Classic 1980’s Victa Vortex Lawnmower

The Classic 1980’s Victa Vortex Lawnmower

Recently I had the good fortune of stumbling across a lawn mower that my neighbour was about to throw away. He had left it on the curb with a cardboard sign ‘FREE’ on it. When I first saw it my initial thought was ‘what’s wrong with it?’. Seeing as it was only a few doors down the street I figured if it was still there later that day I’d go back and wheel it in to my garage and see if it even started. I did exactly that, and at first it didn’t start when I pulled the cord. Then when it did finally kick over it was so loud I quickly turned it off. I figured if my local mower guy could get it going for a decent price I would rather salvage it than help add to the ever-growing “throw away” culture and society that we live in.

They don’t make them like they used to

For the last 5 years I have been mowing our lawns with an electric lawn mower. It was actually an Ozito Ecomow purchased from Bunnings for around $100. Don’t get me wrong it was fine to use in a small area when we were living in a unit. Since we moved to a bigger house with more lawn to mow it has been starting to show signs of wear. Recently one of the wheels fell off and I knew it was either time to fix it or find an alternative solution. I called Bunnings but they weren’t much help and in the end it tuns out that model is now obsolete. Enter the Victa Vortex.

Trust your local fix it guys

I threw the Victa Vortex in the boot of the car and headed over to the local repair guy. I had seen a sign on his front fence every time we drove past for the last year since moving nearby. I introduced myself and he told me his name is Boyd. He scratched his head when he saw the mower and said “Ah-hah the old Victa Vortex hey?”. I told him the story and how I couldn’t just let it sit on the curb, or worse still, end up at the tip as landfill. He ended up saying “How does 50 bucks sound if I can get it going properly?”. I agreed with the price and left it with him.

Classic not plastic

Within a couple of days Boyd called and left a message on my phone and he definitely sounded excited. Apparently there wasn’t too much wrong with it. He’d added a longer pull cord and a new muffler to fix the noise issue. He tightened it all up because it had all shaken loose over the years. It runs like a dream and cuts grass really well. It still has the original grass catcher with it in great condition too. We couldn’t understand why my neighbour hadn’t run it down to Boyd for him to fix it. Perhaps he had bought a new mower or been given one from a relative. Who really knows? Anyhow, the main thing is that I now own a vintage Victa lawnmower that starts first time every time. I feel like I should perhaps offer to mow my neighbour’s lawn as a thank you. Perhaps he’ll want the mower back… and then I’ll be back to a 3-wheeled electric mower!