OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Collectors General Discussion Early Rover, Victa Model 5 and More!

no mate. i had to go to torbanlea for that one a few years ago i think now.

Nice photo shoot by the way. youve got a real eye for the classic styles.

Thanks Gizmo, someone bought a Rover with a kirby for $10 just before I could get my hands on it last year at Nambour Swap meet. I still got the Gardener before him

Nice photo Kye,

lighting with setting sun's always good. You just need to become transparent to remove your shadow

Maybe some fill-in flash will help the earlier sunset background photo details (Rover's better though) unless you want a silhouette effect.

As for luck...I reckon Kye (and Dad) make their own luck (mostly). But don't go giving away all your (and Dad's) scouting secrets, sounds like you've some competition up there!

Also your Dad should be able to fill you in about the Edsel grill design's unfortunate...perception?

Cheers mate and keep making us envious of your finds,

Super collection you have there Kye

Thanks Patrick and Norm!

Patrick in most of the pics I took my shadow was on the Special. The Special is a slightly lighter green then there meant to be (I think) so when my shadow is on it it makes it look normal compared to he Pace and Rover.

Patrick the amount of car parts my dad has is unreal, he has about 3 shipping containers filled and a shed, along with piles of stuff outside. Wouldn't surprise me if he had an Edsel grill there!

I need to start making room for more mowers. I might have to sell my Rover Utility soon, needs a sand blast and a paint job, maybe an engine rebuild, but its looking alright.

Thanks For Reading!
Kye.

Those handle bars look like they would be pretty easy to form up from tubing anyway now that you have a set to work from. Anyone with mandrel bending equipment should be able to make them up in a flash.

Yes trev they would be easy to make. But its easier to take them of another mower
Sadly I don't have the original rubber handles, perhaps I can get them in the future.

Yes Mal,
what a great and 'correct' resource that would be!

So does AA mean the second version Mal? Any explanation welcome.
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Jack

From what I have seen Mal's engine numbers have been correct. I would love to see what other collectors say next to each other, and see if they match.

I have been thinking about finding as many Victa engines on Pace mowers and getting the engine numbers from them. The engines were different to the ones on Victa mowers in 1959, the exhaust and carby positions were switched around. I will be talking to Mal and maybe some other collectors about it first though before I get myself in too deep!

Thanks For Reading!
Kye.

Hi Kye,
Yes, but 'correct' against what?


Wouldn't we all! Anecdotal and sample evidence is important, but it
is not the be-all and end-all of Victa dating. That engine numbers
have been elevated to 'gospel' status is of concern to me.

After more than half a century, and with the lack of any primary source,
we are not working in the 'correct' realm; only the 'consistent with'.

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Jack

Good point Jack. Do you ever think we will be able to confirm engine numbers?

Hi Kye,
I don't think so. I believe this production information has all been lost
to history. The best we can do is explain what information we have in an
open way so that it may be tested by other examples and by other collectors.
But after half a century, much will be based on speculation.

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Jack

I removed a previous post from this topic by a now de-registered member
because it was in clear breach of forum guidelines. We will not tolerate
personal attacks here. We welcome intelligent argument.

Kye, as a young member, has asked a serious and intelligent question about
the status of Victa engine dating. As Forum Historian, I am committed to
dispelling old myths and replacing them with objective evidence. This does
not mean that we avoid speculation at all - that should be welcomed - but
everyone knows the danger of Chinese Whispers.

We have made advances with our understanding of Victa Engine numbers in
dispelling hearsay and myths. Credit must be given to Vintage Mowers for
starting a Victa register. It's sample, though very small, has already helped
clarify some production numbers. But in the lack of factory documents,
much will remain speculation, both in relation to Model start and finish
dates, and the particular specification of any one model.Some things can
be said with more certainty; some with less certainty. What we must not do
is claim 'correctness' at this point, after half a century or more.

John, the owner of the Vintage Mowers website, expressed the concerns I have
consistently expressed here, way back in 2009, when he said:-

"most of the information of these engines has been supplied by word of mouth, or ownership of these mowers.
It is very difficult to get some sort of documented proof to back up what people have stated, in many cases these people have either worked for Victa during that period or have been collecting mowers for many many years or have met and spoken to people such as Gary Richardson or John Mason etc.

So gathering proof is what we are setting out to do, serial numbers will clarify the myth with regards to how many were made, the most common figure was 10,000 as most of the engine numbers seemed to fit that assumption, however it is now evident that this could well be wrong, it is looking as though it is about 8500. Victa manuals have proved to be inconsistent, we can't rely on these things when they purposely leave details out or in the case of the Automatic, remove all existence of them.

Too many story's and tales are told by individuals who are either guessing or have completely misinterpreted the information told to them, many others are just simply out to cause trouble or are as Eddie said "B@#$%ists"

This is a nice, succinct summary of the situation.
Any discussion must be in good faith and we can only proceed
with rational argument and evidence and respect for all views.
We put up or shut up ... but we always do so in a respectful manner.

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Jack

Jack, did I miss something, somebody picking on our Kye?

No Norm, just some stuff about engine numbers and some arguing.