What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[skinnyb]

Well my latest detailing conquest arrived today . I can't wait to try it as soon as it warms up a bit. Active Premium canon. Feels extremely well made, the bottle does give me pause though, it is a clear (ish) bottle and Keav did break the one he tested but only when full and it just cracked a bit. It only really broke and started leaking after he dropped it like 3 times completely full, whereas the MJJC completely gave up (empty) on the first drop

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[50ALM]

Well my latest detailing conquest arrived today . I can't wait to try it as soon as it warms up a bit. Active Premium canon. Feels extremely well made, the bottle does give me pause though, it is a clear (ish) bottle and Keav did break the one he tested but only when full and it just cracked a bit. It only really broke and started leaking after he dropped it like 3 times completely full, whereas the MJJC completely gave up (empty) on the first drop

Alex, I'm surprised y'all in the States aren't using the Griot's BF302 cannon.

I bought one back with me, after one of my work trips to the US last year.
(Griot's don't ship outside of the US - you'd have to use a freight forwarder, so it becomes prohibitively expensive to obtain Griot's products for us normally.)

I think it's great!
Stainless steel manifold, a decent wide-mouth bottle, and the star of the show - the dual thread in conjunction with their metering tips. Despite getting three bottles (two of which have never been used), I just screw the GSF, Reset, Lift etc directly onto the cannon.

And, not made in China.

 

[Evolvd]

Alex, I'm surprised y'all in the States aren't using the Griot's BF302 cannon.

I bought one back with me, after one of my work trips to the US last year.
(Griot's don't ship outside of the US - you'd have to use a freight forwarder, so it becomes prohibitively expensive to obtain Griot's products for us normally.)

I think it's great!
Stainless steel manifold, a decent wide-mouth bottle, and the star of the show - the dual thread in conjunction with their metering tips. Despite getting three bottles (two of which have never been used), I just screw the GSF, Reset, Lift etc directly onto the cannon.

And, not made in China.

I have one and it’s quality.

 

[DFB5.0]

Bugger it! Now I want one!

 

[DFB5.0]

I've been a bit quiet in this thread over the last week. In addition to catching up on a few garden jobs, I've been fighting off a summer cold, not helped by humidity that also drains my energy. Losing a close friend and colleague to cancer, and one last step in terminating my employment has also drained my motivation. But, as of 3pm today, I'm a free man.

I had planned to wash the Ranger today, but it was pointless to do so due to the rolling showers and the need to go out this afternoon.................I'll do it tomorrow.

Instead, I made the 52nd attempt at getting this cranky b.tch running properly again.................

I've been trying to get this thing sorted for far too long. Every few months, I'd pull it out of the shed, make an attempt to fix it, fail, then crack the sh.ts and put it back in the shed. Rinse and repeat.

First, it was revving its guts out, which sounded amazing, but it would have eventually thrown rod doing that for too long. I traced that to a cracked intake tube and replaced it with a secondhand unit. That tube also came with a carburetor that I want to rebuild at some point, mainly to have a spare unit on hand but to also get experience with the inner workings, although after today I'm more confident about that now.

That fixed it briefly, and was running fine until it started to die on full throttle, like it was starving for fuel. I replaced the fuel tap as it seemed to be flowing very weak from the gravity fed fuel tank.

Success! Until the engine warmed up and it started to do the same dam thing. Cue another trip back to the shed.



I recently ordered a bunch of Victa G4 carburetor parts, mainly to have in stock but to also hopefully cure this thing. I'm sort of using this machine as my learning subject for when, not if, my other Victa 2-strokes start to give trouble.

The first thing I did on this attempt was to replace the pumping diaphragm (figure 12 below). This would be the deepest I've dug into one of these carbs, replacement of the diaphragm requires removal of the outer cap (15), diaphragm spring (14), diaphragm washer (13), the lifter spring (11) and lifter (10), the poppet valve (2) falls out by design. While I had the carb off the manifold, which is a simple bayonet fitting, I also replaced the o-ring on the manifold as a precaution, which did have some minor age marks on it.

I fired it up and let it reach operating temp, I was then thinking I had it fixed only for it to die out again a few seconds later. Again, like it was starving for fuel.

So, off with the cowling/fuel tank again. At this point, I decided to pull off the primer cap, which also houses the main jet, needle, seat and float. These caps are notorious for causing leaks and flooding as they age. With the cap removed, I noted how there was no fuel in the chamber.

Inspecting these parts, to me it appeared as if the needle was not moving freely, in effect causing the float to remain in the closed position, or sporadically closed. The needle also looked to be worn. So, into the parts department for a replacement cap and needle. Installed back on the carb, it promptly began to leak out the primer button. Off it came.

This is something I have noticed a lot with aftermarket parts like this, there is quite a lot of variability in the quality, meaning this brand-new part was leaking right out of the box. These particular caps looked suss to me when they were delivered, the plastic surrounding the actual primer button looking very poorly made. I don't recommend buying from Varietech for this and other reasons.

I then tried another primer cap, which was from Push Mower Repair, which looks like a much higher quality part. The new cap was installed with a new yellow needle and new o-ring. (You can buy these parts in kit form, but you then end up with a bunch of parts you don't use, and with so many machines to maintain, I find its just easier to buy each part separately)

Old parts.....................

With the new needle and cap and installed with no leaks, I was fairly confident that this would solve the issue. However, I really didn't want to remove the cowel/tank again, so I just bit the bullet and decided to replace the starter o-ring while it was there. Again, this is the deepest I've been in one of these engines before. The o-ring is accessed by removing the three bolts holding the starter assembly to the crankcase.

This o-ring is imperative as, like all 2-stokes, it ensures the engine is sealed from ingesting dust and provides sufficient vacuum/pressure to the carburetor. One simple leak in any one component will cause poor running and internal damage over time.

Considering how firm the seal was on this unit, I determined that this wasn't the cause of the running issue, the old o-ring looked completely fine with no visible damage. Still, I replaced it with a new one.

The Victa PowerTorque is what's called a half-crank engine, which is normally something you would find on really cheap line trimmers as its cheaper to make. On the big Victa, it's actually a very clever way of creating a single piece crankcase and cylinder block. On the previous full-crank engine, it had a separate cylinder, separate cylinder head and a two-piece crankcase, which would naturally take longer to assemble on the line. The power torque has a cast iron block and cylinder with an alloy head. To replace a piston or rod on this engine, you only need to remove two parts, the starter and cylinder head. It's also refreshing to see a giant lump of cast iron and, if fueled correctly, these things will go for ever. The only main drawback to this design is how the flywheel and ignition coil are located under the engine, which would require removal of the blade disk and removal of the engine from the mower to gain access should it lose spark.

I think when you look at this engine, you can see how Aussie ingenuity created a durable and long-lasting engine while keeping it at an affordable price point. Looking at modern Chinese and American made engines, to hit their price points they are pulling quality out of the unit via cheaper/thinner castings, plastic parts. Cheaper doesn't always have to mean poor quality if there was some thought put into the manufacturing process from the very beginning. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/FAC/Stellantis/Purple People Eater car company could all learn from this.

With it all back together, and some fresh fuel in the tank, I started it up and left it running for quite a while. As it stands, it would seem like I have fixed this machine. Full throttle revs sitting at the magical 3600 rpm, racing up beyond 4000 rpm and settling back down again when under load, which is what they were designed to do rather than running wild for no reason.

Returned to the shed, this time without frustration, this cranky b.tch is a little less cranky.

 

[50ALM]

Bugger it! Now I want one!

Allow me to sow this seed...

Being the Griot's sole Australia distributor has your name all over it, Deyon.
It's in a space you are both passionate and knowledgeable about.
You're also a "free man" right now.

Nobody else here is carrying the brand (?) so there's no competition with existing players.

Most of these ventures start small using their own garage for warehousing.
Easy to get up and running with MYOB etc for accounting and inventory management.

A Wordpress-based website with the Woocommerce plugin handles the online side of it.
(I have been selling electronics "stuff" I make as a side hustle like this for years)

I'm clueless as to what a minimum commitment might involve, but you'll never know if you don't approach them. I am always wondering why the brand is not already here. Not necessarily the entire catalogue (which is massive), but a curated list of "stuff" that would be popular.

I'll be your first customer.

 

[DFB5.0]

The battery in the Ranger has been on its last legs for quite a while. I limped it through winter, but it's been struggling more than usual over the last month. On the load test, it only showed 300 cca, about half its capacity. Considering its the original from early 2016, I've had a decent run out of it.

This will be the third AC Delco battery for me now.

 

[skinnyb]

Alex, I'm surprised y'all in the States aren't using the Griot's BF302 cannon.

I bought one back with me, after one of my work trips to the US last year.
(Griot's don't ship outside of the US - you'd have to use a freight forwarder, so it becomes prohibitively expensive to obtain Griot's products for us normally.)

I think it's great!
Stainless steel manifold, a decent wide-mouth bottle, and the star of the show - the dual thread in conjunction with their metering tips. Despite getting three bottles (two of which have never been used), I just screw the GSF, Reset, Lift etc directly onto the cannon.

And, not made in China.

I looked at one, they are really nice and highly regarded, it was on my short list for sure as well as the MTM PF22.2. Alas, I already have 2 of the MTM units ... Something about the ergonomics didn't do it for me on the Griots. The old saying, you eat with your eyes first... I guess the shiny new packaging of Active drew me in Time will tell how well it works when we get out of this below freezing January winter snap and spring hits here in the states.

 

[Evolvd]

Allow me to sow this seed...

Being the Griot's sole Australia distributor has your name all over it, Deyon.
It's in a space you are both passionate and knowledgeable about.
You're also a "free man" right now.

Nobody else here is carrying the brand (?) so there's no competition with existing players.

Most of these ventures start small using their own garage for warehousing.
Easy to get up and running with MYOB etc for accounting and inventory management.

A Wordpress-based website with the Woocommerce plugin handles the online side of it.
(I have been selling electronics "stuff" I make as a side hustle like this for years)

I'm clueless as to what a minimum commitment might involve, but you'll never know if you don't approach them. I am always wondering why the brand is not already here. Not necessarily the entire catalogue (which is massive), but a curated list of "stuff" that would be popular.

I'll be your first customer.

I do believe obsessed garage is looking to expand Australia as well and they carry Griots.

 

[DFB5.0]

Yeah, I needed another lawn mower like a hole in the head....................

I needed another project, thinking it would be something like a 90's Rover or Victa, but then I spotted a local listing for an OG Victa 18 on marketplace and well, things got out of hand. That led me to looking at restored examples and it was like, NO, stop!

If I had bought a beautifully restored example, I would be frightened to undo all that hard work, which is not the point of a lawn mower, I want to hear that engine and smell the 2-stroke smoke mixing with the aroma of freshly cut grass. Besides, I already have enough garage ornaments that don't get used enough. So, I regrouped and decided to reach out to the owner of the unrestored locally listed example, then drove the 20-minutes to the neighboring town to look at it.

As always with stuff like this, there is a story behind it. The seller is a retired vehicle and small engine mechanic, he bought it off an old customer to display in his showroom and was never ran afterwards. The old guy only sold it to him because then he knew where it would be, with instructions to never sell it. I'm told the original owner had special stainless-steel blades made for it so that it would extend past the deck so that he didn't have to use a trimmer to cut up against the fence....................suuuuuper dangerous and something I WON'T be replicating. They called these the Toe Cutter for a reason!

After closing his shop, the seller wanted to restore the mower to a showpiece but decided he already had enough showpieces..............a fully restored burgundy Model A Ford and a Model T in restoration...............I should have snapped photos! With no intention to restore it, and the old gentleman now passed, he felt now was the time to send it on its way.

I will admit, on first inspection I was quite disappointed that the throttle was jammed, the choke flap on the air cleaner housing was missing, the recoil was very stiff..................and it hadn't ran in decades. But.................I was there, the thing was mostly original and clean (the byproduct of being stored indoors for the past 30 years) and, well, I fell in love with the back story. It also had the original owner's booklet. For some reason it wasn't obvious, but at this point the seller asked if I was interested and I was like, here's the money! I'm not a haggler, I just pay the asking price like a gentleman and figure it out later. Yes, it was a bummer that it wasn't a running machine, but then it wasn't covered in grass, rat droppings and grease. So, the seller carried it out in his arms like a baby, loaded it up and even attempted to teach me how to tie a knot properly...............yeah, some things are virtually impossible, but that's ok, we can't be good at everything.

Doing some research, I'm pretty sure this example is a 1st gen Model 5 that were produced between 1957 and 1960. This one has the optional rewind starter compared to the pully which you would hand wind a rope around. Bizarrely, the rewind starter uses wire cable instead of rope.

https://www.vintagemowers.net/Victa_Specials.php

These plastic "Special" badges are hard to find in this condition. "Special" denotes the adjustable deck height function and mounting clips on the handlebar for the supplied spanner, which were over and above the "Standard". You could also option a "clip on safety rim" and an edger attachment that would gear off the engine and would reside in a recess on the deck.

As mentioned, this machine came with the original "Instructions Booklet". Having a read over coffee, it's amazing how differently things were worded back then, such as the directions for starting...........

"place left hand on top of the starter and pull handle smartly to you.......".......yeah, you wouldn't want to pull the handle dumbly.

Or instructions for cleaning the air filter.................

"........tap the sides of the housing sharply......to remove dust......".

The booklet also suggests how an owner can remedy common running issues, which these days would end in a lawsuit, it's just easier to say "contact your closest dealer".

Also supplied was a supplement for the later low-mounted air filter/choke arrangement. There is also a paper slip which carried the "complimentary" medium duty blades............ "you may find greater satisfaction and obtain longer blade life by using the Victa medium blades as enclosed and which we ask you to accept with our compliments". Again, today it would be like "you will get what we give you, take it or leave it".

The Villers leaflet is a mystery, its clearly a Victa engine but not related to this mower as it's for a 140cc engine not the 125cc. Oh, and a Lifetime Guarantee card, I wonder if I can claim a warranty on a 70-year-old mower?

Once home, the first thing to sort was the plastic fuel cap, which was welded to the metal tank. A little penetrating fluid and a set of multigrips, I very carefully cracked it free without damaging a near 70-year-old part. The tank was dry but had a lot of rust residue in it. So, I threw some mineral spirits in it, swirled it around and then dumped it out. I then put a small amount of 25:1 fuel into it, opened the brass fuel tap and watched fuel flow down the rock hard fuel line. The fuel tap was leaking when open, then leaking fuel through the line once closed. I then noticed fuel leaking out of the carb bowl from a perished o-ring.

None of this surprised me, so I made the snap decision to just remove the carb so that I could at least clean it up and then figure out what I needed to rebuild it. I first removed the perished intake tube, which will need replacement, then undid the clamp holding the carb onto the intake manifold. I then couldn't get the throttle cable free, which having never seen one of these carbs before, I didn't realise that the throttle slider had frozen in place, which was also preventing the throttle lever from working. So, I decided I would leave the cable attached until I had done some research.

Also of concern was the starter and its wire "rope" feeling very stiff and reluctant to recoil. Two things were happening here. First, the engine hadn't turned over in decades, so she was a little stiff. Secondly, these things didn't have a compression release like later Victa's, so I was also fighting some pretty decent compression. After a few pulls, it started to free up, although still needed some muscle to spin properly.

At this point, I decided to see if I could get the engine to lick off on starting fluid. This was mainly to determine if it had spark, but to at least satisfy my curiosity as to if the thing could run. After two "smart" pulls, I detected the brief hint of a cough. One more pull and bingo, she briefly roared to life. So, I decided to set the camera up and repeat the trick..................



This brief burst of life basically changed my attitude from "what have I done" to "yep, I've got this!".

After attending to other things, I returned to the little Victa and made another attempt at removing the throttle cable. By using a small flat screwdriver, I levered up on the throttle slide and pop, out it came. I've now disassembled the carb and have it soaking in kerosene. Reading the instructions booklet, they suggest rubbing the brass throttle slide with fine emery paper to allow free movement in the carb barrel. As you can see, it was pretty crusty in there.

I'm trying to resist the urge to complete strip this thing down and restore that classic green and red colour scheme. However, I may decide to clean it down and lock in the patina with clearcoat. In any case, I just want to get it running so that I can occasionally run over my own lawns with it as a novelty. To do so, I need to order a few parts, which to my surprise, you can still get rebuild kits for the carb. I need to find a replacement intake snorkel and air filter/choke housing, and it needs blades to operate safely as the ones on it a wafer thin. Also, I need to find a replacement fuel tap, and figure out how to clean out that fuel tank.

So, I'm equal parts excited and daunted by this little project.

For US readers - These Victa's were invested by Mervyn Victor Richardson, hence the abbreviated VICTA name. The Victa 18 was like the VW Beetle or Ford Model T of the mower world, the people's mower if you will. They were extremely affordable, making them attainable for just about every homeowner. They used a 125cc 2-stroke engine, a cast aluminum disk for the chassis, and two small flail blades on a round disk. They became known as the "toe-cutter" due the complete lack of safety or containment of the blades. It's been said that on a Saturday morning during this era, the air would be filled with plumes of blue smoke as everyone went out and cut their grass. These mowers evolved over the years, becoming more safe and more versatile as they evolved into what most people would associate with a lawn mower today. Victa was bought out by Briggs and Stratton in the mid 2000's and continued to make their 2-stroke engines until the mid 2010's. In my opinion, they are still THE best mowers on the market for cut quality, catching ability and overall durability.

 

[Brisvegas]

figure out how to clean out that fuel tank.

Some double strength vinegar in the gas tank for a while will get rid of that rust , rinse clean with water and a good blow out with compressed air and be right to go . I use vinegar for derusting old tools like pliers and the like , siezed up actions fixed pronto and looking good in quick time . Not a huge fan of your mower rebuilds but this one looks so cool and i will be watching .

https://www.coles.com.au/product/co...fsXN0i0fAaN8BkDyM5XDS6VAH7oTAW9dIRjqtwk_TE5z5

edit maybe add a few marbles or something similar with the vinegar and give it a good shake will help loosen up any stubborn rust

 

[DFB5.0]

Some double strength vinegar in the gas tank for a while will get rid of that rust , rinse clean with water and a good blow out with compressed air and be right to go . I use vinegar for derusting old tools like pliers and the like , siezed up actions fixed pronto and looking good in quick time . Not a huge fan of your mower rebuilds but this one looks so cool and i will be watching .

https://www.coles.com.au/product/co...fsXN0i0fAaN8BkDyM5XDS6VAH7oTAW9dIRjqtwk_TE5z5

Excellent, thanks so much!

I've also heard you can put stones in the tank to provide some agitation.

 

[GT 550]

 

[DFB5.0]

Using it clean a 1957 lawn mowers fuel tank is probably better than drinking it.

 

[Brisvegas]

Excellent, thanks so much!

I've also heard you can put stones in the tank to provide some agitation.

Gt550's ' stones ' looks a good colour match tbh . If you are going to do a bit of a resto take a scan of the gastank sticker and you could get it touched up and reprinted fwiw

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