This old Sensation is looking for a new home. [The Snow Blower....NOT THE WIFE!!] I'm near Red Wing, Minnesota, and don't want to scrap it. Looks all original, even the square nuts on the engine mounts! I found this site, and hope someone is excited about restoring one this old?
Comments
Anyone know the age of this?
Anyone know the age of this? On the engine tag, there is a stamped number 8 at the beginning, then 702021, and a 4497, all on one line near the top. The rest is pretty illegible, and I don't want to rub to hard on the aluminum, as the background printing is ALMOST visible. I have a picture, but can't figure how to post it here. [Not to phone-literate!]
Dating the Sno Blow (not the wife)
According to the Wikipedia page (disclaimer: I wrote most of that compiled from investigations and discussions with relatives in the old Yahoo group I did years ago) Sensation was founded in 1944 in Ralston, NE and was sold in 1966 and subsequently moved to North Omaha, NE so unless they were still using plates with the old address stamped on them (which is certainly possible) it would put this blower somewhere between those dates. Looks like its been settin' out for a bit but maybe somebody wants a project?
It had been stored inside,
It had been stored inside, but not used for a long time. I saw an engine like it on a pump or something from the late forties or early fifties. I have it inside a shed, and shot some oil in the cylinder, but didn't try to move it yet.
Gilson Snowblower Shop
Phelp's line of snow blowers were developed in the 1950s under the trade name "Snow Blow", and we really don't have a lot of information about them here. I ran across this site: The Gilson Snow Blower Shop which has a lot of pictures of classic Gilson orange and white models including manufacturing floor but this is after Sensation had been sold in 1966 when it seems the Snow Blow line was discontinued in favor of Gilson's brand. Many of the mowers on this site are from the Gilson era but still being sold under the Sensation brand. The Gilson Snow Blower Shop has a lot of historical information - the owner has done a nice job of making it available.
Old Snow-Blo
Thanks guys! On the Gilson site, there was a pic of one just like it and all they knew was pre-sixties. If there's no real interest, I'll just scrap it. I just finished kicking myself for scrapping a perfectly good RUNNING 110908 engine out of the same load of old mowers and tillers someone gave me to scrap. I didn't know they were hard to find till I found your site, and certainly would have given it to anyone who wanted it.
Old Sno-Blo
Model SH-16 dates to the late 40s-early 50s. I have an ad for one dated 1951.