OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Collectors General Discussion New Addition

Hi all

Picked up a nice V144 1974 utility mower. I don't seem to be able to resist one owner mowers with the books, this is in nice original looking condition and has been treated well. I really like the quick handle bar fold down release mechanism. Will look nice next to the purple pace, might have to get a mirror ball and get the disco going.

Cheers
wce

Good bit of legal loophole making (4th picture).
I always thought these came with 125 only.
Nice original patina. No wonder you grabbed him.

G'day folks,

Great score there, wce. As well as having the books, Utes in that condition are rare as rocking horse dung - they always tended to be 'rode hard and put away wet'.

Excellent find wce

Was it local or from over east?

Regards
Tyler

Morning all

That was a local one Tyler. Put some fuel in yesterday, was very slow to fill the carby so will need to take the fuel tap out and clean the filter screen, primed it and started first pull, nice clean runner and sounds great.

Cheers
wce

Hello wce,
will you be giving the underside a tinge of green or will it be a man cave statue?

Hi Mowerfreak

I have a bag full of NOS Repco blade and bolt sets so will see if I have a set for it as I don't think it has the right ones at present. If I get the right blades on it I might give it a run on a small section.

Cheers
wce

What do the blades look like now? Has someone put Rover blades on like I have seen before?

G'day folks,

The correct blade type for this one is the NLA Victa P/No CA09262S, or 9-262 in the old Victa system; picture HERE

It so happens that, if wce doesn't have any in his collection, there's a job lot of blades up on the Bay of Fleas just now which includes some of these; https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/vintage-Victa-mower-blades-NOS-1960-1970s/143572756469

I'll have a look in my stash of old blades wce, see what I can find

Maybe (if you decide to get those) see if they combine postage - would make it more worth while

https://www.[Censored].com/o-ring-for-main-jet-suits-victa-g3-models-from-1968-74.html (if you are still after the o rings for the Cortina fuel tap)

They also have the regular Victa blades from that region before 74, but after they combined cutter with lifter https://www.[Censored].com/victa-lawn-mower-swing-back-blade-set-ca09263s.html. Those fit the Storebrands (eg monaro), sunbeam, etc

BBN451 GA is the bolt set

Hi all

Thanks to all contributors, I better get my finger out tomorrow and check my blade stock but have another busy day arranged, will keep you posted. Haven't taken the blades off yet Tyler but they feel like rear catcher blades.

Cheers
wce

Hi all

Checked the blade stock, got the early ones and from 75 on which may still fit. I then remembered having a couple of genuine Victa service kits and one is for all Victa utility mowers ( up until that time of making the service kits i guess ) they look right and the part number on the box is ca 09310s, this number also appears on the victa model list so I presume you could fit these also as well as the ones Gadge mentioned but I won't be taking the blades from the service kit to keep it original.

Cheers
wce

Hi wce

Those blades pictured won't fit - they are for 1974 onwards utes. The ones gadge mentioned do not have the dome at the bolt, are marginally longer and have a slight fan at the back.

I wouldn't hesitate to put these on https://www.gaspares.com.au/product...uct_page=3&search%5Bcategory_url%5D=

They are slightly shorter (I think) but the bolts will fit fine.

It's not like you are probably ever going to expect it to slash down 1 metre high weeds ever again in its life, so these are fine for the occasional run over a lawn - might even help it mulch and throw better (more airflow due to bigger fan)

Stock is still available 18 pair left here is the link: https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/lawn-mo...-blades?zenid=bl06fp52e3mgenqcgnumi66673

Thanks Gent's

All clear

Cheers
wce

Evening all

One thing led to another after getting the Utility mower and picked up a couple today. The Imperial and Ings came out of a shed after a 25 + year storage period. They look in pretty good shape with only light use and the Imperial is a one owner and he had retained the sales brochure with the retail and special price offered by the sales rep, a lot of money in those days ! I think the Imperial will clean up very well.
The Victa has been parked up for longer but even though it had covers on it the element's got to it and it's in pretty average condition. On the handle bar plate it says Victa 18 automatic and on the back of it has some embossing about oils etc. The wheels aren't the originals but apart from that you see lots of images of the toe cutter styles, would like an expert to give comments on this machine as to which model it is.

Cheers
wce

Wow, wce what a haul! Were these local as well? Where on earth are you finding them?!

They all look like they'll clean up rather well. I have always preferred the look of the roller INGS edgers over their 6 wheeled counterparts. Will these ones be put into service...?

Hi Mystler

Yes all local, had a couple of good finds lately, just a bit of luck. The Imperial looks amazing after a quick clean, looks like it has hardly been used, will check the engine soon, should fire up without too much trouble ( famous last words ).

cheers
wce

G'day WCE and Mystyler
Brilliant!
These earliest of Imperials were the better mowers.
Note the larger clutch ...

Low idle RPM, and higher torque, and a larger clutch
made the 4-strokes the better machines - in my view.

The 2-stroke Imperials were ridiculously sensitive to
throttle inputs ...because of their 2-stroke engine.
They lacked low-down torque.

Clearly, Victa understood this, and made the throttle on
their 2-stroke Imperials act as an on-off switch.

Maybe I have said too much ...

Very good.
-------------------------
Jack

wce, I love a good Imperial. And Jack is right, that's an unreel (ha) example.

Jack, thank you for pointing that out, regarding the clutch! I had "noticed" there were clutch differences, but didn't put two and two together to work it out. As much as I hate to admit it, cylinder mowers are probably best left to electrics or 4 strokes. But I'd love one with a 125cc, because I'm a tragic. They tried to solve the problem by putting a spacer under the head to drop the compression didn't they? And these lower comp motors were the only two stroke Victas to use 50:1?

G'day Mystyler,
Yes and yes. They also used a 'special' un-governed version of the G3 carby on these.

G'day Mystyler and Gadge
Many thanks Gadge for a great summary of the Imperial 125cc.

In the modern era, the Ecotech Power Torques used 50:1.
Also, the Victa Jet outboards ran this mix. This was BP Outboard.

Gadge knows this area far better than me.

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

I suspect that these "special" G3s are even harder to get parts for. Why ungoverned?

G'day Mystyler

The answer for me is clear ... Victa saving money.

The Imperial 125cc acted as Victa commercial engines did ...
Off - Idle - On.

The G3 was designed for vertical shaft Victas.
Turning the motor 90 degrees required serious re-thinking - because the
air vane had to act within the air shroud (cowling).

How could you get an air-vane carby work when you rotated it 90 degrees?
Answer: too expensive. Forget governing altogether.

... No

All Victa did was bung the governor aperture. [item 7]

Hello Jack, and thanks. Victa saving money is a common theme. Can't really blame them though, I suspect other companies would have done similar things if needed.

What I don't fully understand with these ungoverned 125s is how Victa prevented home owners from ruining their motor from over revving. Was it simply a matter of the carby not being able to supply enough fuel? A hot, high revving and leaned out motor is not a recipe for success. I guess the G4 came too late for the Imperial in two stroke guise.

wce, I apologise for talking about the two stroke Imperials. I just have a massive soft sport for them as they're a bit unusual. I'd still have a Kirby powered one though. One has actually popped up not to far from me for $80. Little bit rough...and I need another project like a hole in the head.

To a degree, you probably could. But back then, when you paid a fair wack of your income for a quality machine, you were more inclined to look after it.

Plus, as they weren't seen as just an appliance back then, and people had probably grown up with ungoverned 2 stroke rotaries, which you could really get racing.

Of course in any generation there are either a**eholes or idiots who are too ignorant to know/care - just seems like the %age has increased exponentially haha. Another curve we need to flatten


Plus, with a reel mower, you have a relatively constant load - rev it up to engage the clutch and you are always have the reel spinning.

Unlike any of their rotaries - you aren't going from unloaded to plunge into 3ft high weeds. You are manicuring the lawn - its not a slasher. Plus, the engine is right up in the open air and not squished under a 1l tank of fuel with a big cowl crowding it like a rotary.

And remember, the full cranks allowable RPM was listed as up to 4200rpm (utility) - at which point, as you say, you would probably run out of fuel and maybe some ignition point bounce may be involved

G'day Jack,
BP Zoom Outboard, actually.
As far as I can recall, the Victa Jet outboard ran 'BP Zoom 25', same as the rotary mowers. We ran one of these on a 10' aluminium punt for a while in the 70s, and I don't recall having to mix special fuel for it.
Noisy bloody thing with the standard Victa muffler, it was. A straight-through stainless steel [90 deg bend + milking machine milk line tubing] underwater outlet exhaust pipe quieted it a lot.

The bulk BP Zoom 25 drum in my family's OPE shop supplied the fuel for our Victas, tho' we did mix up some 20:1 fuel, using Castrol Super Outboard 2-stroke oil [as that was what Mobilco specified], for our Mobilco Echo saws.

G'day Gadge
Many thanks for keeping me honest.

Yep, the Victa Jet does appear to run on a recommended BP ZOOM 25.




Cheers
Jack