Gettin a free sled - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

blizzard bender · 12-19-2007, 12:02 PM

Gettin a free sled 1979 ski doo everest.
It needs a motor. What are my options for a power plant?
anybody got one that will work layin around?

think it was a f/c originally

Snakeman · 12-21-2007, 10:05 PM

I got 1 piece of advice for you.Stay away from seventies 440 fan engine(I had 2 of them.1 was in a 79 everest).It was about the biggest dud that came from Austria.They had it for approx. 10 years and never did get it to run good.They reintroduced it in the nineties and it worked great.My son's got one in his 97 MXZ.

ac bigbore · 12-22-2007, 12:13 PM

They always end up costing me 300% what they are worth
just to get them up and running decently, and are such
obsolete dogs I won't even let my friends ride 'em.

Sorry for the downbeat comments. Just trying to save you
some time, frustration, and money.

blizzard bender · 12-22-2007, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Sorry for the downbeat comments. Just trying to save you
some time, frustration, and money.

free sled means I can spend some money on it.
all work will be done by me. tinkerin with stuff is a great enjoyment for me. I love Projects!!!

I take great pride in taking something that has been abused beat and neglected and turning it back into a good running machine
i'll probably be wrenchin on something untill they plant me.

RoadkillSTX · 12-22-2007, 01:43 PM

My dad's 1979/1980 Polaris 440TX was a freaking beast. That thing flew! It'd hit 85-90mph no problem...
It just didn't have anything in regards to a suspension.

My experience was good (better than my current sled anyways), but it was with a Polaris I don't know anything about old ski-doos.

In other words the 1979 Polaris never left me stranded. Super reliable machine, and cheap.
All we ever had to do to that thing was:
Fiberglass repair the hood when it was driven under a truck
New Drive belt
2. YES 2. Sets of spark plugs in the 5 years we did serious riding on it.
Easy to fix and diagnose too.

Oh and it had a metal cleated track! Don't take it into deep snow, but on ice and hardpack that thing was awesome!

Jaded · 12-22-2007, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ac bigbore

They always end up costing me 300% what they are worth
just to get them up and running decently, and are such
obsolete dogs I won't even let my friends ride 'em.

Sorry for the downbeat comments. Just trying to save you
some time, frustration, and money.

Aeren't you just a ray of sunshine?

I too have had alot of fun tinkering with old rides that should have been put out to pasture. Everybody wants something different out of the sport and not everyone can afford new.
Anyway, I had a 1974 440 Everest TNT and it was great. It was a bit hard on fuel and did eat belts, two per season. My Dad at that time had the 1976 340 Everest TNT and it was great too. Not near today's standards but fun and reliable.

Jim Jessup · 12-22-2007, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakeman

I got 1 piece of advice for you.Stay away from seventies 440 fan engine(I had 2 of them.1 was in a 79 everest).It was about the biggest dud that came from Austria.They had it for approx. 10 years and never did get it to run good.They reintroduced it in the nineties and it worked great.My son's got one in his 97 MXZ.

First of all the newer 440's are NOTHING like the vintage 440. Its roots can be traced to the 377 and 503 series.

Second, Rotax only had a problem with 440's in 1973, YOU most likely got a couple duds.
The later 440 Chrome bore pulls hard, and will bring a TNT up to 70MPH all day long.
Ski-Doo didn't produce them for 9 years because they ran like s**t and wanted to piss off everyone who bought one

ac bigbore · 12-22-2007, 04:46 PM

[quote=Jaded]Aeren't you just a ray of sunshine?

I too have had alot of fun tinkering with old rides that should have been put out to pasture. Everybody wants something different out of the sport and not everyone can afford new.

My apologies again. Its raining outside and I had to cancel
snowmobile trip this weekend. Kinda in the dumps!

I too enjoy working on old sleds. I've got a 92 Wildcat that
has a newer skid, plastic skis, 800 overbore with extreme
porting including extra exhaust boost ports machined in,
Boyeson reeds, PSI pipes, Heelcliker adjustable clutch kit,
roller converted secondary, and some other stuff. Many dollars
and hours spent working on it. Wrenched on it much more than
I ever rode it, but it was worth it. I paid 1200 for the sled
many years ago- had about 2000 miles on it. Good solid sled
when I bought it. But I put some used auto oil in it by
accident (had it stored in a Arctic oil jug) and fried a cylinder, which started me on the mod project.

Now another story. A friend gave me an old 1976 Pantara.
Piece of crap to start with. Bought a new track, slides,
rebuilt the clutch, new pistons, and a bunch of other stuff.
Spent about 600 or 700 bucks for parts, and a good chunk
of my valuable free time on it. Its still a piece of crap
old sled that I don't enjoy riding at all.

Old sleds are great and I enjoy working on them as much
as anyone. Just pick your projects wisely. There are a
lot of old sleds out there, some are going to give back
more than you put in, some will just sap your wallet and spirit.

mark31 · 12-22-2007, 06:47 PM

[quote=ac bigbore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaded

Aeren't you just a ray of sunshine?

I too have had alot of fun tinkering with old rides that should have been put out to pasture. Everybody wants something different out of the sport and not everyone can afford new.

My apologies again. Its raining outside and I had to cancel
snowmobile trip this weekend. Kinda in the dumps!

I too enjoy working on old sleds. I've got a 92 Wildcat that
has a newer skid, plastic skis, 800 overbore with extreme
porting including extra exhaust boost ports machined in,
Boyeson reeds, PSI pipes, Heelcliker adjustable clutch kit,
roller converted secondary, and some other stuff. Many dollars
and hours spent working on it. Wrenched on it much more than
I ever rode it, but it was worth it. I paid 1200 for the sled
many years ago- had about 2000 miles on it. Good solid sled
when I bought it. But I put some used auto oil in it by
accident (had it stored in a Arctic oil jug) and fried a cylinder, which started me on the mod project.

Now another story. A friend gave me an old 1976 Pantara.
Piece of crap to start with. Bought a new track, slides,
rebuilt the clutch, new pistons, and a bunch of other stuff.
Spent about 600 or 700 bucks for parts, and a good chunk
of my valuable free time on it. Its still a piece of crap
old sled that I don't enjoy riding at all.

Old sleds are great and I enjoy working on them as much
as anyone. Just pick your projects wisely. There are a
lot of old sleds out there, some are going to give back
more than you put in, some will just sap your wallet and spirit.

I have a buddy that still rides a 79 pantera actually we just put a new piston in the left cylinder. It's still a piece of crap but very comfortable to ride.

JheLrey · 12-23-2007, 04:30 AM

I love getting free sleds...

**RJ Gleason** · 12-23-2007, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JheLrey

I love getting free sleds...

A great source of parts or other fun too.
I like taking as many different brands and making one or two sleds that run out of them that I can.
Ex; A 70 Puma with a 433 Yammi engine, a 68 Olympic with a Polaris 440 Free air, etc, etc.

SnowRida · 12-23-2007, 06:13 AM

If you have the time and like tinkering, go ahead, and good luck on your project!

Spark · 12-23-2007, 10:13 AM

I had a blast rebuilding my first sled, a '77 Panther. Pricey to fix. Ran great and kept up with the newer sleds until it got rough or had to make any kind of turn. Was a trip to ride 'till my body couldn't take it any more. Great conversation pieces, those relics are. If ya have a lot of smooth groomed trails,go fer it

It'd probably be cheepest to keep it stock.

RoadkillSTX · 12-23-2007, 02:12 PM

Haha yeah. The last time we took the 440FA Polaris TX out to a rally, it definitely was the center of attention.

Snakeman · 12-24-2007, 04:37 PM

I didn't make that stuff up about the seventies 440 fans.My buddy was a Bommer dealer back then and is still doing sleds.A couple of the local dealers get him to build their motors for them,so I think he knows what he's talking about.That's from my experience owning 2 of them and him trying to make them work like they should have.The 340 was a lot better and faster as well.Now the 444 liquid in that same sled was a whole different story.

Jim Jessup · 12-24-2007, 06:16 PM

I have 8 440 f/c ranging from 71 to 78. All run like tops. Newer Mikuni carbs help. I'll admit the older 440s were dogs to start, and you have to really know what you're doing to get them tuned in right.
I agree with the 340, they run tops with little work to get tuned and my 340 TNT will run with my 440 all day, as long as its not in a long stretch. I do have a Comet 102c on my 340 though. Helps alot. Those Insta Toque ski-doo clutches IMO are garbage.