As a follow up to yesterday, I spent several hours shopping last night for the VC Mustang. I'm not sure what I find more satisfying, the thrill of the chase hunting for parts, or the satisfaction of seeing and hearing my efforts come to life.
The decals on that mower are (were) pretty good, however in the final rinse the BP ZOOM sticker let go, soooo close to saving it! When I removed the cowling, I also found the lost fuel tap diagram. And the engine designation sticker is pretty degraded. Trawling the internet, I found someone reproducing period correct decals for old Victa's, in some cases they are not completely word-for-word correct, but good enough for me.
In this case, I have ordered a 25:1 Mix BP Zoom 25 (B), Cold Start Primer (E), Fuel Tap On/Off (H) and the Mark 4 decal (E).
https://www.ebay.com.au/str/vintagem...75.m3561.l2563
When I replace the engine decal, I'm thinking I will paint the recoil/flywheel cover black while I'm at it.
Meanwhile, how good does BP ZOOM sound! I'm old enough to remember when petrol stations sold pre-mixed 2-stroke fuel from a barrel. In Pa's case
, he would take in his matching Victa fuel tin, the operator would fill it up and charge per liter like any other fuel offered on the forecourt. That was happening right up until the early 2000's in my area.
Last week, I just happened to stumble upon a replacement fuel cap that came with a catcher full indicator "eye", but apparently that sold several months ago and wasn't removed from sale. I have since found another fuel cap, but not the indicator. As such, I'm still on the lookout for a suitable replacement catcher, and an orange hub cap.
Also on the order list were some specific parts from Push Mower Repair, the main item being an aftermarket muffler, muffler clips and gasket. Additionally, a new sparkplug and plug boot, fuel lines and tap, a cut-out switch and cover as well as a new earth lead and pins.
The fuel lines don't leak, likewise the tap, but they are hard and brittle so it's only a matter of time, so this was proactive rather than reactive. The plug boot is in nasty condition, so a natural inclusion, and the cut-out switch is not functioning, which I think is the frayed earth lead.
https://pushmowerrepair.com.au/
The rust on the chrome handlebars is also annoying me, not sure what my options are there. Do I just sand them back, prime with rust converter and repaint with a chrome paint? Other than that, I don't really know, so I would be grateful for comment on that.