While rebuilding my VC160 Mk1 I was looking out for parts. I found new old stock blade plates and they are green. One had blades fitted and showed marks from being fitted but blades were near new. I fitted it up and found it was bent, maybe the mower was dropped when new. Fitted blades up to one of the others and it was perfect.
I don't think blades were ever fitted to service blade holders.
Victa actually did have complete blade holder assemblies [i.e. blade holder factory fitted with blades] available, up to the early 1990s at least, going by the parts lists I have access to.
In fact, along with quite a few of the later blade holder types, the earlier 9C type blade holder wasn't available bare - it came with 9-150 cutter blades fitted, and could also be ordered with side [assembly P/No 9-172] or rear [P/No 9-173] discharge blades fitted too.
My family's OPE shop used to keep a few of the 9C's in stock in the 1970s, for retrofit to Victas that came in for service which still had the 9B holder fitted.
Cheers, Gadge
"ODK Mods can explain it to you, but they can't understand it for you..."
"Crazy can be medicated, ignorance can be educated - but there is no cure for stupid..."
I like that one better than the fancy twisty metal design that replaced it. I seems to cut better due to it's simple design. Was all that hi tech fancy mould work designed to stir up better air flow to send the clippings to the catcher?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, you are probably right, somebody came up with the later blade carrier design claiming it would create lift and it probably does, but when you look at the Rover carrier that remained dished and the clippings still ended up in the catcher. And then you have the ones with just the straight bar blade and those clipping end up in the catcher as well
I like that one better than the fancy twisty metal design that replaced it. I seems to cut better due to it's simple design. Was all that hi tech fancy mould work designed to stir up better air flow to send the clippings to the catcher?
Yep, that was one reason; another 'selling point'...
Victa didn't get it quite right first time around though; the blade holder pictured in that brochure was recalled, and is fairly rare now.
That 'wave' design had a tendency to bend the crankshaft end, if it copped an object/obstacle strike. While this problem was well known with Masport 4-strokes [which used a bar blade], it was new to Victa.
Consequently, that holder design was superseded by the 'swirl' design.
Cheers, Gadge
"ODK Mods can explain it to you, but they can't understand it for you..."
"Crazy can be medicated, ignorance can be educated - but there is no cure for stupid..."
