OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories VICTA Models VICTA IMPERIAL - c1966-1978

Hello ODK History Lovers

The Victa Imperial lawnmower was a 14" to 24" reel mower made by Victa
Mowers from about 1966 and it remained in production for over a decade with
it being phased out in 1978. It sold widely, but not in rotary volumes.

The Imperial story might be grand, but it is not simple. The Imperial's
ancestry was British, but its immediate heritage lay with the great firm of
Morrison in New Zealand. The Imperial was a hybrid design - incorporating
UK Ransomes, NZ Morrison;s and OZ Victa's own design features.

For the first five years, the Imperial was powered by 4-stroke Kirby engines;
but its final iteration would be powered by a specially modified Victa 125cc
2-stroke engine.




The starting point must be with John Mason, Victa's General Sales Manager.
In his self-published book he credits himself as the catalyst for convincing
Mervyn Richardson to expand - or complete - the Victa range by having a
powered reel mower.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO - Victa Imperial Background

This historically important extract from Mason's book confirms that
the Imperials were - in large part - assembled from imported Morrison
components, and the DNA was from the iconic British Ransomes.

PART THREE - Specification

The specification for Victa Imperials changed over its production lifespan.

The first Imperials - 1966-1972 - were power by Kirby (Tecumseh) 4-stroke engines.
These were well-designed and fully governed. The Imperials would become exclusively
2-stroke powered when Victa introduced their 'special' 2-stroke 125cc. That engine
had no automatic governing. Excluding the power plants, there was commonality
between all the Imperials.

- Pressed steel and welded frame
- Five blade double helix reel (except 14" inch)
- Centrifugal primary clutch
- Friction plate landroll clutch
- Chain transmission with auto chain tensioners
- Single-point knob height adjustor [added for the 1972 season]
- Split, wooden front rollers
- Split, different rear rollers on larger models

THE REELS
For inexplicable reasons, little marketing seemed to be directed to the
advantages of the double helix reel. The advantage of this reel lay in the
configuration - with half the reel spirals mirroring the other half - grass would
be deflected to the centre of the catcher. To my knowledge, all but the
14 inch machine were fitted with the double helix design.

THE ENGINES
The original Imperials - 1966-1972 - were all powered by Kirby-Lauson-
Tecumseh 4-strokes. These were manufactured by James N Kirby, under license
from the American Tecumseh. The engines comprised mostly HK25 variants and
then the slightly larger HK30.

It would not be until the 1972-73 lawnmower season that Victa would
introduce their special version of the Series 70 Mark 2, 2-stroke engine
to the Imperials. This engine, fitted with a compression decompressor
(for easier starting), also featured lower compression (via a head spacer),
and a special version of the G3 carby (the 3-357), that removed the air vane
governor. It would appear that Victa were not prepared to spend the money -
or deemed it unnecessary - to offer a governed 2-stroke engine for the Imperials.
Why Victa would wait so long to use their 2-stroke on the Imperial is open to
speculation ...

Initially there were 16", 20" and 24 inch cutting widths. Victa added the
14 inch when it introduced the 2-stroke Imperials for the 1973 range. Of
particular note is the 24 inch Heavy Duty model offered at this time.
The Imperials would be phased out, best guess - from 1978.

Here is a Catalogue extract from 1972:-



TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART FOUR - The 4-Stroke Imperials

The main visual difference in the 4-stroke Imperials was the change to
the handle design, introduced for the 1970-71 season. The first, criss-cross
handle, was of a Ransomes design - and a good one - but it suffered from one
obvious defect: it could not be folded. The new handle permitted easy folding.

The only other significant change was to the Kirby-Tecumseh engine specification.
In the Victa Green Book (reproduced below) the carburettor is shown to have
changed 4 times! One can only speculate as to why ...

These first Imperials were finished in a most handsome two-tone green with
decals of white font on black and black font on orange.





TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART FIVE - Kirby HK25 Parts List

PART SIX - The 2-Stroke Imperials

The 2-stroke Imperials replaced the 4-strokes for the 1972-73 lawnmower
season (the 1973 Range). The move to Victa's own engine was probably
brought about by the advent of the Series 70 Mk2 - the first Victa engine
with a decompressor for easier starting.

The main modification to that engine (for use on the Imperial) was the
addition of an alloy spacer between the cylinder and head. This reduced
the compression ratio; probably in order to smooth the power impulses of
what was a basic loop scavenge engine design. The result was a cooler
running engine requiring less lubrication, with Victa recommending
BP Zoom Outboard (50:1).

The other change was the removal of the air-vane governor from the
G3 carburettor. This was achieved by simply plugging the hole and
removing the small bevel gear set to make the un-governed 3-357
carburettor.




TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART SEVEN - Victa Imperial 125cc Parts List

PART EIGHT - The Victa Imperial Chassis

The Imperial chassis was made of pressed and welded steel, giving it great
torsional rigidity. The design was based on the Ransomes Minor Mk 7 of the
late 1950s.

By 1973, Victa were offering four cut sizes in the line-up 14", 16" 20" and 24".
The 14 inch came with a single piece rear roller (no differential) and would
be the only size fitted with a single helix reel. The 16 inch was offered in
two variants - one with a single piece rear roller (no differential), and one
with a split roller (with differential). The 24 inch machine also came in two
variants - a standard model and a Heavy Duty model.

Transmission was via a primary centrifugal clutch on all models. Both the
second version of the 4-stroke Imperial and the 2-strokes would be fitted
with a heavier clutch-side flywheel. All Imperials had a secondary landroll
clutch - a single plate clutch with three tension springs. The landroll clutch
was activated by a handlebar clutch lever. A sealed chain case housed the
three transmission chains and the landroll clutch.



CHASSIS PARTS LISTS

PART NINE - Significance & Assessment

The Victa Imperials were the first reel mowers sold by the Victa Company.
It would appear that it was Victa's John Mason that convinced Mervyn Richardson
that he should have a reel mower in the Victa line-up for the 1960s and beyond.
It was a safe bet; in that reel mower sales were still strong, and it was New
Zealand's Morrison that did most of the tooling.

There is some irony in that Mervyn Richardson's first foray into lawnmowers
was via the reel mower (not the rotary). The Victa 14 inch Reel Mower has not
been well documented, but was sold from about 1950 to early 1953. So, perhaps,
Merv did require some persuasion - to return to the reel mower design.

The Imperial was a success and clearly sold well - given the production
length, and the amount still regularly appearing on auction sites. It was
solidly built of quality components and of sound design. Though originally
a British Ransomes design, it was made under licence by New Zealand's great
Morrison Mowers. Victa would modify the design; most notably with the
introduction of the 2-stroke Imperials - with their distinctive handle bar
and fuel tank - that would give a fresh, modern look to the machine from 1973.

The main criticism of the Imperial seems to be its landroll speed - with
some users claiming that the user needed to 'run after it' when mowing.
That;s a little unfair. The 4-strokes, with their much flatter torque
curve and governed engines, could run at a lower RPM, thus reducing the
roller speed. The 2-strokes, with their ungoverned engine and sensitive
throttle control, required a little bit more finesse to achieve a lower
landroll speed.

The single-plate clutch could be slipped to achieve a varied landroll speed,
but its design made this difficult. Like automotive applications, it essentially
was slipped at take-off and then fully engaged. The clutch design did not permit
much sensitivity.

In any case, this issue - of a high landroll speed - was typical of
early powered reel mowers. I have argued on these forums that for
historical reasons a quick-pace speed of mowing was something
manufacturers would boast about: one could get more lawn mown at a
cheaper cost, and the gardener could then be employed on other duties.
That legacy was the Imperial's inheritance.

The rest is history.
---------------------------------------
Jack

THE VICTA 14" REER MOWER - c1950
VICTA IMPERIAL 2-STROKE ENGINE

An early 1970s Victa Imperial brochure here: -
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/111607.html


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