OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Victa Pace Special 2 (utility)

I have just bought a mid 1960s pace special 2 just trying to work out the correct age of this machine engine number is 5671276 paid $150 at a local mower shop and starts 1st go

Hi coolrussy, a picture says a thousand words mate, can you post some of your machine....this would make it easier to identify and help you with your question.

hope these pices help can you still buy blades for this model or will i need to fit a disk from a later model (eg mid 70s utility)

Without seeing the blade plate one cannot be certain what blades to fit, chances are its a victa blade plate of some kind and blades would be available.

shouldnt be too hard to get blades , you might need a few sets looks like it has its work too do . nice looking thing though looks like its made up of a few different parts ? but looks tough enough

Well not sure as I'm not home as to whether everything is correct for that model,but the engine was made in 1967. When I have a look (at home) ill tell you if it is correct for that model.

Hi Jeffrey, from the research I have made, I believe that Victa took over Pace in 1959 and that the takeover was a closely guarded secret, known only to the top echelon of the company.
Pace mower production ceased in 1965, when Gary Richardson from Victa, stopped manufacturing the model.

Yes you are correct. Something you may not have known was (I think his name was John pace. Correct me if I'm wrong) was also included in the take over and was employed by victa as head designer. I think that was for the pace mowers,from memory that is.

Hi Jeffrey, no mate, I didn't know that....info is pretty thin on the ground on Pace mowers

Yes, well victa bought out pace as they knew they were the best opposition that they had and were worried it could out sell them. So after the take over they kept the name to make people think they weren't victa's. I guess that worked as they did sell very well. I do have some where a document to support that I just can't remember where it is.

Hey all , looks to be a V48 pace special 1966 - 1968 the V48 were the later model and had a long snorkel and handle mounted filter, rather than a 7j air cleaner mounted on the crankcase. looks original .
Being a pre G3 carb 125cc it should have the shorter crank shaft which means it will have a blade plate similar to the victa consul & cortina rear discharge mowers

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/victa18-...mowerAccessories&hash=item3a7bd9f833
These blades should suit the holder however if your mower shop can get you catcher model blades for 1960 -1970 catcher models they throw better.
don't attempt to fit a 70 series plate to a short shaft 125cc motor , there isn't enough thread to accommodate the larger boss and the nut loosens and strips the thread.
hope this helps .

Hi Tomo and thanks for your reply.
Mate from my research, Pace Mowers were discontinued in late 1965 and manufacture stopped by Gary Richardson himself. So 1966-68 just doesn't seem correct according to my reckoning.....If any member can shed more light on this issue, please post to this thread.

Now going from memory in 1962 Mervan had handed ownership to his son Gary and in 1965 Gary sold the company to sunbeam. I think it was sunbeam who discontinued the pace range.

1959 Victa acquires Pace Mowers,
1965 Pace Mowers was shut down.

To maintain its strong position in the Australian market, Victa took over one of its major competitors, Pace Mowers in 1959. Pace Mowers began in much the same way as Victa, in the garage of the owner, John Longhurst, and it later moved to a factory in Burwood, NSW.
The takeover was kept under the radar and Pace Mowers continued to grow, at one point producing a mower a minute. Victa closed down the operation of Pace Mowers in 1965.

http://trademags.com.au/index.php/victa-celebrates-its-60th-anniversary/

Ive not seen this one before,pretty much the same as most of the info with a few little things extra,id not seen.Note The EXPORT of 143,000 mowers per to to 28 countries.Thats 1958.Not a bad effort,knew they went over seas although its still hotly debated,but ive seen examples in NZ and South Africa:)just never thought of a figure this high.
Pace mowers brand name has been continued on more than one occasion,ill see if i can find dates of who held the PACE name after 1965...Maybee the info of 1966 to 68 is accurate,(although the V preffix doesnt sound right)just owned by another company who still sourced and used victa engines,just like HG Palmer and others?

from the victa quick reference guides. the pace brand was around until 1971 at least. some models came out with G3 carburetors and also the 160cc engine came out on a few pace mowers. so the name was still around.

thank you for that bit of information will pass this on to my mower mechanic who is looking at a possible solution for this did try a disk from a mid 70s utility however too much vibration occurred and another mower shop tried to sell me jetfast blades and told me to use the old bolts and new nuts