New member here. I really like Snapper mowers; their decks, drive system & bag, but also like having a blade clutch and I�m partial to Honda motors, especially the GXV series. I have 3 nice snapper 21" self-propelled mowers; one of them has the two cycle Tecumseh with the Snapper blade brake. The Tecumseh is light and still runs good, but has never been great on power. I�d like to repower it, but not give up the blade brake feature.

I wanted to see what the experts here thought of me repowering this snapper into a franken-mower. My first question is whether I should keep the snapper blade brake or convert to another brand of blade brake. The blade brake works good currently, but I�ve never pulled it apart to check it out. I�ve heard that it�s impossible to get parts for the Snapper blade brake and that the design had a few problems (I was told that the bolts get loose and parts fly off � sounds like a job for Loctite to me).

I�m wondering if I can buy a Honda motor or Briggs motor that has the right shaft for the Snapper blade brake? I was thinking about buying an older Honda mower with the blade brake and transplant the motor & blade brake. I know about the Honda exhaust pointing to the plastic Snapper grass chute and can take care of that problem with a little stainless tubing and a few nice welds.

Finally, what is the reputation of the Tecumseh two stroke? Is it worth anything on ebay or craigslist?