why ya selling it Dave
Sam.
Its not mine Sam - it belongs to a local guy. It has been restored and is a time capsule. They were practical working vehicles in their day but expensive toys now. Timber cruisers, surveyors, commercial ice fishermen, hunting guides, freight haulers, and power line inspectors used them here in the 1940s-1970s. I saw one in the north that was fitted with a small wood heater.
In the settled areas they served well as buses and ambulances at a time when roads were poor or non-existent.
BTW my78K- do you pronounce that bomb-
bard-yay or bombadeer as as we do?
From wikipedia - "Joseph-Armand Bombardier's technological breakthrough in the design of bush vehicles came in the mid-1930s
when he developed a drive system that revolutionized travel in snow and swampy conditions. In 1937, Armand sold 12 snowmobiles—named the B7 and, in 1942, created l'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée company.
The first snowmobiles were large, multi-passenger vehicles designed to help people get around during the long winter months. Snowmobiles were used in rural Quebec to take children to school, carry freight, deliver mail, and as ambulances. His invention filled a very particular need in the region and soon business was booming. In 1941, Armand opened a large new factory in Valcourt. Then a major setback hit the growing business: the Second World War was well underway and the Canadian government issued wartime rationing regulations. Bombardier customers had to prove that snowmobiles were essential to their livelihood in order to buy one. To keep his business going, Armand switched gears and developed vehicles for the military. After the war, Armand experienced another setback in his snowmobile business. In 1948, the Quebec government passed a law requiring all highways and local roads to be cleared of snow; Bombardier's sales fell by nearly half in one year. Armand therefore decided to diversify his business and make all-terrain vehicles for the mining, oil and forestry industries.
Of note, the machines had removable front skis that could be replaced with front wheels for use on paved or hard surfaces thus providing greater utility to his large snowmobiles. Production of these machines evolved over time. During 1951, the wooden bodies were replaced with sheet steel and these vehicles were powered by Chrysler flat head six cylinder engines and 3 speed standard transmissions. In the 1960s, V-8 engines began to appear and during the 1969/70 production years, the standard round "porthole"-style windows were replaced with larger rectangular windows which allowed more interior light and made them less claustrophobic feeling. Following these changes came the switchover to more reliable Chrysler Industrial 318 engines with the automatic Loadflite transmissions. Production of these machines continued into the mid-1970s."