# Amf polar bear



## Jb805 (Dec 6, 2015)

I'm in ct, and just aquired one of these awesome machines off of craigslist. Was wondering if anybody from ct or around the area, has or knows anybody who has parts or a parts machine? Thanks


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

This is a "Must Have Pictures".


Would also be helpful if you posted your machines model number.


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

Could this be the original drift buster?

Agreed, we need some pictures.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Found a photo of one on line. It was for sale up here in MN back in '13.

My drift buster was a Noma made for Craftsman. Not sure if the AMF is the same machine or just similar. If the same would be interesting to find out who made it first.

One thing I noticed is that the AMF has round discs on it's drift breaker shaft where mine uses a rectangular bars.










I still think the Jeri Jaw II has them both beat for looking mean. Almost had one but it got away. Still have my eyes out for one.


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> My drift buster was a Noma made for Craftsman. Not sure if the AMF is the same machine or just similar. If the same would be interesting to find out who made it first.


While i'm not positive, I thought AMF sold their snowblower line to Noma. Note they both use the 536 part number prefix at Sears. May not mean anything, but I thought it did.
Craftsman OEM List | VintageMachinery.org


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

Found this at Pete's site.
The Gilson Snowblower Shop's Vintage Machine Showcase


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Jb805 said:


> I'm in ct, and just aquired one of these awesome machines off of craigslist. Was wondering if anybody from ct or around the area, has or knows anybody who has parts or a parts machine? Thanks


If yours is similar to what Kiss4afrog's picture, check out units like Craftsman 536.90515 for parts. AMF and Noma were acquired at one time by Murray and some of their designs were incorporated.

One thing that may help on parts. The hardest to find was a friction disc. The center opening and bolt pattern were impossible to find. I found one from a Toro that was the right diameter and width but those holes were wrong. I chucked the replacement in a metal lathe and opened up the center hole. Put it on the hub and marked and drilled out the screw holes to fit. Ended up working fine for me.


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## Jb805 (Dec 6, 2015)

Thanks guys for the info. Going to bed now, but will get the serial number tommorrow.


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## Jb805 (Dec 6, 2015)

Also would like to ad that the blower was repowered with a 5 hp tecumseh out of a yard machines blower. Haven't gotten any snow yet, so haven't been able to test her. Wondering and hoping the 5hp will be sufficient enough. If not, what motors do you guys recommend? Thanks again. This is a great forum.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Jb805 said:


> Also would like to ad that the blower was repowered with a 5 hp tecumseh out of a yard machines blower. Haven't gotten any snow yet, so haven't been able to test her. Wondering and hoping the 5hp will be sufficient enough. If not, what motors do you guys recommend? Thanks again. This is a great forum.


A lot depends on whether you have a single shaft or dual shaft engine. Tecumseh had dual shaft engines up to 8 HP for sure (I have a parts one with a blown case), but they are very hard to find. If it's a twin shaft, you may not find anything bigger than your current 5 HP as they're hard to find. If it's a single shaft, most of the 3 stage units I've seen and owned are 7-10 HP engines. Most likely a 7 (including some of the clone engines) would fit well but you likely will need to get different pulleys due to shaft size and maybe rework some of the controls etc. Anything in the Tecumseh 7-10 HP typically have the same footprint so they pretty much interchange. You will have to deal with a different bolt pattern than your current 5 hp.

Thing is, if you increase the engine size, you'll find the weakspot in your blower first so watch what you do.

good luck.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

the last post on *THIS* thread has the URL of a scanned user/parts manual:

Or just use this: *http://wcbyers.com/resources/AMF_Polar_Bear_Model_1362.pdf*


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

That machine sure looks older than my Craftsman.

How wide is the bucket on your Polar Bear ?? That makes a difference on what HP would be acceptable if you're thinking of re-powering.

If you do re-power you might also want to consider going with a Predator. Wouldn't be a direct bolt on but there are numerous how to's from other guy in the re-power section that have done it.


When you get a chance how about some better shots of it in daylight ??
Looks to be in pretty good shape.


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## Jb805 (Dec 6, 2015)

Thanks dB that was perfect

It's a 26 inch wide bucket kiss, here are some more pics

And it's a single shaft tecumseh, which basically made me want to switch that much more. I'll run it when the snow comes, and I will just have to see. Predator swap is my top choice.

This is the model number


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## sidegrinder (Apr 18, 2015)

I have a complete parts machine here (white and red like the pic on page 1), what are you looking for?


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Opps, tried to consolidate all the posts.


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

I see similarities between yours and mine, but yet couldn't say for certain that we actually share common parts. FWIW mine is also a 26 and has the original 8 HP single shaft Tecumseh engine. With the star drive type chute rotation you would want to make extra sure the chute crank would still fit with the predator.
Here is a photo of my Craftsman.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

The other year I had an AMF I took in as part of a package deal along with a Craftsman old one that looked very similar. I did scrap out the AMF but before doing so I used some parts from it to fix the Craftsman. They were almost identical except for the handlebars and drive selector, most everything else looked like it came down the same assembly line.


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## Jb805 (Dec 6, 2015)

I got my hands on two motors, one is a craftsman 2011 208cc in great condition and the other is a predator 212cc in great condition. Don't know much about craftsman, I do know the predators are a copy cat honda and are great motors. Not sure which to go with as both look the same and both are in really good condition. Anybody with experience with any of these motors?


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## Jb805 (Dec 6, 2015)

Here is the craftsman


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