Simplicity 870 repower......(many pics)

[linrick1]

Hi all, The 8 horse Tecumseh finally puked on the old Simplicity 870 that I got last winter - the blower itself is mint so I'm going to replace the engine. Thanks to the clowns running the show here in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts I find myself currently out of work, which gives me all kinds of time, but zero cash for said replacement engine - enter the Homelite 6200 genset which will provide the donor powerplant, a sweet running Wisconsin (Subaru/Robin) WI-390. Here is the progress I have made so far in adapting the taper shaft for snowblower use. Here are some pics of the blower itself, the old and new motors, the armature and shaft, etc., etc....... still have to fab up a motor mount, find the right drive sheave, mount the gas tank - it'll be tight, but its gonna work, stay tuned, Rick

P.S. apologies for all the pics

 

[Blast Chamber]

I have that exact same blower that I bought new over 20 years ago. It still runs and throws snow great and is built like a tank, so that machine is definitely worthy of doing a transplant.

I'll be watching to see how it turns out. Good luck!

 

[linrick1]

Hi Blast, that Simplicty is a stout old machine with many hours left in it so I'm hoping this works as planned. Never been a big Tecumseh fan so it didn't break my heart when it finally croaked. The only other engine in my price range (free) available to me was this Robin out of a generator hence all of the melodramatics. I'm going to overdrive the blower a bit while I'm at it too, thanks for your interest, Rick

motor mount/test fit pics

 

[linrick1]

Due to the overwhelming response to my initial post about this project I felt compelled to post some pics of the "completed" engine swap. Lot of work, but it all came together nicely. Rick

 

[sledman42g]

Nice job Rick

 

[linrick1]

Nice job Rick

Thanks man

 

[joemd11]

Nice job on the engine transplant. That baby should throw snow into the next county now. Action pics or a vid would be great when you have the opportunity:thumbsup:

 

[crashz]

Looks good Rick! Too bad there isn't any snow to try it on, but she'll be ready for next year!

 

[linrick1]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I'm interested to see how it throws snow but it really is starting to look like I won't be finding out any time soon. I'll be sure to post some pics should we ever get snow, Rick

 

[linrick1]

Well it finally snowed so I was able to have my first official test run and I could not be happier with the results......runs real strong and is at least half as loud as the old Tecumseh. Doesn't seem to throw snow any farther, but will take a full cut a gear higher so it is throwing a lot more snow without struggling.....here's some pics my wife took this afternoon, thanks again for all the help and interest, Rick