OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers My Grandfathers VC Mustang

This is what my late grandfather called his "motor-mower". I'm not sure at what age I discovered this fascinating green machine, but I vividly remember pushing it around my grandparent's large back garden as a child in the mid 90's. I would later get to use it to cut their lawn. As I type this, I'm tearing up at the wonderful memories I have playing in that backyard, it formed me a person and would later become my responsibility to maintain as my grandparents found it hard to do so. My grandfather was a painter and decorator, my grandmother worked in a garden center. I would follow in her footsteps, becoming a nurseryman and working in a garden center after leaving high school until last week, just on 20-years. My grandparents were my mentors, so it's a great honor to have this piece of theirs and my history.

Pa bought this Victa VC Mustang brand new back in the 1970's. It was used weekly until he decided to buy a new (motor) mower in the early 2000's. His new mower was a Rover with the Briggs & Stratton Quattro engine on an 18-inch steel base. On reflection I don't think he liked that Rover very much, something about it not going low enough, which I don't know if that was referring to the cutting height or engine speed. He used to cut the grass with that old Victa super low with the engine at idle, so it could have been either as those Briggs engine didn't really idle. When he got the new mower, he gave the old Victa to me, I would have been about 16 at the time.

As you can see, she is well used. It also sports several home-made repairs, totally typical of that generation where things were repaired not replaced. The catcher's full indicator always fascinated me, sadly it went missing along the way, no doubt thrown away when his garage was cleaned out by an uncle. The fuel cap gauge also went awol at some point too.









He used to fill the tank in a period Victa fuel tin, which he would take down to the servo and fill with pre-mixed 25:1 2-stroke. I'm old enough to remember when this was still a thing. I always loved the terminology used here, ZOOM 25!



I've discovered that this particular machine is a bit of a hybrid. It has the G4 carb, but where earlier G4 models had no primer, this one has a remote primer bulb and the left-hand side intake snorkel. They would later switch orientation of the carb and have the primer mounted on the front cap and air taken in from the right-hand side.



For most of the 23-years that it's been in my care, this mower has sat at the back of my shed gathering dust. I'd occasionally drag it out and fire it up, just for fun, but I haven't cut a lawn with it since I got it.

For me personally, much of my memories center around a scent. Whenever I smell an orange tree in blossom, or the distinctive aroma emitted by a Jacaranda tree, it takes me back to my grandparents' house. The smell of a Zucchini slice cooking reminds me of my Nan's amazing country cooking. And every time I smell a 2-stroke Victa running, or the smell on my clothes afterwards.................it reminds me of my Pa.

That green mower started a lifelong love affair with the Victa brand. As I entered my teenage years, where most boys would want a BMX bike or a PlayStation for their birthday, I wanted a lawn mower! I remember riding my bike all over town visiting the lawn mower shops, but there really wasn't a choice to be made.....................I wanted a Victa. My parents eventually bought me "my" first lawn mower, which I still have to this day. That little red Corvette would go on to start my business and made me a power of money in my teens and early 20's. I only recently put new piston rings in it, I had basically wore the thing out. From a financial point of view, totally not worth it. But for sentimental reasons, totally worth it!



I mention this in relation to the old Victa VC because if it wasn't for that mean-green-machine, I wouldn't have gone on to buy countless Victa's over the last 20+ years. After trying so many different brands, for whatever reason, I just keep coming back to Victa's......................they cut and catch the best.

About a year ago, I decided I wanted to see if the old VC Mustang would still run. Dragged out of the shed, the first task was to get it clean. Being an OCD (Obsessive Car Detailer), I had plenty of appropriate chemicals that would get this mower clean again. For cleaning, I used P&S Brake Buster, which is an alkaline wheel and tyre cleaner, teamed with a boars hair brush. Following that, it was rinsed, then dried with my EGO leaf blower.







From here, I threw some fresh 25:1 fuel into the tank, pulled the cord once and off she went! However, it quickly became evident something was wrong. The engine would idle but would choke out once the throttle was open. Thinking it was just old fuel remnants, I persevered by letting it idle, thinking it would eventually clear its throat. However, it just wouldn't rev up. At this point, I was assuming something was wrong with the carb, but I then remembered I've had the same symptoms with my Stihl's over the years......................which always turned out to be a blocked spark arrestor in the muffler. So, off came the cowling for full access to the muffler.





On initial inspection, the exhaust port was fine, but the muffler outlet was partially blocked. I eventually managed to extract quite a bit of dried carbon from the outlet and into the muffler body. The really strange thing is, when I last ran this mower, it worked just fine, so I'm not sure why this happened without any use, perhaps the carbon hardened up over time?



With the muffler cleaned out and reinstalled, I put the cowl back on, turned the fuel back on and pulled the cord. BINGO, I once again had the thing revving out properly. I have to laugh, I don't think my grandfather ever had it revving that hard!



Idle speed............................



Full throttle...................................

With the engine running again, I went ahead and tracked down a few replacement parts.

First, a replacement fuel cap with the gauge still intact.





I also decided to replace the muffler and gasket.





The spark plug boot was degraded, so I replaced it with a modern one.



I was also getting fuel leaking from the fuel tap, so I replaced it along with fresh lines.





The only remaining problem is the ignition, the engine won't shut off with the throttle and needs to be choked or run out of fuel.