Well done Speedy ,this Pope definitely looks like it hasn't run for 3 decades.
16 to 1 is the correct ratio for using engine oil as 2 stroke mix. People say you get covered in smoke at this ratio.
If you use good quality 2 stroke oil you could probably get away with 32 to 1 but I ran 25 to 1 with outboard 2 stroke oil, this was just running the motor with no load but cutting grass I'd probably go 20 to 1 if it doesn't smoke too much.
Yep these Pope mowers will cut down a forest , my pope cut some grass today and starts first go.
I remember seeing a rotary valve Pope for $45. it even had the catcher and looked cleaner than my one, it was fair few years ago and I didn't know how reliable the Pope motor was so didn't buy it. Now I know how hard the catcher is to find.
The three bladed cutting disc must make a distinct note. Is the blade plate cracked where the blades go on or is that a flap of metal that's part of the design?
Last edited by Mowerfreak; 27/03/2210:28 PM.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I bet that's where Victa got their CSIRO designed special mulching base plate from. Mine has got a round plain baseplate. I think it was maybe an option as I've seen another with the same plate. It has three distinctive rivits on a strenghening washer. I'll keep my eye out for others but they will be scarce.
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
The blade plate is not cracked Mf ,just the design. SupaSwift was another with 3 blades.
Jack has written here about the design with the patent , it's the standard original blade plate, the Plate Speedy refers to sounds like a later model Pope blade plate.
When the old blades were no longer available people just changed the blade plate.
Hello Max, Here's my problem with my Pope carb....... See the circled part....... well it's really two parts.... they screw together..... mine is siezed .... I have tried soaking in wd40, CLR heat rattle gun, but it's hard to hold the little inside brass round thing and get a spanner on the bottom nut. I need to change fibre washers. and I also need the two pin screws no 16 on the parts page. That Victa carb works really well..... for time being. cheers speedy
Last edited by speedy; 28/03/2207:59 PM.
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
With the nut on the fuel bowl ,you can't really use a rattle gun or use force as you know the whole lot will spin and as you say it's difficult holding the inside part from spinning.
Looks like it's tight on the last of the thread when removing ,I would get some Loctite and put it on the thread of the 2 brass parts that came apart then tighten the 2 parts and leave it for 24 hours to harden ,then put some vice grips on the upper end then tighten the nut at the lower end ,use penetrene on the thread ,keep working the thread by tightening and loosening, eventually as you loosen the nut should undo a mm more then tighten again and repeat many many many times eventually the nut will come off but you don't use a lot of force as this can damage or seize or break the brass thread .
So you're just working the thread backwards and forwards until eventually it will undo more and more.This can take a while.
With the 2 compensating tubes (no. 16) that screw into the emulsion tube ,they are just two threaded bolts with a hole in the middle so could be made ,just have to drill the right size hole.
The Victa carby sounds a little bad to me on this Pope,I can hear the engine popping in the video all the time , when the carby fuel mixtures are wrong you get that popping noise out the exhaust, even in my video I hear the popping noise when decelerating but not when throttling up and revving.
Here is a bike making the noise when decelerating but the Pope video you hear it all the time popping ,I wonder if too small a carby is working like a bigger carby with the choke stuck on.The right carby may also help that smoke problem.
One solution with stuck delicate things is to put them in penetrant in a jar and then place the jar in an ultrasonic cleaner. If you leave it for a decent period the penetrant will eventually migrate unless it’s actually become fused.
Good idea Ironbark. I'm spraying every day with penetrant.... funny how on the pars list it is not shown as two parts..... Anyway she's having a bath now. cheers speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
motor is ready........ base etc ready to come out of molasses bath. the work starts. there's no rust but still a bit of flaky paint that should come off easy. Max, I still can't get the brass nut off the bottom of carb, but I'm getting another carb complete in july, even has the two brass air tubes in place. got is soaking in brake fluid now. speedy
lest we forget
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
I’ve never seen a pope mower but it’s possible that what you’re attempting to disassemble may have been together a very long time.
If the penetrant won’t loosen it then I’d try heat. I’ve had shafts semi fuse onto bearings and various bushings partially migrate into alloy in things I’ve tried to fix, so sometimes nothing works but cycling things with heat can really help to loosen things up.
This is what I do with old bits of cars and machinery.
If the bolt part is externally threaded (like a standard bolt) then I put the whole assembly in a thick plastic bag in a freezer overnight along with whatever spanner I am going to use to try to turn the bolt. This will reduce the amount of warming of the bolt that will occur just by working on it.
The next day sort out a good solid way to hold the assembly. I have a blacksmith’s vice and often use that as I can heat it up til it’s nice and hot without damage, however you can also use a big pair of vice grips. I apply my map torch (it’s easy to control heat) selectively to the outside while using the frozen spanner on the bolt. I apply very slight force in the tightening direction until I feel just hint of movement before then loosening.
If the part you can grab with a tool is internally threaded then you’ll need to heat that tool and and cool what you’re using to hold the assembly instead.
If you perform repeated cycles of heating and cooling with judicious amounts of force applied that can give a result. It’s a game of patience. If it doesn’t move I try another setup and another cycle of heat and cold.
With fuel systems there are residues that act like both salts and adhesives. We had a carb cleaner that came in a bucket and you’d give the component a good external clean with the parts washer and degreaser then soak the whole assembly in the bucket, strip it back as far as you could and put it back in the bucket. It was very effective at both cleaning and loosening parts. I don't know what was in it but you had to wear special gloves and none of it was allowed into a sink or drain. It was a long lasting product that would do a number of carbys or throttle bodies before losing its effectiveness.
