# Craftsman II 11/30 C950-52730-7 Build



## Craftsman2 (Oct 12, 2020)

So I found this guy for $50. Lots of little things broken but very little rust so I took a chance. Gonna fix her up and give to my Brother-in-law for his birthday.
















The engine fires and dies. It sounds strong so I will dive in and repair this baby. I have a spare Oregon 50-659 carb. I’ll replace the carb, gas tank and fuel line. Will add missing electric starter too. Gonna rebuild eng in the Spring when I do my machine.









The biggest problem is the 2 tabs on the chassis that are broken off. Maybe it fell backwards on its handlebars or the PO hit it with his car . The tabs are still attached to the handles so I will weld them back into place. PO ran a threaded rod through the chassis but the handlebars hang too low. Don’t know how he was running like that.









Ball joint on shift lever is broken and arm is bent (I guess to accommodate the lowered handlebars). Ball joint ordered and a quick yank of the arm in a vice straightened it out.









Auger idler pulley flanges have been hacked off for some reason. New pulley ordered.









Chute rotating assembly mangled and MacGyvered. Will replace rings and box.









There were no retaining rings on the axle so it moves wildly from side to side. Chain was off. Will order axle ret rings, washers and wheel brgs (lots of play).









_Chain was speared and one wheel was locked 







_

There are a lot of nice things about this machine. Scraper and skids look like it has seen very light duty. The gearbox grease is clean and full. The impeller turns freely with absolutely no wobble. Belts are good. Tires come off easily and hold air. Very little rust that I will touch up with some spare green paint I have lying around. AND NO MOUSE NESTS. The plan is to get this baby in top shape for under $300.


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

That vintage of Craftsman were well built machines and sold very well. There are dozens of them for sale on FB and Kijiji at any given time, usually for a reasonable price.
That one has had a hard life, hopefully you can get her running and operating well without getting in too deep $$. 

You must like your BIL more than I like mine


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i don't know about that Ziggy. pretty sure these were the ones that replaced the well built machines. they are still very readily available used but quality seems questionable. i got one that broke in half and then saw someone on here who had to completely dismantle the tractor so they could press something back into place and re-weld it. 

too bad you didn't live a bit closer. i got a parts machine that you could have had cheap. definitely make sure the welds on the bucket mounts are good. that is what failed on the machine i had. i got to strip what i think i will use and send the rest to scrap. it was a pretty nice clean looking machine and at 1 point i was considering fixing it but ending up deciding to use parts off it to fix a nicer machine that a neighbor gave me.


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## Craftsman2 (Oct 12, 2020)

crazzywolfie said:


> i don't know about that Ziggy. pretty sure these were the ones that replaced the well built machines. they are still very readily available used but quality seems questionable. i got one that broke in half and then saw someone on here who had to completely dismantle the tractor so they could press something back into place and re-weld it.
> 
> too bad you didn't live a bit closer. i got a parts machine that you could have had cheap. definitely make sure the welds on the bucket mounts are good. that is what failed on the machine i had. i got to strip what i think i will use and send the rest to scrap. it was a pretty nice clean looking machine and at 1 point i was considering fixing it but ending up deciding to use parts off it to fix a nicer machine that a neighbor gave me.


Thanks for the tip on the bucket welds. It looks good so far. But I agree that the quality was starting to slide around these years. i.e the entirely plastic chute crank assy.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

welds might look good but the metal right beside it could be failing. i swear they got lazy when they build these. they even have holes in the brackets drilled but they only welded the inner edge. the whole bracket just broke free on the 1 side.


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## Craftsman2 (Oct 12, 2020)

Thanks for the visual. I will keep an eye on this area. I rocked the machine back on it's wheels about 1/2 inch and dropped it a couple of times. The bucket is not flexing. I hope it makes it through the winter. I'll bolt it together if it detaches.

Right side looks nicer than the left.


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## Craftsman2 (Oct 12, 2020)

Well I got it all together awhile back and she fired up great and ran smooth. But after a few minutes a flame appeared in the muffler. So the engine is on the bench with the head off. I got .008 gap on the intake and .007 on the exhaust valve. Waiting for a gasket set and gonna grind valves. Looks like this is gonna be a Xmas present for the bro-in-law.


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

I don't remember if this was previously posted or not.Parts list for your machine-
C950-52730-7.pdf - Google Drive


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## Craftsman2 (Oct 12, 2020)

Yes I have this document - Thank you. Gasket set on back order.


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## dhazelton (Dec 8, 2014)

I have an 8.5 hp Craftsman that I picked up for $40 at my local scrap yard. It looked pretty much new, but after starting it it was apparent the gearbox had been trashed. I got new gears, gasket, grease, shear pins, had to straighten and weld the impeller, the plastic pieces that hold the auger shaft were cracked etc. My axle went back and forth like crazy too and the drive chain would come off. I realigned it and measured for pipe spacers to go between the wheels and the body of the tractor. I saw no provision for any way to keep the axle in a static position. Parts just fall off this thing, the little winged nuts for the air cleaner housing vibrate out, the grips on the levers and handles slide off.....I don't like that the auger won't lock into the on position when the drive is going like on my Honda. But I have maybe $120 into this blower and it handled 18-24 inches of snow just fine after getting all the bugs worked out - the 8.5 hp Briggs is plenty powerful.


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