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1980 Arctic Cat Pantera 500 F/C questions.

18K views 37 replies 6 participants last post by  sledhead1986 
#1 ·
Hi everyone, how are you? I am new to the site and could use some help with this snowmobile I bought about a month ago. It's a 1980 Arctic Cat Pantera 500 F/C. My question is, what length studs can i put on the track w/out risking the studs hitting the body/slide, anyone know? And does anyone know if this snowmobile was a tribute to the band or not? Thanks for the help guys and you have a nice forum.
 
#2 ·
No, it wasn't a tribute to the band....:) The Pantera was out long before they were....As far as studs go, measure the height of the track lug. Go no more than 1/4" longer than that.
 
#3 ·
The Pantera was always the top of the fleet! The best of the best! Not saying that the 80 was the best thing they ever made, but was to date! Most likely you have an all ruber 5/8" track! Not a 2/3 cleted! and I would go with like a 3/4-7/8 stud and 48 might be enough?
 
#4 ·
Yup, all rubber track and 1/2" lug.
48 3/4" studs will be sufficient for that sled and add 4" carbides for steerage.
Or, use 48 carbide tipped screw in type. (cheaper than the standard through the track type)
 
#5 ·
Well I want to use this sled for racing though. Last saturday I went to a local race and got whooped and laughed at....little did they know it had so much power that it spun all the way up the hill :) A friend of mine suggests 96 studs up the center, but you have the same sled I do Gleason, do you think it can handle that much? And for drag racing do you think it could definately handle about 3/8" over? And yes right now it's 100% rubber...no studs, cleats, none of that. Can anyone also suggest possibly a nice, CHEAP bundle package that has the studs, nuts, and plates in it? Thanks guys for the help so far...keep the ideas coming :)))
 
#6 ·
I personally would use the screw in type (pick tipped) at 100 count up the center.
Then soften front skid springs as much as possible and turn the rear blocks to max to increase the footprint as much as possible and still give max steerage.
 
#7 ·
I dont know what any of those adjustments are but ill have a friend help, lol :) I know almost everything above the track...by that I mean engine,clutches, etc., but have yet to even see everything under a snowmobile. For instance, I don't even know the names of the different type's of setups between the bogie wheels only being 2 in front and 2 in back of the track, and the type where you have rollers going all the way from front to back. And I can get a 96 count of studs for my sled but I have never seen a 100 count even sold anywhere. Also, how do I know if I have a comet clutch or not? The comet clutch is almost always the "TOP" shaped clutches right? Where the outer side of the clutch is shaped like one of those tops u spin on the floor when ur a kid? Where it's not all open but enclosed with a cover shaped like a "TOP". Well thanks for the help RJ, everyone, have a good night.
 
#8 ·
The all enclosed was a Cat Hex clutch! The comet would have 6 pillars! What RJ was refering to are screws with a carbide head and they just screw into the track lug!
Are you Vintage racing this sled? There may be rules on what type of studs you can use!
 
#9 ·
Your clutch should look like this unless it has been changed.



It can be tuned by changing the spring and/or the ramps.
This one pictured is tuned to engage at 5000 rpm for drag racing.
 
#10 ·
Nice, thanks RJ. Yea I do have the same clutch...what's surprising is that even though my clutch only engages at like 2,500 rpms,it still has dam good power coming off the line. It either pops the skis off the ground or spins the track until you let off the throttle, LOL. I couldn't imagine it with 96 studs up the center, the track tweaks u told me about, and the clutch set to engage at 5,000 rpm's :) I would probably have to move all the way up toward the gas tank so I didn't flip it over backwards, LOL! It can happen too....I have an 1972 Arctic Cat Puma 440 that ran back when I was in high school and even when sitting all the way towards the front of the seat as possible, it still picked the skis off the ground a good foot, EASY, and that was with a old/warn belt and only 36HP! - No exageration...and I wasn't exactly a "lightweight" in highschool, lol. Anyways, thanks for the help, and do you have any other racing tips or sled performance ideas?
 
#15 · (Edited)
Hi, me again, long time no see. I'm hoping someone sees this since I could use the help. I'm posting here because it's about the same snowmobile. I need to find the long jet for the carb on this sled that goes most of the way down through the top of the carb. I've been looking online and can't find it. Mine broke because they are really fragile needle jets. It's at least 2 inches long and is like a straw. You can look down the center of it and see clear through to the other side. Along the sides near the end that would be down in the carb, there are a few holes where I'm guessing fuel sprays out of. So it's for the same sled as in this thread and stock Mikuni butterfly style carb. it's not the mikuni carbs with the cylinder inside, it's actually a butterfly style with the round flat plate inside that turns open or closed.

Any help would be awesome, thanks!
 
#17 ·
Hey RJ, good to hear from you. Yeah I know they are difficult to acquire. You still have your Pantera and still selling parts from it?

If not, you remember any of the specs of that carb? I read somewhere that it is a Mikuni B40 butterfly style carb but do you know the MM size of the side of the carb that connects to the boot on the intake? I could not find that info. anywhere. Only Info. I found was A diagram of it with the parts of the carb numbered and some old -sold- carbs on Ebay. :(
 
#19 ·
Oh yeah I didn't put 2 and 2 together but the 40 in "B40" is probably it's mm size. Who knows what the B is for, lol. Any idea what the name of that jet is though? The jet that is about 2+ inches long and goes down in from the top of the carb and is hollow like a straw with some holes in the bottom of it. I'm guessing it sprays gasoline but I don't know for sure.

Any way you can type out or refer me to a list of trusted snowmobile parts sites? So far I've checked google shopping, ebay, Denniskirk, and "alssnowmobile". There seems to be a lot of sites for parts but I'm not sure which ones are legit.

I just noticed you live in NY too, I live in Margaretville New York.
 
#20 ·
"B" is for butterfly.
That is an emulsion tube, it has small holes in it to atomize the fuel into the air flow.
Als is a good source.

So, you are up north of me then?
You might try Hudsons Sled Shop for parts too.
 
#21 ·
You remember any of the jet settings on the carb you had or can point me in the right direction? I believe all except one of them are set all the way in. I think the one with the spring is the only one that needs adjusting.

It was idling for a couple minutes tonight then died. Decided to clean the carb again and that emulsion tube had more gunk in it. I don't think it matters a lot about how much of the tube broke off because it was only the bottom 1cm of it that only had one hole through it. There's still a total of 8 more holes in the sides of that tube. I cleaned out the carb top to bottom tonight and every single port and jet etc.

I live in Delaware County, here it is on the NY map: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/b/bc/Ny-delaware.png
 
#24 ·
I also measured the side of my carb that connects to the rubber mount and took a picture as well.
The outside diameter seems to measure 47mm and the inside is about 40mm. Is that how they go by the size is by the inside diameter or is it actually like a 47mm carb and not a B40 like I thought? Kind of lost here...
 
#25 ·
It is actually listed as a B34-40.
34 being the engine side and 40 being the intake side.
Measurement is the actual bore of the carb.

Settings;
Idle mixture is set using the screw on top with the spring on it and is usually 1 to 1.5 turns out.
Main jet is fixed and is at the bottom of the emulsion tube and is usually set at 2.5 turns out.
 
#26 · (Edited)
It is actually listed as a B34-40.
34 being the engine side and 40 being the intake side.
Measurement is the actual bore of the carb.
Hmm way smaller numbers than what I measured the carb at. :dunno:

Settings;
Idle mixture is set using the screw on top with the spring on it and is usually 1 to 1.5 turns out.
Main jet is fixed and is at the bottom of the emulsion tube and is usually set at 2.5 turns out.
Ok I'll check out the diagram I found for the carb on your forum for what jet is what and tune to the settings you gave. You said main jet is "fixed" I thought Fixed meant it was snugly tightened all the way in? :confused:


Do you mean the main air jet and the nozzle? And the main air jet is 2.5 turns out? And the Hex shaped end is fixed/snugly turned all the way in?

I guess to be more accurate we can just go by this diagram so I know exactly what you are referring to.
 
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