# Adding to my Ariens collection.



## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Ok, it's official now..im a collector! 
I always knew it couldn't be avoided for long! 

When I bought my first snowblower, my '71 Ariens, in 2009, I also started the Ariens "1960's and 1970's" webpage..In the 6 years since then lots of people have emailed me as a result of that page, and I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet with lots of great guys who also love these classic machines..Most of the guys I know from "email only", or from this forum, just because people live all over the place!  most quite a long ways away..But a few have been "local", and I got the opportunity to meet one of those local snowblower enthusiasts last weekend! 

Paul X10 (thats a handle/nickname he has used for years) has been into restoring snowblowers for a few years now..back in the day he restored classic cars! Corvettes and other classics..So he has the tools, knowledge and skill to do some excellent snowblower restorations!

I was laid off for the past 2 years, went back to school, and started a new career! I was ready to "get back into" the snowblower thing after a 2-year lull..So i started looking around on Craigslist..

This fall I had started looking for a "backup" snowblower for my '71 Ariens, which has been my only working machine..(I also have a '61 Snowbird, but its no where near running condition) Im not worried that anything will go wrong with the Ariens! its running fine..but "just in case" I wanted a second machine, so my wife and I can get to work on time! and yes..I also just wanted another snowblower too!  So I had been casually checking Craigslist for a few months, and I found a batch of several for sale from a guy near me..So I emailed Paul and said "hey, is this craigslist ad you?" it was! So Paul had me over to the shop to check out the machines..

He has done a FULL restoration on a 10,000 series Ariens that is beautiful! I took photos, and will add it to the Ariens webpage soon..He also happened to have a 32" bucket 10,000 series..and I said I had been looking for one of those! He asked if I as interested in buying that one..hmmmm.. 

He had restored the tractor section, but not the bucket section yet..we made a deal, and the 32" machine is now mine!  I said I would like to try restoring/refurbishing the bucket myself, so Paul said I was welcome to come back to his shop to work on the bucket! I have wanted to have some sort of "restoration" project to dig into, and this bucket will be a great place to start..thanks Paul! 

So here is the 1971 model 910954. Im quite certain it came new with its 32" bucket, because the tractor and bucket serial numbers are only 6 digits apart! and I have seen other "very close serial numbers" on other machines before..




























Here are some close-ups of the beautiful work Paul did on the tractor:









It originally had chrome handlebars, but they were in rough shape, so Paul replaced with different handlebars and painted the same "off white" as the rest of the tractor..I like the look!










and! this machine has one of the nicest "nameplates" I have seen.
This nameplate came off a 1966 Ariens originally purchased by Paul's Dad, who bought it new in '66. He removed the nameplate because it was "in the way" and just stored it away..That original '66 Ariens is no longer around, but almost 50 years later, Paul placed it on this '71! Im very honored to have it, and I love knowing the history:










Now, here is where the story gets even better! 
Paul said, if I was going to buy the 32-incher from him, there was a catch..
I had to also take a 1962 Ariens along with it!









These "first series" machines aren't in high demand from the "average joe" used snoblower shopper..because of that, they might be an endangered species..Paul said he wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it for what it is, and appreciate the history it represents..wow..thanks Paul!  that is so cool..So I am now also the proud owner of a 1962 "first series"!
Its a 10ML35, everything works:





































The '62 im going to leave un-touched..
Guys on the Garden Tractor forums like to talk about "restore it? or leave it in its original patina?" If its in really bad shape, often a full restoration, with a full repaint, makes sense..but other machines are still in a nice "well-worn, but good condition"..and many believe this "original patina" is worthy of preservation in itself..This '62 Ariens falls into that second category..it doesn't *need* be restored, and keeping it in its "as built" state, with over half a century of use, makes it a very cool historic piece..a survivor. I will use it occasionally! because I think machines like this should be used..its what they were made for afterall..I will fire it up once or twice a year and let it dig into some snow. (im also going to use the '71 32-incher occasionally as well..Although my first '71 will continue to be my main "work horse" machine..)

Here are my two new additions:










and of course, I had to bring out my first '71 for the "family portrait" 










I am thrilled with my new additions to the collection! 
(im basically set for life now, as far as actually clearing snow is concerned)

More photos coming soon..I have more photos of Paul's machines to add to the webpage, and I will document restoring the 32-inch bucket too! 

thanks,
Scot


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## GreenMtnMan (Jan 5, 2014)

Congrats, Scot, I'm jealous of you! They look great and I will have to check your site to see what a first series is.


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## liftoff1967 (Jan 15, 2014)

Very nice Vintage equipment. Very nice!


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

Great machines Scot now be careful you might be a target for a friendly takeover by Ariens to add to their museum if they have one.


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## Ray 1962 10ML60 (Oct 14, 2011)

Add me to the jealous list! Really nice collection there Scot. Love the story that goes with them too, and in such fantastic shape. Enjoy them buddy!!


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

awesome buy!

you'll fall in love with the 1962 machine. even if you never move a single flake with it, those are neat little machines.

the big 32 is the musclecar of the Ariens line back in that time. so that's another one that if you never used it heavy, is a collector piece IMHO.

enjoy and thanks for the great Ariens site !


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## SlowRider22 (Oct 17, 2013)

Outstanding! You made out like a bandit with those two machines


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## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Nice job! They needed you in Buffalo the other day


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

nice trio sccott and welcome to MSS


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks everyone..yeah, Im very happy with them! 



detdrbuzzard said:


> nice trio sccott and welcome to MSS


took me a second, but then i got it! 

Scot


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

That's awesome!!! Congrats!!!

Here I sit wondering if I could sweet talk you out of that '62 with a Snowbird trade  heh....


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

SteelyTim said:


> That's awesome!!! Congrats!!!
> 
> Here I sit wondering if I could sweet talk you out of that '62 with a Snowbird trade  heh....


No, I wont be giving up the '62 Ariens! 
she's a keeper.
Probably the only first-series I will own, unless I can someday also
find a 1960 with original gear transmission..but that's a long shot.

Scot


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

I was scratching my head as to why your machine looked different than mine. Then I realized. Yours is a 10ML35, mine's a 10ML60. Duh 

Let us know how it does in the white stuff!!


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Tim, my 10ML35 has a carb cover/heater box style I have never seen before! All the "first series" manuals and brochures only show the "top end" models for a given year..which was the 5.5 or 6hp model..the little 3.5 hp was never shown! So this is a "first" for the webpage, which is cool..


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Collector*

Scott

IMO you're not a collector till you're up to about 5 or 6 machines 
I had the stable up to about 10 machines at one time, but being I was planning on selling 6 or 8, didn't consider myself a collector. Think I'm down to 5 right now with 2 or 3 I need to touch yet, though 3 do run.
Keep going though, whether a collector or not these machines deserve saving as they're better than most of the units you can buy new today IMO.


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

I totally get that. There's a '62 10ML60 identical to mine that came up for sale locally, and I'm fighting REALLY hard not to buy it......


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## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

Scot your a sick man, boy that 32 is clean.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

Nice Scot.
Good deal BUT YOU HAD TO TAKE THE 1962 TOO!
*How hard did he have to twist your arm to take it?*
What a shame, I feel for you. 

As you know I have been looking at blowers the last few months and a lot of the chrome handle bars are rusted up. I was thinking of how they would look painted. I think that looks great, though chrome looks nice too if you don't take care of it they will rust. 
I think the white looks great, but I guess a purist would frown on doing that. Not me I think the white would have looked better when it was new?
The plate, it was nice that he took the plate off and it looks like new. But I thought the plate served more then one purpose? Besides free advertising for Ariens, I always thought the plates served as a brace to add strength to the handles bars?

The patina? Take a 1955 Chevy (I owned a bunch years ago) or take any old classic that is all rusted and compare it to one that has been repainted, what looks better? For some items the patina looks great and you will destroy it's value if you shine it up. But I think for any old classic machines they look better painted up to look like new. Plus they are protected from further rusting. But that is just my opinion.

Now here is an option I just learned for you to consider. I have an old pickup truck that was giving to me by my Bro in law. It was supposed to be for my kids to fix up but last Sunday I put it on Craigslist for $500 bucks. They are never going to work on it and I don't feel like doing anything to it either, so I am getting rid of it.
But look at the "patina". Rust to me.,Click on me,









Now he had the truck since new and he lived down the shore in NJ. He parked it years ago and bought a new truck as he has a house in the Keys and need a new one for running his boat back and forth when he took off the summers. He is living down there now and sold his house up here so he had to get rid of the truck. As you see it has a lot of surface rust from sitting in the salt air environment plus he had a tarp over it for a while trying to protect it. I think the tarp just made it rust quicker.
The point I am getting to is that one guy wants the truck because of the patina! I said excuse me, you want it for the rust? He said yes what he does is lightly sand it down and clears coats it and it looks cool and classic.
I then told my kid and he said there is a growing bunch of people who do just that, they actually rust their cars and then clear coat them for the look.
He brought up some videos on you tube of them doing it.
Strange world we live in today, huh?

Maybe you can just clear coat it to keep the patina from rusting any further?

Your set for life now?
I don't think so, your just starting.
Wait till that vintage 263 or 264 Snowbird comes around for a good deal.
I would bet you would jump on it!

And thanks to you guys I am getting the fever too!
But I know I would never catch up to some of you collectors. I just don't have the room.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Big Ed said:


> As you know I have been looking at blowers the last few months and a lot of the chrome handle bars are rusted up. I was thinking of how they would look painted. I think that looks great, though chrome looks nice too if you don't take care of it they will rust.
> I think the white looks great, but I guess a purist would frown on doing that. Not me I think the white would have looked better when it was new?
> The plate, it was nice that he took the plate off and it looks like new. But I thought the plate served more then one purpose? Besides free advertising for Ariens, I always thought the plates served as a brace to add strength to the handles bars?


Here is a good thread about fixing rusty chrome handlebars.

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/toro-snowblowers/23442-handlebar-help.html


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

Shryp said:


> Here is a good thread about fixing rusty chrome handlebars.
> 
> http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/toro-snowblowers/23442-handlebar-help.html


Thank you Shryp, sometimes the chrome is so badly pitted and rusted that even the diet coke and aluminum foil trick won't work. I use that method to clean rust off of some old O gauge trains I win. Some are from the 1930's, they are the chromed passenger cars. Worked great, not a lot of folks know about that trick. When your done you should follow up with a good wax on it.
Sometimes the aluminum foil will even fill in minor corrosion pits, some pits are so far advanced it won't help at all. One trick is to change the aluminum foil as you go along, use a lot of "fresh" pieces. (explained below in the red copy and paste.)

Whatever you do, DON'T USE STAINLESS WOOL on chrome! It will scratch the heck out of it and also remove some of the chrome plating. Don't use it in something like a polished stainless steel sink either. Stove top range or whatever! It will scratch the heck out of the piece and whatever protective coating that is applied when they make it will be taken off too.

The ones on that video would have probably cleaned up nice with just a good polish, they were not that bad. I would have used a rubbing compound made for chrome (not a gritty rubbing compound) then polish them with a good polish, they were not really that bad.
One thing he didn't mention about using the aluminum foil is what also happens when you use it.
A copy and paste of what happens, (it is a good thing)
This process yields two advantages. First, since the aluminum foil is softer than steel, it will not scratch the surface. And second, a by product of the process produces a fine metal polishing compound that smooths the chrome surface to a bright shine.
Cleaning Rust is basically oxidized metal or another words metal that has taken on extra oxygen atoms. As heat is generated by the friction of rubbing the aluminum foil on the chrome, a portion of the aluminum will oxidize to produce aluminum oxide. Aluminum has a higher reduction potential (i.e a tendency take on electrons and in the process reduce or break itself down) than the chrome, and will therefore leech oxygen atoms away from any rust on the chrome surface which changes the chemical properties of the rust and breaks it down.
Polishing Aluminum oxide is harder than steel, and the microscopic grains of aluminum oxide produced during the cleaning process creates a fine metal polishing compound which, mixed with the water you added, creates a paste that smooths and polishes the chrome surface.

Best of all I have a never ending supply of diet coke, it is the only soda I drink.

Hey mods....how come you can't tag any post here? Tagging greatly enhances the search feature?

Edit,
SOLD MY PICKUP TRUCK, SOLD AMERICAN!
Thank you Craigslist......free.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Well, im really glad I bought a "backup" snowblower this year! 

I have my first snowblower, the 1971 Ariens, that I bought six years ago this month, in January of 2009..
its been a fine machine in all areas except one..It has only one "problem" area..the carb..
for some reason I just cant seem to keep the carb properly adjusted!

the engine itself runs perfectly fine..IF the carb is properly feeding it air and gas..
so the engine is fine, the snowblower itself is a tank and runs perfectly..
the *only* issue if that finicky 44 year old carburetor.. 
I learned how to take the carb apart and clean it, and I have learned a bit about adjusting carbs..
I know the basics now:

Carb rebuild on a Tecumseh - Engines - RedSquare Wheel Horse Forum

But still, the carb has been the only source of trouble on this machine..
I have known this all along of course, so this winter I thought it would be a good idea to get a "backup" snowblower,
in case the original '71 gets cranky again..I started a new job this past summer, 
and my new employer is real finicky about not being late, so being able to clear out the driveway
so the wife and I can get to work is very important!  I have no backup plow service, its just me..

So a few months ago I bought the *beautiful* 1971 32-incher!  
with the tractor portion restored by Paul X10..
Details are in the first post in this thread..
I was fully intending it to be for "emergency backup service only"..
but so far this winter, its been my main machine! 

For clarity, lets call them the "Original '71"










And the "New '71"


















The New '71 is the one with the restored tractor and the 32" bucket..

So we haven't had much snow yet this winter..I pulled out the New '71 with the first snowfall of this winter, 
just to try it out for the first time..It worked great!  as I expected it would..
(I also have tried out the '62!  but it was also after dark! 
so no photos of videos of that yet..I still plan to do a "review" of the '62)

So today we had 4" on the driveway..Normally I might not even bother to clear that small amount, 
but its going to stay really cold into the coming week, and a small amount of snow can evolve
into a layer of ice if it doesn't melt away quickly, 
so I thought I would fire up the Original '71 to give her her first use of the season..

I did her annual Autumn maintenance in October..she was running fine then! but today..
she would start, but only idle on full choke..
if I tried to move the choke lever, she would sputter and die..
and she wouldnt run for long on full choke either..Its that **** carb again! urrrr..









I think im just going to replace the carb outright..seems the best solution at this point. 
So im going to order a carb, and swap it out when it gets warm again..

This morning I tried messing with the Original '71 for about 10 minutes..
fired it up 6 or 7 seven times and tried to keep it running..
gave up in disgust and instead fired up the "backup" New '71 which performed properly and admirably!  

Scot


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

Don't feel too badly, I had the EXACT sams thing happen to me today on my '62 10M-L60, just after I delivered a repair of a Toro 2 stroke. Sucks when you have to work on your OWN stuff 

In my case it turns out the float got stuck somehow....


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks Tim,
yeah, this carb has had multiple issues..
the first problem I had with it was a stuck float, causing gas to leak out
of the carb..I think that issue is fixed, now it just seems to be adjustment issues..
I have tried all the things you are supposed to do to adjust it properly,
but it never stays stable for long..
Ive had enough!  its carb swap time..

Scot


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## bombidude (Jan 8, 2015)

Nice machines for sure..


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

Do me a favor....if you install a new carb, save the old one for me if you don't mind. I can get it from you when we get your Snowbird back into action when it gets warm out


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## X10StingRay (Dec 8, 2014)

SteelyTim said:


> Do me a favor....if you install a new carb, save the old one for me if you don't mind. I can get it from you when we get your Snowbird back into action when it gets warm out


Sorry Tim.....Scot's carb LIVES!. I saw his post, and needed to contact him anyways to drop off an Ariens 1962 owner's packet, and took a look at the carb issue. No dirt or water, just a float adjustment, as it was too low. 

My educated guess is the dramatic low temps we're having here may have been just enough to cause it to simply not 'work' with the low float level. I moved the float level up (quite a bit) to where it's suppose to be, and it fired right up. Fine tuned the mixture screws, and it runs great now.

But the BEST part is, Scot's wife made me chocolate chip cookies for coming over to help!!!!!!  

2 or 3 didn't make the trip home......

*"I work for cookies!!!'*


Paul X10

_"Throw a log on the fire, 'cause baby, it's cold outside'...."_


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## scrappy (Dec 7, 2014)

Glad it was 'sumfin so easy to fix.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Yep, Paul came over and got it running fine with about 10 minutes of tinkering! 
(its amazing how fast it can be done when you actually know what you are doing) 
Thanks again Paul!

I said in another thread recently that everything I have learned about working on snowblowers, tractors and engines I have learned on-line..and that was true..until today! It is true that you can actually learn from the internet, but its also true that having someone knowledgable actually show what to do, in person, makes learning a lot faster! and more thorough.. 

I had never even attempted to adjust the low-idle jet, never even touched it, because it hadnt yet occured to me that it might need adjusting! and that float issue I probably would have never figured out on my own..I installed a "carb kit" a few years ago, and I thought that was all it needed..clearly I was wrong..

but yes, thanks to Paul, the "original '71" is back in service! 
I was right that it was out of adjustment..but I wrong in thinking nothing more could be done..

Scot


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Used the Original '71 yesterday for the first time after Pauls carb adjust..
it ran *perfectly*! 
better than it ever has since I have owned it..
all it needed was a _proper_ carb adjustment..the machine is now flawless.










Scot


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

you only gave up on the original "71 cause you have the new '71. if you only had your original you would have been out there tinkering with the carb not talking about giving up on it. se how the game changes when you have a backup player


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Great news Scot!!

Awesome machine right there! ^^^^

(_if you ever do decide to paint it, I have some leftover *Toro-red*  from my rebuild_)

kidding aside, I wouldn't change a thing...perfect indeed!


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

well, I never intended to give up on the machine itself, only the carb! 
and I only "gave up" that one day because it was about +10F (negative 12C) out! 
and my workshop is my driveway!

yes, I did want to chuck the carb..but I thought that was the only reasonable option at the time..
I thought I knew enough about carb adjustments, I had been fiddling with it for years..
turns out I knew less than I thought I did!  
It was a case of "you don't know what you don't know.."

Scot


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

my workshop is my driveway also the trunk of the convertible or the hood of the hatchback is the bench. last week while blowing snow with the ccr 3000E a couple bolts that hold one of the paddles on came out, it was nice to be able to put it aside and get the 521E to finish up. we went into the deep freeze after that and it was too cold to put the paddle back on so I know what you mean about that


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## WestminsterFJR (Dec 30, 2013)

Nice additions, Scot! Glad to hear you got the carb issue sorted out.


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