# Restored Gilson 55012 two stage monster



## GAR (Nov 7, 2014)

Just completed putting her back together today, my Gilson 55012 two stage Snwblower. It appears to be taged from the 70s. I picked this up on Craigslist for $50 in rough shape, all the parts were on it thankfully but she had not been used in years. Anyways I took my time and tore the hole machine down and cleaned, fixed and replaced....Then stripped the old paint, premiered and re-painted using an automotive grade paint so it will stand up to being used.

I did not return it back to its origanl colors and wanted to know what everyone thought of it....I think she looks good, I am going to put some reflector tape on a few spot on her but other than that I think it's done.....


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## GAR (Nov 7, 2014)

Another shot of my Gilson 8/28. And like I said above, I would like anyone and alls opinion on the colors and restore quality that I did...This red I used did not look this dark when I was choosing the color but when I started shooting it I was a little disappointed.....But now that's it's all back together it's starting to grow on me.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

Yeah looks good. TORO colors I see. a bit of advice. use stainless steel bolts for the skids. that way they never rot on there.k:k:k:k:k:


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

no point use an angle grinder to cut through the bolts


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## Rob711 (Feb 5, 2015)

That looks really good, nice work


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

You've done a very nice job on a fine old school machine. It should last you many years. Give yourself one atttboy!:wavetowel2:


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## GtWtNorth (Feb 5, 2014)

Yes you did a great job on it and any suggestions people might have would be based on their different tastes only!
My $0.02, replace the nuts & bolts you painted that are visible with chrome or stainless to accent the red (that's what I'm going to do with my 924050 refurb). Maybe a little pin striping just to accent the red.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

The reason for the stainless steel is so you can unbolt and bolt back on stuff without having to find or buy replacement hardware.
Grinder works great to take off rusted stuff but why not prevent it from happening in the first place and it also is a nice touch against all the work painting something to see shiny fasteners.

What drives me crazy is seeing a 2, 3 or 4 year old car here in the north (winter road salt) that costs 40-50 or more thousand dollars and there are rust streaks down the license plate because they are using the OEM bolts.
Not only is stainless cheap but if you've ever encountered a rusted in license plate bolt .... not something a grinder is going to fix.


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## lee h (Jan 18, 2015)

Nice resto, Looks really great. Gives me more
inspiration for my upcoming JD 1032 project.


Lee


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## WeldyWeldyFace (Sep 17, 2015)

Looks great!


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

Very nice! It looks sharp in those colors! Let me know if you'd like to have it be a feature on my restorations page.

Pete


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## GAR (Nov 7, 2014)

Pete, I would be honored to have my old girl on your restoration page. This is one of 3 Gilson's I own and I have learned a lot from your webpages and the snowblowersforum pages on how they are supposed to look and how to fix them. I did everything on this restoration myself and by hand. No sandblaster, just chemicals, wire brush and sandpaper. All engine work done by me in my garage. I have done a few restorations before this one and I learn on each one how to do it better. I learned the hard way about paint quality and what not to use anymore. This Gilson was painted in my garage by me with automotive paint and the engine with a high temp semi-flat engine enamel....now all I need is a snowstorm with accumulation of 10 inches or more. Can't wait to see this old girl blowing snow again, Michigan is still warm and green......But not for long...lol, thanks again for everyone's coments on this post.


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## WisconsinDave (Feb 24, 2014)

Congrats on the build!


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## Bob Cat (Jul 15, 2014)

Top shelf !


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## GAR (Nov 7, 2014)

I forgot to add a picture of what this old Gilson looked like before it was restored. I was lucky to find it in this shape, many machines of this age have a lot more rust on them. The rust that was on this old girl was hidden under many layers of old paint.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

looks great, nice paint job. I may have painted the handle bar and upright from the frame white just to break it up a bit. I have a mid 60's gilson/montgomery ward 5/24 that i picked up in the spring with a bad engine but otherwise in great shape except for the faded paint for 10 dollars that i plan to restore the fall or next spring depending on how my projects in front it work out. 


Carl


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

GAR said:


> Another shot of my Gilson 8/28. And like I said above, I would like anyone and alls opinion on the colors and restore quality that I did...This red I used did not look this dark when I was choosing the color but when I started shooting it I was a little disappointed.....But now that's it's all back together it's starting to grow on me.



nice job. just finding a 55012 and getting it running is an accomplishment.
there is a tendency to over-restore anything old.
if you actually use it, al that niceness is not going to last anyway
I don't repaint my old machines. there's a tendency to get carried away
yours does look very nicely done. great work !
another old Gilson is growling again


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

GAR said:


> I forgot to add a picture of what this old Gilson looked like before it was restored. I was lucky to find it in this shape, many machines of this age have a lot more rust on them. The rust that was on this old girl was hidden under many layers of old paint.



that's actually minty compared to the one I had shipped in.
mine had 6 bee nests in it, attesting to sitting outside for 6 years.
they are one bear of a machine.


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## Chrysler 340 (Oct 10, 2015)

Nice restoration on all of your machines.


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## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

Looks great.


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