Firstly, thanks for allowing me to join the forum. Victa's are not new to me but I haven't touched a vintage victa since I took to the head of my father's 5A with a file around 1965. Since then I have had a fascination with old mowers and have collected many over the years, but have not done anything with them until now. The one I have decided to tackle first is a Model 2A that I acquired in bits and pieces......no engine apart from the top half crank case with serial number, cowl mounting plate, two piece pulley, base which is complete with handles, fuel tank and wheels and the genuine 2A cowl. in order to get the project off the ground, I need to build up an engine to the same spec as the Model 4 engine fitted to 2As or find one for sale.
After looking at some bits of engine in my collection, I believe I have a suitable cylinder and piston and a donor crankshaft which has the top and bottom case attached. The latter is probably from a late Series 3 so the crankshaft probably has the incorrect taper, but it should be suitable once I swap the top crankcase half with the 2A part. Image is attached so would appreciate an expert eye have a look to see if what I propose is acceptable. I am not a purist but would like to be as correct as possible.
The image uploaded has an error as I can't view it.
The lower blade plate hub taper I thought was the same ,sometime there is a slight difference in machining tolerances so the hub may fit on a little more or less than another mower but hardly measurable.
Some people say around 107,000 and on, the font of the number stamp is smaller and that they are model 3.
Also seen a few 2a mowers in the 68,000 range.
The 2a has different numbers on the conrod and the 2a and early model 3 has smaller rectangular transfer ports compared to later round transfer ports.
It depends how original you want the 2A build to be as some people want everything original in the motor but personally as you can't see the internals, it doesn't make much difference , just use the right crankcase number.
The 2A has the circlip top carby instead of the later wire clip top also uses the thin long fuel tap and a black plastic throttle control.
The image of the 2A below is from the Vintage Mowers Site.
Thanks for the info. I will have to look into how to post images as it clearly didn't work. The upper housing is serial number 104949 so I am certain it is 2A; the donor part has serial number 303707 which I suspect is late model 3. I think the throttle control is correct except it has a metal lever, the carby is the later type, the fuel tap is correct and bolts that were in the box of bits are the same as the donor engine crankcase bolts. When I get posting images sorted I will add some images of what I have and some cylinders which look similar except for some differences with the fins around the exhaust port. I will have to find the right carby but probably have enough other bits to complete it. Aim is to get it running and think about paint later.
Regards Greg
Last edited by bunge; 02/02/2309:36 AM. Reason: couple of grammatical errors
Going by the bolts on this Victa motor you would think it's from a model 3 but I've seen 300,000 to 310,000 on model 5 and 3 and a lot of the motors were rebuilt so they just put the required barrel on the crankcase to suit the mower base that was being used.
I had a look and the early models had a slightly shorter boss so the crank may be slightly different ,I see the crank numbers are different but I think a later crank and boss should fit the 2a crankcase.
It's up to the restorer if they use the correct carby ,air filter and throttle control , there's not a lot of difference looking at the parts but pricewise there's a big difference.
Thanks. Do you know what the number 4 stamped on the lower crank case signifies? Also, does the flat conrod with markings HFE 1A add anything to the identification.
Looking at the different cranks by the conrod numbers they look the same measurements.
There are a lot of different Crank /Conrod markings ,I guess this must signify different years and batches of manufacturing the parts. The numbers would also be a way to identify rods/ cranks that are upgraded from older models.
The number on the lower crank case,I've heard some people say a 2 is for model 2 ,3 for model 3 ,4 for model 4 but I've seen 0 ,6 ,7 on models lower than model 5 , I think the 4 and other lower crank case stampings are to represent what parts go together when assembling the motors,as a possible example ,if the lower case had 4 it could mean the upper case after machining is 4 thou under the required optimal measurement for the crank to fit in with correct clearances so the lower case selected must be 4 thou larger to get the correct measurement to fit the crank in.
The lower case with a 0 would mean the cases are at the optimal measurements ,so 7 on the lower case would be 7 thou under measurement on the top case giving 7 thou extra on the lower case to bring the crank case back to the optimal measurement.
Very interesting and makes sense. I have several engines with the lower case numbers ranging from 0 through to 6. Will have to compare the 2A top measurements with the existing top and adjust to suit if required, by shimming or machining.
