Sprocket 48 #1 Posted September 14, 2015 My neighbor pout out his old Ariens snowblower today - I went over a knocked on the door. We talked for a bit and I found out it's a 1979 model he bought new that was "stuck". The gentleman isn't the handiest guy so he just bought a new one, after 30 years he's got his money worth from it. Anyway, I pushed it home and tore into it.First things first, is it stuck? The first pull was hard but it broke free - sweet. How's the spark plug? Old and dirty for sure but not terrible, a quick hit with the wire brush and replace. Does it spark? No gas in the tank (it was pretty gunky in there) so I just used some start fluid - POP! Awesome. I checked the blades - 2 stage - awesome again. Everything seems to spin as it should. Great, it's worth my time.Off to the store for fuel line, lunch and a game plan. I spent the afternoon replacing the line, de-gunking the gas tank basic puttering on it The line was a pita and I had to take off all the covers, only popped one bolt head - no biggie. Got it all back together finally and splashed in some gas with Sta-bil & Sea Foam in the mix (per directions for each). Pull the choke, hit the prime, turn the switch and pull - KBRoooooooooooooooom! Success! Some light tweaking of the carb screw on the bowl and it's purring. All systems appear to be fully operational. I suspect the 120V electric starter was the culprit for the original owner.Later this week I'll change drive belts, the oil and spark plug and list it for sale.1979 Ariens 24" 2 stage blower, 8hp Tecumseh engine with tire chains.What would you pay for one that's has a full tune up? 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 35,042 #2 Posted September 14, 2015 Now....$150. In January....$300 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 50,778 #3 Posted September 14, 2015 Like Ed said, put it in the corner and after the snow starts to fly post on Craigslist! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sprocket 48 #4 Posted September 15, 2015 Oh I know the drill - if I still have it by the time the snow flies I'll have a nice return on investment. $50 in parts turns into $300 pretty quickly.Thanks All, glad you enjoyed. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites