Roper 6-24 Snowblower Manual

Read and follow all safety rules and instructions in this manual before attempting to operate this machine. Failure to comply with these instructions may result in personal injury. Operator’s manual 600-series snow thrower — e/f style form no. 769-01275e (june 20, 2007).

Here are pictures of some machines and a little history from my archives, please forgive the quality on some. These are not Gilsons there is plenty about those machines elsewhere on the site. They are from past years and represent the diversity found in the early efforts. While today's designs are by far superior it may have been more fun back then.

I want to thank the many people mentioned and not that have provided information and pictures over the years. E-mail a picture of your vintage snowblower and tell me a bit about it including it's age. I'll be featuring the oldest and most interesting machines on this page. There are plenty more stories to tell, Dynamark, Poloron, Noma and many, many more!

NOTE: With the exception of my mentioned BobcaT I do not own any of the machines on this page. I do not have parts or documentation except where mentioned. For the most part, 'what you see is what I know'. To see my machines click here.

ALLIS CHALMERS
The story behind the Allis Chalmer snowblower is a part of snowblower history. Simplicity manufacturing was founded in 1922. For many years they produced equipment under their brand name and for others including Allis Chalmers. in 1965 Allis Chalmers bought the company. As you can see this model features the classic Simplicity rooster tail chute. in 1983 management bought the Simplicity operation from Allis Chalmers and it was once again an independent company. Over the years they acquired Snapper and they have since been acquired by Briggs & Stratton.

PowerVane Kits Boost the performance of your machine!
Your snowblower or snowthrower is actually a snow pump. These kits let you improve the performance of 2 stage models. Factory impellers have gaps around the impeller that reduce the discharge and let the impeller clog up with snow that stays behind. Wet, slushy snow causes even greater problems with clogging and poor discharge distance. In many cases wear or distortion makes these impeller / housing gaps bigger as machines get older and performance is reduced. By adding a set of rubber vane extensions to your impeller you can close this gap and throw show and slush farther while dramatically reducing chute clogging. These kits include the hardware needed for flat blade impellers. If you need to drill holes in ribs you will have to get bolts that are the correct length for your machine. These vanes have unique mounting slots. This makes them more forgiving when you position holes. The slots can also be used to advance the vanes when they show signs of wear extendingtheir life. These vanes are 4” long. They can be trimmed as needed to fit shorter blades. You can select 3,4,5, and 6 vane kits to suit your machine. Vanes are reinforced rubber, clamps are galvanized steel and hardware is stainless steel including locknuts. Bolts are hex head so you can get a positive grip with a nut-driver, socket set or wrench. It is impossible to describe the installation in your machine but this is a common DIY (Do It Yourself) project done in place working through the chute opening. Be sure to disable the engine by disconnecting the spark plug when you are working. Vanes should be installed so they almost touch the side walls. The first time you run the machine with new vanes get them wet with soapy water (or snow) to lubricate them while any contact points break in. This kit may be used to enhance machines of many brands including; LawnBoy, Mastercraft, Plymouth, Marshal Wells, Beaver, New Holland, Snow Charger, Ford, Montgomery Ward, Wizard, Senator, Toyota, Artisan, TECO, Garden Mark, Brentwood, Mor-power, Gambles, SNOTRAC, Bob-a-Lawn, Davis, Gilson, Toro, Wheel Horse, Ariens, Gravely, Hahn Eclipse, Simplicity, Allis Chalmers, Snapper, MTD, Cub Cadet, White, Tardman, Yard Machines, Troy-Bilt, Bolens, Snow chief, Atlas, Snow Bird, Frontier, John Deere, AMP, Murray, Poloron, Dynamark, Noma, Husqvarna, Craftsman, Sears, Roper and others.
4 Blade Kit Contents 4 PowerVanes, 4 clamp bars, 16 stainless steel bolts, 16 stainless steel lock-nuts.	Installation Example

AMF AMF (American Machine and Foundry) produced snowblowers for a number of years. They made the transition to what we now consider full scale machines and they were very competetive in the 1970's. On the left is a 26 inch 2 stage machine. On the right is a 6 horsepower 26-inch machine that is a prime example of what was sold as a 3-stage machine mainly in the 1970s. The shaft of skewed disks churned high banks down for the main auger to digest. Other variations seen on Craftsman machines had simple bars in place of the disks. Remaining OEM support from these machines is from Murray, now part of Briggs & Stratton.

Here is a link to another AMF model and the story behind it.

Of DistrictsPopulation548926TOTAL375. India district shapefile download. List of Districts of India State WiseS.noStates and Union Territories in IndiaNo.

ATLAS The Atlas machine on the right is from the early/mid 1970s. It's a 5 HP single stage with forward drive. Many were sold under the TRU-TEST brand by True Value hardware stores. We used to sell them along side the Gilsons though I must admit we used them more as a comparison tool. MTD offers whatever support remains for these machines. There was also a 3 HP version that was a push model.

Earlier models such as the one on the left carried the Atlas-Aire brand name.

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BCS BCS is an Italian maker of walk behind tractors for which many attachments are available. While BCS America is the current importer and distributor the machines formerly were imported and distributed under the MAINLINE brand name. This version of the snowblower attachment has a few unique features. It is a worm driven single stage model. The worm drive is central where a single stage normaly converges on the chute opening. In this case the auger is offset by about 25% and the chute is off center accordingly. This is an arrangement I have never seen. You will see some on this page that run to the end but none with an offset.

Also note that the auger has no end bearings. The ends near the side of the bucket are suspended from the center. The whole assembly is supported by the sunstantial cast iron auger drive housing. In the other view you can see the standarzied mounting shoe and splined drive shaft.

Still another odity is that the auger is of a single helix design. Augers or rotors as they are sometimes called on single stage machines are usually wound in pairs 180 degrees apart. If you follow this design you see that only a single band of steel winds inward from each side.

Today's version can be seen at www.bcsamerica.com.

BOB-CAT This is a 1981 Bob-Cat built by Wisconsin Marine, Lake Mills, WI that belongs to David in Massachusetts. He had just completed refinishing it, he even salvaged the decals and it's seeing service again. This machine features a rare paddle type impeller that works much like a 'water wheel'. This concept was also used by Simplicity with rubber paddles, I recall one of the selling points being that it would be more tolerant of stones. The machine has an 8 HP engine and a 24 inch cut and has been known to clear the telephone lines with it's discharge. This is not the same company that manufacturers the skid steer loaders.

I also own one and it is the only non-Gilson machine in my collection. Mine is a Model 1824 from 1963 (Serial # 7148) It is ready for testing in December 2004. It can be seen below. As I said above I continually hear from owners raving about what this machine can do.

At some point Wisconsin Marine sold the line to the Crary subsidiary of Echo. Under Crary the brand name became Bear-Cat and a number of machines were sold before production was suspended. As late as January 2008 the mothballed line surfaced as the Bear-Paw in a Canadian advertisement. The design & tooling were for sale along with all of the materials including engines and transmissions to build 50 new machines!

From the red machine you can see that some were branded for Gravely.

You can learn a lot about it by viewing U.S. patent #2770894. Click here to learn about viewing patents.

Part Leads

I have a report that all of the parts are now with J.R. Products in Ontario, Canada along with parts to build about 60 new machines! Now if we can just figure out who J.R. is.. shades of Dallas! This would seem to be the circa 2008 Canadian seller.

Still another lead says that 'Sheel's Hardware in Fargo ND sold so many BobcaTs and the successor, Bear-Cat that they ended up with all the remaining parts when Bear-Cat went under.

If anyone has luck with these leads please get back to me with details so I can share the information with the BobcaT community.

Blower Belt:
The blower belt is not a common 3L (3/8 wide) V-belt. A 3L belt does not have the correct profile and is likely to roll over and get tossed from the pulleys. The correct profile is a 3V Narrow Section Wrapped V-Belt, and sometimes run in pairs. The traction belts are (generally) common 4L, 1/2 inch wide belts.

Here is a typical 'instruction sheet.

T-Shirts
Show your Gilson pride and express your enthusiasm for Gilson power equipment with these silk screened T-shirts. They are sure to be appreciated by owners of Gilson Snowblowers, Tractors, Tillers, Mowers, Snowmobiles, Mini-Bikes, Log Splitters, Cement Mixers and more. These are professionally silk screened Gildan Ultra Cotton T-Shirts, fresh stock and ready to ship. Available sizes are listed in the selection pull-downs.
Most Sizes $22.00 Plus shipping to US and International destinations

CRUSADER
The crusader models that I have seen are all of the paddle wheel design like Bob-caT and Simplicity used. They were built by MTD between 1969 and 1978. This model was from the early 1970's The bright green paint makes them easy to spot, they also came in yellow blue and gold. Some were branded for the Canadian department store chain Eaton's as well as under the Viking brand name. 5 and 8 HP engines were offered over the years.

Thanks for details Pierre.

Never under estimate what can be repaired with generic parts. If you need a part that is no longer available take a good look at what it is and really needs to do. Most companies work hard not to reinvent the wheel and use commonly available parts whenever possible. After that you may be able to use or modify a stock part to meet your needs.

CUB CADET
Cub Cadet is now part of MTD but in the day they were making their own equipment. Where I live it was their tractor mounted snow blowers that really stood out.

ESKA Eska produced a range of machines primarily in the 1960's Take note of those massive skids. They carried the brand names of 'Sno-Flyr' and Sno-Hawk. A number of models featured Kohler engines, others got B&S or Lausons. The chute rotate was commonly a J shaped rod that was just pulled and pushed to drive the chute around. It was simple if nothing else. They were last known to be from Dubuque, Iowa, the company was a division of Talley Industries. Inc. For the rest of the story see the Wm. Bros Boiler and Manufacturing feature on this page.

ESKA MANUALS

I have acquired a library of ESKA owners manuals. These may include exploded drawings with parts lists for the machine and engine, set-up & operating instructions and warranty information in varying combnations. They range from 4 to 24+ pages. Manuals are delivered to your email address in PDF format. Nearly any computer alteady has software to open, read and print PDF files. If you do not have this free software it can be added from this link. There is a $10 fee per manual to cover scanning and retrieving. All available manuals are listed below. Do not order numbers not listed.

AVAILABLE MODEL NUMBERS: 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 906, 907, 908, 909, 910, 911, 912, 915, 916, 917, 918B, 920, 921, 922, 924a, 924b 925A, 927A, 928A, 931, 932, 933, 933A, 934, 935, 936, 936C, 936D, 937, 937C, 937D, 938, 938C, 038D, 939, 939D, 941, 941A, 941B 941C 942, 942A, 943, 943A 944, 944A, 944B, 945A 945C, 945D, 945E, 945F, 946A, 947A, 949A, 950A, 952A, 952B, 955A, 956A, 957A, 957B, 957C

FLEETWING
This Fleetwing model was manufactured by Power Equipment Inc. of Cicero Indiana. It is of the primitive scoop and fan design. The rounded 'hard hat' shapped flipping chute for left or right discharge is unique.

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FARM & RANCH
On inspection it appears to be a Lazy Boy privately branded 'Farm & Ranch' with side wings on the bucket. I'm guessing that Farm & Ranch was a farm supply chain in the day. Let me know if you have more information.

I also know that the owner has a nice looking Gilson built Montgomery Ward UniTrol snowblower further back in this garage.

GOODALL As a snowblower this little machine is quite unique though you might not notice at a glance. The picture and information comes to me from Mark in Massachusets. He tells me the machine is all chain drive, 13 of them to his best recollection. Much more intersting is that this is not your simplistic single stage machine, it's much more. The auger section is actually running on concentric shafts with the center 'impeller' rotating at a high speed. The high speed center has an appetite for shear bolts but other than that it worked a good life.

I also came across information about lawnmowers from the same company. As it turns out the founder, Leonard Goodall was the inventor of the Rotary Lawnmower of Warrensburg, Missouri! here.More here.

GRANITE STATE
Made by the Granite State Mowing Machine Company, this is a 'Snow Cloud' built for Montgomery Ward as model # 5662. The wooden handle is a real novelty. The engine is a Briggs, original colors appear to be a off white and bright blue. A few snowblower collectors say they have never seen anything like it..

The Granite State Mowing Machine Co. was started as a machine shop in Hinsdale, NH in 1830. It later became Newhall & Stebbins and, in 1860, began to manufacture horse-drawn field mowing machines. It soon became the Granite State Mowing Machine Co. and also began the production of push lawn mowers in 1881. The company was purchased by William S. Howe in 1911. Under his management Granite State Mowers gained a national prominence. By the 1950s the firm was making hand and power lawn mowers which were shipped to all parts of the world. The company last appeared in business directories in the 1960s, thus ended more than a century of manufacture for Hinsdale's Granite State Mowers.

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GRAVELY
The tractor is a 1962 Model LI. It’s the intermittent gear set which gave the tractor a top speed of 3mph. The engne is 6.6 hp single cylinder (made by Gravely) and it has two speeds forward and two speeds in reverse. All gear drive, no belts. The regular Model L topped out at 4mph and the Model LS could hit 2mph. This tractor has the optional Geared Reduction Wheels that cut the land speed in half. So this tractor has a top speed of 1.5mph. Good for snow blowing or ground/garden work, but not good for mowing. It also has the optional electric starter.

The snow blower attachment was Gravely’s first snow blower, MA-110. It was commonly called a square chute because of the square discharge chute. This one had been fitted with a ring for a deflector. It was nick named the “dog eater” and the picture is exactly how it came from the factory. The snow blower attachment weights about 150lbs and the tractor about 300lbs. It was produced from the early 50’s to about 1960 when it was replaced by a Model MA210 that is affectionately called “the snow cannon”.

The Gravely Model L tractor was first produced in 1937 and remained virtually unchanged until 1976. At that point, the Gravely “T” head engine was replaced with various Kohler, B&S, and Robins engines until 2004 when production ended. Many of the trans-axle parts from 1937 would fit on a 2004 model. There were over 60 attachments built for the gravely two wheeled tractor over its 63 year production run. Thanks to Ron for all of the detail and top photo.

The bottom picture is a latter model.

HAHN ECLIPSE
Here are some Hahn Eclipse machines, dual and single stage. The right hand photo is a 1968 Hahn Eclipse Snow Giant '20. It has a 4hp B&S engine and is single stage. They were pushing hard in New England in the early 1970s. They used the model name 'Snow Giant' on some models and are known to have run at least from 1963 through 1973. They came from Evansville, Indiana. When they closed up shop Gravely got the assets but I've heard that parts support is virtually exhausted.

Hahn began making argricultural sprayers in 1948, in Evansville, Indiana, and eventually began making consumer lawn and garden equipment. It was founded by Llyod and Jack Hahn at 1825 W. Franklin. After Chrysler closed its Evansville body Plant, in 1959, Hahn moved in (1625 N. Garvin). They bought Eclipse sometime in the early 60s and kept their plant in Pekin, IL open until 1968. Hahn-Eclipse sold out to Kearny National in 1969, but was repurchased by the Hahn brothers 18 months later and renamed the company Hahn Inc. With Hahn-Eclipse being their consumer product division. Hahn sold that division to Gravely in 1980, but continued making making mowers, garden tractors, and other parts for various companies under contract, including John Deere and Ford. 48% of the company was bought by Toro in 1991 and they began making Toro Wheel Horse garden tractors there. By 1994 the company was called Hahn Equipment company and making Toro tractors and mowers. The Plant closed for good in 2002 as the Hahn Equipment Company Division of Toro.

Thanks to Bryan for contributing pictures and information.

HOMCO Here is an old Homco unit. It was built by Western Tool and Stamping of Des Moines, Iowa. It's of the funnel and impeller design and a lot of these were sold and many are still in use. These had forward drive. The wheels were built up out of steel including the tread. Since winter engines were not available at the time there was a 'breadbox' cover that sheltered the engine. Many of these were also sold under the Sears Craftsman brand. Western Tool and Stamping was eventually bought by AMF which can be found elsewhere on this page. Later model units were produced by Noma.

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JACOBSEN This is an example of a Jacobsen snowblower. They used to offer a complete line of consumer yard machines. Eventually they left the market to concentrate on professional turf equipment. They had full sized machines that competed with the best in the 1970's. They also did some private brand work with Homelite being one of their customers.

JARI Jari machines go back to 1953 when their sickle bar mower was patented. Along the way other attchments were developed. Here you can see a progression of Jari snow implements. On the right side is a mower attachment. On the bottom is a push type scoop and fan, a self propelled more substantial scoop and fan then a full size 3 stage machine.

The brand is still alive at Jari USA.

KEE-LINE I really can't say much about this machine. I came across this picture shortly before preparing this feature and the machine looks unique. Perhaps a regional upstart brand, they were from Bradley Illinois. If anyone knows more about it, let me know. The decal seems to say Kee-Line, The Build of Quality. Notice that the single stage auger runs all of the snow to one end for discharge.

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LAMBERT
Best known for their lawn sweepers Lambert built snowblowers in the 1970s and on the right is an example. If you look closely you can just detect a third stage device in the top of the bucket as shown on the AMF machine above. Lambert is still around but I don't know how much support remains for these machines. This machine is a 7 HP unit with a 28 inch cut.

The orange machine to the right is a J.C. Penny Pencrest 5 HP 24 inch model that appears to be a rebranded Lambert.

LAWNBOY This is a SNOWBOY from LawnBoy Circa late `1950's. As you would expect from LawnBoy it has a 2-cycle engine, the IRON HORSE two cycle engine. The gear box is heated and the exhaust is on to drive chain for lube and heat. It has a heated intake to melt snow and warm the air before entering the carburetor. The carburetor bowl comes off with two 'L' bolts to dump water and it can be done with gloves on! The discharge is fully directional. It's only controls are ON - OFF - CHOKE. In later years Gilson built machines for LawnBoy and ultimately LawnBoy bought Gilson.

LAWNMASTER
The machine on the left is a Model 1-600 s/n co10882 It was manufactued by the Lawnmaster Company inc. a subsidiary of DC Dura Corp of Richmond, Indiana. It has a Clinton 3-1/2 HP 4 cycle cast iron sleeve engine. This machine has a chute deflector that hinges form one side.

The model shown on the right can tip for left or right discharge. It is a Lawnmaster sno-commander 23'. The ID tag said it was a model 605 type 300 and the serial was B 10861.

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LAZY BOY This is a Lazy Boy, manufactured in Kansas City, Missouri. It's a single stage machine with huge skids!

Do no harm. Vintage equipment is not always quick to give up it's secrets. Corrosion, abuse and wear can make things a challenge to dismantle for repair or restoration. Take your time. Heat, penetrating oils, impact and patience are all your friends here. When in doubt or frazzled walk away to collect your thoughts. Resist the temptation to do something impulsive. Treat your equipment as a museum curator would.

MERRY TILLER This is something from Merry Tiller. It's hard to see what's down there in the snow but it's pretty obvious that it's based on a small frame roto-tiller. If anyone has pictures of one of these babies send them along and I'll work them in.

MOTOMOWER This MOTO MOWER Snow Shark is circa 1964 and built by Dura Co. of Ontario Canada. It's another version of a dual auger machine. This one has a paddle wheel style impeller turning in the same orientation as the augers as opposed to the more fan. Some of these were built for the 'Case' (tractor) brand. In latter years the brand was associated with Roper of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada (circa 1982).

MOTO MOWER also made smaller single stage machines over the years.

T-Shirts
Show your Gilson pride and express your enthusiasm for Gilson power equipment with these silk screened T-shirts. They are sure to be appreciated by owners of Gilson Snowblowers, Tractors, Tillers, Mowers, Snowmobiles, Mini-Bikes, Log Splitters, Cement Mixers and more. These are professionally silk screened Gildan Ultra Cotton T-Shirts, fresh stock and ready to ship. Available sizes are listed in the selection pull-downs.
Most Sizes $22.00 Plus shipping to US and International destinations

PARMI
All of the Parmi machines I have seen are relatively small. Here we have push and self propelled models. They feature a heart shaped logo with the 'Save Your Heart' message. The machines come from Lynn, indiana where a Parmi Tool Company still operates. I don't know if there is a connection.

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POTPOURRI The following machines have no good identity but they are too cool to leave on the cutting room floor.

REO This is a REO. I hear from owners of these machines from time to time. This was from the same REO company known for their trucks. They were a big player in the post World War 2 small engine market, becoming the worlds largest producer of power mowers. The company originated in Lansing, Michigan. The last of the REO machines were sold around 1965, several years after Wheel Horse had bought the line. This machine is probably from the early 1960s. Reo did have a small engine division and produced a lot of powered reel mowers and snow throwers.

Here is one of the more common small machines, then a version with a fairing. The last machine is a larger scale product.

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Rolba / Snowblast
I first learned of this machine when I received a phone call from a gentleman who introduced himself as owning the 'worlds largest walk behind snowblower' After a long talk he agreed to send some snapshots and to tell the story. Here is that story as written by Rob of Littleton, MA (USA). It's a 1958 Rolba System Model R-40, sold under the American Snowblast tag. There were a couple of different sizes, which one I got I'm not sure. It's got a 4 speed gearbox with wooden handles and clutches. There are 200 pounds of weights to put over the cutting edge. It's 8 feet to the crest of the chute and 14 feet when up all the way. It clears a path 48 inches wide and it's 5 feet to the top of the drift cutters. There is a steering wheel to turn the chute. In High and Low Cast it will throw up to 100 feet depending on the snow.

The engine is a 35 horsepower Volkswagen industrial power unit. The light still works! The machine weighs about 2000 pounds and shadows my 8 horsepower Ariens. One other certain detail is that it was built before OSHA!

ROPER
Roper was a visible brand in the 1970's. Shown here are single and dual stage machines. In addition to equipment of it's own they did work for others including Sears under supplier codes 103, 131, 278, 355, 647, 835, 911 and 917. Some of these codes may have been for goods other than outdoor power equipment. Eventually they were acquired by American Yard Products (AYP) which became a major player in the private branded equipment market.

PowerVane Kits Boost the performance of your machine!
Your snowblower or snowthrower is actually a snow pump. These kits let you improve the performance of 2 stage models. Factory impellers have gaps around the impeller that reduce the discharge and let the impeller clog up with snow that stays behind. Wet, slushy snow causes even greater problems with clogging and poor discharge distance. In many cases wear or distortion makes these impeller / housing gaps bigger as machines get older and performance is reduced. By adding a set of rubber vane extensions to your impeller you can close this gap and throw show and slush farther while dramatically reducing chute clogging. These kits include the hardware needed for flat blade impellers. If you need to drill holes in ribs you will have to get bolts that are the correct length for your machine. These vanes have unique mounting slots. This makes them more forgiving when you position holes. The slots can also be used to advance the vanes when they show signs of wear extendingtheir life. These vanes are 4” long. They can be trimmed as needed to fit shorter blades. You can select 3,4,5, and 6 vane kits to suit your machine. Vanes are reinforced rubber, clamps are galvanized steel and hardware is stainless steel including locknuts. Bolts are hex head so you can get a positive grip with a nut-driver, socket set or wrench. It is impossible to describe the installation in your machine but this is a common DIY (Do It Yourself) project done in place working through the chute opening. Be sure to disable the engine by disconnecting the spark plug when you are working. Vanes should be installed so they almost touch the side walls. The first time you run the machine with new vanes get them wet with soapy water (or snow) to lubricate them while any contact points break in. This kit may be used to enhance machines of many brands including; LawnBoy, Mastercraft, Plymouth, Marshal Wells, Beaver, New Holland, Snow Charger, Ford, Montgomery Ward, Wizard, Senator, Toyota, Artisan, TECO, Garden Mark, Brentwood, Mor-power, Gambles, SNOTRAC, Bob-a-Lawn, Davis, Gilson, Toro, Wheel Horse, Ariens, Gravely, Hahn Eclipse, Simplicity, Allis Chalmers, Snapper, MTD, Cub Cadet, White, Tardman, Yard Machines, Troy-Bilt, Bolens, Snow chief, Atlas, Snow Bird, Frontier, John Deere, AMP, Murray, Poloron, Dynamark, Noma, Husqvarna, Craftsman, Sears, Roper and others.
4 Blade Kit Contents 4 PowerVanes, 4 clamp bars, 16 stainless steel bolts, 16 stainless steel lock-nuts.	Installation Example

ROTO-HOE Speaking of roto tillers, here's one from ROTO-HOE. It's a multi use machine shown with both the tiller and snowblower mounted. It is unclear if they could be powered concurrently, that's not important since it would be deadly! Roto Hoe was made by Pioneers of America Power Equipment in Ohio.

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SENSATION This is an early scoop and fan machine, model SM-16. It was manufactred by the Sensation mower Company of Ralston, Nebraska. It sported patent numbers 2,265,545, 2,154,564 and others. The Briggs & Stratton engine suggests pre 1960. Gilson went on to buy Sensation for their power rake product line.

SIMPLICITY
PADDLE STYLE Like the BobCat shown below this machine has a paddle style impeller. I keep hearing great things about these. It looks like the concept forces the design of a longer machine. The longer machine probably meant less maneuverability and higher cost. Then again maybe the market just wasn't ready for it yet? I recall these being advertised around 1970.

SIMPLICITY
SINGLE STAGE This Simplicity Single stage is said to come from 1951. I have pictures of the engine ID plate and it seems to check out. What is special about this machine is that the first snowblower I ever ran, around 1970 was a latter version of this model, perhaps from the mid 1960s. By then the engine had the familiar engine shroud and the big S on the chute.

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SMART*WAY Not a lot is known about Smart*way 'Power Snow Removers' but they have popped up a few times. These are 2 stage machines with chain drive augers. With no center worm drive the augers are able to overlap in the center for seamless impeller feeding. The discharge appears to be astraight out your choice of sides. A lever lets you choose. The tires are quite small for a machine of it's proportion. The owner recollects dad getting it in the early 1960's.

SNOWBIRD
GEORGE TOOL DIVISION & YARDMAN

No vintage gallery would be complete without a Snowbird. They were originally built by the 'George Garden Tool Division' of Community Industries in Sullivan, Il. This was a factory that had 3 divisions- (Garden tractors, Candy and clothing) George Garden Tractors started in 1946 and coined the phrase 'Let George Do It'. They had sluggish sales at first but then developed walk-behinds that had many optional tools. Exceptional growth followed and shortly they outgrew the building, they employed 200 people and by 1958 had introduced the Snow-bird (snowblower), Earth-bird (tiller) and Lawn-bird (riding mower) They were in business until Jan. 1967 when Yard-Man of Jackson, Michigan purchased the George Garden Tools Division from Community Ind. Yard-Man was eventually sold to Montgomery Wards in 1971 and then in 1975 to MTD Products who can provide any remaining product support.

Source note: Much of the above paragraph was found on an Ebay listing. Further reseach suggests the originator is Gary of the Snowbird group on Yahoo, see Below.

These were some of the first 'full size' machines and they are still found for sale frequently. The most interesting feature is the chute. The entire impeller does a barrel roll as the chute swings from one side to the other. This defies words but if you ever see one, turn the chute crank!

Snowbird Links:
The Yahoo Group: Snow Bird Snowblowers
Snow-Bird Snowblower Webpage.

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SNOWLINE This machine was built by the Snowline Corporation of Eatontown, New Jersy in the late 1950's. It is Model #930 featuring a 9 horsepower Wisconsin engine and 30 inch cut. This looks like a rugged machine with big tires and an unusual chute deflector. It's a 2 stage unit with very large tires for the day. This machine has been restored. I have also seen this machine under the Maxim brand by the Maxim Silencer Company of Hartford Connecticut.

SNO MATE This is the Sno Mate. The photos I have of this brochure don't let me decipher the horsepower. The machine seems to be just an impeller, chute and a funnel. It is unclear whether it has propulsion. The machine concept is very close to the earliest snowblowers used to clear railroads.

SNOWMASTER The Snowmaster was branded 'The Wonder Blower'. It was developed and manufactured by the Jacobs Wind Electric Company Inc. of Minneapolis Minnesota. Patents were pending. The proprtions of this behemoth are uncommonly short in length and just plain odd. overall. It is a rotary type walk behind with the 'famous Jacobs Hydraulic Oil Transmission'. The engine is 'Gladden Products corp' 75. As near as the owner can tell it's from the 1950's and was told that there are some WWII bomber parts used in manufacturing. Thanks to Dave for much of this infrmation and picture.

STORM KING This is my only encounter with Storm King. It's a gasoline powered single stage of the tipping chute design. Where most 'tippers' were square forms this one is rounded. The rounded chute may have been sold as a clog resisting feature.

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SUNBEAM These Sunbeam machines especially the early electrics met the needs for small jobs and showed up in many stores alongside the appliances. Owners with small walk, limited budgets or a disdain for gasoline engines snapped them up.

To the right you can see the smaller budget model. It's not shown but the auger is a single helix that runs all of the snow to one end where it heads up the chute. The motor is sealed under a heatsink cover and is cooled by incidental snowfall. The chute is wiggled around by the attached rod.

The lower left machine was the next step up. The larger motor is concentric to the perforated drum style auger and gets cooled as snow blows around in there. This one has a bigger bite and even sports a headlight. The lower right is an evolution of the prior machine where it became gasoline powered. You can see the handle mounted fuel tank, engine canopy and even an air intake snorkel up on the handlebar in case the drift got too deep!

The second down on the right is a full fledged 2 stage gasoline powered machine. I do not know if this was a native product of if they were getting them from another manufacturer. I don't recognize the machine as something from a big player but I have seen what appears to be the same machine branded 'SNOWCRAFT'.

SUSUKI This is a Suzuki Prototype Snow Blower. It was only used to test snow removal in upstate New York. It has an approximately 10 HP. 2 stroke engine with manual start. The transmission is a 2 speed Hydrostatic unit. This is a 2 stage blower. The cut is approx 24 inches. It was produced pre 1990. Suzuki never produced the snow blower line commercially.

TORO SNOW HOUND
(POWER HANDLE) This 1959 Toro SnoHound comes to us from Justin in New York state. These show up from time to time on Ebay, sometimes with multiple attachments!

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VIKING Here is a Viking model 150. It's a 2 stage machine with the auger driven by chain from the traction axel. This was a very common design in the 1960s. Viking machines were built by Berbro Mfg. Co. of Bristol, RI. The engine is a 3 horsepower Briggs and Stratton. Note that since this was before the introduction of the 'snowblower engine' a box was provided to protect the engine. To rotate the chute you go up to the chute release a latch that is part of the chute handle and redirect the discharge. Another model built by Berbro was the Mustang.

Wm. Bros Boiler & Manufacturing Co. This information came to me from Dave in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada. It was made by the Wm. Bros Boiler & Manufacturing Co. out of Minneapolis Minnesota. The model number is SA-20. It has a Kohler K90 RT engine. There is no brand name on the machine other than the manufacturers tag.

Dave observed that the machine had an uncanny resemblence to the ESKA model shown on this page. This included the overall design and distinctive auger construction. The initial reaction is that ESKA made these machine for a private brand but there seems to be more to the story. I went looking in the archives for an ESKA name plate shot but found nothing. I then found a handle bar shot that cited patent # 2735199. Lo and behold the patent cited on the ESKA machine was issued to Wm. Bros Boiler & Manufacturing Co. Link to patent. It would appear that this is an early unit before they either sold the design to ESKA or branded themselves as ESKA.

I'm learning that Dave is a persistent gentleman and loves a happy ending as much as I do. In February of 2015 Dave tracked down Bill, the son of the inventor of this design and presented him with the machine. To quote Dave, 'he was as pleased as a kid at Christmas time'. Bill hopes to have it restored to factory condition but in any case he has a precious family keepsake. I agree with Dave saying, ' I'm so glad it didn't end up at the scrap metal dealer.' Bill is pictured on the right with the machine his father desinged.

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Page created 12/17/2000, last updated May 2016

Nice job you did on that.
Right now everything is functioning . The belts and 2 idler pulleys appear well advanced into their service life. I may just take the belts off and match them up with some new ones. There is a switch missing that must have been a key switch. Closing the throttle grounds the same wire to shut it down, so I just removed the wire that was dangling for the missing switch. There's no switch for the light, if it's running, the lights on. The 8-24 manual, I found, has the same part number for both idler pulleys, but mine are different sizes. If I take the pulleys off to get the belts off I'll take a bunch of measurements so I can match them up with replacements. The friction disk part number in that manual does not crossref to anything available. I found one online that looks like it, but there's no way to tell if it will actually fit. They give an OD 6' and ID 3' that looks right and it appears to have the right bolt holes. The disk looks ok anyway. I have lubed everything except, I should check the gear oil in the auger differential.
I'm into this thing cus I just got it and had to work on it to get it running, but my other snowblower, an old MTD 5HP 24' 2 stage, has been working for 30 years and all I've done is cleaned the carb a few times. It has all the original parts, even the oil, and It keeps on working.