[tracktortag]

Yesterday I picked up a second Craftsman Drift Breaker 3 stage blower. It was another "$50 special". I had been checking it on FB Marketplace since I first saw it about a month ago. The ad included the line "lots of good parts". I started thinking that I needed to save it before it was sold for parts. The seller was great and said that he would rather see it saved too. He had lots of inquiries asking if he would sell various parts, but that he wanted to sell it whole. Once I committed on the phone, he immediately removed it from FB. A couple of weeks had gone by before I was able to pick it up due to the blizzard, and our schedules but he remained true to his word.

This one is 32 inches and has a 10 HP Tecumseh engine and a Peerless 5 speed forward / reverse transmission. It's a non-runner but it has good compression. The belt guard is missing but there happened to be one on ebay, so I just bought it. It also needs a new on/off key switch and a choke control knob. I had to use a rachet strap to help reseat the tires so that I could air them up. They are old, cracked, and not tubed so I didn't put too much air in them. Pushing it in neutral is very easy now. The control cables all work which is nice. All of the control cables were frozen on Drift Breaker 1. It took a lot of time to free them up.

 

[jechrist2]

That one looks like a horse!

I like 1) the skinny steel wheels instead of the steel slides that my blower has, 2) the location of the lights, 3) the adjustable discharge angle and 4) 10 horsepower.

Good luck on bringing it back to life,
Jerry C

 

[tracktortag]

Thanks, Jerry. Bringing it back to life looks very promising,

 

[B440]

I like those old drift breakers, especially with the lights on it. Are you just going to get it running, or fully restore it?

 

[tracktortag]

The plan is to get it running, then restore it. There is something about them that I like too. That's why I had to save them. I brought another $50 Drift Breaker non-runner home a while ago. 26" with an 8 HP Tecumseh. I used it for the first time after last week's blizzard. We had 20" of snow. I had it in 1st speed (friction disc drive on this one). The governor kicked in right away and it powered itself along the 50' walkway without my having to stop it once.

 

[BOSOX]

Cool machine, Dave, the price was right for sure! I've never seen that model before it looks really tough! Keep the updates coming as you go along!

 

[tracktortag]

Will do, Mike. Here's the 26 inch one.

 

[BOSOX]

It's an interesting design with the chain driven upper drift cutter set up, neat idea!

 

[tracktortag]

I thought the same thing when I first saw one. They were also sold under a couple other brands during the late 60's-70's. I doubt that there are many around today.

 

[BOSOX]

I have never seen one like that, but admittedly I'm an Ariens guy with the snow blowers and don't shop around much.

I went over to the local Ariens dealer last week to order a new 28" Deluxe model and the guy told me to come back in late August / September for the pick of the litter. Wouldn't even take a deposit to order one for me. So now I have 6 months for my inner cheapskate to rear it's head and change my mind about buying a new machine.

 

[tracktortag]

Wow, that's a long wait. Maybe they build a certain number each year and when they are gone that's it until the next year. I would bet that the blizzard had something to do with them being out of stock at this point.
The young guy that I bought the 32" from is also an Ariens guy. His boss gave him the DB after he couldn't get it running, but he said he wasn't really into Craftsmans. He had a few Ariens that he was working on in his shed. I had always thought that if I were to buy a blower that it would be an Ariens.
But then these oddball things caught my eye. The funny part is that I don't need either of them. I just thought they were cool and needed to be saved.

If your cheapskate wins out then at least you could spend that money on Olds parts.

 

[BOSOX]

My wife is on board with the new machine, she’s tired of my old junks. The new models have just about all the controls from the dash / operator station. I think the only time you step around is to choke / start the engine with a 120v power cord.

 

[tracktortag]

If she's on board I wouldn't fight it! Things like this don't happen too often. Yes, 120v electric start is nice. Both of these old blowers have it. It's a spoiler for sure. Just plug in and press the button.

 

[MARK (LI)]

Dave...do you have all the Driftbreakers on LI , now? 😁 ...They look more solid than the brand new stuff sitting in front of Lowes and HD

 

[RoyM]

@BOSOX They are busy building spring equipment, snow blower production should start in June or July. I imagine everyone is sold out with the conditions in your area.

 

[tracktortag]

LOL. There is at least one more over your way. It was also advertised on FB. When I called the son said his father wasn't sure if he wanted to sell it anymore. Then the ad was taken down. It looked to be in very good condition. He was asking $225 for it. Too much for me.

They are solid and heavy. Not quite as solid or heavy as Gravelys but solid enough.

 

[forkz]

that thing looks mean

 

[BOSOX]

@BOSOX They are busy building spring equipment, snow blower production should start in June or July. I imagine everyone is sold out with the conditions in your area.

I wasn’t expecting to find anything in stock this late in the season, but was surprised he would’t order one for me. I was prepared to put half down in cash with the order. No big deal, my old machine is up and running.

 

[tracktortag]

I started working toward getting the DB's engine running again. I picked up a new set of points, condenser, sparkplug, and choke knob from my local power equipment shop. I also ordered and received a new Indak keyed on/off switch since one of the terminals on the original was missing, and an original Drift Breaker pully guard that happened to be on ebay, to replace the missing guard.
I'm still waiting for the flywheel nut/washer, and a pull starter cup/screen to replace the parts that I also found to be MIA. Good thing it was only $50.

I found a little surprise when I was removing the carb. for cleaning. The float bowl had been tightened up against the carb. with the stator wire in between them! This left a gap between the bowl and the carb. There was a lot of sediment and some rust in the carb. I think that I'll be able to save it. I've been soaking it in vinegar. The rust is gone. I'm going to remove it today, hit it with carb. cleaner, and see if I can open up the passages.
From the missing parts it looks like someone removed the flywheel nut, and starter cup/screen while trying to get to the points (Tecumseh 10hp engine), but stopped before being able to pull the flywheel, then half bolted the engine shroud back on without replacing the other removed parts.

I'm getting ahead of myself but I also picked up a rattle can of Rustoleum Sunrise Red paint for test purposes. It turned out to be almost a perfect match to the original color that I found after wiping away some old grease on the frame under the engine shroud.

 

[MARK (LI)]

I just hope you don't need a snowblower on Long Island again this year