THE RETURN OF BOSS CAT III!

Posted 11.06.09 by Larry Preston

Amongst the dozens and dozens of photos sent in of the restoration of the Arctic Cat Boss Cat III, I thought this one was just kind of the coolest. It's the best shot that shows how big it is, how cool the 4 motors are and how much work went into the original creation of the sled and the restoration of it.

More photos and the FULL story to come. BOSS CATT III will be at A-1 in Michigan tomorrow!

WIN THIS 1972 SKI-DOO OLYMPIC!

Posted 11.04.09 by Doug Lubahn

This absolutely mint 1972 Skidoo 300 Olympic Standard will be up for raffle at the LIVE ON SKIS ride in Lapeer Michigan on February 13th, 2010.

It came right from the original owner, and was kept in a heated carpeted garage. We can’t find anything damaged - and the only thing "wrong" is that it is missing the engine/carb covering. It Runs and looks fantastic!

The standard Oly has the sleek style seat just like the TNT, and has the fixed headlight. Comes with a mint condition matching OEM Cover and original tool kit.

Raffle tickets will be sold THIS WEEKEND at the A-1 for just $5 each! This sled will be at other events throughout the season and tickets can be purchased by contacting me, LIVE ON SKIS Lapeer Michigan host Doug Lubahn.

Proceeds from the raffle will go to benefit both MAW (a fantastic Michigan based handicapped hunters organization) and Wheelin Team 457

Drawing will be held at the LOS Lapeer Event- need not be present to win.

1969 HORNET ON WHEELS!

Posted 11.03.09 by T.J. Henriksen

Here's the info on my latest find. It's a another 1969 Hornet but this one has the wheel kit.

I've been hunting for one with the wheels for a while now and fortunate enough to call on this one at the right time. The connection to this sled started some 5 years ago not long after I bought my first Hornet. I had seen pictures of this sled on the net with the owners name. With a little searching I found a couple of phone numbers and called to see if I could find out anything new about the Hornets or the company that made them, Jet Dynamics. We talked for a while and as far as my poor memory can recall that was the only time I talked to him, until two days ago.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago, when I got a call from Les Pinz. Les and I have talked now and then over the years, mostly me asking questions about Scorpion or Polaris sleds but this time we got to talking about Jet Dynamics and he asked about the serial number of my Hornet. I looked in my "secret" sled info binder as I new I had written it down but as I do often, didn't write it down in the section marked "Hornet". I new I had it somewhere so after we hung up I started looking through my notes.

I found the serial number along with some other Hornet info and a couple of phone numbers. I had forgotten all about this sled and remembered that when I called years ago it was sitting in the barn with the wheels on it. Since it had been several years since I called I thought I'd see if it was still around. I couldn't remember which was the correct number so I called the first number, answering machine, left a message hoping someone would call back. I called the second number and gave my name and why I was calling, he laughed and said that's my dad you're looking for and thought he still had the sled. It turned out that I had already left a message at his dad's so I'd wait and hope to get hear from him.

It wasn't 20 minutes later the phone rings, it's the first number calling me back. Either I'm going to get chewed out for bothering him or I'll actually get to talk to another Hornet owner. We talked for a few minutes and I asked "is there any chance this sled is for sale?" He said "Sure. I've been thinking about getting rid of it for some time now". Talk about calling at the right time!

We worked out the deal and I left the next morning to go pick it up. I didn't want this one to slip through my fingers. I left Pittsboro at 4:15 AM and made it to Minneapolis just before 1:30pm, 595 miles.

What a beautiful sight it is to pull in the drive and see this machine sitting there all wheeled up just waiting for me. As all good sled transactions go there's always stories traded and this was no exception. As cool as this sled is, it was the only one he ever owned but he was into just about everything else that had an engine.

It was a great trip and this checks one off the very top of my "Gotta Find" list.

MEET ROCKY THE FLYING SQUIRREL

Posted 10.31.09 by Larry Preston

The alarm clock went off this morning at the usual time. What was unusual was that the first words I heard this morning were "It's Alive!!" from the Oingo Boingo song Weird Science.

"How fitting" I thought, as my thirteen year old Cat squeaked out a little noise during her morning stretch. Why? Because this was the day that I was to see if a four year old restoration project of mine would finally come to life.

In the first races of the 1977-1978 SnoPro season, each Polaris driver on the Midnight Blue Express (Jerry Bunke, Steve Thorsen and Brad Hulings) had a regular 440 - that is with an aluminum bulkhead. They also each had a 440X machine, as well as each having a 250 and a 340 RXL, which were pretty much the same machines as the independents had.

What I didn't realize until lately was that there was in fact 3 more made just for Eagle River. Along with the magnesium bulkhead, these machines had lightweight brake disks, shafts, thinner tunnels - whatever they could do to shave a little more weight off the machines.

The first time they hit the ice was at Eagle River. Both Jerry and Steve qualified for the coveted "World's Championship" but Brad crashed his machine, first corner, first heat race. Brad crashed and fell off, but that machine bounced out of the race track with the throttle stuck wide-open, and slammed into a parked ambulance.

"There was nothing left of it" Brad told me in a later interview. "Nothing?" I said. "Nothing." he repeated.

Jerry Bunke's Eagle River machine is in the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain Wisconsin. Steve Thorsen's is owned by Rob McMillian, and we have chronicled that sled often here. Brad's Eagle River sled was destroyed.

But all three 440X sleds survived the years - mostly. Having been a huge fan of the Polaris Midnight Blue Express as a kid, I never, ever in my wildest dreams thought I would own one of these machines.

But way back in 2004, I traded a very, very nice original condition superstock 340 RXL for a rolling chassis that was in Maine. At the time, I was not sure of what it was, other than it was another RXL, but with a magnesium bulkhead. I knew it had to have some kind of history with that.

It took a very long time to find all the missing parts - the hardest part being the not-so-common 440 Polaris triple RXL motor. Once I had that, I started working on the sled.

I was thinking that it would be a fairly quick job; after all, by the time I started in October of 2006, I had pretty much all the parts. I also decided to show the work off as it was being done, and I did so on a thread in the Bull Sessions.

That turned out to be a pretty clever move. I got help from all over the U.S. and Canada. Turns out a lot of people would like to see it done. As of this writing, the Rocky thread is one of the most popular on the Bull Sessions.

But then I started to run into some issues. The big one being time. I just wasn't able to get out in the garage and get any quality time with the machine. I had no pipes for it, but I looked everywhere to see if I could find an original set. No such luck. If 440 RXL motors are rare, the pipes are just plain non-exist ant. Enter Dave Crumb, who volunteered to take the job on.

This was no easy task; Dave is in New York. The sled is in Minneapolis. So Dave borrowed a set from Jon Pardee who owns Bernat/Hulings 440 machine from 1977. He did a killer job! But the 78 440X chassis is different, and the pipes did not fit exactly right. So off to Willy Ewing they went for a fitting.

I found out a lot of very interesting things about the 440 RXL's during a conversation with 1978 factory team mechanic Greg Hedlund; There was no standard pipe for these machines. They were all hand built. If one guy crashed, he could not borrow a pipe from another sled. They would not fit.

After getting the pipes on, the next problem was the hood. It just wouldn't fit right, no matter how much I cut it. In fact I ruined two hoods before getting the third to fit, and it took one more pipe re-fitting to get it right. Hint: The factory team ran their hoods about 2" lower than everyone else.

On the way to get the pipes fitted to the correct hood fitting, we stopped in at Larry Rugland Motorsports and showed him the sled. In particular, we showed him the clutch guard where the phrase "Rocky The Flying Squirrel" is scrawled into the metal, and "Don't Crash Me" on the handlebars.

Larry looked at the Rocky the Flying Squirrel and got a huge grin on his face. No question what this machine was after that.

"Brad was the lightest yet strongest race driver I ever knew. He was little, but he had barrels for arms. I just started calling him Rocky the Flying Squirrel after the cartoon. I'd always yell at him and say Rocky! Try this! And he'd reply Okay, Bullwinkle."

So this morning, I had some very small tasks to do before starting it. Adjust the track, test the job I did on bleeding the brakes the day before, and make sure it had to anti-freeze leaks. Then put some gas in it. 110 race fuel.

Then it was go time. I swear my heart had not pounded this hard since I could remember. I started to doubt myself. Was every bolt tight? What did I forget?

I ran through a check list in my brain about 20 times. Then I gently blew into the gas tank to get some fuel into the carbs.

The last time this machine ran was March of 1978. Would it indeed run after thirty one years and seven months?

On the 3rd pull it popped and sputtered. On the fifth, it idled for a bit then stopped. Thrilled, I grabbed the camera.

And here ladies and gentleman is pull number six:

 

PAST 440 WINNERS

Posted 10.29.09 by Larry Preston

By now you may know that VintageSleds.com is sponsoring a $5,000 feature race at the 2010 Classic Vintage World Championships Weekend in Eagle River, January 8th-10th.

I thought it might be fun to go back and see whose won and who has been competitive in that class over the last few years - so here you go!

Mmmm, I see an awful lot of Vintage SnoPro series champs in this class! Place your bets and be there to see who takes home all the cash, the trophy and the bragging rights!

2009 440 Class Winners
1	Matt Spies	Yamaha
2	Mike Smith	Arctic Cat
3	Dave Grunewald	Ski-Doo
4	Tom Priebe	Ski-Doo
5	Todd Schnetzer	Polaris
6	Bill Stull	Rupp
7	Adam Degenhardt	Arctic Cat
8	Corey Schindler	Yamaha
9	Mike Jones	Yamaha
10	Sean Wood	Chapperall

 

2008 440 Class Winners
1	Mark Anderson	Polaris
2	Steve Smith	Arctic Cat
3	Todd Percha	Polaris
4	Mark Dunham	Yamaha
5	Gabriel Farr	Mercury
6	Corey Schindler	Yamaha
7	Dan Boyle	Ski-Doo
8	Nathan Fecht	Sno*Jet
9	Mitchell Pankratz	Polaris

 

2007 440 Class Winners
1	Dave Grunewald	Ski-Doo
2	Brandon Gentz	Polaris
3	Paul Socwell	Sno*Jet
4	Bill Stull	Rupp
5	Rick Simms	Yamaha
6	Donald Fedie	Arctic Cat
7	Dan Boyle	Mercury
8	Eric Proden	Ski-Doo
9	Mark Anderson	Polaris
10	Sean Smith	Arctic Cat

 

 

SHUT UP LARRY AND POST MORE PICTURES!

Posted 10.28.09 by Larry Preston

Okay, okay! I got the message! These are from the private stash of Dale Neduzak of Time Benders Garage. Some also come from the Canadian Power Toboggan Championship archives in Beausejour Manitoba. All were taken at the historic track on Beausejour.

GABE BUNKE'S SLED

Posted 10.16.09 by Larry Preston

I saw this sled (as did a great many) at this years Hay-Days. I know it's not vintage (except for the sexy graphics package) but this is just really cool. For anyone who doesn't know, Gabe is the only son of Jerry Bunke, the outstanding oval racer who raced for the Polaris factory between 1976 and 1978.

Gabe is now an outstanding racer in his own right. At just 32 years old, Gabe was most recently named by the United States Cross Country circuit as their "Iron man" for racing every event last year, and winning three class point titles, and consistent top-five finishes.

He's won grueling Soo I-500 oval endurance race twice, once in 2002 and once in 2005. He's won a bunch of other cross-country titles between 2005 and 2008.

I couldn't help seeing that sled at Hay-Days and thinking that Dad would be one extremely proud parent right about now.

 

The Ice Toboggan Lives Again!

Posted 10.16.09 by Larry Preston

Remember this baby? Terry Wilen sent in the story of how this 1955 "ice toboggan" was built by his grandfather while he was employed at Thunder Bay Canada's Canada Car Company.

It was built originally to sassiest his grandfather in navigating across Dog Lake, north of Thunder Bay Ontario. He was trapping to augment his income, and some way to get across the snow would be a huge help.

The machine sat in storage for 47 years following the passing of the inventor in 1962. Terry pulled it out and discovered just how well it was constructed. Everything that needed grease had a grease nipple, and everyone of them had been filled with grease, keeping all the moving parts working perfect. The motor was still being used on a log-splitter.

Terry's idea was to put the motor back in and just see how the old girl really worked.

Well that was way back many, many months ago. All kinds of issues cropped up to slow Terry down, but he finally got the old gal running this past spring. He went for a few miles of a ride and the machine worked just great! "It worked just as well as it did back in the 1950's!" Terry said.

Thanks for sharing a great experience Terry and congrats on owning such a unique piece and getting it running!

WIN THIS TXL!

Posted 10.14.09 by Larry Preston

Jon Carlson donated this stunning, original condition 1979 Polaris TXL 340 for the Snowmobile Hall of Fame raffle, the winner to be picked Sunday, May 30th, 2010.

The sled has just 585 gentle miles on it, and may well be one of the nicest original condition TXL's anywhere.

Tickets for your chance to win are just $10, or 3 for $20. You can get yours by filling out this form, or calling the Hall at (715) 542-4463. You can also buy tickets at the upcoming Snowmobile Show in Milwaukee, booth 155 - across from Polaris.

There will be, again this a winter February 20th, a vintage challenge ride on some of the most beautiful trails anywhere, from St. Germain Wisconsin into Upper Michigan. Cap the day off with the Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies.

Don't miss it!

STARTING THEM YOUNG - MEET MITCHELL SEBASTIAN

Posted 10.13.09 by Larry Preston

Mitchell has been an avid snowmobiler since he was just two years old, riding his first Kitty Cat. He tried snocross at age 8 and has grass drag raced his 120 at age 10.

Mitchell's dad (Bryan) told Mitchell he could run at Hay Days this year on a 440 fan cooled machine, and that was all it took to send the young mans already growing obsessions with sleds into hyper-overdrive. Mitchell wants to dive right in and race against anyone and everyone - and he wants to learn from them.

Mitchell's sled of choice now is is a 1978 Yamaha 440cc fan cooled exciter. Bryan owns it, and together he and Mitchell do all the work on it. Bryan does the jetting, the clutching and the suspension work, while Mitchell studs the track and checks various parts for any hint of problems.

Prior to Hay Days Mitchell testing all week and felt he had gained some from the year before. But regardless, there was a long sleepless night the before, when both dad and son were pondering if they had done enough. Had they made the right choices? This was Mitchell's big shot at Hay Days and they did not want to blow it. Saturday morning came, and from breakfast through the drivers meeting, it was tough to know who was more excited - Bryan or Mitchell.

Standing near the line with his son, Bryan told him ""Remember, do your best and have fun, have fun, it's why we're here" Mitch's first pass claimed him 3rd place in Jr. 440 fan! But that wasn't good enough for the young man. "Dad, I can do better at the light!" he said. Bryan made some adjustments, and off he went again.

The rest, as they say is history. Mitchell Sebastian became a Hay Days Champ at just 13 years old! And it's tough to tell who is more proud - Mitchell or his Dad.

Both however have Mom to thank for letting them play in this great sport and Mitchell also has some sponsors to thank - including Kentucky Fried Chicken in Spencer, Iowa, Spencer Motorsports, SS Cycle Works in Spencer, Krukow Construction, his friends, Keegan and Scott. Justin Sorenson and his vintage racing buddy Josh Erdman. His drag racing idol is Pat Hauck.

I'd say the future looks bright for this young man - and I'm sure his Father would agree!

OCTOBER SNOW!

Posted 10.12.09 by Larry Preston

Not even to Halloween and we got snow here in Minnesota! Okay it probably won't last, but it was sure nice to wake up over the past couple of mornings to find the grass & trees white. As I write this, the snow continues to fall in big, wet, heavy chunks all over the Metro area. Viva la Global Warming!

MORE RACING T-SHIRTS!

Posted 10.08.09 by Larry Preston

Bill Stull put together this very fun t-shirt just to help promote vintage racing and his efforts. I just wanted to post a picture of it, because I dig it.

Bill has also made up a whole bunch of T-Shirts for the 2009-2010 Vintage SnoPro series that I am sure you will want one of.

Speaking of the Vintage SnoPro season, all the race dates have now been confirmed:

 

Race #1 is in Rock Rapids Iowa December 19th.

Race #2 is in Amherst Wisconsin, January 2nd.

Race #3 is in Eagle River Wisconsin January 8th through the 10th.

Race #4 is in Sauke Center Minnesota (friday night under the lights!) on February 5th.

The final race will be in Garrison Minnesota on February 27th.

Don't forget that the trophies are awarded at the Hall of Fame Classic Sled Roundup in beautiful downtown St. Germain Wisconsin on May 30th, 2010.

See you in Rock Rapids!

JOSH PECHA OUT FOR THE 2010 RACE SEASON

Posted 10.06.09 by Larry Preston

Josh Pecha has been diagnosed with vacuolar cancer and his headed into Chemo therapy in about two weeks. Doctors say it is highly unlikely that Josh would be strong enough to pilot his Polaris racers for the 2009-2010 season, but the whole family is gearing up for a 2010-2011 return.

Josh and his family have always been people I look forward to seeing at shows, races and events all over - truly some of the great people in this hobby.

The family says they do not want any financial help, but are exploring ways to raise money for cancer research. Expect to see some "RACING AGAINST CANCER" on more than a few sleds this year.

It hit home when I got the email about Josh yesterday. Doc Jim and I lost mom to cancer about 2 years ago, dad has recently been treated (successfully!) for lung cancer, and we have a 16 year old nephew who underwent Chemo last spring and did something really spectacular this summer courtesy of the Make A Wish foundation.

Cody, my nephew, got to travel to New York and visit with his idol, actor/producer Kevin Smith. What he was told is that he may only have a couple of minutes with Mr. Smith. But he actually spent the entire day with him, and even Smith even wrote Cody into the movie he is working on in New York!

Cody will have a scene in the move tentatively called "Two Dicks" where he gets to run over Bruce Willis. Not only did Cody get to meet Kevin, but he also got to meet Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. It was a pretty amazing adventure for the young man to be sure!

We here at VintageSleds.com would like to wish Josh and his family (Kris, Joy and Jennifer) our very best. We'll help keep family and friends across the country up to date on Josh's progress as he recovers. Josh is fierce competitor and one heck of a sportsman, and we will miss him at the races this year.

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD...

So we've all said "Gee, I wish I had that sled I had when I was a kid again, I had so much fun on that sled!" only to realize that the sled was gone along time ago and there is no way you could ever find it?

I know I wish I could find my old Polaris TX, or my Alouette Super-Brut!

Well Vance Elfering has had that special sled on his mind since, oh, well 1977 or so. His 250cc Rupp Magnum was the toy of choice for him and his sister, growing up in the middle of Minnesota. They rode it constantly in the late 70's into the earluy 1980's.

Unlike the rest of us who will never be so lucky as to find out original machines (Yes, I am jealous), Vance and his baby were reunited just a couple of weeks ago.

Turns out Vance's dad liked the machine so much that he cleaned it up a bit, put some wax on all the chrome and stuck it away in a garage. When Vance got into the old sleds again, the first thing he did was try and talk dad out of the machine - with no luck.

That is until this summer... when dad finally relented and Vance was able to take it home. The sled is in near perfect condition... Except for a couple of insignificant customizations, the machine is in pristine original condition, and ready to ride. I was truly amazed at how sweet the original chrome is on the machine.

When asked what his plans were for the machine, Vance didn't hesitate to say it will be rider this coming winter at Waconia, Live On Skis and an other events.

Sounds to me like a machine made of good memories is about to make some more!

JOHN DEERE 340/S FOR MAKE A WISH

Posted 09.29.09 by Justin Clack

Here is an update on the John Deere Make A Wish sled.

The project is winding down now and the final build date has been set. It will be October 17th at (lloyd Krohn) "Mercdivers" place near Forest Lake, MN. Within the next couple of weeks, we plan a small get together of some local guys up here near Menahga and we will be installing the suspension, track and fitting the seat on the machine. We will have a head start on the build if we can get that stuff done in advance.

John's Upholstery has the seat on its way to us via UPS. So many people have helped out so much with the build and the very, very hard to find parts! Nearly everything on a 340/S is unique to a 340/S and this has presented us with quite a challenge. Special thanks to Kenny Heins, Joe Rainville and Don Amber for their assistance with some very unique parts. If not for their generosity, this project would not have happened.

Jerome Kretzman has been a project saver as well. Donating his time to rebuild the crankshaft for us. The 340/S crank was also completely unique to the 340/S only. Our original was beyond saving and 2 donated extras were also not salvageable. We had a very generous benefactor donate an excellent crank that Jerome is in the process of freshening up. I'm still looking for another crank to replace the one that was donated. The gentleman that donated the crank needed it, but he also knows there is a chance we wont be able to replace it. If anyone out there has another crank, even a rebuildable one, I would sure like to lay my hands on it so I can return one to the generous donor.

The body repair and paint work alone on the chassis has been a huge job! I told my body/paint guy that whatever we had left over from the donated funds would be going to him for his time and effort. To date, we only have $136 left in the kitty. It would feel much better to hand him a bit more money than that for all of his effort. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks some more donations will come in so we can compensate him a little better.

Its a great group of vintage sled enthusiasts who have made this possible. It has been a joint effort between many members from 4 different vintage sled websites and has managed to bring together many new friends. All in the name of charity. It doesn't get much better than that!

NEW SUPER-MOD 440 FEATURE RACE AT EAGLE RIVER, 2010!

Posted 09.18.09 by Larry Preston

I am pleased to announce that VintageSleds.com will sponsor the 440 Super-Mod feature race at the Classic Vintage World Championship in Eagle River Wisconsin, January 8th-10th, 2010.

The 1985 and older Super-Mod 440 Free-Air class will run a 10 lap final with the winners walking away with $5,000 and the winner will take home the VintageSleds.com Cup.

Last year the Derby Track had 750 entries for the vintage weekend, the highest they've ever had. This year is expected to be the same or perhaps better.

I've been to almost every vintage weekend at the Derby track since they started it and every year the racers have gotten better, faster and tougher. Every year the crowds have been getting bigger. The Derby Track is a great facility both for fans and racers, and they crew there really does put on a excellent show with both the fans and racers in mind.

So this year, make plans to attend the race, spend some time riding in the area, and we'll see you there! More information as it becomes available.

DICK PETERSON IS BACK!?!

Rumors mixed with pretty solid facts point to one of our favorite racers coming back in 2009-2010 with a fleet of six or more Polaris RXL's to race. Dick Peterson started out a very tough competitor on a fleet of 1973 Polaris Starfires and built 3 RXL's to race in 2006-2007. We hear now that Wahl Brothers is helping Dick get some more ready, and that he'lll have an additional driver with him - putting two RXLS's in ever class.

To Mr. Petereson, I believe I speak for a great many people when I say "Welcome back!"

Where did the stuff go that used to be here? It got too darn big, so it was archived. Enjoy.