Harbor Freight "Predator" Engines?

[l008com]

My friend has an Ariens snow blower with a 420cc engine. It's in great shape, it's one of the giant 33" or 36" models. But, while everything is in good shape... the one exception is that the motor is junk.

Harbor Freight makes a series of motors including a 420cc model that runs about $360. Is it a simple matter of bolting the old motor off and the new one on? Or is an engine swap like this more complicated?

 

[tom3]

In general horizontal motor mounting is somewhat standardized. Lots of Predator engines wind up on old Troy Bilt tillers from the 60s and 70s for instance. Main thing to check is shaft size, length, and keyway. HF does post this info on their engines along with mounting dimensions. Hardly ever see an easy bolt in swap though.