OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Victa Viceroy Restoration

Evening ODK Members,

Went through the carb today, has ESS behind the tickler for reference. Used new gaskets and they went on exactly as the instructions stated, soak in very hot water until they expand and then put them in place. I found one odd thing, the compensating hole in the top side of the jet tube was not drilled all the way through. This hole lines up with the air bleed hole in the main throat, must Have been like this from new. Not sure how it would have effected the running, will have to look in the manual. I swapped it over with a good one, the one in the left of the pic is the bad one.

Good Evening ODK Members,

I have done a bit more on the Viceroy this week, finally back on its wheels. I still have to repair the air cleaner bracket and make up some spacers to go under the starter plus longer screws to fit it. The bars were a real pain to repair and I had to make click rods, springs and bolts where needed.

I have fitted latermodel wheels as i just can’t find any good early ones. I figure it would have got them anyway from the Victa dealer when needing new shoes. I am still hunting for a side chute cover 😀👍

Good Afternoon ODK Members,

Nice sunny morning here in Brisbane so I thought I would test out my engine, started first pull and ran nicely. It didn’t like the air cleaner though so I will have to look into that.




😀

Hi Paul
The 1960s Victas are starting to get attention!
Many thanks for the images and video.

I wonder if James Kirby supplied the air cleaner?
Victa were certainly promoting a corporate look
with similarities between their 4s and 2 strokes of the day.

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

Hi Paul and Jack

Sounds great ! have the same muffler on my early Corvette. Would love to see the start up with impulse starter.

Cheers
wce

G'day folks,
Paul, what you have picked up there is a pair of P/No 9-152 thrower blades intended for side discharge use. Pretty rare item these days!

The rear discharge thrower blades [P/No 9-174] were a more conventional 45 degree flute, and have only recently been discontinued, though a few online/eBay sellers still list them. Search for P/No CA09174S to find those.

The cutter blades, P/No CA09150S, are still available, as are bolt/nut/washer sets.

See also the Green Book page pic in this thread; https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/63410/re-victa-blade-washers.html#Post63410

Hi Gadge,

That’s good info, I thought they were angled over more than the normal ones. The blade plate came off a Four Star so that makes good sense.

Hi ODK Members,

A few small jobs done today,

Air cleaner bracket repaired


Helicoiled all the threads in the magneto plate and made up some new spacers for the starter which also got a service



Fitted some decals as well, I couldn’t find a Castrol decal so a later BP will do for now



Not much left to do now 😀

I think I prefer the steel base in this era than the alloy ones. They must have used good steel with decent thickness for it to have survived so long without rusting through.
Does the body flex like the powertorque series steel bases do?
Saw the vid. It sounds more like a chainsaw at idle!

Hi Mowerfreak,

No flex in this base, very solid. Might have sounded a bit hollow due to no air filter foam, I have fitted one now and it is quieter with a nicer note to it.

Hi ODK Members,

This is for WCE, a few winds of the SureStart.




😀👍

G'day paul_c,
That's one big reason I much prefer the alloy bases on the 1980s -90s Victas. The horrid flex sensation of the steel base. Steel doesn't get holes punched through them or crack though. They also don't gradually erode from sandy soil swirling under the base plate. This is the best of both worlds.
I like threw BP sticker personally and I hope you find a set of original wheels eventually. In the mean time I would consider sticking ball bearing on until you find any. At least it will be nicer to push, not that you will want to use it and risk damaging that beautiful finish!!

Hi ODK Members,

Just a note about the grass catcher for the Viceroy, I have noticed that all the pics that I can find relating to Viceroy actually show a later catcher style. The Museum photo shows this one



The handbook for the Viceroy shows a more curved catcher fitted with a front release flap



I have the original grass catcher for my mower, it has had some repairs over its life with replacement sides and the fixing of the flap so it no longer opens







It’s nice to have the correct catcher for the mower especially as it is the first rear mount grass catcher that Victa made.

Hello Paul
Great images, video and observation.

Yep, the museum image shows a Consul with a first model Corvette catcher of late 1963 (best guess).

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

Notice the lack of plastic parts including the catcher!
Hence the transfers on older cars coined in the 1990s "classic not plastic". I even saw one on a 1960s Leyland dump truck I saw still being used at various road construction sites in Sydney in the 2000s.

I would use this as my every day mower today!!

Hello ODK Members,

I overlooked this great Victa publicity photo posted earlier by member Maxwestern, it shows the correct grass catcher beautifully fitted to the four stroke Ambassador model





The Viceroy and Ambassador were certainly very stylish lawn mowers.

The Viceroy is a tricky one, and one of the cases where even the documentation comes into question...

The Viceroy in the museum image is indeed original and correct to the day of it's manufacture, it is technically NOS. This machine was a display model, and not just a display model in a shop, but one of a collection once retained by Victa themselves. 1n 1997 it was donated by victa to the powerhouse museum (MASS) in 1997. It has subsequently not been on public display all that much, and is kept in storage along with a number of Victa mowers. in 2010, after an enquiry requesting details about a number of machines in the warehoused collection, I had the pleasure of being able to view this mower and a few others in person, sadly I was not allowed to take photographs, but I was able to take notes, and somewhere in my storage unit I have a book in which I noted the engine number of this machine.

Now, as for the documentation regarding the Viceroy, there are two models of viceroy noted in the victa model guides, both of which are denoted as 1962-1963, these are the V14 and V15 or 505 and 517 respectively... However, it is also worth noting that the official victa model guides that specify these two models date from the early 1970's, and were created retrospectively at the point where the V-Code system was put into practice. There is not necessarily an assurance that all detail was taken into account in imagery designating which catchers or other parts were specifically relevant considering the near decade old mowers in question when these guides were released.

I do recal having encountered more detailed information that was released much closer to the date of these machines, however I'll have to head to storage and get the shovel out to see if I can't unearth that semi-formed memory...

My suspicion is that the viceroy was released in two consecutive runs, 1962-1963 and 1963-1964, the two different styles of grasscatcher flap on the chasis seem to align with other models of these two year brackets. I also note that I've seen little to confirm the imagery from Victa of a Viceroy with the tank mounted on top of the cowl, behind the starter, which leads me to wonder if this image could be somewhat incorrect, and indeed the later catcher design be what should be shown here.

Hello Mr Davis,

I have read your response a few times now and have been thinking about what you have said, is the photo of the Museum machine correct so The 1st model Viceroy sold with both style of catcher which makes sense as the Mk1 catcher would not have held up well in use with the weight of a full catch of grass resting on the flap hinge plus a smaller opening of which to empty the grass through.

I understand your note on the documentation and when it was released etc



“I've seen little to confirm the imagery from Victa of a Viceroy with the tank mounted on top of the cowl, behind the starter, which leads me to wonder if this image could be somewhat incorrect, and indeed the later catcher design be what should be shown here.“

I have the following pictures in my files of an example of this model which is believed to be an unused machine











Is this a genuine example or mock up?

G'day Mr Davis, Paul and all,
All the evidence I have strongly suggests that the Powerhouse Museum's
image is incorrect! I have found many errors in their descriptions and notes.
And the studio image date and purpose is unknown.

It would be easy to understand how that might be ...
The vast majority of their collection was donated decades after these machines
were made. Second they were donated at arms length from the folks involved
with these mowers at that time.

I have no doubt that the studio shot represents, as it were, new old stock, but
we need primary and contemporary evidence that the catcher mated with that body
at that time.

We know the Model 7 catcher was the second rear-catcher production design and
that the Green Books show it as the replacement catcher for the Viceroy and
Ambassador. The early design is simply not shown (and why would it be?)

On these forums, I have reproduced both the 1962-63 manual and the
1963-64 manual. They are contemporary documents to these events.
I feel they are the safest guide to these old mowers.

I have looked at extensive advertising records ... and I can find no images
of the Model 7 catcher mated to a Viceroy or Ambassador.

Remember, these first rear catcher models lasted but one season.
It makes no sense why Victa would change the design, given that
the new catcher was given such blurb with the arrival of the
first Corvette of late 1963. The Model 7 catcher was NEW for the 1964 Victas!

I would feel more comfortable with contemporary evidence that would show
Victa changed the catcher design mid season - when the Viceroy and Ambassador
were in production.

Forum Historian Mr Davis and Paul C have given us evidence that says this issue is not settled.

The eternal skeptic.
----------------------------------
Jack