OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Victa Imperial Identification

Good morning Bruce, I think the mower that double tap is restoring is a 14 inch Victa Imperial, would you have a identification chart and/or parts/ manuals for Imperials?
Have a good day, Regards, Darryl

G'day All, I have just googled "Victa Imperial" and have confirmed by photos that it is indeed a Victa 14 Imperial..There is one for sale on e-bay at present but with its original 2 stroke Victa engine and handle,(which includes the petrol tank)....The B & S 4 stroke has been fitted later I think to double taps machine and its handle adapted to suit. Hope this helps,
Regards, Darryl

G'day Darryl, thanks for the ID. I saw that one on ebay aswell. I will start pulling the one i have apart this week sometime. If anyone can give me any hints i would love to find a picture of the in there original glory so i can restore it as best i can.
Also can anyone suggest a sourcde of decal such as the B & S engine decals.
cheers
Mick

I have the parts list for the Victa Imperial but they were fitted with the two stroke engine and not four stroke motor. Also the picture does not show the clutch that is fitted to the imperial.

I will try to find out about the scott bonnar as I do recall the Rover Scott Bonnar looks very much the same they called it the Thoroughbred model 8408 14" cut.

I will try to do some more research as this unit could be a mix and match between a Victa Imperial & a Scott Bonnar.

Hi Bruce, Thanks for the info, you learn something every day,I have always thought that Victa and Scott Bonnar were always poles apart!! I have never heard of the Thoroughbred model 8408 14" cut.If you could find a pic of one and post it, I would be grateful
Regards, Darryl

Thanks Bruce, also waiting with baited breath.

Thanks mate, I'll go check it out. Have a good day,
Kindest Regards, Darryl

Hi Bruce,
Thanks once again for e-mailing me the specs on the "Thoroughbred" by Rover, I think you will now agree with me that doubletaps machine is definately a composite mower and that the basis is a Victa 14" Imperial. The confirmation is in the frame; namely chaincase cover, reel design and height adjuster and of course the front segmented rollers ..Scott Bonnar has always had 1 piece front roller.
How the Scotty decal got onto the machine is any-ones guess, and it is obviously fitted with a B & S 4 stroke thus completely obviating the need for a handle mounted fuel tank as the B & S has one integrally. Result a bodgy handle assy. Also, what has happened to the cutter clutch?
What are your thoughts?
Kindest Regards, Darryl

Thanks Bruce, that pic confirms my thoughts.
Sorry I missed you last night in chat, I waited for 1 hr but no activity on the site, so I went to bed!!lol
Kindest Regards, Darryl

Back again had to re register, for some reason the site wouldnt let me sign in. Good to see its been identified. I will keep going with its refurbish to get her running again. Then i will probably sell it on. I would prefer to own a genuine complete Scotty. I've had my eye on a couple for sale. The clutch has me thrown as well. It has the belt clutch but thats it. I had the heado ff it the other day and its in surprisingly good nick inside. Should be an easy job to get her going again.

Hi to All,
Well it is a long time since this topic has been revisited, and I think at last we have the answer....albeit a little more confusing....The machine in question here is a Scott Bonnar, but here the plot thickens; the chassis is (minus the handles and clutch and B&S engine) is definately Victa Imperial,the machine is manufactured by Morrison Instries Ltd in Hastings, New Zealand.....

I remember reading somewhere that the Kiwi's bought the Victa Company many years ago(namely the Victa Airtourer aircraft) and Morrison may have bought the patent rights or licence to manufacture the reel mower badged as a Scott Bonnar.

The proof of which is on Ebay, here is the link:(check out the pics for the manufacturers plate) Those Kiwi's....no wonder we couldn't sort it!! Lol!!
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Scott-Bonnar-Reel-Mower_W0QQitemZ120331184807QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120331184807&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Hi Bruce, just joined the site! I have bought a Victa Imperial 16" reel mower. It has a B&S 3.5hp motor and runs, if a wee bit rough. The reel and bottom blade both need some work and I am trying to find a service or parts manual for it. I found your site and a thread regarding this machine.
regards PhilH

Hi PhilH, and a big warm welcome to the forum!
It's great to have you onboard. Could you please post some pics of your machine; we'd all love to see 'em

Hi PhilH, just a thought....as you are waiting for Bruces upload of the parts list and manual and that you mentioned that the cylinder reel and bottom knife-blade need attention, you might like to contact your nearest lawn bowling club and speak to the greenskeeper.
Ask him the name of the engineering workshop that sharpens his reels.
Contact them and ask when they can do your reel and knife-blade as once they set up the grinding lathe for greens cylinder reels (36 inch)they sometimes are very reluctant to re-set it for a small reel( in your case,16 inch)
If you need a new bottom blade they can supply the blade and screws to fit.
You will need to remove the cylinder reel, bottom blade holder (complete with the knife-blade) from your machine and take them to the workshop. You do not need to remove the bottom blade from it's holder, they will do that if necessary (and have the method to do it)

Hi All
I purchased an old victa imperial 16 a year ago and I believe it has a tecumseh engine (4 stroke). I am also looking for a manual as last week the crank shaft sheared at the centrifugal clutch and I would like to know how to remove the clutch and how to service it.

Cheers

Ian

Hi

I'm trying to put back together our Victa Imperial 16" 4 Stroke Reel Mower, that an old friend of our thought would do us a favour and "service" it by pulling it apart but then never putting it back together
We have the original Instruction Manual but it doesn't give a model number or even a date of manufacture, but after looking at a LOT of pictures and websites I'm pretty sure it is a 1966 model, was wondering if anyone has a Service Manual for this model. I have some of the pages from the 70s Imperial manual on this site but it is just a bit too different to be 100% helpful.

It looks very similar to the one on the left in this picture except it has a single long roller at the front not 3 smaller ones

Hi Angela, and a warm welcome to the OutdoorKing forum.It's great to have you aboard.
I have checked the Parts Lists and Manuals area and have found only the parts list is available for the Victa Imperial.
What you would need is a workshop service manual, which I have never seen and would be hard to come by.
The Imperial was discontinued many years ago.

However, with your help and the advice of our Victa gurus at OutdoorKing, we may be able to put it back in serviceable condition once again.
Firstly, we need to exactly find out the model of your machine.....Can you please post some photos of your mower from different angles, and without the chain case cover attached.(on the side of the mower)
Secondly, we need to know if you have all the parts in your possession, as parts for the Victa Imperial are now pretty thin on the ground....
We will be able to tell you more when we see the pics.

Once again Angela, to OutdoorKing.

Hi deejay

Sorry for the delayed response, I had just about forgotten about this post after other prioritys got in the way of the re-build over the last few months.
I took a bunch of photos this afternoon with intent to load them up tomorrow, and then decided to give the body another clean down with some degreaser and uncovered a plate with the model & serial numbers, it is a HK30.
Did a google search and came across another post on this site, another user has exactly the same: https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=21282
At least now I have some good photos to work too

Angela, you might be interested in this thread on rebuilding an engine much the same as yours:
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/u...p;Words=lauson&Search=true#Post37783

Your engine, and the one covered by the thread, were called H30 or H30A by the US manufacturer (Lauson, a subsidiary of Tecumseh). The H meant horizontal crankshaft, and the 30 meant 3.0 hp output. A small Australian company called James N. Kirby assembled them in Sydney, and made enough parts locally to escape the high import duty that applied to fully imported engines at the time. Kirby used different model numbers from the original Lauson ones, and to a small extent mixed and matched the features of a couple of Lauson models that differed slightly from each other.

Hi Grumpy

Just had a quick look, looks very similar should be a great help, thanks for finding that - luckily our engine isn't in so many pieces. I'll upload a few of the photos I took yesterday






This last one shows the cover already bolted back on, as I didn't want any dirt or dust to get into that bit but was separated when we got it back.