OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Refirbished Vortex.

When I got this it was in a sorry state. Stuck on grass, faded plastic cover with cracks, badly worn edge on base and handles covered in rust.

I was intending to part it out but I noticed the front axles were nice and tight and maybe this sought after model could be made right again and here it is.

Engine took little work to get going. Just needed a decompression valve, a spark plug and a quick clean of the carb and it runs pretty quiet.

Replaced handles with a better set after polishing with Autosol which made them presentable enough. Had to use a bit of silver on the lower part though.

I used a steel strap inside and epoxy filler similar to Selleys Knead It to reconstruct the severely worn left hand edge of the base. Would never know now.

I was frankly blown away how this mower looks after completion. I was staring at it for half an hour!
I think the red version is now my fave!!

Exquisite work MF

Can scarcely see silver paint on the handles - one day you will find a perfect one

Is this the free one dragged out from under the house. If so - you work quick!

Thank you, much appreciated Tyler.

Yes it's that mower.

As for how relatively quickly I did it, I rode the wave of inspiration when it came along, not the least of which was some luck coming across the right tinted paints in pressure packs and being fascinated with this Vortex and seeing it's potential when I got it home.

These handles are a still a massive improvement. Hopefully I'll find a better one, but I'm more than satisfied with how it's turned out.

It truly is a thing of beauty and it's styling still looks spectacular to this day.

Nice job MF..
speedy

That looks great MF, well done. a better set of chrome handles will eventually show up, they always do.

A note I want to add about the front wheels is while they're not the exact originals tyre wise, they were in better almost new condition than the two pairs of original types I have, not to mention the horrendous ones that came on the machine (!).

One thing they were good for were the ball bearing sets which were still ok, which I regreased and replaced the nylon sleeves in these wheels with.
Rolls like a skateboard!

I had petrol left in the tank (though I could have removed it and emptied it into another mower) so decided to give it a use out front. Ran great (didn't use a catcher) and you really appreciate a good idle when passers by come along and you are able to slow it while they're passing. By the time I finished, it was very dusty all over with clippings stuck in the flap and dirt collected on the top of the mower.

An air gun hooked to a compressor helped a lot, a damp cloth did the rest. There was unsightly stuck grass fragments on the inner part of a front wheel that cleaned off easy enough from getting to it quickly.

My takeaway from this is I much prefer to use a survivor mower in sound condition than a mower I went to a lot of effort to prepare and paint up and having it look beautiful again!

Beware, once you do up your mower well, you don't want to tarnish it mowing!

Thankfully it cleaned up fine this time. It's going in storage.

Hi Mowerfreak- nice resto job.
I have the white version of these Victa mowers.
I found it at the tip (again), and it was in a VERY sorry state when I found it. Wrong handlebars, which were welded in position. The white cowl was pretty cracked too. Of course not running, and as it turned out, appeared to have been straight fuelled.
I fixed it up, and it’s running again. Needed new rings, and the barrel cleaned up with ultra fine wet and dry. Runs fine now.
I will get it out from under the house and post some pics.
2stroker

Would like to see pics of it. Good rescue. They're getting hard to find.

Good work getting that motor going too. I was lucky this one was a goer with missing parts.

This Vortex definitely turned out pretty schmick Mf.

My last Vortex ,I asked the person selling the mower how much he wanted for the Vortex
and he said $2 , so that one found a new home.


Cheers
Max.

That's half a regular coffee!

How many Vortices have you accumulated now maxwestern?

Not one Mf ,the last one I had was sold ,I've owned hundreds of Powertorque mowers and
don't want to collect them.

The last Vortex was bought from a garage sale with a few other Victa mowers all $2 each but
lately if I see good Powertorque mowers for free ,I don't want them.

For me selling an average rear discharge Powertorque mower would just be a waste of time .
( people don't want them unless they are really cheap )

Cheers
Max.

I guess they're still too common. That will not be the case down the track. Some are wanting way more than $30 -$40 for one but probably not getting it.

I just want a few select old premium PT models on the thumblatch alloy base as I always loved how they look.

Yes I see a lot of the higher priced Victa 2 strokes not sell in 7 months Mf.

They are a really good mower if you know how to deal with their niggles.