# Old Iron New Muscle



## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

Here is my repowered 1973 Montgomery Ward (Gilson) 26 inch snowblower taking on 7 inches of snow. My son had cleared out the center of the driveway earlier in the day with the MTD and after I got home from work I decided to take out the Gilson and widen out the driveway and see how it works. The new engine runs so much smoother and quieter than the Old 8hp Flat head Briggs did. It throws as well as the MTD and it seems to like to go through the deep snow even better than the MTD since it is a heavier machine and does not attempt to ride up on the snow at all. I may get a set of pnuematic tires for it with the Snow Hog thread pattern. I plan on doing a head to head video with my son filming it between both of the blowers if we happen to get some deep snow soon.


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

That baby is AWESOME!!! Not only looks beautiful, but it appears to blow snow like a jet engine LOL. Good for you...your hard work has definitely paid off.


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

woodtick007 said:


> That baby is AWESOME!!! Not only looks beautiful, but it appears to blow snow like a jet engine LOL. Good for you...your hard work has definitely paid off.


Thanks. Are you going to put on your 11hp Greyhound engine on the Montgomery Ward (Gilson) snowblower? I seen that you said your Briggs 8hp can only throw like 10 feet or so and will not turn more than 3300rpms. I also have a baler belt impeller kit on my machine as well. I say my machine throws 30+ feet with real good throughfare for the snow and being that the machine weighs about 250lbs it doesn't seem to ride up at all. The only thing that would improve this machine is a 420cc Predator with a 3 1/2 inch top pulley for the auger. It would shoot the snow back up from where it came from.


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

GustoGuy said:


> Thanks. Are you going to put on your 11hp Greyhound engine on the Montgomery Ward (Gilson) snowblower? I seen that you said your Briggs 8hp can only throw like 10 feet or so and will not turn more than 3300rpms. I also have a baler belt impeller kit on my machine as well. I say my machine throws 30+ feet with real good throughfare for the snow and being that the machine weighs about 250lbs it doesn't seem to ride up at all. The only thing that would improve this machine is a 420cc Predator with a 3 1/2 inch top pulley for the auger. It would shoot the snow back up from where it came from.


Well, I blew snow for the first time and after an couple hours the belts, muffler, and head gasket gave up the ghost....lol So after a few hours work and $40 for a couple belts, muffler, fuel line, sparkplug and a head gasket she is up an running strong. The engine looks to have been run very little and with the new head gasket it starts cold on the first or second pull. Its a very nice engine but definitely requires hearing protection.

Does your Wards have any vibrations when operating? Two things I noticed and would like to find some resolution to..... the number one is my lower pulleys have a slight "wobble" and number two my fuel cap leaks out the vent hole. I don't know if the cap is missing something inside. 

Did you replace the spring on the auger belt tensioner? If so do you have a part number for it? 

Did you run yours with and without the impeller kit? If so, how great of improvement did you see as a result of the kit installation?

Also, have you wondered why the snowblower forum does not have a section for Gilson and all the Gilson store brands? 





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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

once again gusto guy breaths life into some old iron, good work


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

woodtick007 said:


> Well, I blew snow for the first time and after an couple hours the belts, muffler, and head gasket gave up the ghost....lol So after a few hours work and $40 for a couple belts, muffler, fuel line, sparkplug and a head gasket she is up an running strong. The engine looks to have been run very little and with the new head gasket it starts cold on the first or second pull. Its a very nice engine but definitely requires hearing protection.
> 
> My engine was past it's prime and definitely had valve guide problems. It puffs blue smoke on start up for the first 10 seconds or so if it has been sitting awhile and puffs blue smoke while running every once in a while. The spark plug also would seem to junk up with oily deposits and it would run poorly after a while. A new spark plug would help with the running but it would soon mess up again. _I wish my engine would have been a good runner like yours because too many people here on the forum end up hating on me for replacing the engine with a Chinese made one. I originally restored the blower with the intent on using the original engine. It just ran poorly so I replaced it. _I used to do some maintanece back when I was a college kid for a lawn cutting service so I am pretty good with turning a wrench and a quick study if I haven't done it. You-tube is awesome and has lots of videos on how to do things so it makes for a good teaching aide.
> 
> ...


Briggs and Stratton makes a thread in Super lo-tone muffler for this engine. It could lower engine noise by quite a bit.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

Nice work Gusto, Those clones are really getting around. My first clone replacement was about 4 or 5 years ago when i put a 6.5hp greyhound on an old 1984 large frame Snapper that worked great. Since then i have put on at least 3 of the 6.5hp engines and 1 of the 11hp Greyhound engines on various snow blowers and as far as i know all are still running fine. The 11hp greyhound is on my large frame 84 cub cadet 8/26 and works great. When they were doing away with the greyhound I was able to get 6 of them for 73.99 each delivered. I only have 3 left. I guess i have to find three snow blowers with blown engines


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

No real vibration problems with the new engine. With the old engine the deflecter turning wheel hand piece would spin at about 100 rpms when the engine was running. With the ne OHV engine there is no spin at all much smoother. As to the lower pulleys for the drive and auger both seem really tight on my machine and do not have any side to side play. Is your drive pulley wobbling or is it the lower auger pulley?

They both wobble together...I honestly thought they were/are connected somehow. Its was cold and getting dark so I didn't really get a great look at the pulleys or even try to see what the problem was(if there is a problem). I did not separate the blower housing from the drive unit when replacing the belts...I just weaseled them between the drive disk and friction wheel then down and out the bottom. I really wanted to get the engine running well and make sure it was somewhat of a sound machine before investing too much time effort in another mans junk. 

One issue is the wheels are rusted to the axle shafts and the augers are rusted to the auger shaft....both appear to have never seen a drop of oil or shot of grease in 42 years.

I have to say that the paint on the machine is of very poor quality...I was spraying the govnr. linkage with some carb cleaner and everywhere it touched or ran down on the paint melted off to bare metal...that is a plus for a repaint/restoration. I have an ariens from when they started their peeling powdercoat debacle ....and pretty much everywhere the machine didn't rust the powdercoat off it is a 1/16" thick virtually impossible to remove...


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

CarlB said:


> Nice work Gusto, Those clones are really getting around. My first clone replacement was about 4 or 5 years ago when i put a 6.5hp greyhound on an old 1984 large frame Snapper that worked great. Since then i have put on at least 3 of the 6.5hp engines and 1 of the 11hp Greyhound engines on various snow blowers and as far as i know all are still running fine. The 11hp greyhound is on my large frame 84 cub cadet 8/26 and works great. When they were doing away with the greyhound I was able to get 6 of them for 73.99 each delivered. I only have 3 left. I guess i have to find three snow blowers with blown engines


You should get a cart and put in a billet rod and billet flywheel and take off the govenor. I hear the ungoverned 390gx engines with billet rods and billet flywheel will spin 7500rms and put out 17+hp. I know a guy who built up a custom frame with a wheelie bar and put in a 390GX with a Polaris snowmobile primary and secondary and his bike will beat some crotch rockets motorcycles in a block stretch. I heard they go 60mph in a go-cart on a nice flat stretch of course.


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## WestminsterFJR (Dec 30, 2013)

Nice! Performs as good as she looks.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

GustoGuy said:


> You should get a cart and put in a billet rod and billet flywheel and take off the govenor. I hear the ungoverned 390gx engines with billet rods and billet flywheel will spin 7500rms and put out 17+hp. I know a guy who built up a custom frame with a wheelie bar and put in a 390GX with a Polaris snowmobile primary and secondary and his bike will beat some crotch rockets motorcycles in a block stretch. I heard they go 60mph in a go-cart on a nice flat stretch of course.



I used to drag race a 1168cc Suzuki with a Rayjay tubro making 213hp at the rear wheel weighing 532lbs with rider and it ran the quarter mile in 7.85 seconds and mid 170 mph with a 10" slick. If you look at my signature pic you will see my street legal 69 camaro with a normally aspirated 434 cubic inch small block chevy mated to a built 700r4 trans and a 12 bolt 4:11 rear making 627hp at the rear wheels. This is a street car and not a track car. It has more than enough power for a boat load of fun on the street.

Carl


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

CarlB said:


> I used to drag race a 1168cc Suzuki with a Rayjay tubro making 213hp at the rear wheel weighing 532lbs with rider and it ran the quarter mile in 7.85 seconds and mid 170 mph with a 10" slick. If you look at my signature pic you will see my street legal 69 camaro with a normally aspirated 434 cubic inch small block chevy mated to a built 700r4 trans and a 12 bolt 4:11 rear making 627hp at the rear wheels. This is a street car and not a track car. It has more than enough power for a boat load of fun on the street.
> 
> Carl


 Agreed Carl. As always you got to have fun and a nice street legal high-powered 1969 Camaro will certainly be a boatload of fun to drive . I was just saying those Greyhound engines could also be used to power all kinds of fun things in addition to snow blowers. I may upgrade my Mini bike next year with a GTC Tav2 instead of the Maxtorque 12T clutch. My 17-year-old son likes riding it and it got used quite a bit over the relatively short Minnesota summer. I like my snowmobiles and watercraft too for they also help make for a good time when I get the family together at the Cabin. Did you fully restore your Camaro from the ground up yourself and do all the bodywork too in addition to painting it yourself? What kind of suspension and brake work have you done to handle that 627hp engine's power? My neighbor who is a few years younger than me would build up cars all the time with his uncle. He told me many years later that he really wished he would have kept that 1969 Mustang Mach 1 with the 428 Cobra Jet since a car like that is worth a lot today and he said he can’t find any like it for under $25,000 that you would not need to dump a lot of work and money in to repair. I even helped him rebuild a 302 Ford V8 engine in a 1970 Ford Torino. I sort of regret that I never embarked in an opportunity to buy and restore an American classic Muscle Car like you have. Today my wife would never put up with the hassles and expenses if were to buy an old classic car to restore.


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

GustoGuy said:


> Today my wife would never put up with the hassles and expenses if were to buy an old classic car to restore.


This my friend....is the reason Chevrolet offers the 2014 Camaro Z-28 for $75,000 plus. You leave the house one day....a day like any other day.... BUT, and here is the big BUT. But you drive home with your new 2014 Camaro Z-28....427cid, 500 plus HP, all the upgrades to braking and suspension will have been worked out for you.... no mess or fuss, or long hours in the garage getting the floor dirty....no funny smells of dangerous chemicals....No grease on your hands or under your fingernails....no time spent on the internet researching stuff... AND, and you have that new car smell...  

Please post pictures.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

GustoGuy said:


> Agreed Carl. As always you got to have fun and a nice street legal high-powered 1969 Camaro will certainly be a boatload of fun to drive . I was just saying those Greyhound engines could also be used to power all kinds of fun things in addition to snow blowers. I may upgrade my Mini bike next year with a GTC Tav2 instead of the Maxtorque 12T clutch. My 17-year-old son likes riding it and it got used quite a bit over the relatively short Minnesota summer. I like my snowmobiles and watercraft too for they also help make for a good time when I get the family together at the Cabin. Did you fully restore your Camaro from the ground up yourself and do all the bodywork too in addition to painting it yourself? What kind of suspension and brake work have you done to handle that 627hp engine's power? My neighbor who is a few years younger than me would build up cars all the time with his uncle. He told me many years later that he really wished he would have kept that 1969 Mustang Mach 1 with the 428 Cobra Jet since a car like that is worth a lot today and he said he can’t find any like it for under $25,000 that you would not need to dump a lot of work and money in to repair. I even helped him rebuild a 302 Ford V8 engine in a 1970 Ford Torino. I sort of regret that I never embarked in an opportunity to buy and restore an American classic Muscle Car like you have. Today my wife would never put up with the hassles and expenses if were to buy an old classic car to restore.



It has a 4 wheel disk brake upgrade and some modest suspension modifications but nothing crazy like back halfing the car. I should have put in mini tubs when i built it but i didn't. 

When i bought the car it was in primer with a NOS GM front cllip. I replaced the rear quarters and the deck lid and floor pans. it had a tired 327 with a powerglide and 10 bolt rear end. 

Speed O Motive engineering in california built the 434 cu short block and I did the assembly work.

Bow Tie Overdrives in northern California built the mil spec 700r4 trans

Ben Pilla speed associates built the 12 bolt rear end. 

All work including engine assembly paint and body was done in my two car attached garage. The paint is a Porsche color called India red or guards red.. 


Carl


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