OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers VC-125 Mark I & II Restoration

Hi have started with my VC-125 mark I and Mark II restoration.
Here is some pictures for you.



Before the pull down.



Engines removed bases stripped and cleaned.

First coat of primer.
Then finally ready for paint.These two bases have so far been the worst to get ready for paint.Especially the Mark II base had so many dents and scratches to remove,but it's there now.Just ran out of day to do them today.Bugger.

Excellent work Blumbly. I am looking forward to rest of pictures and the vc 160 as well. Reminds me I better upload my pictures of my vc mustang.

Good work mate.

They will look better after the paint goes on. Well They should there is a lot of prep work that went into them. I don't take all the dents out its not a perfect smooth surface. I just take out the dents and scratches they have. Just the ones from the using of them. I'm sure the mark II lived with a rock garden. I've never seen a mower with so many small dents. They were all over the front and down the right side.

Nice work there Jeffrey, good to see you up and restoring again mate....

Yes it is. Hopefully I will be able to get some paint on them this afternoon. The next restore on the list is my two Scott Bonnar 35's. They will be good I hope anyway. I have done the tear down on them. So they are ready and waiting.

Hey Jeffrey ,
Don't know where you find the time! im starting to think that my restro's will never happen. can't wait to see more.
ive got a bit of a list building ive got the two consuls , a cortina, corvette , new utility, the corvette 4 . bit of a miss match collection.
keep the photo's coming.

tomo the best think to do is don't start to many at once you will only fall in a hole.I have currently about 10 others mowers I started,but it got to out of hand and couldn't do them all.So now I'm just doing them one at a time.Well last time 3 and now 2,but they are similar models so it's easier to do it that way.

i think thats a smart idea , do the vc's together at least the paint comes from the same mix and they match .
my sheds cluttered atm half way through putting a head gasket on the falcon , waiting on the head, then ill finish the clean out then , ill finish the 511.

Hey I only have smart ideas.Well been a busy week at work this week.I haven't even had a chance to get anything done this week.Arh yeah weekend just around the corner though.

Well after a lot of stuffing around with the whether today I did manage to get some paint on the bases and catcher flaps.


I did have a scare when I started as the heavens opened up and started to rain.They did get wet but lucky for me they were dry enough to take a bit of water.The only problem was I had only just started the second coat.So I got them inside and then waited until I could try again.I couldn't believe how quick the cloud moved over to me.




They came out better than I was hoping for.I guess that just all comes down the great preparation that I do before paint.

Well done mate. Looks excellent. I really like all the vc's you have done. I hope when I get around to doing my paint job, that it looks like that. Its hard just finding the time to get the paint specially mixed. Its been a busy couple of weeks really. But I will get my mustang done. I like to do it in stages, that way I know I am doing it right. I dont want to rush it. Looks like you take your time too.

Yes and thanks James,yes it does take time.The amount of preparation that I done on these two fair exceeds the time I spend on other ones.As these bases were a lot more dented and scratched. The painting is the easy part the preparation is what takes most of the time.So yes rushing is not an option.

So to get that finish did you use some bog then sand over?

Yes there is a small amount of body filer (Bog),but as I said before I only use it to fill in the small dents and scratches.I know you can't see it in the photos but all the in-perfect parts of the casting are still in the base.I don't remove them as they where not how it would have been new.Also to remove all of those would take months.All I'm trying to do is make them look like they did new,not turn them into show mowers.

Blumbly you have a good effect on the hammertone, do you do light coats or heavier coats when painting?

Yes there is good coverage there.You can control the amount of hammertone by the amount of thinners that is used.I use about a 40% to 60% ratio.40% paint and 60% thinners.Then just spray it on as pre regular painting.It still takes about 2 to 3 coats to get it done.I think I only did 2 coats as that seemed to work out.So I left it at that.That was top and bottom of bases as well as both sides of the rear flaps.

Ok that makes more sence to me as they say on the can to only thin up to 20%. And it's bloody thick paint, do you just use a 1.4 set up in your gun? This will help heaps as the only hammertone I have painted was the blue base in my other thread and that was just a pressure pack.cheers.

Sorry Jonesy what do you mean a 1.4 setup?

1.4mm needle, jet and fan head, dont know if thats the corrct names for the parts but you will get my drift, my new gun came with 3 set ups, 1.4mm 1.8mm and 2.5mm, a friend of mine is a spray painter and he suggested the 1.4 would be best but I was interested as to what you use, cheers.

Oh OK now I know what you mean.I'm not actually sure what it is though.I don't even think I have the instruction book for it any-more.It's a gravity feed gun that I have used for some years now.I mean it still looks fairly new only because I do look after my tools.I guess it would be something around that size but I really don't know what it is.

OK time to show you all a little of what I have been doing while not on here.Progression has been slow due to not being overly well.
First the:
Mark I

...and Mark II.










Just pardon the junk behind in this picture.

Wow!

Absolutely stunning work Blumbly!! Can't wait to see more, thanks for the great pics


Michael

Thanks rolla16v it maybe a lot of work but to sit back at the end is a feeling of great accomplishment.I do have just one small problem with the Mark II's cylinder head.Which is why it's not on the engine,I just can't get it clean enough.It came of another mower one that had been sitting outside in the whether for many many years.Which is why the engine was seized solid.The only savable part was the head but I just can't get it to look the way I want it to.I'm starting to run out of ideas on how to achieve my goal with it.

Wow, those heads are looking great, and that is an awesome match on the handlebar colour, and colour overall, I know colour has been a tricky one for you too, with few people restoring the series 70 range, those of us with a passion for it are pioneering a group as yet seldom worked on.

Absolutely beautiful, I'm excited to see the next stage of these restorations!!!

Like usual your attention to detail is bl**dy outstanding.

Keep the photo's coming.

Would it be appropriate to ask how you polish your stuff like the G3 carby? It looks better than brand new.

Thanks Ty it's all about finding the right paint shop.Also you should check my post on VC-160 Mark I,II & IIIB Restoration.I decided to redo the cutting discs in the correct colour.
Thanks Jaffa J,I do pride myself on making sure it looks close to how it did when they were brand new.I'm just a little stuck on zinc plating at the moment as the back plate that helps hold the catcher up off the axle and the axles were all zinc plated.I have done some research and believe I can do it,but I just don't know where to purchase the blocks of zinc needed to it.
As far as polishing goes.First (naturally)I degrease whatever part I'm doing.I then get those steel wire wheels that have the brass coated wire.I put them into my bench drill (Low speed)and shine them up (not hard or fast as that could damage aluminium parts).Then I use metal polish.I have found Auto-sol to be the best.Then as you know the part will tarnish over time so I then put a clear coat of paint over them so it will look better for longer.Process done,hope this helps.

What did you do in the end with the heads, I recall you having trouble cleaning them well, but it looks like you have worked out a trick for it judging by your results!

Also, the front to rear axle linking bar (that passes between the cylinder and the baseplate) I've never observed this as being painted before, was that original? Is it model specific?

Again to get the heads looking good just a lot of hard and long hours.Scrubbing cleaning and polishing.No secret trick here.I wish there was cause it does take a very long time to get a head looking near new.In fact one of them I just can't get it to where I'm happy with it and I just don't have another head to use,so I guess I'm just stuck on that one.

The discussion about blade disc colours for VC-160's and VC-125's, which took this thread off topic, and away from focus on Blumbly's amazing VC Restorations, has been moved into it's own space, and can be found HERE.