[bwdbrn1]

What, a snow blower on a lawn mower forum?

Yep, even though it's the 7th of March, we've still got a good 6" of snow on the ground here in N/W Illinois, and I had the opportunity to grab onto a piece of Honda Power Equipment History.

I don't know for sure if the Honda HS35 was Honda's first snow blower, but I do believe it was the first they introduced to the U.S. market.

Honda Worldwide | Power Products - Snow Throwers

Since I have a liking for "vintage" Honda Power Equipment, I told my local Honda dealer that if he were to come across one, I'd be interested in getting it. Just so happened he had one sitting in the back of his shop.

It had been tucked into the back corner for months. Luckily the gas had been drained out of it. I brought it home, put some gas in it, and well, here's the first pull...

So, let the restoration begin!

 

[The Commercial King]

My dad has owned one for 20 plus years (I beleive) . Runs like new and just put the second set of rubber on the blades . Great machine , only complaint I have is sometimes the choke moves from the vibration and chokes out the engine.

 

[Five Points]

Good find! Next your gonna tell us you got it for nothing!

 

[Austen]

Very nice!! That must have been an enticing feeling when he said they had one in back!

It looks like it's in very nice shape and doesn't need restoration?

Great piece to have in your collection.

 

[Capstan]

Those are incredibly common here in this part of the country, In the winter on Craigslist, I'd say I see maybe 4-5 per week for usually less than $100...

And they even show up sometimes in the summer... Usually for far less.



-Stan

 

[bwdbrn1]

Nah, it wasn't free, but...close.:2th: Remember, this one is red, not green.

Hey Commercial King, from experience with your dad's do you know how to adjust the scraper bar on one of these. From the owner's manual, it almost looks like the paddles touch the pavement, and then you move the scraper bar down to touch, or almost touch the ground. Not like the Toro's and other single stage units I'm more used to.

 

[[email protected]]

The HS35 was first manufactured and distributed for the USA market in 1981. Canadian models were first offered in 1983. Early models used a point-style ignition (through serial #1048328). Later models had a transistorized ignition. A few other running changes to recoil, muffler, etc., but nothing major. The HS35 came with a simple side-valve 144cc engine. Scanning the parts catalog, a number of key items are no longer available from Honda, like the muffler, fuel tank, recoil starter, etc.

There were two Service Bulletins issued for the HS35:

"Oil Filler Pipe Leakage" serial # 1969224-1075604 some units were mfg. with no sealant on the oil filler pipe, and could leak oil. The fix was to remove, clean and inspect the pipe, if good, reinstall using high-temp silicone gasket sealant.

"Scraper Bar Installation" serial #1000001-1006115 could benefit from a redesigned scraper bar and a bit of fitting/adjustment to the auger housing. Then new bar is P/N 75201-730-010, $21.09.

If anyone needs the full copies, just ask.

 

[bwdbrn1]

Thanks Robert. pdf of those service bulletins would be great to add to my folder on this one. I might also borrow from your avatar but change it to read "I have an older Honda Snow Blower, and it starts on the first pull." Maybe put a stocking cap on the kid.

This example must be one of the early ones. The serial number is 1002860, so it likely has points and condenser, and it also has the rubber auger housing guard on it behind the scrapper bar. From what I can tell, a later variant didn't have the rubber guard.

I'm going to be looking at it pretty closely one of these days. Because there are a lot of "obsolete" parts, it'll probably get a sprucing up and wheeled into my mini museum of vintage Honda stuff. Now if I could just find a nice HR21....

 

[bwdbrn1]

My dad has owned one for 20 plus years (I beleive) . Runs like new and just put the second set of rubber on the blades . Great machine , only complaint I have is sometimes the choke moves from the vibration and chokes out the engine.

Honda dealer told me a fix for the wandering choke is to loosen the screw that holds the knob on, remove the knob, and place a ring of spongy foam material under the knob, then re-install it. That'll create a bit of friction between the dash and underside of the choke knob, holding it from turning.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks Robert. pdf of those service bulletins would be great to add to my folder on this one.

PM me your email and I'll send 'em out today.

 

[The Commercial King]

I dont ever remember ever adjusting anything. We just ran it and changed oil and plugs. Dad gave it to my sister this year , I can't figure out why ... he is going to be 70 this year and has a huge driveway, my sister is 43 and can barely fit 1 car in her driveway.

 

[bwdbrn1]

That it's been that reliable and trouble free doesn't surprise me CK. It didn't really surprise me that this one started on the first pull today either.

 

[motorhead12]

:ditto:That's a Honda for ya!

 

[Gary Schulberger]

I'm hoping that some are still active on this old thread.
I have an original issue HS35 with the rubber scraper style bar, not the newer rigid plastic ones. I'm hoping someone here can supply dimensions of the rubber scraper itself so I can try to make one myself.

Ant help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Grunt]

Welcome to MLF Gary. I would advise you to sign up at our sister site for more help at-

https://www.snowblowerforum.com/

They have many great Honda blower members with lots of experience.