I just picked up a Toro 521 model 38056 serial 4000401, I found out it was made in 1980, I’m not sure of the manufacture location, my guess Bloomington Minnesota or Windom Minnesota , not sure. The chute on it is red, made of metal, it has grate inside the chute for safety, the chute deflector is just barely as tall as bucket. The gas tank and belt guard is red, both durable non metal material. The pull starter is the older style that allows to grip with your 2nd and 3rd fingers. It has chains. It didn’t have a key, but i had an extra “Indigo” key (Toro universal key) that worked . When I pick up an older gas engine powered machine Ive always been like my father and go through fuel system. In this case i removed the gas tank and drained and flushed it out. This has a fuel shut off valve which I like. i drained the oil and flushed out the crankcase with kerosene. I filled the gas tank with 91 clear gas, and a few ounces of some Marvel Mystery Oil (I swear by this product), I filled the crankcase with some non detergent oil and an ounce of Marvel Mystery Oil. (I still swear by this product) Then I turned on the gas and let it sit for 5 minutes, to make sure of no leaks and for new gas to flood the bowl. I pushed the primer 5 times, turned on the choke, on the first pull the 5 HP Briggs and Stratton come to life. I’m not hoping for snow anytime soon, but I’ll be ready. Thank you for the video.
Fantastic Job! Crazy that you can bring back something made 40 years ago with just a little elbow grease if the product was made well in the first place.
Well this is a flat head engine so it's going to be a bit louder then the modern overhead valve engines. It looks like the machine you have could use a new pair of skid shoes. Supposedly that auger design is supposed to prevent the snow blower from clogging. I actually got one of these 521s for free last year. I was just driving by and happened to see it with this free sign on it. Well the original engine did run I decided to purchase a predator 212 engine from Harbor Freight and put that on it. It's pretty much Direct Fit replacement and all I had to do was extend the shoot crank out. I haven't really tested it in fresh snow yet as I did that project towards the end of last winter. The 521 is definitely an interesting snowblower considering no one really makes a two-stage snowblower in that width anymore. Usually the narrowest to get now is a 24 inch with most brands. I think MTD make a few 22-inch two stage machines.
I just got a free one too! Hope it fires up :)
I hope so too! Free is the best
I just picked up a Toro 521 model 38056 serial 4000401, I found out it was made in 1980, I’m not sure of the manufacture location, my guess Bloomington Minnesota or Windom Minnesota , not sure. The chute on it is red, made of metal, it has grate inside the chute for safety, the chute deflector is just barely as tall as bucket. The gas tank and belt guard is red, both durable non metal material. The pull starter is the older style that allows to grip with your 2nd and 3rd fingers. It has chains. It didn’t have a key, but i had an extra “Indigo” key (Toro universal key) that worked . When I pick up an older gas engine powered machine Ive always been like my father and go through fuel system. In this case i removed the gas tank and drained and flushed it out. This has a fuel shut off valve which I like. i drained the oil and flushed out the crankcase with kerosene. I filled the gas tank with 91 clear gas, and a few ounces of some Marvel Mystery Oil (I swear by this product), I filled the crankcase with some non detergent oil and an ounce of Marvel Mystery Oil. (I still swear by this product) Then I turned on the gas and let it sit for 5 minutes, to make sure of no leaks and for new gas to flood the bowl. I pushed the primer 5 times, turned on the choke, on the first pull the 5 HP Briggs and Stratton come to life. I’m not hoping for snow anytime soon, but I’ll be ready. Thank you for the video.
Fantastic Job! Crazy that you can bring back something made 40 years ago with just a little elbow grease if the product was made well in the first place.
Thanks I just got the same blower for free👍 Really appreciate this video 😁
Thanks. Glad it helped!
Well this is a flat head engine so it's going to be a bit louder then the modern overhead valve engines. It looks like the machine you have could use a new pair of skid shoes. Supposedly that auger design is supposed to prevent the snow blower from clogging. I actually got one of these 521s for free last year. I was just driving by and happened to see it with this free sign on it. Well the original engine did run I decided to purchase a predator 212 engine from Harbor Freight and put that on it. It's pretty much Direct Fit replacement and all I had to do was extend the shoot crank out. I haven't really tested it in fresh snow yet as I did that project towards the end of last winter. The 521 is definitely an interesting snowblower considering no one really makes a two-stage snowblower in that width anymore. Usually the narrowest to get now is a 24 inch with most brands. I think MTD make a few 22-inch two stage machines.
That's great information! It's good to know about the replacement engine. Probably will bring a lot of these back into service.