Forums Archive Index > Outdoor Power Equipment > Mid 70's Gilson Snow-Charger resto.
Date: 12 Dec 2005 7:30 pm
I've begun my attempt to save the old Mid 70's Gilson Snow-Charger 10/26 that I got for $50. It is a complete machine, missing nothing other than the spec tag as far as I can tell and other than a little surface rust it looks like it is still in great shape. I drained the old oil - lumpy and had some rotten gas in it. I had to change the coil, condenser and spark plug to get a good hot spark. I replaced the float and needle in the carb as well. I drained the fuel tank and re-filled it with new gas, I'm going to put a shut off valve in the line too.
I made a 1/2 assed attempt to start it, nothing happened. I noitced on my 8/25 machine that if you hit the primer bulb a few times gas will flow into the carb throat, but this doesn't happen on the old machine. I need to spend some effort setting up the carb and timing this old beast. I read through the 3-11HP Tecumseh manual and I'm kinda stumped as to how you set the .125" air gap on the stator, how do you access it to see what your doing? Is there a special tool or something?
Any other tips on these old Tecumseh's I should know about? These are my first 2 Tecumseh's. I prefer the old Brigg's with the carb mounted fuel tanks - simplicity is supreme. :wink: I'm into the 10HP engine for about $80CDN so far so I don't want to spend too much if it smokes bad or knocks. I'll re-power it with a bigger Brigg's if it is junk.
Date: 12 Dec 2005 7:43 pm
hey Big...
if you have spark then your fine there.
you need to do a bit more in the carb work area.
if you veer get in the bridgewater area drop in the shop and we will put you to work on some snowblowers,ill learn you right good i will.
just kidding ,but if you do get this way on a saturday then by all means drop in .
chris
Date: 12 Dec 2005 8:02 pm
What's the name of your shop?
Actually, I'll be at my shop (where I work on rig's for a living) on Sunday working on both machines. I'll be killing some time while I'm having an autostart put in the wife's mini-van by a Ford dealer tech. I want to hear this old machine run. I even tried a little snort of ether, still nadda....LOL :roll: ...So should I bother checking the timing or not? Mark, the guy I bought it from said it ran fine when he parked it under his deck a couple of years ago. When I changed the coil/condensor I put it back in the same spot using the old washer marks on the stater housing. I was checking out some brand new carbs on ebay but I'm not familiar with the Tecumseh part number system so I'm not sure what size engine they are for and the seller doesn't know either.
A new coat of paint and some tire chains should make this old beast a real animal again. I love all things built like a tank and the bucket alone on this thing has more metal in it than my entire Craftsman machine...LOL...10HP just isn't enough for me...Maybe a SBF would look nice on there...LOL...I'll be driving by Bridewater in the spring on my way to the drag races in Greenfield....That's if I can get my thunderbird ready to go by then. :wink:
Date: 12 Dec 2005 8:19 pm
When you get past the engne be sure to stop by....
http://home.gwi.net/~spectrum/snowblower.html
Pete
Date: 12 Dec 2005 8:22 pm
Already been there, that's how I got a rough estimate on how old this thing is. :D