Vintage sleds?

[mabr]

How many folks on here have done restorations on vintage sleds? I’ve been scoping a few sites out and thinking about reliving my youth and trying to find a late 60’s Chaparral and bringing it back to life. That’s was my first sled and think it would be so kewl to ride it every once in a while.

Anyone who has or does reconditioning have any advice? I’m no sled head by any means but I have pretty good mechanical experience (between rebuilding our boys MX bikes between races and fixing “whatever” sense I couldn’t afford to have anyone else do it on occasions) So I think I’ll do pretty good if I have resources to ask the hard questions.

Not really related to doing resurrection but what do you guys think of using a vintage for ice fishing? Why I’m asking is my current sled is LQ cooled and with not having any snow on the ice I thought HEY why not get a cheap air cooled running vintage and just use it. Any down sides to this idea? Man you can pick up “older” running sleds for dirt cheap on C L. Wouldn’t want to be riding trails with them but across a lake should be fine. Yeah I know a wheeler would be the ideal thing but thinking of ways to justify it to the wife

[Surface Tension]

I've used old sleds for ice fishing when the new sleds weren't invented yet.

Yes, I've brought plenty of yard ornaments back to life too.

[swamptiger]

Older sleds work fine for ice fishing if they start easy and run well. The older Yamahas had oil injection so they didn't foul plugs, etc.

If I remember right, Chaparral was one of the first LC sleds on the market - don't remember who built the engine for them.

[CrappieAttitude]

My father in law has restored many older arctic cats. He has about 6 complete sleds ranging from 1968-71 years. I am imprressed with how well they run on the warmer days, and paired with a kat cutter, you have plenty of space to bring your gear out with you.

The nice thing about them is they are a lot lighter than the new sleds, so if you happen to get stuck, you just lift them out. I love riding those things, they aren't speed demons, but they get you out there.

CA

[mabr]

Wow im surprised how few guys have done any restorations on here.

Still thinking it over though, now to find the sled.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

There is a HSOforum called vintage sleds dot com that has a ton of information and enthusiast that could help out a bunch if you havent seen it already...

[leech~~]

mabr, if you really want to rebuild a sled from ground up it takes time to find all the old parts, do metal work, maybe body-glass work and repaint which its not the best time of year to do. You may not want to wait this long but in the fall each year there are two large snowmobile swap meets the Haydays and the Outlaw grass drag where you can pick up old sleds and lot of aparts needed to rebuild them. They also, have a Vintage area and best of show contests at both of them where you could hook up with a lot of rebuilders to get ideas. So you may want to just buy a good older fan sled this year off the list for ice fishing. Then spend some time looking for just the right rebuild that you want to do and start collecting all the parts needed for it and do it right instead of rushing into it and doing a half ars job on it. I check the auction site just about everyday looking for good deals and seeing what things are selling for and if you keep checking it daily you will find some nice older sleds that people have been sitting on in the garages for years and just want to unload them to make room. Have fun with it what ever you decide!

[swamptiger]

Quote:

I check the auction site just about everyday looking for good deals and seeing what things are selling for and if you keep checking it daily you will find some nice older sleds that people have been sitting on in the garages for years and just want to unload them to make room.

If you have patience, you can find older sleds with very low hours.

[mabr]

NAMA, thats the site that got my juices flowing. Hard to find chaparrals with the 2 head lights on them. There is one one there right now but I beleive its a 70 model. Lots of early 70s , but i want a 69.

Brother in law has a Sno Jet im thinking about starting on it just to get my feet wet.

[96trigger]

I picked up an old John Deere 600 2 years ago and have been trying to restore it. It actually runs really good and I only take it out a couple times of year on short runs, but its fun. Those older sleds are so much easier without all the electronics. You find one you like, you will not need to be a genious or mechanic to get it going. You will probably have to be dilligent on looking for parts year round. Many older barn finds out there. I have found that old sleds run great, but they don't always run long. Keep watching the online auctions and clist, get into checking them daily and you will find what you are looking for.

[Walleyehooker]

Some of the old vintage sleds are pretty cool and would be a good hobby if thats what you want to do.Just remember a lot of those old sleds never ran very well when they were new and have almost no suspension.Parts can be hard to find or expensive or you may even have to make some.Another idea is look for something 10-20 years old that are reasonably priced,more reliable,better suspension and parts available and let it age in your garage.

[Neighbor_guy]

Well, after not having any sled at all for 2 years I stumbled on one at the end of last season. Then a few days ago I found another that I felt was just to good to pass up. They aint resto's, but they are considered "Collector" sleds by the DNR, and are now registered for life for unlimited use for a grand total of $9.50 each. Just have to buy trail stickers for them. Not super fast, no real track travel compared to todays sleds but they are cool as h$ll.

The first is a '79 Pantera 5000. So it has a Spirit 500 fan. It's like driving an easy chair. We nicknamed it "the cadilac". Couple of cosmetic scratches in the hood, but over all very clean.

The second is an '81 Jag 4000 with a Spirit 440 fan cooled w/oil injection. This one I just picked up this weekend. It feels a lot more "modern" than the Pantera. It is spotless. Diddn't realy need it, but two sleds are better than one, and this one may end up getting more use than the older one due to the oil injection vs mixed gas.

I always said I wanted a 1979 Arctic Cat that was in usable condition. I just like those older ones. And having a "vintage" machine that is the same age as you are is just cool.

Care to guess what year my brother was born?

Mabe I will actually get to take them out this season.

Here are a few picks...

[leech~~]

Nice finds NG. Very clean looking and you may still get some good use out of them still. Oh, don't forget the to dub check those tie rod ends. I heard they like to break on those Cat's!

[Big Dave2]

Nice looking machines NG!

I am partial to Rupp and John Deere myself.