# MTD Makeover...



## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

The drab grey color of this old girl has been bothering me for a few years now, making me at times 'almost' forego maintenance, (and we cant have that).










For a year now now I've been trying to pick a color in my head. I knew I didnt want red or orange as neither would coexist with the burgundy color of the augers. (The paint on the augers has held up great over the years, so burgundy they'll stay)
Black would look good but I wasnt too keen on that either. Green? No, I already have a green machine. Options left are yellow or a blue.

I knew I'd be splitting it open this fall to change the impeller bearing whether it needed it or not, so its crunch time for color. I decided on a glossy yellow but no stores in my region had any stock. Easy peasy then, blue it is, just not too dark.

I sprayed a few days ago...
I went with this and as I was applying I wished I had of had some gloss black (liquid) on the shelf to add to the can to darken the blue up a tad, alas I didnt.
I forget the actual paint color name (made by Tremclad) but I call it Yamaha blue. I think it looks alright, the Dupli-Color reducer I used seemed to add to the the gloss.
The wheels, drift cutters and misc hardware will be black, (I got some today).
It for sure aint a drab color now, haha. I'll give another day or two before I start re-assembling.


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## aa335 (Jan 21, 2020)

Looks good so far with the blue. The burgundy augers seems like they'll fit right in.


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Thanks, I agree, so far so good.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm normally not a fan of blue, but I must admit, that color for a blower is going to look good .... Nice job.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

looks good. my only suggestion would be search for the better control panel with deflector control and chute to go with it. it is a nice feature to have and a super easy upgrade. we did it to a machine for my nephew. the remote deflector control is a nice feature to have instead of having to reach over the handle bars to change it. the parts should be cheap to get used since they would be super common and don't really go bad.


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Same here, not a big fan of blue either Oneacer, I havent sprayed blue since the mid 80's on a boat. Thanks.

I've been keeping an eye out for a metal chute for some time now crazzy. No luck to date, pickings are slim up my way, alot of people throw/keep/hang on to their junk stuff in a barn or field. Thanks.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i am not talking about a metal chute. i am just talking about the plastic chute with deflector control. i don't believer there is any metal chutes for these. i have never seen a plastic chute fail even if they were clearly used on a gravel driveway. i was suggesting getting the parts to install remote deflector control just like what is on my machine. parts are super common so they can be found fairly cheap


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Thanks, I understand, nice mod you've done, I havent seen anything around to do so but will now keep an eye out.
My chute works fine, mostly I just find the 3 or 4 tab mount system kind of flimsy, (mine is anyway). I plan on looking at more in depth when I put it all back together.


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

My MTD makeover has been completed. Turned out alright I feel. It definitely offers a different look than what one usually sees being used.










Oops, forgot to put the drift cutters on.


















Now hopefully have a few weeks or so to let the paint cure itself, add some wax.


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## The Q (Dec 19, 2016)

That powder blue is the same color of my tux when I went to the Senior Prom back in 1977, lol.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

The Q
mine were white tails in 72


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## Wilson (Nov 20, 2020)

Me being a Mopar guy, that's Richard Petty blue....


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Put a big 43 on each side of the bucket as well as some STP stickers


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## aa335 (Jan 21, 2020)

The Q said:


> That powder blue is the same color of my tux when I went to the Senior Prom back in 1977, lol.





CarlB said:


> The Q
> mine were white tails in 72





Wilson said:


> Me being a Mopar guy, that's Richard Petty blue....





Ziggy65 said:


> Put a big 43 on each side of the bucket as well as some STP stickers


Ok Boomers!


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

yeah yeah...I noticed how it was matching up to the 43 color while I was spraying, I sure hope Petty doesnt feel I'm infringing...(I do have a Charger emblem I could throw on)...Nah....


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

Nice job.......just curious. What if any are the distinguishing features of the MTD pro brand vs. Yard Machines, troy Bilt, etc.????


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Thanks


Toro-8-2-4 said:


> What if any are the distinguishing features of the MTD pro brand vs. Yard Machines, troy Bilt, etc.????


I cant say for sure Toro. This is pretty much a plain jane model, built I believe mid 2000's. The only options I'd say it came with is the one handed operation, a halogen light, (now an LED) and the drift cutters. At that time tho maybe they were standard features.
I do like the weight and balance of this machine, I've only ever cuffed one auger belt.


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

sledman8002002 said:


> Thanks
> 
> I can' say for sure Toro. This is pretty much a plain jane model, built I believe mid 2000's. The only options I'd say it came with is the one handed operation, a halogen light, (now an LED) and the drift cutters. At that time tho maybe they were standard features.
> I do like the weight and balance of this machine, I've only ever cuffed one auger belt.


I was just curious. I know MTD has a lot of Brands and it can be hard to distinguish (other than colors) what the differences are. There may not be any real difference. The one handed operation and head light is on many MTD branded 8-26 models and up. The drift cutters combined with those features may be the only difference. Using the Pro brand implies it is more robust or has more feautres that make using it easier. MTD Alsoe had a Gold brand which implies it is more upscale. I cold never see what the added features were to justify that branding. Sometimes branding seems like only smoke and mirrors. I do not understand why they have so many brands. Like HF with there now many brands. Marketing is beyond me.

For what it is worth, I worked on an MTD PRO push lawn mower last year and the only difference from Its Yard Machine counterpart was a Honda Engine and Ball bearing wheels)large in the rear). Alhough others in the MTD family may come with large ball bearing wheels or a Honda engine. I have never seen both features on the same mower, with the exception of this MTD PRO push mower. Sometimes the differences are clear.

Nice job and continued luck with your project.


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Toro-8-2-4 said:


> I do not understand why they have so many brands.


If it makes them more money for relatively the same product, then their goal was accomplished.


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

Ok, so where to begin. Regarding the "Why so many brands?" question, I was once curious about that as well. IMHO and from what I have been able to find out, MTD was for many years in the business of purchasing other companies and brands vs. developing their own. Secondly, many of the brands they purchased had their own dealer network and a certain amount of brand equity. in the pre-internet days, there was not as much information available to consumers, and not as many competent competitors. I would also say that MTD was like GM, i.e. fat dumb and happy selling the same machine only with a different color and different feature set. I've commented on this before that by the mid-90s most of their blowers were the same couple of frame sized with different controls and engine size based on the brand and price point. If you look at MTD today, I think the only large frame blowers available are Cub and Troy-Bilt, and they are different machines from what I can see. This tells me that MTD has wised up a bit. However, I would not buy either one because they are too cheap to include a fuel shutoff valve and there is no real estate to add one.


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## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

Sledman, if you're interested in doing any sort of controls upgrade, below find a link showing what I did to my 1995 8/26. All you need is imagination and access to a decent boneyard. 

MTD 8/26 Deflector Control Upgrade


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

on the newer machines it is easy. here is a swap i did last year to get the parts needed to upgrade my nephews snowblower. left is the machine before took parts off it and right is after. obviously on my nephews snowblower things went the opposite way. went from base model to some options. this winter his machine is getting heated handlebar warmers. it really just comes down to getting the right parts needed for the swap you want to do


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Clutch Cargo said:


> selling the same machine only with a different color and different feature set


It's what worked, what made sales, what made them money. Gotta keep feeding the faces/wallets of those around the big oak table quarterly and/or at years end...

I have no plans for upgrading it further at this time, pretty happy with how it works at the moment.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i would still recommend getting the parts to install the remote chute deflector. i know you say your happy with it as is but it is a upgrade that is well worth it. you could likely get the parts used for cheap. i know i would hate to go back to using a machine without remote chute deflector after having it for so long. it is a pain to lean over the handlebars or re-adjust the deflector depending on what you are doing. i can just do it on the fly with the remote chute deflector.


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

I know & totally understand what you're saying wolfie, used parts out my way are hard to come by without travelling 2 hours or so. But I'm always looking/watching.


crazzywolfie said:


> it is a pain to lean over the handlebars


LOL, my gut's been too big for too long to do that!


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

what part of Ontario are you from? i could always keep my eyes open for some parts if you are not too far away. you can also sometimes message the people who fix snowblowers on facebook. sometimes they have parts machines sitting around and the handle bars and chute rarely go bad. the bucket usually rots out long before those fail. the guy who sold me the tall chute that i tried last year was one of the guys who repairs snowblowers regularly. i actually ended up picking up 1.5 machines off him. he had things price pretty fairly. i could definitely make money off the stuff i got off him if i wanted to but some of the parts made a great upgrade to my machine like the heated handle bars or the x-track tires.


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

Bancroft region but off the beaten path. Only cottagers throw out what would qualify as good stuff.
I got away from fb years ago. 
I appreciate the offer of keeping an eye out.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

ya your definitely a good drive from most places. hopefully you luck out and find the parts eventually. it is a nice upgrade and very easy to do.


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