Next...

[OzFab]

Most of you would know that, in late July, I severely sprained my ankle & was off my feet for some time. Since then, my brother has been cutting the grass here while I was recovering but, there are times, like now, when he can’t do it so, I have to. Given that I still walk with a sever limp & I have around 300 square metres to mow, I decided it was time to get a small ride-on mower.

I’ve been watching ebay for some time &, finally, one came up for the right price. Ok, it’s a bit rough, a bit rusty & the engine (a 5hp B&S vert) is… well, let’s just say I won’t be using it…

Lucky for me, last week, I won an auction for two push mowers & one has a perfectly good 5hp B&S Quantum XM50 engine & a perfectly useless body. I think you can guess what the plan is… All I need to do is a slight mod to the ride-on chassis & get the pulley assembly off the PTO shaft

There’s a few other things to do like free up the brakes & clutch assembly but, it shouldn’t take much more than a few drops of oil.

The plan is to get it functional for now (being that it’s summer right now) then, next winter, I’ll do a major overhaul & fix everything properly

 

[zbuck]

Thats a neat looking rider. Is Victa the trade name or manufacter? I am assuming it is equiped with a 26" deck.

 

[OzFab]

Victa is an Australian company that has been making mowers since the 1950s & is now owned by B&S.

Yes, you can see the deck on the right in the first pic

 

[rocketkart]

how do thay get away with using a 5hp engine on those things without bogging down?

 

[machinist@large]

What did they do to that thing?!? Tying in Fowlers comments in another thread, I'm really wondering if the MFR's are intentionally limiting the supply of these things to run up the price of them. And while I know that trying to ship just one cheaply is pretty much a pipe dream, it really makes me wonder what it costs to move a shipping container full of them; especially one full of used ones. Used/antique tractors and other collectables ship all the time, and by no means are the bulk of them the most expensive.....

I guess the thing that is the most frustrating is that I have just enough of the puzzel to think there has to be a simple solution to this....

Any idea's, anyone?

 

[OzFab]

how do thay get away with using a 5hp engine on those things without bogging down?

Low gearing & the whole thing weighs a little more than my go kart but a little less than my daughters kart

What did they do to that thing?!? Tying in Fowlers comments in another thread, I'm really wondering if the MFR's are intentionally limiting the supply of these things to run up the price of them. And while I know that trying to ship just one cheaply is pretty much a pipe dream, it really makes me wonder what it costs to move a shipping container full of them; especially one full of used ones. Used/antique tractors and other collectables ship all the time, and by no means are the bulk of them the most expensive.....

I guess the thing that is the most frustrating is that I have just enough of the puzzel to think there has to be a simple solution to this....

Any idea's, anyone?

Umm, what?

 

[machinist@large]

Low gearing & the whole thing weighs a little more than my go kart but a little less than my daughters kart



Umm, what?

You'all are complaining about the price of new lawn equipment, anything used that shows up on the market has been run thru the wringer, and Fowler was grumbling about how anything the American MFR's pedal in your market appears to be the bottom of our market models with the price tags of the top range units.

That's why I was really wondering if someone is trying to rig your market, and if it was possible to ship decent used lawn machines from North America in bulk to lower the individual unit shipping cost, as well as if there would be a ready market for them.

Some of the things I was just wondering about came from a couple of different threads over the last week or so.....

 

[OzFab]

It's not only the cost of shipping but the import tarrifs imposed that punch the prices up; let me ask you, how much would it cost you for a new basic model Toyota Corolla? Here, it's $20k, add $3500 for on road costs...

Way back when the Japanese manufacturers flooded the Australian market, local car sales plummeted because it was much cheaper to buy an imported car than a locally made Ford or Holden. As a result, the federal government imposed massive tarrifs on imported cars, just so the locally made cars could actually stand a chance of competing.

This idea is now "across the board" so local manufacturers can stay in business. Think about it, if it was cheaper to buy an imported John Deere or Honda (for arguments sake) machine, Victa would've gone out of business decades ago...

Mind you, it hasn't really helped; Ford have announced they will cease production in Australia as of 2014 & there's a big hoohar ATM about Holden closing down production. The follow on effect will mean that the majority of parts & component manufacturers will go out of business due to lack of demand, which will, in turn, force Toyota to close down soon after... then we're really up the creek...

 

[landuse]

Mind you, it hasn't really helped; Ford have announced they will cease production in Australia as of 2014 & there's a big hoohar ATM about Holden closing down production. The follow on effect will mean that the majority of parts & component manufacturers will go out of business due to lack of demand, which will, in turn, force Toyota to close down soon after... then we're really up the creek...

And then the end will come......

 

[ak99]

That Victa looks similar to the Murray I gutted for Go Kart parts.
It was a 5 1/2 HP.

Just curious, what type of rear end does the Victa have?

 

[Oxymoron]

Hey man, I didn't know you'd hurt your ankle that bad. When we were joking in that other thread, I assumed you had hurt it riding your kart. I didn't know it was that serious.

What happened? I hope you get better soon, brother.

On a lighter note, once you get that mower going, you can act just like a redneck American... use your riding mower as an excuse to have a few cold ones.

I don't think there's a single friend of mine that doesn't knock back a few while mowing the lawn. It's like peanut butter and jelly.... just meant to go together.

 

[OzFab]

Hey man, I didn't know you'd hurt your ankle that bad. When we were joking in that other thread, I assumed you had hurt it riding your kart. I didn't know it was that serious.

What happened? I hope you get better soon, brother.

No, I aggrevated it in the kart; I rolled my ankle in late July, so badly that it was worse than a break. No permanent damage but, it'll never be the same again (work that out...)

On a lighter note, once you get that mower going, you can act just like a redneck American... use your riding mower as an excuse to have a few cold ones.

I don't think there's a single friend of mine that doesn't knock back a few while mowing the lawn. It's like peanut butter and jelly.... just meant to go together.

Don't drink & drive Fool!

As for me, I don't drink at all

That Victa looks similar to the Murray I gutted for Go Kart parts.
It was a 5 1/2 HP.

Yeah, it looks like one I gutted for parts a few years ago too

Just curious, what type of rear end does the Victa have?

The pic below shows the axle as it dropped out of the hangers (with a little persuasion)

New engine bolted in, I got the pulley assembly off the old engine, now I need to get the piece off the end of the shaft of the new engine.

The brake caliper looks a bit...umm... it needs a bit of work, as does the clutch idler assembly

 

[Oxymoron]

Don't drink & drive Fool!

Only in my own backyard, and only on the mower. Does that make it any better.... No. Just wanted to clarify that I NEVER drink and drive on any road. Ever.

I haven't done it in years anyway. The last time I had a yard big enough to justify a ride mower, was probably 15 years ago. Since then, I've lived in communities where the HOA takes care of the lawns.

My right ankle cracks and pops since my last "incident" in the mini bike. I have a feeling that one will never be the same either.

Hope yours improves

EDIT: That thing does need some love. I'm sure by the time you're done though, it will be award winning

 

[OzFab]

I've been doing LOTS of research & very little work on the mower (I've had a few other things going on...) Over the last few days, as a result of searching for parts (the deck drive belt & drive chain), I've found out from a Victa specialist that this machine was made by MTD. During a lengthy phone conversation with a consultant from MTD, I was then informed that they were, in fact, made for MTD by International Harvester (aka Case IH)... but I still couldn't find the parts I needed... I did get a solid lead though...

A quick phone call to Outdoor King had the required parts secured for more than I paid for the mower I'll pick them up in a few days...

I also had a bit of a dilemma with the replacement engine; the shaft on the original engine had a 1" shaft that stepped down to 7/8" which held the pulley assembly in place; the replacement engines shaft is straight 7/8" & 30mm shorter overall...

After a lengthy conversation with Pat (machinist@large) we decided on a solution; first I made a spacer the correct length to go on the shaft between the shoulder & the pulley assembly (P/A). Since that will only leave 17mm to mount the P/A to the shaft, the two will be welded together. The hardest part of making the spacer was cutting the keyway on my lathe...

I then made a plug for the bottom end to fit inside the P/A with a wide shoulder to hold the P/A in place using a 3" grade 12 bolt up into the shaft. Together with 4mm keystock, it all fits together well but, it hasn't been tested yet...

Another problem I ran into with the engine is the bottom cover is different; I've already had to cut out a piece of the chassis plate to make the engine fit but, then I realised the dome for the governor was interfering with the clutch mechanism; A trial fit, a few measurements & a bit of bending in the vice & that's no longer a problem. I also straightened the bent idler post...

I said the brake caliper... erm, needed work, well, after disassembling it, I knocked the pins out with a punch (no wonder the brakes didn't work), sand blasted the whole lot & reassembled using lots of grease; it works fine now

 

[machinist@large]

So it's coming together!!! For the record, you didn't ask for my help with the keyway; you get to take personal credit for that (although that's a pretty common way to get around not having a broach set and arbor press). Have you had a chance to do an eyeball runout check yet? If you don't have an indicator, you can use a simple fixed pointer. Touch off on the high spot, rotate 180*. A set of feeler gauges will get you some close #'s if runout is an issue.

Congrats!!! Pat

 

[OzFab]

For the record, you didn't ask for my help with the keyway; you get to take personal credit for that (although that's a pretty common way to get around not having a broach set and arbor press).

I learned that trick a few years ago, Just never had a chance to try it...

Have you had a chance to do an eyeball runout check yet?

As I said, it all fits but, haven't gone beyond that yet...

Thanks again for the help Pat

 

[machinist@large]

Glad to help; but with you being on the opposite side of the globe, YOU did the actual fab work....

So, MTD said that the machine was actually built by CaseIH? That's strange, because MTD bought Cub Cadet from International Harvester before the Case/ IH merger....

Pat

 

[OzFab]

Just telling you what I heard...

FWIW, Case IH merged in the 80's, my mower was built in the 90's

 

[machinist@large]

Just telling you what I heard...

FWIW, Case IH merged in the 80's, my mower was built in the 90's

I'm not saying you're wrong, it just seems strange. One thought that just occurred to me as I typed is whether or not MTD purchased the actual factory as well as the brand, or if IH (later CaseIH) continued to be the actual manufacturer as a contractor/ supplier......

 

[fowler]

CaseIH
They're still big
In the ag game

Never seen a lawn product by them

They are all owned by fiat which is all owned by 1 family

CaseIH and new holland are also merged now
Case and new Hollands are made literally in the same factory
All their spare parts are made by CNH ( case new holland ,no friggin way)

I've seen a lot of new holland lawn gear so maybe they took that
In the merge

It appears new holland took the higher capacity machines and the niche products

Such as lawn gear and tiny tractors
As well as their biggest harvester holding all the records

But case are the far bigger brand
Makeing balers, harvesters, tractors for the mid range
Both company's havering similar big tractors
Case owning the quad track
But that option is now available on the bigger new holland T 9060
But new holland didn't create their own tractors they bought out Ford, which is why new holland gear is yellow but their tractors are blue
And new holland own the twin rotor harvesters but the bigger case headers have them now

When we purchased 2 new new holland CR9070 harvesters new holland gave dad a free trip to America as it was the 25 the year of their twin rotor

He got a 2 month tour around the country
Country bring the key word
Going to new holland factory's
Visiting the armish
Going to the Nebraska field days
And talking to growers in that area

In each factory's they built one product
Most are red case and every 8 or 10 are yellow new holland

Sorry off topic


Also on the tariffs
What does a new F 250 cost to u guys
We are looking at 140 grand
That's why they are so uncommon