OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Finding and Swapping Tip & Curb Side Finds My Victa And Some Hard Rubbish Finds

Doesn't work like that MF, if the grass is long and the flap is down it can't mulch it, it just clogs up and if you don't have a sidethrow this is a good alternative. Keeps grass and projectiles off your legs. I get mowers here all the time with a cord on them from the handelbar down to the catcher. People obviously use them like that often

G'day there NormK I have the cord from the handles down to the rear flap handle on my Victa Commando full crank but I use this string to open the rear flap on the mower when emptying the catcher and putting the catcher back on again. It's easier to pull the string up from a bit higher than having to bend right down and use the original handle on the rear flap for the catcher. Especially as I never stop the engine when mowing, I just bring it down to idle and empty the catcher.

I don't think I have ever used the original handle on the back metal flap for emptying the catcher, I have always had the string to open up the rear flap.

Yes Mowerfreak I see alot of people not using a catcher even with 4 strokes around here, I think they just mulch it up and leave it on the ground. But I notice that they also mow alot more often than I do. Some people just go out and mow their grass once a week, or once a fortnight I have noticed. I think if you keep it short like that and there isn't much grass then you can just not use a catcher and mulch it up.

But as NormK said, if I tried to mow without a catcher and mulch up the tall grass that I sometimes cut it would just block up and i'd be jumping all over the mounds of grass everywhere.

There is a person across the road here that doesn't use a catcher at all I think they hate mowing grass..lol. Anyway the grass is sometimes quite tall and he gets out with no catcher and just runs up and down the nature strip with the mower at full revs and he is done mowing in about 5 minutes. But the end result is a nature strip that has mounds of grass everywhere. It's all uneven and lumpy with grass piles everywhere...lol

Oh well I guess everyone has their own method of doing things. As long as the council keeps off your back about the uncut grass I guess they don't care if it's clean or not. As long as it's cut short I guess.

Cheers!

My wife spotted this one just down the street late last night and my son walked down and pushed it home. I can't imagine why people dump this stuff. No spark plug is always a worry, but these Tecumesh motors don't seem too bad and they are a big motor at 207cc. I will give it a go over and see what the motor is like, if not it will get a PT on it. Alloy base is in perfect condition, only fault is the front wheels are a bit bald, brought a smile to my face when I just saw it now, didn't bother getting out of bed last night to look.

That's a good one there NormK, nice clean solid looking deck and handles on that one. Bit of a clean up and it will look great!

Cheers!

I'll second that Converse, Norm K.
One guy on YouTube said Tecumseh motors he finds are either completely trashed or run really well. That one doesn't look trashed.
You can't lose with that find in any case. Well done.

What has surprised me this year is the number of kerb side mowers we have come across within walking distance of my place. My son had a quick play with the Tecumesh but it was pouring fuel out the carby so the float needle is the first problem there. Now put further back in the shed for another day.

A $10 carby could be all it takes for a nice humming four stroke to sell. You're probably like me and hope it's a dead Tecumseh as an excuse to have a home for another PT.

Can't say I have ever seen $10 carbs for Tecumesh but you are right, it will get a PT for sure, can't waste a good Victa base on some 4 stroke rubbish, plenty of 4 stroke bases kicking around here to put it on if I get it running

Can't wait to see it after its cleaned up.

G'day everyone,

Well all I can say is I was very happy last Friday when I had a look in a scrap metal yard and noticed a nice looking modern style Victa 2 stroke dumped there on the side. I didn't hesistate in saving this beauty from getting crushed and shredded!

It's got a very clean and solid deck, it's almost like new. Handles look and feel like new, the paint hasn't even worn down at all where you hold from while mowing the lawn.

I got it for $20. I think it's not a bad deal. I just hope as you guys say it hasn't been straight fueled. The only thing that looks promising is the pull starter works ok. It sounds like it has compression, also I can see a bit of oil residue left on the inside of the petrol tank. So i'm hoping it's ok.

It looks like it's got some sort of beefy spark plug boot, I don't know if they were original on these? It may have been added by someone. Well it wasn't connecting properly and it just fell off the wire while I was trying to connect it to the spark plug.

Also where the fuel tap was seems to be broken off and it's missing the fuel line to the carby, but I don't think it's all that bad and hopefully it won't take much to get this legend back into service.

It feels like a nice big solid mower, as you guys know i've only ever used my original full crank side pull Victa Commando all my life, getting something like this feels like a brand new lawnmower to me!

Hi Converse, $20 is the max you want to pay for a non runner unless it has good set of wheels and base, I usually base mine on about $10 for a non running one. One issue you have there is the fact it is missing the fan shroud and they are unique to that top you have and I have not come across any spares. It has the straight inlet manifold which means if you want to fit another standard cowl and top you have to change the inlet manifold to the offset down one. See if it runs, go through the standard test procedure, then you can decide what to do about the cowl

Hi NormK,

Thanks for that mate see how I don't know about these new models. Oh well I did have a look around the yard where I picked it up and I didn't see anything else near this mower that may have been on it. I don't even know what this fan shroud looks like?

Oh well I just thought it's got to be worth $20 just in parts alone when I grabbed it, yes it's got an excellent base, near new handles and throttle control housing, and the wheels are in good condition.

Cheers!

Hi NormK I have had a look at some photo's of these mowers on the internet and I think I can see what you mean by this shroud, it sort of covers from around the bottom near the fins on the flywheel up to near the top of the cowl?

See I just thought the top cowl is all that screws to the top, a bit like an older Victa.

Yes I will wait and see if it starts and runs first before I go searching for any parts it may need. This part may still be available new as a spare? If not i'll just put it aside until something turns up one day.

Cheers!

They all have the shroud, it is there to direct the air from the fan so it flows all around the barrel. If it is a runner you are way in front. The shroud id rounded off on the front right hand corner and it is also about 50mm higher in the rear so the fuel tank can sit above the carby because it has the straight manifold. The offset manifold can be fitted and then you can use the standard setup which is far easier to obtain and I have truckloads of that stuff

G'day NormK and thanks again for all the help mate, see I probably would never have known and ran the mower without the shroud as I don't know much about these new model Victa 2 strokes. So thank you very much for pointing that out as I am new to these models.

I have been searching the internet for pictures on this model engine and parts lists to possibly grab some parts if they are still available.

Check out this video out I found on youtube, it's the same engine as the one I found and they were selling it on Gumtree a few years ago, I think it is missing this shroud also by the looks of it? What happens if you don't have the shroud? Probably would get a heap of rubbish getting into the fins at the bottom? But it would also make the engine run hotter as it helps to direct the air around the engine as you said?

Cheers!

Missing the shroud as well, that shroud is specific to that top, the one above is a Tornado which has the longer crank shaft. I got one of those motors on a standard base and when I looked at it properly the blades were sitting way below the skirts, not a flash idea. Without the shroud cooling is pretty ineffective and stuff can fall down onto the fan and break the fins off

Hi NormK and hi Converse,
I would like to have warned this guy but the clip is from 2015. Probably blown up or worn out prematurely by now, unless he or the new owners realised this mistake early and found the missing shroud. Victa wouldn't include this part and the cost of making this major part just as a precaution. I admit, I really never thought of it's air direction before this thread and just assumed it was to stop the cover vibrating and prevent debris hitting the fan. Basically, this plastic part takes the role of the metal shroud on the old full cranks and is much cheaper to produce. Another clever production saving from the Powertorque engine.
Is that top specific to the Tornado? I have fitted one to a regular base mower (shroud included of course!) and with regular shaft length engine with bent manifold. Updated its appearance well.

MF the top will fit fine on a standard motor as long as you have the correct shroud. Remember the shroud also has the fuel tank support and this sits higher so it clears the straight shaft manifold and carby, if you fit the off set manifold it will give a bigger clearance over the carby, doesn't matter though. I have one here at the moment that I picked up last week that looks very original and had not done a lot of work and it is a short shaft with the Tornado top on it. If you look at the NOS Victa 2 strokes that are still on ebay they have that top on them

The funny thing is NK, they won't go on a high arch alloy thumb latch catcher chassis as they won't clear the chute, despite being more elevated, yet at least one other post-thumb latch top I have fits well and just clears the chute and updates it's appearance very effectively.
I'm not a fan of that grey top's style, but there no denying it updates it's looks to potential buyers and it looks smart enough.

MF, I have never tried it but I guess the small rectangular top with the small fuel tank moulded in might fit because it is shorter and might clear the arch. And an update on the Tecumesh motor, she is a dead one as it has no compression