Snow Blowers

I learned something today.

I should have skipped clearing snow last night and waited until after it stopped. This morning, instead of frozen crust over fluff, I had to hammer away at frozen crust. Plus the plow refilling my driveway apron. :mad:

After I redid the house I headed in to the shop and chipped my way into the building and got the 196? REO fired up. The REO is in rough shape because, like a lot of ancillary equipment at a business it suffers from two things. Being rode hard and put away wet, and,... let's call it "priority slip."

Much like boats over the winter when you should really replace that tired bilge pump, the snowblower suffers from a lack of focus when there's paying work to be done, and winter seems like it's half a year away. It does have a fresh set of belts tho. So I'll take that point against the perception of total neglect.

Anyway, there were a few minor issues. The worst was the muffler falling off. Without overtelling the story, the muffler has always been a problem. Whatever genius decided an iron pipe elbow in an aluminum threaded port was acceptable doesn't want to hear from me. I Band-Aided it, with a piece of straight pipe, but if anyone has a 3/4" pipe tap that they could loan....

Here's what it all looks like when it's done.

Vintage snow removal equipment and all.

Way too late to make my way to Suffolk. So, if I can still move tomorrow I'll go tackle the last job.

If you think the vintage REO is interesting I'll start a contest to guess the snowblower I'll be using tomorrow.

If it starts. :rolleyes:

Hint: I know the year of that one. 1965.

I got one sitting in my back yard that would be perfect for your antique collection It doesent have an auger its a drum lol

What do you have out east? I think we got close to 8"

So last night I was thinking 8-10”
When I got up at 6 this morning it looked liked no more action
Then it came down pretty good from like 7:30-9:30 and kept snowing on and off all morning. I went out with the blower about 9:30 and Im now going with we easily had 10-12
Where my son is in northeastern CT they got 20”

So last night I was thinking 8-10”
When I got up at 6 this morning it looked liked no more action
Then it came down pretty good from like 7:30-9:30 and kept snowing on and off all morning. I went out with the blower about 9:30 and Im now going with we easily had 10-12
Where my son is in northeastern CT they got 20”

you need a ghetto snow gauge

I got one sitting in my back yard that would be perfect for your antique collection It doesent have an auger its a drum lol

It's not an intentional antique collection. My inner German doesn't allow for scrapping things that are still useful.

However, there is an intended replacement for the REO. I had purchased a 21st century TORO from the widow down the block (long story of its own) but I wasn't able to get the thing to start, and it keeps dripping fuel. So it needs a carburetor, which is unobtainium. I was able to get the critical part to rebuild the carb, but guess what? It didn't seem that big a priority in July. 🙁

I got one sitting in my back yard that would be perfect for your antique collection It doesn't have an auger its a drum lol

Sounds like a single stage setup. My other machine is a single stage also, but it looks more like an auger than a drum.

BTW, pics of yours (when it thaws out) or it didn't happen.

To encourage classic snowblower conversation I'll point out something ironic. REO was bought by Wheel Horse Products. They were known for yard tractors, but obviously were interested in expanding. This machine is from a transition period before it all got labeled Wheel Horse.

At this point they were manufacturing Tecumseh engines under license. If they installed an engine manufactured by Tecumseh the engine would be painted black instead of red.

The ironic part is that Wheel Horse eventually became TORO, which is what I bought to replace the REO.

Or at least supplement it. 😉

Sounds like a single stage setup. My other machine is a single stage also, but it looks more like an auger than a drum.

BTW, pics of yours (when it thaws out) or it didn't happen.

To encourage classic snowblower conversation I'll point out something ironic. REO was bought by Wheel Horse Products. They were known for yard tractors, but obviously were interested in expanding. This machine is from a transition period before it all got labeled Wheel Horse.

At this point they were manufacturing Tecumseh engines under license. If they installed an engine manufactured by Tecumseh the engine would be painted black instead of red.

The ironic part is that Wheel Horse eventually became TORO, which is what I bought to replace the REO.

Or at least supplement it. 😉

I also have a very old wheel horse tractor

I also have a very old wheel horse tractor

We're going to need pics of that too.

Since there's no guesses I'll drop one hint. Today's machine was made by a company that was definitely not known for snowblowers, unless maybe they were attached to a tractor. However you may have seen one of their tractors.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda changed the Traction Cable on my trusty, old Toro 826 since it was completely bottomed out in the barrel sleeve against the lock nut. So, when I fired the blower up, the friction disk kept slipping enough to stop any strong forward motion. I was going to buy a new cable and I even had the part number on a photo in my phone to order the part but it slipped my mind similar to the friction disk. So how do I get this blower working for a very long driveway? Bright idea, I decided to remove the cable and take off the lock nut for an extra 1/4" of adjustment. Well, that didn't work because the stud bottomed out in the barrel sleeve attached to the spring at the exact same place as if the lock nut was still on. I only needed a little more tension because this snow was tough to get through due to the 3" ice cover. Shitola. I looked out at the driveway and said there was no way my quadruple bypassed heart was going to enjoy shoveling this ice covered snow. What to do? Ah ha, another idea, I removed the barrel stud which was screwed an inch into the barrel sleeve and cut off a 1/4" of stud so it wouldn't bottom out. Screwed it back into the barrel and left the lock nut off. Not only did the blower work great, I actually had to back the screw back out a bit to keep it from staying in "gear". Ordered a new cable on Amazon for $25 which was $5 cheaper than Bayshore Mower and in stock. Should be here Feb. 3.

We're going to need pics of that too.

Since there's no guesses I'll drop one hint. Today's machine was made by a company that was definitely not known for snowblowers, unless maybe they were attached to a tractor. However you may have seen one of their tractors.

Lol you got it I should have pics on computer at home

Lol you got it I should have pics on computer at home

I actually tried to get it a month ago but it was out of stock locally. Never thought Amazon would have it.

Wow, the interest in vintage snowblowers has just been overwhelming.

There's been some great guesses, but nobody has hit it yet.

One last hint before the reveal later. It was made by a now defunct manufacturer of tractors and heavy equipment.

Wow, the interest in vintage snowblowers has just been overwhelming.

There's been some great guesses, but nobody has hit it yet.

One last hint before the reveal later. It was made by a now defunct manufacturer of tractors and heavy equipment.

International Harvestor?

International Harvestor?

That is an excellent guess. And probably about as close as you can get without getting it.

That is an excellent guess. And probably about as close as you can get without getting it.

Only brand i can think of lol

Only brand i can think of lol

They're practically corporate twins. These two companies followed the same path to fame and ultimately misfortune. They were both absolute legends of American industry, until they stumbled, maybe pushed too hard, or lost touch with why they succeeded and lost their way.

The other company that nobody would think made snowblowers was:

AFAIK, their electrical division still exists. Until a couple of years ago there was a transformer the size of a garage at the substation down the block with an Allis-Chalmers placard on it.

Thats pretty cool 👍👍
A friend of mine had issues with his on Saturday and went to his local shop. They didnt have time to work on his. Instead He came home with a used Toro 521 vintage 1980’s in tip top shape for $140 🤣🤣

Thats pretty cool 👍👍
A friend of mine had issues with his on Saturday and went to his local shop. They didnt have time to work on his. Instead He came home with a used Toro 521 vintage 1980’s in tip top shape for $140 🤣🤣

That's a score. I gave the widow $300 for the TORO because that's what her husband told me he had sold it for, except the buyer balked when it wouldn't start.

Now I'm thinking I got taken by a dead guy. :unsure:

We're going to need pics of that too.

Since there's no guesses I'll drop one hint. Today's machine was made by a company that was definitely not known for snowblowers, unless maybe they were attached to a tractor. However you may have seen one of their tractors.

That is cool. 8-)

Suddenly I think I need one for my yard too.

I see it has the same style Briggs as the one on the Allis-Chalmers. That fuel system can be a PITA. Especially if it's under a shroud.