1975 440 Z

[rappin jack]

Has or does anyone have one.Im thinking of buying one. Its supose to be a old racing sled,it has two spark plugs per cylinder does that sound right? And how much is it worth?

[hanson]

75 440 Z

Heck yeah thats a sweet sled! Twin plugs is correct. Its also a free air (F/A) meaning that it isn't liquid cooled or fan cooled.

Value depends totally on condition and correctness. I would say anywhere from $500-2,500 and even more. Like I said, depends a lot on condition but $1,000-1,500 is not out of line for a decent runner in my opinion. I haven't kept up to speed on vintage values the last few years so I could be off quite a bit. Check HSOList for prices and parts. Do a search for "Arctic Cat Z" and you'll find lots of stuff.

Here's a photo I pulled from a Vintage Snowmobile magazine of mine.

If I had the chance to buy it along with the room, I would get it for sure.

[rappin jack]

Yea thats the sled i see it also has a temp gauge for each cyclinder thanks for the info!!!

[PierBridge]

Quote:

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Yea thats the sled i see it also has a temp gauge for each cyclinder thanks for the info!!!

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I'll race you for titles......

76 Pantera 500cc.....

Mine is in very good condition and runs awesome for an Arctic Cat.. .. I use it for pulling my Trap around mainly, it also has the dual Temp gages along with a reserve gas tank in the rear, it's F/A cooled also.

It's nice and light and being a 500 she flys pretty good.

I would not sell mine for under $500...I really like the low windshield on that 75 440 that must be custom huh?

[hanson]

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I really like the low windshield on that 75 440 that must be custom huh?

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Pier- I believe the windshield is factory. The 'Z' sleds are factory built race sleds. The 75 Z was very close to the production El Tigre that year with many, many subtle hi-po differences. The seat for example is different as well. The race sleds for 76 took a different approach and were of their own design. 77 Z is a favorite of mine as well however the motors were switching over to liquids.

I believe cat was putting F/A motors in sleds until 1981 with the El Tigre 5000 being one of the last sleds with a screaming twin plug 500 F/A in it.

I'm kind of an old sled junkie, mainly Cat of course.

[reddogadventures]

Did you buy the 75 Z? If not, let me know where I can get my hands on it. They were a racing sled and are highly sought after. The Z racers were made for three years. 75 through 77 and were top of the heap in their day. The one that is really hot for collectors is the 77. I've been trying to buy one for a couple years but don't have a good enough job to support all my hobbies. Seriously, let me know if the sled is still for sale. [email protected]

[reddogadventures]

If anybody out there has or knows of any vintage Cats for sale, please let me know. I'm always in the market for old Cat items. Clothes, sleds, sleighs, beer mugs, banners, female super models used in ads, etc.

[let it snow]

I owned a '75 440Z and a '75 340 SnoTwister that year and a '76Z the next year. I started racing really, small snow tracks in '71 in the northwest corner of Minnesota and bordering North Dakota. We ran USSA ice tracks in '75 and '76. Never did that well but had a great time. I know the '75 and '76 sleds intimately and would love to answer any questions if I can. I still have a '76Z, but the 250 motor is gone and a newer 440 mod is in it now. The only really good thing I could say about that '75Z was it was incredibly fast. It didn't handle and its dependability was terrible. Maybe would have won more races if the thing would have held together. The '76 handling was much closer to the Twisters and was a great sled. Not fast enough in the stock classes, however.

[reddogadventures]

Those Twisters were awesome sleds. I never owned one but just remember them winning a lot of races. I was always amazed that Merc didn't do better in sales because of the Twisters. Win on Sunday...sell on Monday.

I'll be in touch if I ever get to own a Z. I appreciate the offer of help. They are out there but they are so popular with the collectors that it's hard to get one in my price range. I can't run with the big dog collectors.

They were so hot looking that Cat came out with a retro decal kit for the F7 that was a limited edition for the early buy program. I can't even buy the decals for my black F7 because it takes a VIN number of the limited edition sleds to buy replacements!

Do you still have any of the Mercs?

[rappin jack]

Well,I didnt get the Z he said hes going to put it on hsolist.I almost had it till someone told him that it was a collector sled

[let it snow]

I am sorry to say that I don't have the Twister or the '75 440Z any more. I just got the '76 Z back from a friend that knew I would want it if he decided to get rid of it. The Twister was pretty awesome. They never really promoted the Sno or Trail Twister for comsumers and the tank that they sold to the consumers was really a hog. I think they would have done well if they had pushed those two sleds. The sled they put out in '76 wasn't even usable as a trail sled but the previous ones were some of the nicest riding sleds I had owned up to that point. Very stable, light and had a pretty decent ride.