I don't know why so many people salivate over these things. They are nothing but trouble. It is only their collectability that is appealing. give me the trusty and proven single cylinder Victa over these headaches on wheels. They are interesting to be sure, but not practical.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Probably because only a few survive, makes them rare and they are a unique in the fact and I can't recall another 2 cylinder push mower, probably there is but I don't know of them
Pretty much so, I know with the Stag it was a problem with air trapped in the top of the motor or radiator hose that sent many of them to an early grave
Probably because only a few survive, makes them rare and they are a unique in the fact and I can't recall another 2 cylinder push mower, probably there is but I don't know of them
Trouble is, they behave like a single cylinder anyway. Would have been more practical to have a single cylinder 170cc, but where is the hype in that?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Trouble is, they behave like a single cylinder anyway. Would have been more practical to have a single cylinder 170cc, but where is the hype in that?
I think that is a great point M-F makes there.
Victa saw themselves as innovators and leaders in lawnmower designs. The Twin delivered average performance and It was obviously expensive to manufacture; it suffered from reliability issues in the early days. Warranty claims probably eroded any profit made on the model.
The Victa Supreme was the later iteration - and it corrected the technical issues that plagued the early model 500s.
At a selling level - this was a Ford Edsel, and the market decided accordingly. Today, the twins are prized by Victa collectors - not because of great engineering, but because they symbolise a time when Victa did dream and do things differently.
-------------------------------------- Jack
p.s. I have added images of this Twin for the record.
One thing that puts me off the twin personally, is I liked the engine head poking out the side of the engine cowling on 125 and 160 high arch models. The twin was more like the low arch in that respect and it took away that characteristic to me. The large and very attractive catcher made up for things somewhat. Might be why I love the 1980s side pull full crank Mustang with a similar looking catcher, but slightly narrower to fit the narrower deck.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Will say though, regardless of the technical issues with those mowers they are a good looking sleek style mower compared to many of the "Lost in Space" looking things they brought out around the same era.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
They do have a bit of a cult following, i sold one a few weeks ago on flea bay that wasn't running and had no catcher that still sold for $360 at auction
What about one not running and with a crack free black replacement catcher without magic eye and engine cover without any cracks or missing fluting such as I've got?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Not worth it, as that money would dry up fast and where would I find another one? Nah, I'm holding onto mine and would like to get the deucid thing running properly one day, even if it is a heap of s---.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Finished at $202.50 which is pretty cheap I guess in the greater scheme of things, but I feel being at Dimboola (regional Victoria) was the sting in the tail.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Finished at $202.50 which is pretty cheap I guess in the greater scheme of things, but I feel being at Dimboola (regional Victoria) was the sting in the tail.
Cheers, BB.
Yep, the bloke John lives miles away from civilisation. Postage/ courier would have attracted more interest for sure. Few spare coils would be handy
Geography of the seller certainly has a bearing in this when it is a pick up item. Wish I could fit a Powerrtorque or FC 160 to mine and sell the useless twin engine.
Last edited by Mowerfreak; 13/12/1707:01 PM.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, that still would not make it collectible , just another mower, be better off selling the thing either in parts (Victa twin catcher) (Victa twin base) who knows what those parts would fetch to somebody wanting to complete their twin project. Plenty of bigger cut PT Victas out there for a fraction of what people pay for these twins
Yeah good point. It would be a waste to bastardise one if they are valuable on the second hand market untouched. Better off selling it and just make do with an 18" cut and put up with a miniscule difference in catcher capacity. Wonder if I should go to the effort to get the rear cylinder working again, helicoil two stuffed bolt holes in the aluminium that retain the metal engine cowl, and source the right snorkel and throttle cable for it, or just dismantle and sell the pieces? Are snorkels from any other models the same as what this came with or is it unique? I was thinking perhaps the snorkel from the cheaper store brand low arch models are the same.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I have been reading about these Victa Twin cylinder mowers and I hear they are nothing but trouble. Also I would have thought a twin cylinder engine would be firing one cylinder at a time? A bit like a twin engine on a Harley Davidson motorbike etc?
I have read that both cylinders fire together on these Victa twins? How did they manage to get a crankshaft design that looks like it has a cylinder on each side of the engine to fire at the same time? It doesn't seem like it would work like that? Also i'm assuming a total of 170cc means both cylinder sizes are added together, meaning the 2 cylinders on these engines are smaller in size than the standard 160cc single cylinder 2 stroke Victa engines?
Also i'd like to hear from anyone that has used one of these twin cylinder mowers when they are working like they are meant to are they much better than the standard 160cc single engine? Are they more powerful and less likely to slow down in tall grass etc? It would be good to know how much better (or worse) these were than than the standard 160cc Victa's from the same era?
I have only ever used a standard 160cc Victa 2 stroke full crank mower from the early 80's.
Cheers!
Last edited by Converse; 04/02/1912:47 PM.
Zip a dee doo dah, zip a dee ay, another trash picked Victa, hip hip Hooray!
Converse, I have no idea, never had one and not interested in them because of the problems. I believe when they are running they are smoother but at the end of the day they still only cut grass. There is one on Ebay or Gumtree at the moment, they are only for collectors who must have one, nothing wrong with that, people would clamber all over an Edsel or a P76 if it came on the market these days. I also saw a half brother of the twin for sale, it is the 85cc version, I think that one was on Ebay Your 160 F/C is among the best value for money mowers ever made
Hi Converse. I guess by now you have got your answers, but in case... The twin has a crankshaft with two big ends, 180 degrees apart. Hence both pistons go through the same strokes. So you have two pistons compressing the fuel/air/oil mix in the crankcase, at the same time. Both are on the compression stroke at the same time, and fire at the same time. That means that the firing strokes oppose each other. The engine is smoother than a single cylinder of the same size for this reason. If I remember correctly, and I will accept a counter-argument, that the two spark plugs are wired in series, similar to a wasted spark ignition, as used for example on the Commodore "Ecotec" engine. This should almost guarantee both plugs fire, or if there's an open circuit, no plug will fire. Trouble is, the rear cylinder (on the twin) runs colder than the front cylinder so that plug fouls up first. That creates a short circuited plug which means the front cylinder still runs. Many of these twins ran on only one cylinder for that reason. Victa did several (!!) mods during their life to alleviate the many problems they had, including running a "hotter" plug in the rear cylinder. I wonder how many back-yard mechanics didn't know this and while attempting to fix a "running on one cylinder" fault, swapped plugs... I have used my twin on several occasions. It is very smooth! It cuts my lawn heaps better than my old Jetfast (but I think a pair of scissors could do that too!) I can mow my lawns MUCH quicker with the twin. I intend to put mine up for sale soon, I have one complete and three other engines plus various other parts. That will be after Christmas when i can get some clear air. Hope that all helped.
Hi victatwin Can you give me a reason why the rear cylinder would run cooler, was it something to do with the cowl design. There would have to be some major reason for this to occur because just the physical position would suggest the reverse
I've seen the technical bulletins but it doesn't fully explain why.
The twin had a problem equalizing the fuel supply to both cylinders Norm,I haven't seen it completely explained anywhere but I think the rear cylinder being lower to the front cylinder makes the rear cylinder run richer (the fuel mix will take the easiest path) being a richer mix this would foul up the rear plug so a higher compression piston was used in the rear cylinder to help burn the excess fuel.The crank was also modified to help in equalizing the supply of fuel to both cylinders.
