OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories VICTA Models MANUAL - New Victa Mowers - 1963-64

Hello ODK History Lovers
The 1964 Victa Range would have been an exciting event. This was the second year of
Victa's rear discharge machines, and a pattern was emerging. The original 'toe cutter'
base was now in decline. The 1950s design - that made Victa famous - would be summed
up in one model - the Utility. The skirted Consul was the new side-discharge machine;
the new rear-discharge would be the introduction of the Corvette linage. The Corvette
would be Victa's flagship manually- propelled machine of the 1960s.

This is a comprehensive user manual for the following models:

- The CORVETTE 2
- The CORVETTE 4
- The CONSUL 2
- The CONSUL 4
- The UTILITY

This Victa User Manual covers five new models for the 1963-64 lawnmowing season.
The Utility (V17 2-stroke); the Consuls (V18 2-stroke and V19 4-stroke); and the
new Corvettes (V20 2-stroke and V21 4-stroke).



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO - Detail of New Models
I include here detail summaries of the five new models.
It is clear that 4-strokes were making a huge impression - even at
Victa Mowers.

The biggest 'new' feature' was the, "New Trans-flo cylinder for extra power".
This was reference to a radical change in the 125cc engine barrel. The design
removed the transfer port covers that Victa had used since its 1955 Model 1.

That change was of some significance, and I asked for expert opinion from
Global Mod Gadge:-

"The change to the 125's transfer ports was much more than just removal of the
port covers. It involved a fundamental change of the shape of the top end of
the port, with a radical effect on the gas flow path/s and velocity of the
incoming air/fuel charge.

The original top transfer ports were just two roundish holes in the cylinder
wall. Downright crude, from the engineering standpoint!

The new transfers were an 'inverted L' shape, so that the incoming, opposing
gas streams would swirl around the combustion chamber as the charge got
compressed, approaching TDC.

It's all about gas turbulence, to promote efficient combustion, and therefore
maximise power output.

The 'squish band' piston/combustion chamber design combination as used with the
almost flat-top Victa 160 piston achieves much the same thing, just in a
different manner. Even though the band is only small."

PART THREE - The Manual
Lawnmower manuals, in the day, were of a high quality.
This one, from my collection, is in excellent original condition.
I have also recorded the packing envelope.



The manual is 24 pages and has comprehensive information on each model.
This is a quality scan taken from my original booklet. It may be downloaded
for personal use as a pdf file below.

PART FOUR - Provenance
This manual came with good provenance in the form of supporting documents.
'Provenance' involves the history of the ownership of an object, especially
when documents are authenticated. No lawnmower collector should underestimate,
or underutilize, the power of the recording of provenance!

This manual and its envelope included three extra documents: a warranty card,
a sales receipt, and a hire purchase agreement! The engine number of the trade-
in and the new mower were recorded.

The Corvette 2 was purchased by Frank Danvers on the 6th of November, 1963, from
Pidsley Brothers of 54-56 Capper Street, Tumut. This was a '64 model. The engine
serial number was 26635601. There was a trade-in. It was recorded as engine no.
353988. The buyer must have been a 'Victa man'!



Curiously, a Warranty Card was included for the trade-in lawnmower.
Note the 'Lifetime Guarantee' - when mowers were built to last!




The bonus - for us - was a Hire Purchase Agreement.
Before 'bank cards', folks would purchase goods for immediate use,
but with a deposit and periodic repayments.

There appears to have been some association between the seller, Pidsley Brothers,
and the Hire Purchase agent, the Wagga Discount Company. Note the interest rate ...
10%! I wish we had Hire Purchase today, rather than the clear exploitation of
common folk by greedy banks and their 'credit cards'.