OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Victa Charger 1983-84: Not used in 20 Years.

*sigh* off to the mower shop then.

Have fitted a new primer cap seal fixed rattling blades with fibre washers.
Mower should run nice when I get the chance to try it out..

Hi folks.
It is now a runner. I mowed the nature strip with it. The weeds in the first pic were very overgrown and were the best part of a foot high.
Only problems are it over revs slightly at full throttle and it doesn't rev as low as I'd like at low throttle, but it has a sweet harmonic sound to it, which suggests this engine hasn't seen much use since new, in keeping with the unworn, though rusty body.
It's like having an old mower with rebuilt engine that hasn't been rebuilt.

MF, did you modify the carby, if it is still revving to high at idle it needs another washer under the cam.I sold one yesterday that had the same top, I had completely stripped and repaired the body and as you say it felt like a brand new mower because everything felt so solid and smooth

No Norm, just as it left the factory. It's not too bad really. I would rather just leave it alone until it gets worse, but throttle control requires very ginger movements. I'll put up with it.
I'm thinking of parting it out. It's a good mower but this model doesn't attract bids in Ebay (I have watched a couple), even though it's a good workhorse. Probably it's looks only a mother could love.
It has so many pristine body parts such as the hubcaps and bushes. The rear axle still has shiny new looking metal.

MF I was watching the bloke mow his lawn with the one I sold him the other day (same as the one you have) and it looked like any other mower that was working as it should.Most people I deal with are not impressed by what it looks like but how it performs. The sidepulls are a bit of a ratty design, but as long as they start the motor that is all they want, a cheap mower that cuts the grass. Most of the time I just put these motors on big slashers or little sidethrowers. Even if I end up with some of these that are trashed, there is always a bucket of parts I can scavenge, coil, module,snorkel,carby, handelbar bolts, blade carrier, often with good blades.

I found this YouTube clip of the same model as mine.

G'day everyone,

Cheers Mowerfreak for posting this video of the beast, it's just like my mower only the fuel tank cowling is slightly different. I reckon they are an awesome mower, well I am a bit biased as you could imagine..lol. Listen to that beefy tough engine mate there is nothing like it!

This thread was a great read for me Mowerfreak as my mower is very similar to this one you have, I used that link that Cyberjack added to the Victa codes at the start of this thread and I found my own Victa code in there. My original Victa code is "VJ165A1". It says it's a "1982-83 Commando". Which is spot on. Because I remember as a kid me and my dad picked it up from the local Myer store back then brand new.

I'm wishing I still had the Waltons store brand Celestial 160 my dad bought in the late 70s. It went missing in 2001 sadly, during a move.
After looking up the code book Cyberjack linked to, I found out this mid arch alloy deck mower dated from 1976 and I have vague memories of dad unboxing it, probably in 1977 sometime when I would have been a four year old attending preschool. The last time I used it would have been about 1996 after having mowed our lawn and others with it since about 1987 when I was first allowed to use it, and then it was stored thereafter. It was a reliable machine but would never start first pull. It always required at least a second pull. It had a carburettor overhaul at A&E mowers in Epping NSW (later Vince Duffy Mowers before closing down in there 1990s) in the early 1980s after it wouldn't start. This included receiving the white primer cap to replace the grey primerless cap. That would probably explain why it wouldn't start lol.