# Ariens age, other information



## jarheaddoc

Model 924073, serial 023991

I got this machine second hand. The recoil starter was broke, which I think led to it being pushed aside instead of fixed. The gas that was left in it caused the usual carb problem, which a kit has pretty much fixed.



First, how do I determine the year of manufacture of this beast? What's the secret code Ariens uses?

Second, about how much did one of these things retail for when it was first sold?

Third, this is the first Tecumseh snowblower motor I have dealt with that didn't require a good pull on the starter to get it going. The motor fires with a couple presses of the primer, throttle to fast, and a slow, firm pull on the rewind. I'm not complaining, it just strikes me as odd, that's all!

I have it running enough right now to know that the auger turns and all of the gears are there. I am looking forward to working on it, though. I am hoping it will replace the MTD that I have had for quite a few years, the one that's had enough parts and pieces replaced so that it don't much look like it did when I first got it....

Thanks!


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## Shryp

I am guessing it is from the early 1980s, possibly 1983?
The Ariens 1960's and 1970's Sno-Thro info site.


Here are some manuals for you:

Owners:
http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/024532.pdf

Parts:
http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/PM-24-89.pdf

Service:
http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/000123A.pdf


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## sscotsman

Ariens has no secret code..but Tecumseh does! 
I have the model 924073 as being produced 1983 to 1991!
(Shyrp posed the link to the 924000 series webpage above)
thats an unusually long time for one model number..
But they should all be a similar 1032 model over those years,
(10hp engine with a 32 inch scoop, a big machine!)

Assuming the engine on it is the original, we can figure out the exact model year from the engine data..look for a tag on the side of the engine, and list all the model and serial numbers you find there..

Scot


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## jarheaddoc

HM100-159119R Serial # 1804D The numbers are stamped into the fan shroud.

I believe it to be the original engine. 90# compression on an accurate gage.

The big test will be what it does with the first snow. The MTD isn't going down the road just yet.


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## sscotsman

jarheaddoc said:


> HM100-159119R Serial # 1804D The numbers are stamped into the fan shroud.


Please take a closer look at that serial number..I suspect it is actually 1304D, not 1804D..

If it is 1304D, it means the Tecumseh engine was assembled on "The 304th day of a year ending in 1"..unfortunately Tecumseh never bothered with a 2-digit date code, so we always have to guess at the decade based on the features of the machine the engine is mounted on! "year ending in 1" for Tecumseh could be 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, or maybe even 2001..

If it is accurate that Ariens made the model 924073 from 1983 to 1991, then we would probably conclude you have a 1991 model..but! I suspect its more likely you have a 1983 model! the other end of the scale..here is why:

"The 304th day of a year ending in 1" in this case makes more sense for 1981 than it does 1991..because the 304th day of the year is October 31st..Halloween..Snowblower manufacturing is done for the season by that time of year, the machines are built and in the stores..And..a new machine on-sale in the autumn of 1991 would actually be a 1992 model year machine, not 1991...So 1991 doesn't work out well in this case..

1983 model year, for the snowblower, makes a lot more sense:
If the engine was assembled on October 31st, 1981, it would be too late to make it onto a snowblower that autumn..It would be placed on a snowblower being built the following spring or summer..the spring or summer of 1982..Snowblowers that were built in the Summer of 1982 that went on sale in the Autumn of 1982 were..1983 model year machines! 
it fits..Engine built in October of 1981 ("The 304th day of a year ending in 1")..it gets placed on a new snowblower in the summer of '82..the machine goes on sale in the Autumn of '82 as a 1983 model..It all fits nicely! 

One more thing that suggests 1983..the Ariens serial number..
when I plug the Ariens model and serial number into the manual lookup, it brings up a 1983 manual:

Ariens Order Owners Manuals

http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/024532.pdf


The dates on the manuals aren't always useful for determining the exact year, because the manual is made at the beginning of that model run, then just used for several years..but because the manual is dated 1983 that makes it far more likely this is a 1983 snowblower than it is a 1991..

So, if you re-check the serial number and it does in fact say 1304D, then im going to say with 90% confidence the snowblower is a 1983 model..

Scot


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