Topic: Vintage snowmobiling ;-)

[DME]

Last night a friend of a friend wanted to get rid of an old snowmobile. Hooked up the old trailer and went and picked it up. Freebies are always nice....... and now I can title myself "Vintage Snowmobiler" 

Anyway, it´s a 1976 Sno-Tric SC3, made in Sweden.
It sports a 160 cc twostroke single that pushes out a massive 9 hp   
Wet weight 140 kilos 
Should be enough to give a top speed of 40 km/h on a flat, hard and smooth surface     

Spent the day "restoring" it (i.e. cleaning it and getting it fired up  )
Turns out it´s in a really good shape, bone stock down to every nut and bolt.
And everything works fine, even the 31 year old VDO speedo    Cool....

This pic is "pre-restoring".....

So is anyone else running an old snowmobile?

Cheers
Daniel

P.s. The oilcan on the seat is a 4-liter can, just to show how small this thing is....D.s.

[nickjtc]

.......and another addiction takes hold!! Have fun!! (and perhaps stay out of the powder)

[Troy R]

I had an old 1977 tnt 440, Ski-doo. It was fast right up until the spark plug blew out of the head while racing in a feild. Just remember where ever you drive that thing when it breaks down you'll be walking  back from 

[Klark Kent]

just when i was thinking poor dme, such a nice bike and all that cold weather up in scandinavia... that looks like the toy that'll get you through the long winter months.  i really like the looks actually/ hope it has a good headlight, as you will likely need one 20 hours out of the day.  

how about the after pics?
-KK

[DME]

just when i was thinking poor dme, such a nice bike and all that cold weather up in scandinavia... that looks like the toy that'll get you through the long winter months.  i really like the looks actually/ hope it has a good headlight, as you will likely need one 20 hours out of the day.  

how about the after pics?
-KK

Here they are in all their glory 
Could use some paint here and there, but that would just ruin the great "used and abused"-look, haha 

Cheers
Daniel

[seaweb11]

Bolt on some paddles and your ready to hit the steep stuff

[DME]

Bolt on some paddles and your ready to hit the steep stuff

Steep stuff will be no problems..... as long as it´s DOWNHILL 

[seaweb11]

That's what the paddles are for

[burmashave]

I haven't ridden one since 1980, but they are indeed cool.  I remember a friend who had one with a trailer thing that could accomodate an extra passenger or two children.  The adverts were cool, too.

[DME]

Went on our traditional vintage trip trip this weekend.
To join you need a snowmobile with leaf spring front suspension (or worse like rubberbands....) and you cannot run a liquid cooled engine. Otherwise anything goes.... 

Here is the summary:

18 machines started at 8 am saturday and drove 77 kilometers to our destination.
 
The first brakedown came after 1 kilometer when the exhaust cracked and fell off on one machine... Was still close to civilization so we found a garage and welded it back. Sorted....
Then my starter line snapped when we were leaving the garage but that was just a 15 minute fix. Hardly worth mentioning...

Next breakdown came after ca 3 kilometers and was fatal. Lost ignition on a '71 Lynx and had to tow it to the nearest road and leave it there.

Next up was an '84 Yamaha ET340 who lost his drivetrack. Not much to do but to tow it to the nearest road and leave it.

Had serious fuel probs on an '78 Ockelbo that limited his top speed to ca 15 kmph and that together with all sorts of other problems made the 77 kilometers take a whopping 9 hours to drive 

Arrived at the lodge and had a great dinner before we jumped in the sauna.

I tell you, driving a 10 horsepower '76 Sno-Tric for nine hours, have a few beers, have dinner, have a few more beers before sitting in the sauna for an hour makes a man very tired....

The way back took only five hours (we left the slow Ockelbo....) but we lost another 3 machines on the way (cracked chassis, ignition probs and one seized engine).
All were left behind for later pickup.

In the end 12 out of 18 machines made it back 

Here´s some pics of our adventure....

Cheers
Dan

 

[DME]

Here´s the list of the machines that made it to the destination:

'70 Sno-Tric SC4, 290cc single
'71 Lynx 30 S, 290 cc single
'72 Lynx 40, 290 cc single
'74 Yamaha GP 433, 433 cc twin
'76 Sno-Tric SC3, 160 cc single (mine)
'76 Aktiv 290, 290 cc single
'77 Ockelbo 600, 290 cc single (missing in pic)
'79 Arctic Cat Panther 5000, 500 cc twin
'79 Ski-Doo Citation 300, 300 cc twin
'79 Ockelbo 600, 290 cc twin
'79 Arctic Cat Jag 3000 long, 340 cc twin
'79 Yamaha ET 250, 250 cc single
'82 Ski-Doo Scandic 400, 400 cc twin
'84 Lynx Gls 5900, 500 cc twin
'84 Yamaha ET 340 t/r, 340 cc twin
'85 Aktiv Panter, 500 cc twin

Cheers from a tired man....

[Gordon]

Very nice!  Thanks for the update, and great pictures.

[eldar]

I bet that was a good time though even with the breakdowns.  Sometimes it is nice to do things different. Sure some new sled could have gone that distance in less than an hour but the fun is different.  This is more like an adventure!

[DME]

I bet that was a good time though even with the breakdowns.  Sometimes it is nice to do things different. Sure some new sled could have gone that distance in less than an hour but the fun is different.  This is more like an adventure!

You´re absolutely correct! I´d say the breakdowns is half the fun 
Not to mention the fun of dragging ten snowmobiles with heavy steel chassis (aluminium alloy chassis are for women...) through 400 meters of this:



I will not go to the gym this week 

/Dan the sledneck

[upperlake04]

Aughhhhhh!!   SLUSH - hell on earth.  For those not familiar with the condition, it will sometimes ruin your day, cause the cancellation of a trip, at the least add anxiety, a sore back and cold wet feet to a ride.  It is caused  where a crack in the ice (not dangerous, just normal contraction cracks even on ice several feet thick) which allows water to seep up to the surface where the dry snow absorbs it. If the snow is deep enough, the slush is insulated  from the air and slush can be found even in -30C temperatures. Often it isn't visually detectable from the top of the snow and once you're into it, you don't know the extent of the slush field or how deep it will get. Pulling a loaded toboggan complicates things.  Old machines with minimal clearance, low power, and short track cleats don't do well. Machines get very heavy when their tunnels clog with saturated snow. Snowmobiles with long tracks with big paddles and lots of horsepower allow you to plane over the stuff with sinking into it.  I have been in way too much slush.

[eldar]

No slush with a sled for me but I love it in a truck!

[DME]

Aughhhhhh!!   SLUSH - hell on earth.  For those not familiar with the condition, it will sometimes ruin your day, cause the cancellation of a trip, at the least add anxiety, a sore back and cold wet feet to a ride.  It is caused  where a crack in the ice (not dangerous, just normal contraction cracks even on ice several feet thick) which allows water to seep up to the surface where the dry snow absorbs it. If the snow is deep enough, the slush is insulated  from the air and slush can be found even in -30C temperatures. Often it isn't visually detectable from the top of the snow and once you're into it, you don't know the extent of the slush field or how deep it will get. Pulling a loaded toboggan complicates things.  Old machines with minimal clearance, low power, and short track cleats don't do well. Machines get very heavy when their tunnels clog with saturated snow. Snowmobiles with long tracks with big paddles and lots of horsepower allow you to plane over the stuff with sinking into it.  I have been in way too much slush.

Slush rocks, doesnt it!!
At least it reminds me that spring is here 

Cheers
Dan