OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Rotary Mustang Month !

Thanks for your reply too bigted. I asked the wrong question by mistake. I was trying to work out what the next mustang after the side pull was and if there was another side pull or power torque before they were changed to white. The man MF, set me straight!!!

Thanks to all who have helped me out.

I've been working on the model history of the Mustangs up to the White Mustang GTS with the optional V40 cowling for about 4 or 5 months now and I'll hopefully be able to present it here with part reference numbers, years, engine type, colour and hopefully pictures of all of the ones I have. Unfortunately I don't think I'll find the beautiful cherry red and white 73-74 and a catcher for 1 other by the time its finished.

Your misread my post Sean.
I meant the green catcher for the first Powertorque Mustang you got won't be a good match to other models looks wise because of it's colour. It's 100% compatible physically. It's just a green version of the black Powertorque thumblatch catcher, it just doesn't look any good on any model that isn't green in colour.

Ahh, sorry mate. The silverstreak deck I would use would be getting painted up to match the original colour. That's what I meant, when I said I have the 2 to choose from. Even if I find an original mustang, it will need a coat of paint for sure any way. But would be nice to have an original!

Still, I appreciate the information mate! As you are aware, I shoot first and ask questions later, too often. Somthing I need to work on. I just get all excited and jump into things without using my brain.....

If my catcher could talk, it would say "It's not easy, being green"
🤣🤢🤣

No worries brother!

I happen to like the Silver Streak a lot. I have a side pull full crank version that needs a repaint and some axle shims to solve a bit of movement on the front.

Just hold onto that greeny. If you could get your hands on the fabled 73 VC 125 (thanks to Tyler), a green 84 PT Mustang will surely show up.
There was also a PT silver streak.

Finally found one!!!! Hopefully picking this up in 2 weeks. The 73-74 Cherry Red and White Mustang. That makes it all of the pre power torque Mustangs, I can now start putting the pictures together with the model history from 1973 through to 1981. Now I'm looking for a good quality power torque Mustang from 82-83, as I've already found 2 but they aren't in the best shape, and I need to pick up my 85-86 Mustang with the GTS decals and the V40 cowl that I've already paid for.

🤦‍♂️ I need a truck, so I can pick everything up on one big round trip, I'd need to bring a camp trailer and I'd drive all around Vic picking up all of the 16 mowers I need to pick up. Bloody hell, I only just counted in my head how many mowers I need to pick up that I've paid for.

That's an exceedingly rare find, a red Mustang with matching red catcher. It seems most buyers preferred froggy! Hence a store full of them here.


Green base PT Mustang was late 83 or 1984 and GTS decals was 1987/88.
I think I may have just figured out why the PT Mustang got lower end round throttle assembly instead of the rectangular one the FC ones with G4/LM carby always had. They were positioned at the top of domestic push mowers. With the 1983 introduction of the PT range, the Vortex was then positioned at the top with it's fuller engine cover bolted to the base, and the Mustang now was not, getting a top tier engine bolted cover instead.

Later on, during the GTS era Victa heads decided to cascade the square housing down to lower models, including some higher up steel deck models.

Yes the 83-84 Mustangs was the green, apologise MF I was half asleep when making this post.

But, the 85-86 Mustang came with optional GTS and Turbo decals. I know because mine has them and they are very original. You may have been eluding to the 86-87 Mustang that comes with optional V40 cowl and is often called the Mustang GTS. But the first all white 85-86 PT Mustang didn't come with optional decals and no lug holes for a cowl.

Im happy that most went for froggy colour models. Because I love these more desirable now and seemingly less desirable back in the day models. The only all green mower I love is the VC125...... but I haven't seen a green PT with catcher together yet and I have a feeling that the different shaped of the catcher and colour shade difference will make me a lover of it!!!! Coloured combinations on all the different models from 70's and early 80's are something that made me fall for these mowers. The further along I go and finding all of these different shades of catchers it blowing my mind as I find more and more catchers with difference colours and most are for store brand models. But if they could turn mowers from just tools to a fashion statement again I'd be very happy!!

Thank God for flower power of the 60's so that the designers of the 70's weren't afraid to go out and use some real flair for design and colours.

You got the entire colour palette of Mustang type thumblatch catchers it seems, except maybe the lighter red catcher for the red VC Sports. You are the one who made me realise there were two greens and now two reds in the range.

I think the first Powertorque Mustang was the last Victa with a coloured catcher. They were all black or black and grey since.

So sad the change from colour catchers to black. I have 3 red 73-74 VC-SPORT catchers. The one that I'm really happy about is the dark green catcher without the magic eye for my store brand eclipse, I'm not sure if green is the right name for the colour it's so dark and almost a dark blue but it's green.....

The one I haven't picked up MF Is a purple one for my blue and purple VC-SPORT......

Oh and there are a heap of different colour thumblatch catchers from the 70's in the shape of the Mustang one but without the magic eye for store brands. I know the one with the magic eye comes in at least 3 shades of green, 2 shades of red and 1 shade of purple, that I have personally come across so far.

I've put up some pictures of different colours I've come across. First picture is the one for my store brand Eclipse and matches the deck colour perfectly, the second and third picture are of a low arch, I believe, catcher but another colour, then what I believe the Impala 2 catcher colour might be and finally one of my Red VC-SPORT catchers. But the 4th picture shows a catcher from the early 70's in the Mustangs style but a much darker shade of green, I'm %99 sure that there is another shade darker catcher in that model too that I have seen at some stage.

Here's my input into Mustang month.
This beauty was traded in today and a little TLC and here she is.

Nice one Ted! Thanks a beauty

I demand to know, is that thing a resto or a very charmed life? Very envious if it's the latter.

Haven't forgotten your gold hi arch Mayfair you cleaned up a while ago.

MF it's a combination of both a very light resto and being in a good paddock most of it's life. It was sold 2 days after i posted the pic. The new owner fell in love with it the moment he saw it and i'm sure it'll serve him well for another 30 years or so.
P.S. I did replace the upper and lower handles with a better set of chrome ones i had here after this photo was taken.

Didn't even notice. I was paying attention to the paint on the base. Looks mint in the pics.
Remember I found one like it with no handles at all!
I was given a pair of rather shabby ones with old white paint and some rust over it. I painted them black. Wish I knew what paint I used. They've held up well in the four years since I did them.

PS just had a closer look and it appears it had had a fresh coat of green applied. Makes the mower look a million bucks! If so, what is the paint? The colour match is spot on (in the pics at least).

Finally brought home my 1973 Mark 3 G3 carby Cherry Red Mustang and catcher. I decided to take a couple of quick pictures of it and some next to the last of the Mustangs with the large white cowl, before the side pull start was introduced. So the first and the last, side by side!!!

I do love how the first run of the Mustang cowl had extra slots in it on either side towards the top of the cowl. Any way, hope you enjoy!!!

Your really are breeding them points ignition Mustangs Sean.
If you ever want/need to sell them, bring them up to Sydney. It'll be like throwing meat into a tank full of piranhas!

Im sorry to say that these 2 are a permanent part of my collection now. I'm going to do up the 4 all green Mustangs I have and once I do a few pictures and maybe take them to a local market for a bit of show, then I'll be selling the all green unless I find a 73-74 Mustang in green with the extra vents in the cowl and black hubcaps! If I get one of those I'll keep that but after I've finished the bloodline with pictures I'm moving a bunch of my Mustangs.

Yes the G4/LM ones are far more common than the 73-75 years with the solid rubber wheels.
I do like the last of the all green ones with the carb facing out and the hole made for the snorkel to thread through the cowl.

Much prefer the look with the black covers but the standard orange ones look fine.

Edit: look forward to this pictorial for the Mustang through the years.
The disappointing reality though, is that the first chassis was superior to the ones used for the PT series Mustangs, good mowers as they were in their own right.
They should have kept producing them. I suspect too much reengineering was required so they did a revised version of the store brand/Corsair/Corvette high arch instead.

On top of the re engineering of the design, I'm not sure if you touched on it of its part of your issue with the later design, is the quality of the metal going into the casts. All of the decks I have that pre date 1978 all have much less damage than anything produced from 78 onwards.

I have had to buy 3 of the side pull super start Mustangs to make 1 good one and it's because 2 of them were very good, all accept the bases that have large pieces broke by what I guess is larger rocks

I only see this damage on this era of deck and the second release of the white Power Torque Mustangs. Its the same with my powerplus mowers, the decks all have corrosion or breaks that shouldn't happen and didn't pre 1978! So I agreed that the changes made to the alloy used in the cast made them so much weaker and then design changes caused even more issues.....

You might be onto something there. I've had two pre 78 Mustangs and they never had cracks or holes in their decks but my SuperStart circa 81 has a 6" section of the front skirt pushed in with a crack either side of it instead of bending in from the knock it had.
That's disappointing to hear if it turns out the quality of the aluminium poured into the mould was inferior on a molecular level or due to contamination.

I have a Powerplus self propelled SuperStart with a good chassis. Self propelled system is faulty and motor won't start unfortunately.