# Dynamark Luminaire 8/26 3-stage fixer upper- need parts



## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

well I went and did it and bought another machine. I always wanted one of those old 3 stage machines like the Craftsman Drift Breaker, they just look so cool with the headlights and upper auger. One came up for sale on the net, I called and the must have been at just the right time, he said come get it you can have it for $50, the wife wants it out of here. It was a 200 mile round trip but all highway and the cup of coffee I bought here, I finished just as I pulled in his driveway.

It's a Dynamark Luminaire 8/26 3-stage, by what I glean, made by the old AMF corp ? It's got an 8HP HM80 Tecumseh date coded 1973. I had wanted a GEAR DRIVE and minimum 10HP like the Craftsman, but had to settle for this friction drive and 8HP. the price was right and it was an easy fetch, country area with no traffic. the most enjoyable ride going to get a machine I ever had.

I need a BOTTOM PLATE COVER for the traction part of the machine, this is the angled piece of sheetmetal that covers the bottom and angles up in the back. Also need one headlight but that is probably be a common easy to get part from a bulb vendor.

also need a lower chute tube, but I think I found one already...the part where the sprocket turns the chute has a square cut out of it and jams

this machine has a million miles on it ! the bearings on the cross shaft in back are beginning to wear oval. The friction disk is also pretty beat up. I found those bearings and friction disk online for dirt cheap, NOS, $5 each, lucked out. 

all the pins that held gears or bearings in place, have been removed and the previous owner put nuts/bolts or other odd pieces of metal in the holes to hold it. the original owner bought this snowblower, a tractor, and tiller all at the same time and had them his entire life. then he sold them to this other guy.

the engine had spark. the gas was sour. I cleaned the carb out but it still gave me problems, turns out the float is sunk and leaks. there was gas inside the float, but no visible holes. I drilled a hole in it, drained it, resoldered the hole,and soldered another area that may have been leaking, but the float still won't hold steady and the idle goes all over, it's too rich. so I have to buy a kit for this one.

it had one flat tire that leaked on the bead and needed a valve stem, I put the new stem, sanded the bead, and cleaned it, and the tire is fixed.

anyone has parts let me know. pics and reclamation process videos to follow ! hopefully I'll get this one done before the snow flies.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

*parts machine $50 yee-haw*

Dream Team USA Jordan fades...


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

pulls up for the jumper ....


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

and SCORES !!!


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

this machine had everything the Luminaire needed....the hub pawl and pawl springs assemblies, greased and preserved....the chute assembly...and the bottom cover...

I'm taking the friction disc tension springs for good measure...

if God made anything better than made in USA vintage machinery, He kept if for Himself !!

on a more sober note...where will the Chinese made machines be, 46 years from now ?

is buying a Lowe's, Home Depot, or Walmart machine this challenging, or as much fun ? 

I say that because this machine was made in 1968. the new Chicom junk doesn't last 10 years....


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Now.... Next time we see it we want to see a fully functional machine ready to blow snow.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

well you haven't seen the main project machine in this thread yet, it's a Luminaire i.e. same machine but with HM80 8HP Tec engine, and headlights/grill. I just haven't taken pics of it yet....it's stored at my other location and I didn't have the camera there to take pics yet.

the engine had a plugged carb, and it's the type of problem carb that you have to drill out the idle jet passage plug, to poke the idle jet open. it was plugged up but good. Now I have to reseal the carb, may have to get it TIG welded where I had to grind it for access to the passage.

that's the problem with the old Tec carbs, they have a sealed hidden idle jet passage. when it gets plugged you can put kits in and soak it and new float/needle/seat until **** won't have it, and it still won't run right

this carb needed to go under the knife !!


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

I just went through your stable... Quite a list of good old iron there.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

yes and all obtained for a song, on a whim, almost by mistake....I like it that way. it's like getting those machines by fate and destiny...

oddly enough I was compelled to sell off the newest 5Hp Craftsman track machine I had, before even trying it. the chute just seemed so thin and the shoes were already rusted out, even though it was a 1990's model. it just didn't seem to fit into place in company of those other machines, like a red haired, freckle faced kid....


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

greatwhitebuffalo said:


> like a red haired, freckle faced kid....


OH GREAT, now your making fun out of "Howdy Doody".


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

just a figure of speech
but howdy doody...I never did watch that show. it was before my time....it ended in 1960.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

the wheel lock pawls and springs have been swapped over to the Luminaire, it was too easy. also swapped over the snow chute, as the Lum. had the center stationary dog tab/that rides under the rim broken off. it made the chute difficult to rotate. 

this Lum. had one flat tire, that simply would NOT seal, it had McCreary tubeless tires. something told me just put a tube in it, but the stem was leaking so I tried a new stem. I changed the stem, then the damned bead leaked. wire wheeled the bead, had the tire shop pump it up with bead sealer on the rim, next day it was FLAT. the new stem leaked because it had rust around the stem hole. cut the stem off again, and cleaned around the stem hole, and put a 2nd stem in- next day tire is flat AGAIN. the bead started leaking again even though it had bead sealer. that was it, I bought a tube and put that in- fixed it. 

the flat tire was the hardest thing to fix on this entire machine so far.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

*it runs*

I took the black plastic cap from an old Sharpie marker, and cut the clip off it, and cut a piece to fit the grind mark in the carb that was ground for access to the idle jet. Super glued it in, let it sit overnight. 

it fixed the carb and it's running for now. the Luminaire lives, fired it up today. I may have to fix that carb better in the future but good to know it was only the carb.

changed the plug to an RJ19LM and it started easier too.

only one headlight works, will have to get one somewhere.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

got the augers turning on this, lubed the chain, filled the auger box with gear oil (it was down quite a bit on oil). one thing about these 3 stage machines, they are NOISY. noticeably noisier than a 2 stage with the extra auger and drive chain.

also got the 4 forward gears but reverse was a little lazy, the disc location had to be adjusted, and it's going to need that friction disc changed.

the engine started with one pull, then stalled, and took a few pulls to get started again.

noticed when going from idle to wide open throttle, at about half throttle the engine hesitates and belches out some grey smoke occasionally. it doesn't do it every time, but about 1/3 of the time going from idle to wot.

considering the friction disc is worn down over half way, and the bushings in the tractor shafts are worn oval, and I'm seeing some grey smoke once in a while, this one probably is going to need rings, or valve guides, or both, i.e. this one may need a partial rebuild to be useable.

it will sit and idle with no smoke, and sit at WOT with no smoke, but when changing from idle to WOT it occasionally belches enough smoke momentarily that it stalls. 

looks like a rush of oil into the chamber is putting the spark out.

the carb is working but not as well as other Tec. engines on my other 3 machines. I'm epoxying the carb idle access hole now with gas tank 2 part epoxy, but have a spare carb core located to replace it just in case.

stay tuned, going to change the friction disc out, and try the repaired carb again later this week.

when you see oval worn bushings in the tractor shafts, and a worn friction disc, be prepared that the machine had a ton of hard miles on it, and probably needs an engine job too ! fortunately these one-lungers are pretty easy to re-ring...


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## GtWtNorth (Feb 5, 2014)

Nice, I just love those headlights, inspirational.

Cheers
Paul


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

man was this thing smoked...changed the friction disk today being I got one on the cheap NOS. the old one was starting to get close to the platter and was about 1/2 gone. 

got the airbox cover back on the carb, and the bottom cover on the tractor. 

those friction discs are not easy to change on this machine. there is an aluminum connecting rod, from the slider bar to the friction disc bearing, and it's not easy to get that connecting rod loose. I had to drive a screwdriver in there to get it apart, and remove the 3 tension springs, then release the clutch and wiggle it off its mounts. it took a lot longer than expected.

resealed the carb grind hole on the idle jet circuit with steel stick gas tank repair, let it sit overnight to dry, and it worked. that stuff does not set in one hour as advertised, it had to sit overnight to harden up. idle is even better and the engine rpms up smoother.

the smoke is beginning to disappear and is almost all gone ! maybe the guy that owned this never changed the oil, or was one of those "Quaker State" guys who used nondetergent oil. it appears the rings are loosening up and the engine is running better. the rings may just have been stuck from sitting, that is a common malady with any engine that sits a long time, with no oil changes.

have to find one headlight for the machine, anyone have leads on a source for headlight bulbs for a good price ? one light is cracked and doesn't work.

the impeller/impeller pulley/auger gearbox has a very slight wobble, similar to what the Gilson 55102 had when I first got it. the impeller shaft may be slightly bent, or perhaps it needs an impeller bearing. the main augers had harden ALLEN BOLTS with nuts instead of shear bolts.... they must have been hitting things and breaking them often and decided to never break them again ? not a good idea because then expensive hard to find parts get broken instead. I removed the allen bolts and will install shear pins tomorrow.

oiled the chain and tightened it up more and the augers are running much quieter now.

the idler pulley on the belt was rusted up and came free with some PB blaster. also oiled the impeller bearing from the top with synthetic oil

am in process of locating a carb control plate and new governor spring and headlight, then it should be ready to go. if the snow doesn't fly too soon, I may get around to replacing the outer bushings in the tractor axle and cross shaft.

this baby is ready to rock ! it would blow snow as is now but the grill/headlights are removed for changing the light. pics and vid to follow


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

I'm storing this machine at my Mom's to do the driveway, she gets plowed in BIG TIME every year and I got stuck there once with the car when visiting... 
today I checked the Dyna, pulled the starter recoil very slowly twice just to prime it, the second time it grabbed my hand and almost started barely pulling it.
next pull varoom...it was running....this sucker wants to GO !! patched up carb and all.
hopefully there will be a big 2 foot drift plowed in across the driveway top again this year, so I can drive the 3 stage bucket into it, wide open...I'm actually looking forward to it...
afterall, I gots $110 hard earned bucks into this machine, that's a big investment (sic)... and want to get my money's worth out of it...


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

it got colder today so what was left of Wednesday's snow firmed up. the ground also froze. so I tried this machine at my Mom's on a gravel driveway.

wow, this thing is a monster. I had the chute adjusted to max height. it picked up some stones left in the snow from people shoveling, and I saw a spark coming out of the chute from a stone. but it just kept churning along.

tested it at night and the headlights are AWESOME. after using this machine I'd highly recommend headlights or at last ONE light. great option.

I went into a higher pile of what I thought was snow, turned out to be a few small pine tree branch pieces someone had put there, then snowed on. it chewed them up like nothing. like a mulcher. wow.

then it sucked in a bigger stone that was in the pile, jammed the impeller, and stalled the machine. I got a steel bar, and tapped the impeller to rotate it, and the stone fell free. it was jammed between an impeller blade and the housing.

the machine fired right back up, and kept going. didn't faze it. no distortion in housing at all. I'm IMPRESSED. this machine is tough.

can't wait until we get some deep snow to try it in. this one is a keeper ! it looked really cool with the 2 headlights blazing away in the darkness.

traction was really good and it didn't have chains on. but I will put some on for a big storm.

it doesn't throw really far, but far enough. I may try one of those impeller kits on it.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

when a 3-stage Luminaire speaks, people listen....










 
she's good to go...


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## Jeff R. (Feb 14, 2014)

This was an awesome thread to follow. I joined this forum to gain assistance on how to work on my non adjustable carb n my 10HP Troy bilt, and have corrected my issues. I now want to look for an old iron snowblower to restore and work.

Thanks for sharing with us.


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## Marce (Dec 31, 2014)

Hello
I just found an AMF of the same vintage that I am currently restoring and I am unable to take the wheel hub apart. What is the trick?
Thank you


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

late reply sorry I didn't see this. the center anchor assembly on the axle can get seized on there. spray it up with PB blaster, then tap it off with a hammer and drift, or pry it off with a crowbar.

if they haven't been greased they can be stuck on there.


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