OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Unusual Customisation Projects Repurposed Victa Deck and Everything Creative

I just completed this conversion into a trolley/barrow. I was going to throw out the body anyway, due to rust starting to penetrate next to the left handle mount but decided to try making up a trolley out of stuff lying around the home. Despite appearances, it turned out very sturdy. I plan to do minor mods to front to make it a bit stronger, but it's ready to go.

Good one mowerfreak, I use same base to carry besser bricks etc, save my back.............
I was going to screw a couple of bits of wood on to make flatter base, ....... but I might find an engine...
speedy

Makes me cry seeing a good set of wheels being used like that, wheels are the most difficult component for me to find.

It's called get a proper wheel barrow, lawnmowers are lawnmowers

Gotta agree with Norm on that point.

Hi Norm K,
The front treads are quite scrubbed on the inside, they don't look as good in real life and the bearings have a bit of play. Yes they are passable and I have much more worn older ones that will do the job just as well so I can save these.

G'day BB,
but a wheelbarrow isn't a mower base converted using engenuity free of charge!

G'day Mowerfreak
I wish more folks would do this. Good job!

My folks tell the story of how Dad, with an expanding family,
extended the house. He cut the roof and used an old Qualcast pushie
to move the roof section along wooden rails. It worked!

I do draw a line, though, when some folks re-purpose lounge
chairs as ride-on seats. Just ask Norm about my HATE of this.
It is against the order of things - like pineapple on pizza.

Cheers
------------------------
Jack

G'day CyberJack,
looks like I have another supporter in this polarizing project of mine. Glad you think it's cool.

That's a great story of your father using it like a train and really demonstrated how sturdily they are built.

Regarding my contraption, I was going to replace the wheels with a set of the worst ones I could find, only to discover all but the front left one have a hairline crack along the shaft of the wheel which house the bearings. I have left them on and removed the only good one and replaced it with an old one with a radial crack in the tyre running from the white plastic rim ask the way out. It still works fine for this task. Now ready to use and abuse with impunity.

PS: I added pics of a wheel I was going to fit but painted first to disguise its wear, only to discover the faults with the existing wheels.

G'day Mowerfreak,

Many thanks for a great story.

Your story reminded me of this one - where an Eric Anderson/
Turner was re-purposed ...

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=72425

Do you have a name for your Vic-barrow?

Hey there CJ,
I refer to it as the wheel-barrel. One advantage of the Victa barrel is it's four wheels means less work having to support and balance it as you push it along.
I decided to just put back the original plastic front wheel, as I figured it won't be subject to the same punishment as mowing duty, and I can always remove it if I need to put it on a mower.
Plus, why have one odd wheel after the work I put into it?

G'day Mowerfreak
Yes, four wheels clearly is a good idea.

I don't even know why the barrow evolved with a single wheel,
but I guess it had a lot to do with building practices and use of planks
in the day.

Using lawnmowers has a proud heritage:-
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/u...mowers-the-odd-inventions.html#Post58306

You carry on a great tradition!

I might add, I appreciate both practical and artistic re-birthing ...
as seen in the two gallery images below.

Many thanks
---------------------------------
Jack

p.s. the annoying thing in the second image - of the Pope flowerbed is the composition.
Almost perfect, but why wasn't the gnome moved forward, and be central in the lower
mower handle frame? This would have added another artistic layer!

Otherwise, look at the ordered geometry of the wheels (top left), to the jumble
of bits (top right).

I saw a good one today (not quite in the same way as your creation Mowerfreak) but ingenious none the less.

It was a old briggs powered lawn edger (like a little wonder lawn edger from the 70s) morphed with a stihl leaf blower. What the guy had done was made a mounting brace that he could place his stihl leaf blower on. Then there was a pipe, terminating with a right angle towards the edger blade. That meant when he edged (with the leaf blower on) it blew the cuttings onto the lawn that he would then mow over.

Probably not an original idea, and wouldn't safe him much time, and made a lot more noise, but I thought it was a good effort.

Was driving past, so I couldnt get a photo though

Regards
Tyler

G'day CyberJack, G'day Tyler, that sounds like more trouble than it's worth, albeit logical -on paper.
I presume the Stihl had a fixed throttle position, otherwise that would require some coordination to operate.
It's good to see what other repurposing has been done as a result of my post, just to learn new ideas.

Hi all,
Here is my Victa Corvette Hand Trolley.

Regards
Max.

If I get a chance tomorrow I will get a pic of my Victa Victa trolley.

p.s. the annoying thing in the second image - of the Pope flowerbed - is the composition].
Almost perfect, but why wasn't the gnome moved forward, and be central in the lower
mower handle frame? This would have added another artistic layer!

Otherwise, look at the ordered geometry of the wheels (top left), to the jumble
of bits (top right).

Jack I can't believe you snuck this in and nobody noticed, very clever.

G;day Norm, Max and all.

The interesting thing - for me - is the reproduction of ideas over time.
Max, mowerfreak, yourself and others carry on that tradition.

Adapt and overcome seem a part of the AUS psyche.

Thanks Norm! I am a keen observer of image composition.

Cheers
--------------------------
Jack

I think maxwestern's creation could fetch more than the mower it came from. A Victa themed hand truck.

This is my Victa Victa trolley and yes MF the trolley is an alloy base and a bloke wanted to buy it a few days ago but I told him I needed my trolley. I don't think he was too happy that I wouldn't sell it to him. I think I need to build another trolley so I can stack some more bases because it makes it easier to move them around. If I could just get wheels I could put a lot of these bases back to work

Hey Normie, don't despair, there must be enough rotted out bases with decent wheels to eventually see them out.
You must be using bolts to make that balancing act.

MF, no bolts they just sit there happily waiting for a rebirth, I don't move it around much but I can if I need to. Problem is I think the base sitting on the bottom is rusted out and needs to go to the scrap, I guess it will have to wait till the next trip. Can't see me ever finding enough wheels, I do use other wheels from time to time but that means I have to cut the axles off and weld or bolt 1/2 inch ones on. Bit of a pain but helps solve a few of the problems.

I'm amazed they don't tip over. They must all find their posi and somehow jam against each other.

G'day all.
Norm, That's a nice composition there - the deck of mowers
There is something cannibalistic about it.

Is that one single party light top-right?
I wonder how Sigmund Freud would interpret this?

Cheers
-----------------------------
Jack

Hi Jack, I guess I hadn't looked at it as an art form but I can see the potential in it..... I think? Obviously the people at the gallery are looking at it in some depth. As for the deck of mowers, it is actually a deck of mowers sitting on a deck that is sitting on a deck, that is the concrete deck that we poured over where the swimming pool was because everybody thought it was a bad idea for me to fill it in with grass clippings. There is now 35 x 200 liter plastic drums under there that are full of water for the garden. And yes you are very observant, that is a party light that has been there for about 35 years for when we had pool parties many years ago

Hi All,
Hmmm ,I have had the Victa trolley like Norm from time to time .

I have yet to see a Victa snow plough or a Victa mower rake.

Cheers
Max.

Boy would I love to get into that pile Max, gotta be some good wheels in there somewhere, looks like they were just grabbing the motors

Wow Maxwestern, a lot of repurposing to be had there apart from being an apartment complex for redbacks!
CyberJack, brilliant Photoshop, and very flattering.
NormK, I somehow knew you'd be salivating over all those wheels in the wall of mower decks

MF, do you wheely think I have an obsession with wheels

You're obviously a wheel nut Norm!!

Yes that's some nice artwork Jack with the Photoshop image,here are some more mower art pics, not my work though.

Some good wheels there Norm but only 5 bases in that lot are not rusted out.

I think someone could get a lot of repurposing out of the Victa wall Mowerfreak ,I guess it depends on their imagination.

Yes Max, that rust is the Victa killer (apart from the wheels, yes MF I know). Everyone I get back to work I clean on the inside all up around the left inside and then paint it with fish oil. Hopefully that will save them for a few more years. The other issue with the bases is the wear that happens where the front axle goes through the body, not a huge problem because I just weld that area up, but still an annoyance. I guess Victa had to build something into them to make them fail or people would have been able to leave them in their will to their children and grand children. As for the photoshopping the reflections on the floor make it so realistic, means you can't believe anything you see these days

Now NormK why you want to destroy his barricade. It is the only keeping the rust termites a bay. LOL

So do you have plenty cats hanging around you since use fish oil? Or does it just don't smell like fish? Boy I sure don't need any cats around here as the chickens are petty good mousers themselves.


And to Max I like want someone did with those Husqvarna bar blades. Looks like an American Indian headdress but I bet it is heavy to wear.

AVB, I have a Jack Russel and he keeps the cats away but he can't do much about the possums even though he tries hard enough at 2.00am when they run across the roof. It is the water birds that get my fish from the fish pond. As for the Indian headdress, somebody with a lot of time on their hands and an oversupply of expensive blades

The American Indian headdress used in the Tecumseh logo.

I guess the blades were well worn out before repurposing them.

Cheers
Max.

G'day all
A very entertaining topic for sure

I feel surrounded by artists and Mischievites now.
Also, a great meeting of the old and new re birthers.

I feel I should wear Max's Tecumseh headdress when I mow the lawn.

There is more to this topic for sure.

Cheers
---------------------------
Jack

How all,
I think wearing the heavy headdress would be a insurance policy against scalping ,I'm not sure How your neck would go holding up
all that weight.

That Scooter story reminds me of all the petrol air blower Hoverboards I have seen the mythbusters made one, link click here.

Cheers
Max.

G'day Max and all

I wonder what lawnmower motor was used on Brisbane's 'Bonair Scooter'?
Nice link too Max!

Max, love the subtle inference there.
I also think that the Johnson 'Iron horse' name paid homage to Native Americans.
[Native Americans referred to locomotives as 'iron horses'.]

Just goin' out to buy a neck brace.

-------------------------
Jack

Luke Skywalker favoured Pratt & Whitney.

Our 14 yo cat Smooky has taken it upon himself to repurpose a Rover catcher.

And a Rover catcher with a screen intact, now that is rare, can't imagine how many of those I have had to replace.

Looks like a cat catcher.

I have seen people collecting catchers for chicken nesting boxes.

That'll certainly keep the wind off them. If you want them to provide shelter in their own right, you simply turn them upside down.

All very entertaining folks!

But I must ask ... What came first?
The kitten or the egg?

Sorry
----------------------------
Jack

G'day all,
None other than the mighty Victa! That refuelling can looked to be marked 'BP Zoom' - and the Trove article below confirms that it is.

It actually used three Victa engines; two for lift and one for forward propulsion and steering. A pic from the State Library of Vic [below] shows this clearly.

I see a TAA sign in the background, then we had to replace this icon with the most unimaginative name conceivable: Australian Airlines, before it got absorbed by that other icon beginning with Q.
There was a clown who proposed to replace that too. Air Australia.

Hi all ,
No wonder the Bonair Scooter never took off,three engines and it only does 30 mph, one engine in a bicycle would go faster.

Cheers.
Max.

G'day all,

The pics and articles are from the Avalon Air Pageant in February 1961. Hence the aircraft stuff in the background. The 'Bon Air Scooter' was pretty much thrown together from scrap materials and donated engines; just to see how well it would work, I'd say.

Colin Bonner did build at least one larger hovercraft, the Bon Air 6-1-X - some detail info: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%203058.html

To get back to our Victas, it was interesting to see that BP Zoom premixed fuel was available that far back.
A bit more Trove research found that it came on the market here in January 1960!

There was an independent petrol station with an operating 25:1 browser up until a few years ago in Matraville in Sydney's South East. I filled one old coolant container with it once and noticed sediment at the bottom. It was very convenient as I was staying in the area the time and it saved me having to buy two stroke to mix with five litres of fuel while staying down there when I only needed abit over a litre to use a mower one time.

G'day all land lubbers

That was fantastic research there Gadge.
It really makes history come alive, and the connection with Victa makes
it extra special.

I was thinking ... why hovercraft, until I remembered that these machines
were getting a lot of publicity at the time.

I had a model of a British SR N1 as a schoolboy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR.N1

Cheers
------------------------
Jack

Back then everything seemed that Hovercrafts were the way of future travel means but the idea never took off.

It's not rocket science. It takes energy to fight gravity well as move forward.

G'day all,
If Colin Bonner had made something like this click here for boat plane with 3 Victa
engines that would have been more impressive, now where are the 4 wheels on this boat plane, so we can use it above the roads.
Cheers
Max.

Hi Max!

Gidday Jack,
The boat plane look a better proposition than spending $120,000.on this10 Foot Picasso with lawn mower,link click here.

Cheers
Max.

That's hilarious Norm. No, the idea never took off; it just hovered

Max, that is so provocative; given how this topic has unfolded.

It's not an 'Off Topic' but seems to express the creativity in customisation.
I think I will rename this topic and keep it in this forum.

I think you have juxtaposed the tension between 'better proposition' as
monetary return on investment as opposed to customisation for aesthetic reasons.

I encourage all members to read the brilliant topic and link you supplied.
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy...-elitism-culminated-10-foot-tall-picasso

His giant Picasso with Lawnmower reminds me of the Old Lawnmower Club's image
of a giant push mower. Also, gallery images of the Picasso ...

Cheers
----------------------------
Jack

They did in the UK for a time, but now they only see use in specific situations, where they offer unique advantages;

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34658386

Went the way of the Concord. Great but expensive.
Anyone remember the Space Shuttle? It was supposed to revolutionise space travel and take over from single use rockets. Now they are back to single use rockets as the standard means to travel to space. 1940s technology. It seems conventional and established is the new innovation.

The main advantage of the Hovercraft was it's greater efficiency compared with a boat.


Mowerfreak started this topic with the Victa base and I guess you see a lot of different ideas that started out with something related
to the Lawn Mower.

I saw this news article about a Lawn Mower engine used for roller skates.

Cheers
Max.

Repurposed deck (for carrying stuff) used as a work bench for non repurposed mower. The wheels (just) clear the edges allowing easy removal and service too all four wheels -which I did. I cleaned up the axles and applied grease to the bearings. They now roll much easier.

I found a Simpson tumble dryer last week and all it needed was a fan belt. I wasn't sure where to put it so placed it on here for the time being as it fits well on the board I have since fitted to the repurposed mower.
I used it to cart the dryer to the side of the house.

Hi MF,
the Simpson dryer, I bought one in 1975 and it is still going strong, bit noisy at times, has had 2 belts and a new seal in that time. I picked up another one, same model off gumtree for $20 or something as a complete set of spares. Can't see me ever needing to buy another dryer. Washing machine my wife bought over 20 years ago big top load Whirlpool, excellent machine so over the years I have picked up 2 more so that I have complete spares on hand. The latest one I picked up at the start of the lockdown for $50, I put that in the laundry to test it so I knew what it was doing and I have left it there, only thing wrong with it is that when it stops the spin cycle the brake comes on a bit hard and make a bang and moves the machine slightly. I can live with that and the second one I bought probably 15 years ago I have stripped down got rid of the body and put all the parts away in case they are ever needed, but going by how good these machines are they will probably never be needed

Hi Norm

We had a dryer like that. It conked out a few years ago. No heat but did not seem to be the element which I had replaced at least once.

Wet weather so some urgency. Bought a new one looks nearly the same. When we got it working we found to our amazement that it reversed rotation regularly and so the clothes did not end up in a tight roll any more and dried better.

Not sorry the old faithful is gone now. Sometimes new technology is good

Jeff

Can anyone guide me on what settings to use and how long to run for? Do you need a heavy duty extending cord to run these for a fair length of time. I could feel the extension cord end getting warm after a while.

What clothes should I avoid putting in? Should I heed labels that say not to tumble dry?

Mum was given her Simpson dryer as an engagement (or maybe wedding) present circa 1979. Couple of drum belts and a few of the lint filters (hers is one of the non see through front venters) and it still goes good

MF - just use medium heat for about 25 minutes depending on load/material thickness. Mostly heed the labels.

Don't get me started on new simpson washers though.

1st one kept snapping suspension rods - eventually all 4 broke and dropped the guts out at full rpm. Got wind that the guys who deliver the new one and take the old one away end up onselling the machine to a repairer for resale - so I gleefully swung an axe through it so no poor bugger ever gets hampered with it again

2nd one now and it went bang grind 2 months ago - a bit nut (size of victa blade plate nut) dropped off the agitator shaft . Warranty guy was putting back together and I suggested locktite or a star washer, he said that management wouldn't allow - and if the next repair man saw it, it is to be reported.

I asked what the solution was - he said see you next year...

Hi Jeff,
Can't say I have ever had a problem with the dryer tangling the clothes, maybe it has something to do with the fact I have never put clothes in it or taken them out of it.
Hi Tyler,
In the early eighties I bought a new Hoover front loader washing machine, what a dud that was, withing 2 hours of it being installed it had broken down and this saga continued on a regular basis for a couple of years till I did as you did, I took an axe to it so that there was nothing anybody could salvage from it once I took it to the tip. I have never and would never again buy a Hoover product, which was once like Victa a trusted brand. If I had had a service bloke say to me he would see me next year, my reply to him would a very emphatic " No you bloody well wont" It is a pity because Simpson was once a very trusted brand as well, but that seems the way of the world now, snap up a trusted brand, trash the product/name and just move on to the next company they can gobble up and destroy.

Clothes can end up a bit tangled - but I have only taken the clothes out of it a handful of times

Hoover is now owned by techtronic industries - the same guys who bring you homelite crap (another brand that in the 60s and 70s were good) so will be even worse now

I never get things like that repaired these days. If I can not fix it myself I always buy a new one. Often it's electronic faults which usually can not be fixed without expensive circuit boards and the like
This new dryer probably has electronics for the reverse rotation. Probably not fixable

If we had never experienced the reverse rotation we would have no idea how good it is.

Jeff

I found this neat little Sanyo Vacuum cleaner on a rubbish pile. I did the house with it. It punches above its weight in suction and is surprisingly quiet.
I'll assign it as my car vac.

Nice find MF. The old vacs often do better than expected. It often gets to the point where you can't find bags though. Still have a stash of electrolux ones found at IGA clearance 10 years ago.

That being said, when the 15 year old electrolux was retired from duties, the dyson filled its barrel in 3 rooms due to getting the missed dust

Hey Tyler,
that explains why people pay the price Dyson want. I knew a woman across the street who gave hers to her daughter as it filled up too rapidly and she was constantly having to empty it out. It was just too powerful to her liking. Wish she let me have it!
The old Sanyo is baglesstoo. It has a chamber in the front with a filter between it and the motor. Think of it as a giant dust buster.

My missus bought a Dyson about 15/20 years ago and she was not happy with it, a couple of things broke and I didn't get involved but I think it was relegated to a far corner somewhere never to surface again. A very expensive vacuum at the time so Dyson is never again mentioned in this household