Here are some pics of the MTD unit I was having some carby issues with,
It's an American made MTD unit with a Tecumseh 8HP horizontal shaft engine. They still make a similar unit from what I have been able to see. It now has plastic shutes. This one seems reasonably well made for a domestic unit. The shutes are all steel, pneumatic tyres, wheel hubs have grease nipples. According to the stickers on the machine the branch shute at the front takes up to 2 inch branches and the main shute advises up to half inch.
I removed the large shute blade today for a quick sharpen. The blades which chip branches are still quite sharp.
I I shoved a piece of 70 by 38 into the waste shute to lock the cutting disc so I could remove the blade. They were an absolute pain.
The model number is 242A648-000 I'm guessing it's about an early 90's model.
Cheers
Al