OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Component Histories VICTA - The Fabulous 2-Stroke Engines - c1977

Hello ODK History Lovers

This is a very interesting piece of Victa propaganda: a nicely presented booklet extolling
the virtues of the 2-stroke engine in general, and Victa 2-stroke engines in particular.
It's too much of an expensive publication, I think, for public consumption; so I guess it
was produced for the Dealer Network.

It has a simple message: Two Strokes are better than four Strokes!



I date this booklet to the 1976-77 lawnmowing season. The Victa 160cc Mk4 and 170cc Twin engines
are featured, and the G4 carburettor had just been updated. Clearly, this is before the introduction
of the 85cc Lightweight engine for the 1977-78 season.

Twenty-one pages of living sepia-tone, this booklet acts as an apology for the superiority of
the two cycle design. But that's really just propaganda: facts, figures, graphs, and statistics
... they all can be made to fit a line of persuasive marketing blurb. Victa were masters at it!

It's 'other things', however, I found most interesting in this great publication.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO .. continued.

What is most telling is the August 1976 article, reprinted in this Victa booklet, from an
American magazine. It's not the article content itself - but who said it. It's a Lawn-Boy
piece, quoting (apparently) the words of Herman Martin, the Chief Engineer at Lawn-Boy.

I know Elvis said we can't go on together with suspicious minds, but perhaps that oft-
repeated rumour, that the Victa Twin originated in a Canadian factory, does ring true.
I wonder whether Lawn-Boy engineers 'Victarized' a Lawn-Boy design; or their expertise
was sought by Victa in producing the Victa 170cc and 85cc engines ...?

This booklet has many interesting facts, including, "there was a violent swing to
four-strokes in the early sixties. At their peak in 1963/64, four strokes accounted for
68% of all motor mower sales." Given the current owners of the Victa brand, the general
thrust of this booklet - that 2-strokes are better - is now dated and one of historical
interest. I would think that four strokes contribute to an even higher percentage of
total motor mower sales today.




I have scanned this brochure from my original. Because of file size limitations, and in order
to preserve the beautiful brown sepia tone, I have re-produced the brochure in two parts.
First Part: pages 1-12;
Second Part: pages 13-21.

COMPONENT HISTORIES



Would you like to comment on this booklet?
Simply create a new topic in the Old Soap Box HERE.