# My 100$ Craftsman adventure



## patthesoundguy (Jan 5, 2016)

Almost three years ago I decided to give myself a challenge... How cheap could I buy a snowblower in September and make it run and do the job. Found a 1982 Craftsman and had it running tip top with new belts, a spare carb kit, a points cleaning and a spring! Used it almost two winters and it rocked! Until last Feb.where it thew the rod! You can see the beast ready to do battle on the carry rack last winter. Well I do have a entire spare machine of the same model and year to swap the motor from but I wanted a new machine. All hope wasn't lost for this blower. I got a new Honda clone 6.5hp motor for 150$ tax in at Princess auto. It bolted on perfectly! Man I love how this machine works now! Starts on the first pull every time blows snow like crazy! Here is my YouTube video about the swap https://youtu.be/hy6xo_owyPU hard to believe I'm still not over $300 yet for the whole thing. Hard to to buy a used machine that works this good for $300


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## patthesoundguy (Jan 5, 2016)

Here is the machine the day before it thew the rod.


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## Bob Cat (Jul 15, 2014)

Good stuff! I was wondering if you removed the air filter. It seems to me you should to prevent clogging.


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

hey Pat, i inadvertently ended up in a similar situation. saw an old ariens on kijiji this summer for$20 firm, blown engine. looked at it , handed the guy a $20 and i was the proud new owner of a machine in need of at least an engine. got the 208cc from princess auto , probably during the same sale as you got yours ! a few mods and the engine was mounted. add in a few spray bombs to freshen it up, a homemade driftcutter/light bar and a pkg of " miners" lights from costco.....all adds up to a perfectly usable machine for under $275. i did have to replace the roll pins in the impeller after the last storm tho, that was another couple $$. 
BobCat, i added a small shield above the carb linkages to keep snow out, but kept the air filter in. might have experienced some icing on the linkages, but no sign of any issue with the filter.


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## patthesoundguy (Jan 5, 2016)

I will be adding a shield to protect the throttle linkage as well and a shield for the the pull start assembly


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## patthesoundguy (Jan 5, 2016)

I also want to paint the entire machine the se blue as the motor I think it would look sharp


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

patthesoundguy said:


> I also want to paint the entire machine the se blue as the motor I think it would look sharp


It would look like a yammy from the distance!  Nice job!


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## patthesoundguy (Jan 5, 2016)

I was thinking it would look like a Yamaha which would be cool. I'm a Honda guy with all of my scooters and bikes , maybe I should paint the motor covers red and the blower to match lol


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## lsettle (Dec 30, 2015)

Pat,

I hope you made another youtube video this morning of you using your "new" snowblower!

Lawrence
Dartmouth, NS


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## guyl (Jun 12, 2016)

Value-wise, In 1982 I bought a used 27 inch/ 5 hp snowblower for $225 and it served me well (although too small/underpowered) for the following 25 years, replacing only the friction disk twice.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

patthesoundguy said:


> I also want to paint the entire machine the se blue as the motor I think it would look sharp



Summer is here and the time is right.
How is the paint job coming along?


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