OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories VICTA Models VICTA - FIRST WORKSHOP MANUAL - c1964

Hello ODK history lovers
By 1964 Victa was a large and sophisticated company but eight years
earlier – 1956 – it was clear that Victa was becoming a professional operation;
with Merv employing talented folk and creating Marketing, Sales, Service and
Spares departments.

Here, I present Victa’s first Workshop Manual made available, not only
to their agents and dealers, but also to the general public.

Released in 1964, the initial copy sold for a retail price of 12/6 …
‘twelve and six’ … 12 shillings and 6 pence.



The manual is comprised of about 40 pages and has five distinct sections:

SECTION T Victa Two-Cycle Engines
SECTION F Four-Cycle Engines
SECTION M Flywheel Magnetos
SECTION C Carburettors
SECTION S Starters

I have done a quality scan of the manual with some digital repair work.
I have wanted to retain the general patina and colour of this now old manual.

Because of the large file size, I have split up the manual over a couple
of sections that follow.

Enjoy!

PART TWO – Section T – Victa Two Cycle Engines
This Manual is an amalgam of the old and the new – with some
illustrations dating to earlier models. Note the push to using original
spare parts … an issue even back then.

Here is SECTION T Victa Two-Cycle Engines: -

PART THREE – Section F – Four-Cycle Engines
Of course, Victa had to engage with the 4-stroke engine.
It dominated the 1960s domestic mower landscape in Australia -
with all the big mower makers using Briggs & Stratton and/or
Kirby-Lauson [and later, Kirby-Tecumseh engines], in their
domestic range line-up.

Note that these were designated as Lauson Vertical [LV] and
then Vertical Kirby [VK]. Why the change? The answer was in
new North American ownership of Lauson. Tecumseh’s marketing
strategy was to gradually remove ‘Lauson’ from the reality …
Lauson designs were now Tecumseh engines.

In the 1960s, Victa used Kirby 4-strokes on their top-end lawnmowers.

Here is SECTION F Victa Four-Cycle Engines: -

PART FOUR – Section M – Magneto
All the following sections cover the ancillaries – Magneto, Carburettor and Starter.
This part covers 2-cycle & 4-cycle ignition.

Here is SECTION M Magnetos: -

PART FIVE – Section C – Carburettors
This part covers 2-cycle & 4-cycle carburettion
Including air filters used at that time.

Here is SECTION C Carburetors: -

PART SIX – Section S – Starters
This part covers 2-cycle & 4-cycle starting systems.

You might note that almost 4 of the 6 pages are devoted to repair
Victa’s own Recoil Starter – the least used in the 1960s. The other
starters – the ‘Sure Start’ Impulse Starter; and the ‘Trip Release’
Impulse Starter were the most common. It was the Trip Release that
was used most extensively on 1960s lawnmowers, being simple and
safe to repair.

There is a simple reason why Victa had to reply on North American
starter designs on most of their 2-strokes at this time.

Victa's Recoil Starter needed to be robust enough for
use on their 2-stroke, an engine that had no decompressor.
It was never a great solution or solution at all, given that
an even larger 160cc engine was in the pipe-line.

Here is SECTION S Starters: -

I have a Victa News Cuttings that covers the release of this Victa Workshop Manual: -
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/97197/victa-news-cuttings-january-1964.html

Victa Spare Parts Manual c1965: -
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/110306/victa-spare-parts-manual-c1965.html


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