Hi all Thought I would see if the Sunbeam with Kirby/Tecumseh 2 stroke would fire up. Wound up the starter, spring seams fine but the trip release is slipping, took the starter off and the casing around the release dog is cracked. Found some great info on the site as usual which suggests the problem with this starter is not a serviceable one and Ill be looking for a complete replacement. Could someone please confirm my fears ?
That was my first thought, I'll borrow the one off the Corvette just to see if the Sunbeam starts. To the naked eye they look the same but the Victa didn't fit the bolt pattern of the Sunbeam. The diameter of the base at it's widest which is the outer edge of the bolt posts is 10mm wider on the Victa. The only other thing i noticed was the part protruding from the centre of the Victa, other than that they look the same. I guess you could slightly bend in the post's of a Victa and it should fit but will give it a slight height increase and whether that would be problematic with meshing i'n not sure but it would only be slight. I won't be doing it to my one and only as an experiment though.
Hi wce not surprised at all. All wind up starters I've seen, look the same as each other at first glance, but a ruler says otherwise. Sourcing another one of those is going to be hard, unless other brands used it as well. Maybe there's a rope starter and cup that will fit.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
If I can't source the correct one ( I agree will not be easy ) I will try get a Victa and modify to fit and see how it goes. Made up a rope pull for it this afternoon and she made some right noises. Hard to know the correct throttle position as the original lever is't there but suspect the carb requires internal cleaning as well. Will post for assistance on that issue as have 0 experience with this motor.
when I went back to the boardroom to give the Corvette it's starter back I had another look at both and definitely the bolt posts on the Sunbeam are more vertical than the Victa. Can't see a reason why a Victa can't be installed but then again .............................................................
found one for sale and the colour of it would strongly suggest Victa, chap didn't have a clue what it came off so I asked him to take the diameter measurement and it's the same as the one that came off the sunbeam 160mm so should bolt straight on. The number on the underside of the sumbeam starter is 132D259 ESS3-3. The number on the one I am getting is 132D259 ESS3-4. Unfortunately I can't make out the number on the Corvette. Anyone got a starter lying about to have a look at the number ?
Hi all Just an update on the starter. The one I found for sale arrived but unfortunately the chap didn't measure correctly and the bolt pattern is same as Victa. The positive at this point was that at least I had a working spare. I put the Sunbeam and Victa units side by side on the bench and after a detailed visual examination all over came to the conclusion that the only difference was the angle of the mounting posts and a pin of some type that protrudes from the centre of the retaining nut for the top coupling ( please refer to pics posted previously ). If someone knows the purpose of this I would love to know as the Sunbeam doesn't have one. The pin protrudes just far enough that it contacts the engine top when the starter is sat in position. The pin is slotted in the middle so presuming it was not a fixed item I gave it a few light taps with a soft punch and it did move so I tapped it back to being flush with the nut head which resolved the clearance issue. I next inverted a 12 inch crescent spanner in the vice as the jaw is a good fit over the width of the starter post mounts and bent them to the vertical position, squared the mounting feet on the anvil and the starter fits straight on and works fine. The whole issue is a bit confusing and with the numbers on the underside being different by 1 digit on what i now consider to be the same units only ads to it. Anyway, I hope this information may help another member if they encounter the same issue. If someone has a victa impulse starter about the place can you please check the number on the underside and post to compare with the numbers in the above post.
I have an impulse starter that came attached to a Victa Kirby VK30 engine. It might not have been from a Victa originally, but it does fit. The number on the underside is GED 259 ESS2.
