I realised I never did an introduction so G'day I'm Sean and I started collecting mowers and anything to do with mowers, mainly victa 2-strokes a bit over 4 months ago.
I was a landscape gardener for at least 15 years doing mainly maintenance work. I've always been good with machinery when there is an issue, I was always the go to guy.
When my own mower started having an issue, it had previously had 2 years before, and me being injured on workcover with nothing to do decided to Google the issue and 45 minutes later it was fixed. I then drove past a green 76 VC-SPORT about 5 times over a period of 3 day's and finally decided to grab it just to play around with as a hobby. Well then the part number was V147 and no matter how hard I looked I just couldn't find info on that particular part number. But in looking for information I saw my first Purple and Blue VC-SPORT and I was just blown away at the out there different retro colours and the fact that they really invented the high-arch (I think) and the shape of the mowers we still use today.
Anyway, a bit over 4 months later and I have at least 40 mowers that are ether going to stay in the original condition, because they have been taking care of so well that it would be a tragedy to try and do anything, then there are one's that I've had to piece back together by buying a bunch of mowers that have had parts changed and piecing them back together and finally I have mowers that I've bought that just simply need restoration.
I started with VC-SPORT'S and Mustangs from the 70's and now I collect any 70's series mowers with a cowling I don't have. But now I've started including some different mowers. I have a 1958 pace 18 with a villiers mark 7f engine and now I'm looking at some of the pace 18's. I love anything a bit different and rare (weather rare is valuable or NOT, because rare doesn't always mean valuable) like my Masport Vulcan.
I have a model 5 that runs and all I want is the correct choke (I'm willing to pay what it takes to get these parts) all correct parts and besides the choke I need the base multi tool cover, the victa sign, 1 wheel and the tool holder bolts.
This is me,:
So I suffer from some quite serious mental health issues and one of them simply can't be fixed with medication and some sessions with a psyc helped a little but when you suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, you don't get to choose what triggers you and can't control people who are just being themselves and if they may joke about something that may really mess me up for the next few days to weeks.
It's hard to understand what it's like for a person with PTSD to be triggered. "Believe me I know" I know because I have a very close friend with serious PTSD and she would say this triggers me or that triggers me and the word trigger was really starting to piss me off. Not long after I was diagnosed and when it was explained to me why I react the way I do in certain situations and after. Then I fell apart, really really heavily, because I was upset with myself for causing her to be triggered. You see that's the thing with mental health, unless you have walked a lifetime in someone else's shoes, you have no idea what they have been through, people wear masks. I'm 6 foot 5, I weigh 120kg and basically if you saw me in public you would simply assume that I'm a criminal and avoid me. That's exactly what I want! I look a certain way in public so I won't have to talk to anyone and not because I'm antisocial but because I'm afraid of being hurt. But, I'm now an aged care worker because I want to take care of the vulnerable, because I never want anyone to go through what I did and I'm going to take whatever positives I can from a lot of long-term negatives and use my mask as a tool when I see someone miss-treating someone else no matter who where or when.
So back to mowers, I'm now mower mad and love it and so does everyone in my life, the healthiest addiction I've ever had! This hobby has saved me from going down a different path as my workcover situation has nearly broken me at some point recently but I just put my phone on silent and go out and find some mower stuff.....
I have also done a huge amount of research on the victa mustang up to the mid 80's and am about to do a thread about the history with pictures part reference numbers and information from a big pile of parts reference material and updated part numbers especially one that has explained a big question I had!!!
I also have started cross breeding my favourite plant the Kangaroo Paw. Being an ex horticulturalist it turns out I really really love using my knowledge and skills to do my own garden.
So G'day, I've put my forum name as Seanos because I used to be called big seanos. But I really prefer Sean. Like I said before, if you were to see me in the street your first impressions would be to avoid me. But get to know me and I'm just not what my looks would lead you to believe.
Hi Sean,
It's great that you have found a hobby like this, for some strange reason it has the same effect on me too..!
You probably already know it but you are among some great helpful people on here that understand this strange addiction... 40 mowers.. Wow, I think my wife would leave me..!!
