My 1974 Toro 724 SnowThrower still rocks

We got about 20 cm of snow overnight, wet heavy snow. Since hubby is forbidden by me to do anything straining because I want him to heal properly from surgery, I figured I'd take out the beast since I knew I couldn't handle the volume of shovelling needing to be done. 

I can't complain about the service I'm getting from SylJack, the truck came around 2ish and since it was the first time in a week the driveway was completely free of cars, the driver did 4 passes on my driveway. I just had to clear the path to the house, the path to the back of the house and access to the back door. It couldn't be opened. One should always clear all doors from snow even if it's just enough to open the door.

Toro 724 Snow Thrower  - Model 31677 from 1974

Last fall I got the old Toro Snow-thrower fixed at the insistence of my hubby who figured he'd like to try this cold weather device.  My ex kinda laughed at me saying if I hadn't used the machine in 10 years what were the odds it would work? Well it's a machine. Unless you can't find parts, generally you should be able to get it going again. When we picked it up from the repair shop I asked the guy what he thought of the machine. He said to me "Hold on to it, this thing will outlive any current snowblower". Mentioned that the ones at Costco were made out of "Nylon", or another way to say plastic and cost nearly $1000. It cost me around $150 to get the beast working again. 

I used it today for the first time since 1993.  It's like riding a bike, one never forgets how to use a snow blower. This thing weighs over 200lbs, so more then twice my weight. So I've always had fun manoeuvring it, and getting it started. I'm too short to be able to pull the cord at my height. I have to stand on a milk crate to get it started.  Sadly today in an effort to get it started for the nth time, I accidentally yanked off a cable. I wondered if the machine would still work. It did. But the problem was getting it to stop... It wouldn't until it ran out of gasoline..  I found the manual for it at Toro with the serial number.  The model is actually a 31677 and the serial number starting with 4 tells me it's the one from 1974. Obviously it's indestructible.

When I was searching to find manuals I found a thread where someone was asking if it was worth buying it and I feel it is. It will cost less to buy it, get it fixed at a repair shop then buying a new one and it will last longer. Of course if you know how to fix these types of engines yourself, then it's definitely worth it.