OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories AUSTRALIAN Rotary Models VILLAGER Typhoon - c1957

Hello ODK History Lovers
The Typhoon was Villager�s fourth model (after the Standard, Deluxe and the 70).
This was Villager�s first 18 inch lawnmower. It was always a feature defect
that the first Villagers � the Standard, Deluxe and the Model 70 - were smaller, at 16
inches. Eighteen inch was quickly becoming the industry standard, largely due to
the success of the first Victas.

By late 1957 (for the 1957-58 lawnmowing season) Villager finally had a mower
that could better Victa�s offerings. The most important feature was, no doubt,
the engine. Pace and Villager would have been, probably, the first to receive
the newly released 2-stroke Villiers 7F, one of the first mechanically governed
2-strokes to be used on Australian lawnmowers (alongside the Kirby Hi-Torque
engine (used on the Carter lawnmower), and the Predicta system, used on the Victa
Automatic. All were released in late 1957.

The typhoon had a brand new pressed steel chassis � the first Villager to use a grass
discharge chute. This would be the first Villager model to use the new plastic and
rubber semi-pneumatic tyres. The Typhoon retained the patented Villager height
adjuster, but with the addition of a rear-mounted turn-wheel. The first model
Typhoons would have this mounted RH rear.

Naturally, Villager�s patented �Twin-Cooling� was not necessary, as the Villiers 7F
incorporated a forced air flywheel and cowl system. Villager would call this �Turbo
Cooling�. It should be noted that the first Typhoon model did not have a folding handle;
nor could it offer an optional grass catcher.



TO BE CONTINUED ...