help! Runaway snow blower

I have a Simplicity 869 5019, 2 stage snow thrower from the 1970s which I bought last fall for $50. It worked fine all last season. YesterdayI had to put the chain back on that connects the auger to the other moving parts and I replaced some worn belts. I got it all back together after adjusting the chain tension and now when I put it in gear, the wheels start spinning. It is not supposed to do that unless I press the "Touch-O-Matic" lever. I can't see how to get the wheels to wait to spin until I have engaged the touchomatic lever (or "dead man's switch" as my father in law calls it). The owner's manaual doesn't give me any help. That model is not listed on the Simplicity web site, probably because it is so old. Anyway, a big snow storm is on the way tonight and I was hoping to have it working by tomorrow morning. Any ideas how to get the wheels to wait for the Touch-O-Matic lever to activate them?

 

sounds like the shaft that moves the friction disc is rusted. Spray some PB Blaster on it at the pivot points. May have to use a hammer to free it.

 

You have something messed up on the drive, which you have probably already guessed. Is your "touchmatic" the little lever on the handlebar? It's been a while since I've seen one of those, but the lever should just trip a tensioner to a belt. Double check the way you ran your belts when you replaced them.

There's a chance you have a belt on that's too short and the tensioner can't relieve the slack to disengage the wheel drive.