What is your favorite vintage sled? Not counting the EXTs, King Kats, Sno-pros, etc, I have a couple. The 72 Cheetah has always been a favorite of mine. First year of the model, last year before the noise restrictions and that classic Cat look! The 73 el Tigre is a favorite of mine too. Outside of the Cat camp, I always liked the late 70's Kawi Invaders. I could beat them on my 78 el Tigre...as long as we didn't race too long :P Marc

My pick is a '79 TXL 340. I could keep an El Tigre' 6 at bay on the trails with one, and off trail, forget it. TXL's love deep snow. Plus, they have the sweetest exhaust sound of any vintage sled. B)

For me it would be the classic Ski-Doo Olympique, never owned one but spent quite a bit of time driving a friends. Always liked the TnT's(my first sled) including the Silver Bullet('73). Used to stop in the local Ski-Doo dealer walking home from school, check out all the new sleds on the floor, thus the addiction began

well mine are the old cat's,,,,
the only other one is
the ski daddler XX racer.
loud as hell.
it would rev and rev and then
that clutch would kick in,
and you had better be holding on :o

My favorite is all of them, does that count? If not it would have to be the 75 R/V 245, then the rest of the R/V clan. Then would be the 68 TNT 600 and lets not forget the 73/74 TNT F/A's

I once traded an RM400 Suzuki even for a '71 TNT 440 widetrack (18"). It's windshield was still clear yellow, no cloud. The tach speedo and odometer still worked. It had 2,200 miles. It was fouling plugs when I got it, but with a little carb tweaking, I put several hundred miles on with no more fouling. The hood was shiny, and I waxed it more than once. I saw 70 mph on the golf course next to my highschool, and was scared. 2' of susp. will do that. (It was slide-rail.) Can't remember what I did with it. I've bought and sold so many old junks I gave up trying to keep a mental list long ago. No more. New F-7 or nothing , now.

I wanted a 550 Interceptor sooooo baaaad when it was introduced!!!! Never got one...... :angry:

My favorite was the '71 Puma w/a 440 Sachs engine. Put 4,000 miles on this sled in one winter without a problem. So much for the theory of expecting problems with all new models. The sled was fast and turned on a dime. Had to love the styling of the big mouth hood. I still like the wide short track compared to the new long narrow track on the Firecat.
I was a teen and my parents went away one weekend. Stole my father's milk truck, loaded the Puma, went to an oval race, lied about my age, entered stock 440 and came in second behind the faster kawasaki Puma.
mike

My favorite was a 1979 Polaris TXL 340. Speaking of older sleds, Other favorites was 1972 Ski-doo Olympique 399 and 1974 Ski-doo Olympique SS 340. 1974 340 SS was my birthday gift when I turned 10 years old. I took a real good care of it and babied it until I was 18 years old. Sold it to cousin and he totally wrecked it into pieces by drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. He thought it was funny. My dad told my cousin if I had saw the sled's shape and condition. I would beat the shit out of him instantly. Cousin was lucky cuz I was in college in Florida and dad never told me until a few weeks before he succumbed to cancer in 1992. Actually, I saw him this past Sunday and reminded him of how he trashed my sled as if it was his stupid toy. He laughed and said, "Sorry". Told him that I am getting a new Nightfire F7 EFI that he is not to touch it at all. We both laughed our asses off, Ha Ha !.

Any 74 Ski-Doo FA's 340, 400, 440

I've always liked the 73 ElTigre because of the 4 spark plugs. Truly unique!

Mine was a 71 Puma Axial Flow 399 Kawasaki. We bought one new when I was a kid and I loved it. First year cat with a Kaw and it flew. Too bad dad bought me a 292 Lynx.

My first "big" sled too.

Team Arctic I hear ya on the Kawi's my dad and I had mint 1979 Invaders and man did they scream up top! Loved the look here is a pic of them side by side Kawis Wish we had not sold them! They were my favorite ... sorry not true the 1982 Interceptor 550 was my favorite!

Not truly unique ... 1982 Kawasaki 550 Interceptor had dual plug heads (4 plugs) man those things were very rare and very fast!

Cheers

Wild

No doubt about it Mercury Snow Twisters. I beleive 1976 were the liquid cooled ones. Boy were they ahead of there time. The Skidoo 9500 Blizzard mid 70s was quite a sled also.

my pic is the 76 sno-twister 440 sno-pro. back then the sno-pros where for oval racing. the best way to race a sled is on a ice oval. its amazing what those guys do. wether its todays sleds racing or its vintage oval racing just awesome. everyone should attend the eagle river derby atleast once.

Although I never owned a Super Brute they were way ahead of their time. Yamaha adopted the guages in the handlebars the swivel light and Rev type windshield attached to the steering

Utopia

The old Rupp Nitro's, El Tigre's, Cheetah's, Pantera's, and early 70's Puma's and Lynx's. I think an old Lynx 292 would make a great starter sled for a kid. In another 10 years my 90 Prowler will be vintage. Gunna keep her look'in sweet. :beer:

1979 PANTERA 5000.

My favorite is the 1970 Puma. I am looking for one so if anyone knows of any for sale please let me know. I also think the 73 EXT's were some of the meanest looking vintage sleds around. Some day I hope to have one in the collection.

Gawd, the sport was so colorful then. I remember pulling up to the trailside restaurants back then, and there would be 30 different brands of sleds parked out front. I got into sledding as a kid in the late 60s early 70's, so those era sleds are my sentimental favs. My folks had SkiDoos, and my first sled was a 72 TnT 340 twin. Dad had a 73 FA400 which was so much better than any previous production Doo it wasn't even funny. First aluminum frame, reversed clutch....features still used today. I loved the old Skiroules, MotoSki Grand Prix's, Chaparells....

ANY OF THE POLARIS TX FREE AIRS , MERC. SNOW TWISTERS AND LATE 70'S SKI-DOO BLIZZARDS WHERE ALL GREAT MACHINES! I NOW OWN A NICE CHAPARRAL 340 SSX LIQUID.

2 fav's for me-
1970 Hirth 634 Panther with montana pipes,man was that sweet sounding.
1976 Spirit of America Evinrude Skimmer 440,what an awesome paint scheme.

Alouette Super Brutes were it. I grew up with one and those things were the fastest period. I had a 340 440 and 640. I was lucky enough to have a father that worked at the head office as the plant manager. Talk about a dream job for a kid!! Had new machines all the time. These things took everything for their day and were ahead of their time. I remember seeing my father hit 110 MPH on radar on a frozen lake on radar o the 640. My 440 used to run against my buddies 440 Harley Davidson and would walk away. Ahhh those were the days!!

As you can see Polaris freeairs and early liquids.Also any race sleds they had in the 70's. :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

My Uncle had a TX(Loud),TNT-Silver Bullet,Rupp Nitro,Kawasaki's.I believe the Yamaha's were fast too. :banana:

My favorite vintage sled was my '82 Kawaski Interceptor. :banana: A great sled for it's day. Holeshot King and great top end speed too!!! (95 mph+++) Short, reversed track (118" if I remember correctly), accelerator pump style carbs (2 ea. Keihn's), 530 cc twin piped engine w/dual spark plugs and all black w/ red pinstripe graphics. This sled looked mean & fast just standing still! :div20:

Any THUNDERJET. Best oval racers ever!

Nothing runs like an old John Deere.

My father sold RUPP and you can't beat the F/A's or Magnums, but living in that era ya had to respect the GPX and '77 SRX's. Them were the days. :div20:

The Rupps were some of the coolest looking sleds on the snow. The early Nitros, with the hood pins, chrome skis, twin carbs etc, were what I drooled on as a kid. My uncle had many of them, all set up....would stand straigtht on their tail when they took off. He went to Yamahas in 77, when Rupps started to fade from the scene.

What ever happened to weekend racing at the local ponds? I miss the get togethers and bench racing days, when you had to work nights in the garage with the wood stove going to get ready for Sunday at the lake. Simpler times I guess.

My favorite classic snowmobile for going anywhere and back would be the SKIROULE RTX 447. These were stable, rode great. Wonderful in deep snow. At 40 horse, they would generally keep up with the hot stck sleds from everybody else. Low, mean, and green!

On ice or for road running, give me a SPEEDWAY BLUE MAX! They weren't reliable and they were not good in snow. They were, however, the 1973 Snowgoer overall shoot-out champion of every sled tested. Quickest and fastest . Oh, and they burnt a piston trying to trail ride it! Been there and done that!! :frech32:

Love them old sleds! Happy trails.

Les in MI.

My favorite would have to be the 1976 Mercury Trailtwister. My Dad bought one and boy was it quick for a F/C. Talk about being ahead of its time, a trail sled with a 36" ski stance was unheard of. I rode that sled until I bought my first Cat.

My first real 440 was a 1973 Skiroule RTX 447 that was fast and fairly comfortable with the rear outposted shocks. The only problem was the constant overheating partly due to the dual exh. in front of the engine and the small slat openings in the cowl. Consistant ski puller on a cold day though. :div20:

1975 RUPP F/A,one mean lookin sled, a close second would be the 77 SRX.

I've gotta say '74/'75 Thunderjets are my number one, with the '76 SRX a very close second.

As a kid I always loved Ski-Doo TnTs. Took advantage of my dads good mood one day and suggested we needed a new sled. Jeez he went for it, bought a new `71 TnT 340.
Sure wished it had electric start though, right arm was 3 inches longer than my left from
trying to start the @&%*$ thing.

my favorite was my neighbors brand new 81 yamaha srx 440 black with white graphics.awsome sled very fast for its time! if i could find one to restore id buy it in a keartbeat.

PHAZER

73 eltigre 400 quadplug is my favorite vintage sled , i have one and it is fast. the people who used to own it rode it for a few years and then kept it in there garage for over 10 years untill i got to it .

1970 BUBBLE NOSE FIRST SLED YOU OWN IS ALWAYS THE BEST

my grandpa used to race ski-doo's in the 60's...he had a team called ole yeller racing...he took two ski-doo 292's and a water pump, and put them all together and built a 494...that sled in it's day could take all the factory sleds including the 800's...he raced that sled in every class they had and won most of the races he didn't crash in...I think that'd be my favorite one...we have like 9 60's and early early 70's ski-doo's and 2 moto ski's....we also have the first production sea doo watercraft ever made...I think my other favorite would have to be our 640...it's piped and all...late 60's also...that thing really rips for being that old

Sno*Jet s. Especially the Free Airs.'75 SST s and Thunder Jets.Any Big Blue Will Do! Hey speakin of old sleds, I'm always looking for '75 SST F/A sleds and parts. Get a hold of me if you want to get rid of any.

My father had a 1980 Kawasaki LTD 4/6 which had factory dual plug heads and twin pipes. Real nice sled. Surprisingly though, my regular 1979 Invader 440 was faster.

:beerchug: Any of the Z's or Sno-Pro's from 76-81, and the 80-81 Kawasaki Sno-Pro's (aka Arctic Cat) :div20:

.1977 Yamaha SRX440a (all aluminum and 98HP) not the stock paint job on this one, it's been modernized, Jason Tucker from Ontario, CA owns this sled.

I know you said no Sno Pro's but others are picking them,

1978 Yamaha SSR440b

I would have to say the kitty cat my grandpa gave me went I was three. What I would give to have had an odometer on that one. :wanna_race: