cheers!

Hi Converse,
you're making good progress there. Very inspiring.
That home made improvised height adjuster looks good, even if it doesn't work!
Bolting it in makes the mower useable at least and the right height should make it useful for most of the yard in a one size fits all kind of way!
Those wheels look quite smart on that mower. I would leave them there unless you are committing to a full resto or aim to get it back to original as possible.
I wonder, this is a mark II, could you fit the mark III height adjuster set up by obtaining the rear axle to replace this one and getting the plastic toothed piece?
That would be the solution I would pursue, or just put up with the one size fits all if you want!!
I was working on a wheel of a super swift today that was wobbling like crazy. The plastic bushes that act as bearings had bored out so much due to the rusty axle acting as an abrasive on the inside. I replaced them with a pair of ball bearing sets from a Sanli I found a while ago. They worked a treat. It spins very freely now and most of the play is gone now.