Found two more - across the street from each other. Powertorque one has a lot of surface rust on atop the base as well as the chute. Missing a spark plug. Motor turns over smoothly. K Mart store brand is a 125cc with G4 carb. Has a hole and a crack on top of otherwise good base. Epoxy filler should do the trick. Catcher is good.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Very nice MF - especially the low arch. Shame about the rust on the PT
I had a drive around as well today - got 3/4 of the zone done. Raining and lost light
End result:
Rejected: 1 talon mower (rusty deck, stuffed engine, wobbly wheels 2x grey ryobi trimmers - too many parts missing
Picked up: 1x 1963 Victa Ambassador (average cond with later B&S, but has the windrow cover) 1x Scott Bonnar Diplomat (No engine, but otherwise complete except a few bits) 1x Viggen 2.5kva Inverter generator (hopefully valve timing not stuffed)
So I am happy
Plus, it has rained well today - and I fertilized & wettasoiled the lawn on friday. Should also give my newly spread lawn seed a nice start
Tyler It's hard to decide whether to take something, especially when you have a space problem. You have to weigh that up with how much you'd regret not having taken it! I never used to care for non high arch Victas, but there seems to be a growing interest in low arch models on EBay and they have grown on me and they are a pretty capable little mower as long as you're not tackling wet grass or huge thick growth with it's lack of non clogging chute. Lots of bits to be had, if the complete mower isn't your fancy and that catcher, while a bit unsightly, empties better than any other.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
You boys just keep making me jealous, all these good toys you keep finding. It is not even worth us in lockdown Melb to even bother chasing anything on gumtree or ebay because you risk being fined just going to pick something up even if it is only a couple of ks away. I hate Melb now and wish I could move out into the bush somewhere
Norm if only I had a good lawn to cut. BTW does the Tornado base take long shaft PT or regular shaft?
Tyler not finding any is a blessing when you are running out of space and have plenty on your plate. You may as well keep looking while the sun shines though.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
The K Mart mower was a good find Mf and the Victa Ambassador with windrow cover was also a good find Tyler ,I have a couple of Victa Ambassador mowers but still looking for a side cover .
You can pick up whatever Norm if it's less than 5 ks away , just take the dog and say you are driving to a park for exercise .
Having said that you would still want to be safe and not get covid 19 from touching old mowers so wear gloves and maybe a hazmat suit
I should stop going shopping ,on the way I found a 1979 Rover Utility 4 HP or whats left of it ,replaced the coil for an electronic one and it ran fine ,didn't even blow any smoke ,probably the cast iron bore model.
Hi Max, I know you can push the limits with the 5k boundary but I just couldn't be bothered with all the bull#^*# they want to go on with. I have to go to the hospital in Clayton tomorrow so I had to get them to send me a text so that I have proof of an appointment if I get pulled over. Good score with the Briggs, base looks good and a quick coat of hammertone and it would look great. The sidethrow slashers seem to sell ok, I have a few of those bases I might put PT's on, good tough slasher then.
G'day everybody, lovely find maxwestern. I love old Scott Bonnar and Rover slashers. I presume that grill on the top of the Briggs denotes a cast iron bore.
Got the K Mart mower going after replacing leaking fuel tap , cleaning out float chamber and swapping faulty spark plug with a spare working one. Starts easily and runs beautiful.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi Norm, Yes these days the overzealous police will probably Taser you first for being out then ask questions .
I probably have 10 Rover ute mowers ,a few have Suzuki 2 stroke motors already and I have a few Victa ute mowers with PT's , three of my old Rover ute mowers look a little different ,one someone has extended the wheelbase and another is fitted with a Lawn Beatle engine and one has 1963 Victa Corvette handle bars, the Rover ute should look good with a PT motor.
Looks like you have a few mowers you can get ready to sell Norm until restrictions are lifted .
I think the ones with the plastic grill are 4 hp Mf ,the numbers on the cowl should reference it to having the cast iron bore, but for such an old mower still with good compression I would think it has lasted longer because of a cast bore.It has the 4 hp sticker on the cowl still.
The K Mart mower is especially with the gold catcher.
Yes maxwestern, I was thinking surely there is a crack somewhere but the original gold catcher had no damage. I had to grab this! I am questioning my decision to throw out a derelict Mayfair base a fortnight ago as I probably could have used the handles as the one on the K Mart Mayfair are less than exemplary! Deep rust craters on the top of them and they are a unique narrow design.
I'm sure we'd like to take a look at your fleet of Rover slashers with various power plants stuck to them!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi Max, Yes I still have plenty of mowers to build, I have over 40 Victa bases stacked away, at least 30 tested PT motors sitting on the shelf and probably 80 Victa catchers so I have plenty to do to fill in the days during this neverending lockdown
Hope you have enough good Victa wheels Norm for 40 Victa mowers.
Mf ,yep you don't see many good gold catchers for the Mafair. Pity about the rust in the handle.
Not enough hours in the day just to get all the Rovers out ,too much crap on top ,it's mower upon mower here,still waiting to get free time to clear the sheds ,I counted 12 but can't get to the best 2 stroke one.
Thanks for going to the effort MW. Aren't they sweet! You've even got a Tecumseh unit. They'd be fun to take on a recreational mowing jaunt.
I mowed the front garden with the K Mart Mayfair without dramas. It has good throttle control and idle. As for the gold catchers, they keep breeding with me. This is now my third one. The other two were given to me by a guy clearing his Victa two stroke stuff along with matching mowers. It's nice to know how rare they are.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi Max, my only option with wheels for the Victas is cut the stubs off and weld new stubs on so I can use up some of the hundreds of wheels sitting here from all the other brands. Bit of a pain but all I can do. Get 4 wheels with hubcaps, weld the stubs on, fit the wheels, tie them together as a set and put them away for future use. Spend a few days just doing that and wheels won't be a problem for a while. I have been doing this before but with the lockdown I might as well use the time to stock up. I will also get 15/15 bases repaired/cleaned up ready for the next lot of warm weather and paint them so they can be stacked away and given plenty of time to dry/harden.
especially with the gold catcher.
