# What's collectable?



## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

Now that I've been a man of leisure for a few years and we've moved to a new house that doesn't need to be worked on all the time my honey do list is non-existent. She, who must obeyed, is busy renewing old acquaintanceship's in her home town and I have more than enough time to take on another restoration. The old John Deere runs like a top and won't get much use, the Toro single stage needs a little TLC and it will be good for years.
I'm starting to see ads for snowblowers more often. People in this area seem to plan ahead.
Soooo.... My question is what's a desirable collectable to restore? I saw an old Craftsman for sale at a garage sale, a Bolens on Craigslist and something with stacked augers by the side of the road.
Any suggestions would greatly appreciated.


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## tdipaul (Jul 11, 2015)

There are four "collectibles" that I'd want if I was in the same position...

1. Any JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) or post "Canada-only" YAMAHA that has found its way here,

2. A Toro PowerMax TE726 or 6000 because it is the only two-stager with a 2-stroke engine EVER and it was only in production for ~2 years. 

3. The last generation of a Gravely walk behind (like a Pro 16) with the MA-210 Snow Blower attachment. They really wont make anything as heavy duty as this ever again. 

4. And possibly the previous version of the 1332 Honda because it was so influential and so bad ass 

If bought right, all will appreciate to some degree if kept in excellent cosmetic and working condition 

There's some great stuff from the 60's and 70's too but IMO the rare/unique/influential MODERN equipment will have greater appeal to the future generations.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

In my opinion, there is really no such thing as a collectable snowblower..because the market is so small that statistically speaking, it doesn't exist! 

Yes, there are people who collect snowblowers, but they are unbelieveilably rare..we get a false sense of the market in this forum, because we are all here together in one place  so it seems like there are a lot of us..but in the real world, there are virtually none of us..

And another problem: snowblowers can't realistically be shipped.. 99.9% of used snowblower sales are "local pickup only"..how many times have you read on this forum, when a cool snowblower is for sale, "I wished I lived closer"? If you are selling a mint vintage snowblower in Boston, the one guy who really wants it is in Wisconsin..meanwhile 99% of people looking for a used snowblower in Boston don't know or care what it is..they would never want a 40 year old snowblower..its way too old for them..that 5 year old MTD that came from Walmart looks better to them..

And another probem:  used snowblowers are reeeeally common, but "collectors" are very rare...supply is high, demand is low = value is low. 

Imo, just collect what you like, and don't even consider any future "collector value" in the equation..because most likely, there won't be any..

Scot


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Hey Scot,
How about a 1960 Ariens, if he can find one........? :blush::blush:


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

hsblowersfan said:


> Hey Scot,
> How about a 1960 Ariens, if he can find one........? :blush::blush:


Yeah, that's a cool one! And very rare..but again, they are virtually worthless in monitary value, because the people who know what they are and actually want one are virtually non-existant.

If I saw an opearting 1960 Ariens on my local Rochester NY craigslist, its pretty much guarenteed I would be the one and only person locally who would want it! Value is $50 to $100..even with it being super-rare and the "first Ariens"..

There is a veeeeeeery tiny market for such machines..and you can't put them on ebay and offer them up to everyone in the world..your market size is local only, which means you might not find an interested buyer at all...the two guys who want it live 5 states away and will never even see your local craigslist ad..or you could list it for sale here, then they will see it, but sadly reply "wish I lived closer"

Yeah, a 1960 Ariens is a cool choice! It will make you the envy of several of us here in this forum..but even then, there is still no "collector value" to speak of, not in a monitary sense...this is a hobby you have to do only if you enjoy it..you or your heirs will never make any money off it.

Scot


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## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

Thanks for the insight guys. I'm not looking to collect a snowblower with an eye to it's future value actually. I'm interested more in having something different and unique. I like the idea of the Toro 2 stroke "tdipaul" pointed out and even a Yamaha because you just don't see them. You've probably heard of grey market cars or bikes, the Yamaha would be like that I imagine.
At any rate you're right "sscotsman", back in the day I'd jump in the van and drive 1000 miles to pick up some basket case of a bike before there were many companies shipping cars and bikes. While it's possible to find companies willing to crate up and ship lawn tractors and snowblowers it's probably prohibitively expensive. At any rate I'll look around and see which way the wind blows, one last road trip might be possible. I'm not as good as I once was but I'm as good once as I ever was!
PS: any body got a picture of the previous version of the 1332 Honda?


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## tdipaul (Jul 11, 2015)




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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Here is another HS1332 pic










:blowerhug:


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

stromr said:


> I'm interested more in having something different and unique.


check out the snowbirds! different, unique, and quite rare..and they have a certain undefinable "coolness factor"
Snowbird Snowblowers

The old Homkos are interesting..early 60's, (some probably date to the late 50's) primitive, often said to be the very first Craftsman snowblower:
1963 Homko Snow Thrower - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information

1950's snowblowers are fun..rare and interesting..if you havent seen it yet, check out Pete's Gilson page!
The Gilson Snowblower Shop's Vintage Machine Showcase

I have always liked the Toro powerhandle..it has other attachments besides the snowblower:
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh227/spectrum_pb/snowvintage/oldest.jpg

Scot


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## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

how about an '87 Honda HS55 snowblower, looks like a baby 1332?


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## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

"1950's snowblowers are fun..rare and interesting..if you havent seen it yet, check out Pete's Gilson page!
The Gilson Snowblower Shop's Vintage Machine Showcase"

thanks Scot, a wealth of info there!


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

stromr said:


> how about an '87 Honda HS55 snowblower, looks like a baby 1332?


It kind of does.
I have 2 and I've also had a hs80, the main difference is the transmission, HS50, HS55, HS70 and HS80 have a friction disc transmission. HS624, HS724, HS828, HS928, HS1132 and HS1332 have Hydrostatic ("automatic") transmissions.
Also the newer honda HSS series is fitted with a Hydrostatic transmission (completely different that the HS type).
There is also the HS622 (I had one) which does not have any belts, the engine is in line with a mechanical transmission and the impeller shaft. I has two forward gears and reverse, the gear and impeller auger operations are controlled by wet clutches inside the transmission.
For the older HSXX series a lot of parts are NLA.

:blowerhug:

HS622 (later Canadian model)


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

I am also a fan of older Yamahas, YS828 is a pretty good blower (if you get a lot of snow), but my favorite is a Yamaha YS240 (Ricky). I believe is from the early 90's, it has some cool features that include vertical shaft engine, no belts, "automatic" type transmission (from what I have read it is like a Hydrostatic type but it is not hydrostatic), turn key start with an on board 12v battery, electric chute turning control.

This is a Yamaha YS240 (Ricky)










The down side just like with older Honda HSXX is that a lot of parts are NLA for them.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

I'm still in search of a toro snowhound 25, snowhound 20's can be found pretty easy 25's well that's a different story. looks like i'll have to make a road trip if one surfaces out of state. it is only valuable to me


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## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

a lot of great ideas! the thought of no belts and different kinds of trannys is cool. something will turn up. with my background in motorcycling Hondas and Yamahas would fit right in. as far as parts NLA I'm not too worried as this wouldn't be for regular use, if a part was hard to come by it wouldn't matter.
After reading thru the Gilson Shop pages I realized there's a whole more out there than I thought, no problemo! I got nothing but time!
Gotta go, "she, who must obeyed" is barkin' about something!
Thanks again for all the info.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

detdrbuzzard said:


> I'm still in search of a toro snowhound 25, snowhound 20's can be found pretty easy 25's well that's a different story. looks like i'll have to make a road trip if one surfaces out of state. it is only valuable to me



I'm still lookin' for ya. Like you say the 20's pop up now and then but still waiting on that elusive 25". Haven't come across even one of them yet.

I need to get going on my Mitsubishi powered Toro Powershift. Never did find a source for a headgasket so I guess I'll be making one myself. :[email protected]:


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I need to get going on my Mitsubishi powered Toro Powershift. Never did find a source for a headgasket so I guess I'll be making one myself. :[email protected]:


So, what you have is actually a prototype.....! :blush::blush:

Do you have more pictures of the engine?
What's the displacement of it?
It kind of looks like a metal tank type Yamaha, by looking at the recoil and fuel tank, maybe you can try one of them? :blush::blush:


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I am enjoying this topic and thread very much, I find my self checking in several times a day. Thanks to all .


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## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

Whoa! A prototype snowblower! How cool is that!!! Talk about rare, I had no idea what I started, anybody else got any thing like this?


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

The HS1332TA _is_ bad ass. It is the ubiquitous machine at most ski resorts in the Sierras.


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

I'm liking the sounds of the double auger like a Motomower, Lombard or a few others.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Spectrum said:


> I'm liking the sounds of the double auger like a Motomower, Lombard or a few others.


You mean one like this.... :blush::blush::blush:

1964 Moto-Mower Snow Shark Snowblower

For some reason I can NOT copy and paste the pictures.....


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## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

*Simplicity Sno Away*

saw this on Rochester Craigslist


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

hsblowersfan said:


> You mean one like this.... :blush::blush::blush:
> 
> 1964 Moto-Mower Snow Shark Snowblower
> 
> For some reason I can NOT copy and paste the pictures.....


The reason for not been able to copy and paste pictures turned out to be my "new" chrome browser, went back to mozilla, and everything works now...!

Seems like the _snow shark blower_ was SOLD though, ad is gone.....! :blush::blush:


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

stromr said:


> saw this on Rochester Craigslist


What year do we think that is...?


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## stromr (Jul 20, 2016)

haven't got a clue! here's the link if you want to see more.

Simplicity snowblower / snow blower - antique, steel wheels

I was wondering if the engine was original


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

Great post Scot. 



sscotsman said:


> In my opinion, there is really no such thing as a collectable snowblower..because the market is so small that statistically speaking, it doesn't exist!
> 
> Yes, there are people who collect snowblowers, but they are unbelieveilably rare..we get a false sense of the market in this forum, because we are all here together in one place  so it seems like there are a lot of us..but in the real world, there are virtually none of us..
> 
> ...


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