OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Rotary VICTA Key Electric - never heard of one of these

sorry this is only an old advertising poster , but i have never heard of one of these before curious if anyone else has though or even has one ?

no other info as to where the picture came from except country S.A .

and this one , the guy has two of them sitting in the workshop one is complete , the other needs tha side cutter cover , sure someone has one under the bench !!!



both run well and both have orig' catchers too . selfpropelled x2 . never seen one in real life before !

Dave

I found reference to a key start ( Your Keylectric") in an article a while back. No images,and I disregarded it as I was more interested in the ealier history in the Article. I had heard of a key start before,but have never seen one.

I have a funny feeling it may be a suppliment in one of my manuals, so ill have a peek and see...

Im assuming it made production due to your glossy advert. But like alot of new things,they may have never really taken off, were duds or just to expensive.

A good topic for the 60s fans to get into and a great topic for the archives... Another good score youve got VeeeCeee, Im sure others will chime in with some info....

I used to have a self propelled as per your picture,that I got from my grandfather years ago...

that would be good yes , the size of the starter too is great !!
more i'm chatting with the guy more machines he's telling me about he has , seems a collector too but not one type , just likes everything

Sorry, All I can find from a quick look Vc

Note the price over the Utility...Nearly 100$

The Same Brochure also appears at the Powerhouse Museum.

A very Rare brochure Id bet.

VH Times Aug/1968.


"SEE the range of new
model Victa Mowers at Shell
Service Station, V.H. 11 new
models from $112 (utility 125
c.c. 2-stroke) to $204 for the
Key-Lectric electric start 4
stroke model".

Sounds like he has some goodies

A concise reference by Ty Davis" for the Complete Corvette range (with a mention by name only of the Key-lectric and Self propelled models), can be found here Vc....

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=23929

This is my victa panther, not at all original.
had no battery got one out of a broken jumpstart unit.
different cowl. keystart was cactus replaced with pushbutton from a whippersnipper.
It starts one push of the button and mows really well

a good read . thanks for that MR 6 . i don't get around enough it seems hahaha not much of a mention though huh , seems to be not much on these so now i start asking what else he has hidden away .
yes i have a few of those too seanw a tad on the late model side of things though but thanks for showing

vccomm pray tell. how many lawnmowers do you have?

uuuuuuuuuuuuum hehehe lots but neither of the ones in the photo's , closest i come to those is a couple of mid 60's corvettes , mk 1 11 111 vc's couple of big green blob mustangs . few sports's , few late 60's mayfairs and pace's , 504 victa x 2 , turners scott bonnar rotarys couple of S.B reels atco's , few qualcast reels , and some others but old now so cant remember

Is it worth getting old lawnmowers to run and sell or keep for 20years and sell?

I don't think anyone will ever get rich selling vintage mowers ... selling modern mowers can bring in some descent beer money though. I would like to think that my machines will end up in private museums in 60 years or so when I am gone. It's a nice thought that people in the future will see what mowers used to be like (As they should have been - all original). There are a few mowers in my shed I would part with but more that are just worth too much to me to ever get rid of).

As for whether or not it's worth it; that depends what you want out of it ...

I have one of those side covers for the self propelled in the pic, unfortunately it's attached to my Corvette2 and is happy there.lol
The keylectric is a good looking machine, but that wonky front near side wheel would make it awkward to mow with.

yeh i thought that too bigted , but its only a poster i have the cover too but the ones on these are different to mine , 'vette are shorter and seem a thicker steel , the selfdrive is longer and sort of curves toward the rear wheel more , i'll see if he will let me get a pic' up of it , but yes different

Dave

good point yes wetsocks , and yup it depends on some things most arent worth much but to the owner they sure are . its why the sometimes crazy prices asked for rubbish machines but most can still see their value (if only to themselves )
as some newer guys are figuring out now , its most times fun and learning how to get machines apart with no damage to old parts prepares them for when they do find a worthy trinket to restore or just get up n running and left in work clothes .

Found another Ad for You Vee...

At least we now know where the key goes...lols

hahahah cheers .... if the jag was s'posed to help ?? then a big fail , mk11 ?or mk10 biggest ugliest jag ever but like mowers . someone loved them .
where you finding this stuff ? i looked and seems your the only one finding anything

Hello all,

I've renamed the topic Victa Key Electric.

Mal is lucky having found that one. Well done!
There is a real issue with digitisation of post 1954 records of newspapers and mags.
the 1960s is poorly covered at present.

The V67s are, naturally, quite rare.
Interestingly, key electric start also appeared on the equivalent Pace "Auto-Key".

fantastic jack , dont s'pose you have anything on the pace ? as at the start i never did hear anything about these now theirs a pace too ?
as was said before , an amazing man for finding out anything , much more patient than i ever was ..

As I said previously Vee, I thought Id seen it in my manual, But I never gave it a second glance...like most models. Its just well, I seem to spend most of my time in the front section lols.

Now Id like to see one for real

The US brand Toro may have had rights to the name after Victa,also having a range called Key-lectric in the 80s or 90s

G'day again Dave,

I've never seen a Pace "Auto-Key", but here are some Green Book illustrations:

hmmmmmmmmm , toro huh , i havto get onto a mate , one of aus' bosses see if he can find anything on these or why the things dissapeared