Growing up in the Central Ontario snowbelt, I pretty much lived on sleds as a kid. Granted they were old, beat up ditch bangers. I had a 1973 Alouette Mini Brute as a kid, then a 1979 Ski-Doo Citation 300, and on to a pair of John Deeres, a 1976 John Deere JD300 and a 1982 John Deere Trailfire LX. As a teen I had a 1979 Arctic Cat Jag 340 the never ran right, not once.
However it’s been a solid 6 years since I’ve even been on a snowmobile. A few of my friends that live in Toronto expressed interest in trying out snowmobiling, so I pondered the idea of buying a few old and beat up, yet reliable sleds just for people to enjoy.
I managed to pick up a 1988 Ski-Doo Safari 377e Scout for a case of beer! It didn’t run when I got it but it was complete and not in too bad of shape. After a bunch of fiddling around and trying to find out why it was flooding out, we opened up the end of the motor to find the key for the magneto had sheared off in the crank, so the ignition timing was way off. We knew of an old abandoned Ski-Doo Citation in the woods near my town that had the same motor (this sled has been out there for a solid 15 years) and pulled the motor apart and scavenged the key off that one. Once it was in and put back together it fired first pull!
So far this $45 sled has been an absolute blast. It runs mint, and everything works as it should (save for the bent ski). The plan is to find a few more beater sleds over the next month or so. I’d absolutely LOVE to find an old John Deere Liquifier 440or Spitfire 340.
Anyone else on oppo ride snowmobiles for fun?
