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Long before AD Boivin's racy single-ski SnowHawk there was the much less flashy Sno-Blazer.
The single ski idea was an early one for snowmobiles. Several individuals and a few manufacturers toyed with the idea, but Fun Seasons Inc. made it happen in 1972, to a limited degree.
The Burnsville, Minn., sled maker, a subsidiary of Guardian Diversified Services of Minneapolis, turned out this entertaining looking single-ski machine. While some were advertised with Rockwell JLO 223cc engines, others, including this one, used a Hirth 292cc, 20-horse single-cylinder motor with a Walbro WR-5 carburetor. Top speed was said to be about 50 mph, but that seems a stretch.
Reports say the first Sno-Blazer was shown at the 1972 International Trade Show in mid-June. But it sold like ice to Eskimos, which is to say, it didn't.
Few Sno-Blazers were made for the 1973 season, but one that was, and has survived, is owned by Brett Buer of Dawson, Minn. He says his example came from a friend that lost interest in the sled and gave it to Brett for safe-keeping. Seems appropriate, as Brett has amassed a nice collection of about 25 sleds, mostly Chaparrals.
This Dijon mustard and avocado-colored sled's serial number, No. 335, belies the small numbers made.
Some say it was the sled's monster price tag that scared off buyers at the time. It carried a dealer price of $671, and an MSRP of $895, big bucks in the early '70s! But an old AmSnow story says they were being advertised for sale shortly thereafter at $395, not the type of pricing to encourage dealers to buy more … and take a loss!
Brett became a snowmobiler in the 1970s after his dad, Todd, had become a Sno-Ghia dealer in 1968. (That's another story, says Brett, but the Italian Ghias didn't last long!) His dad then moved on to sell Galaxy and Rupp models, but quit the business after Rupp tried to push too many sleds on him one season.
It was his dad buying a Chaparral that got Brett's attention and his first sled he owned was a 1971 Chaparral 440 Thunderbird. Brett was a 14-year-old high schooler and like many kids, was told he could ride it once he could start it.
He still has that sled, but he admits the Sno-Blazer is fun to display at shows because it's so different. And it's in good shape. However, Brett says its rubber and steel-reinforced track was poorly made, so he doesn't run his for fear of breaking the 10 ¾-inch wide by 39-inch track.
Everything on his Sno-Blazer is original, but he doesn't know how many miles it has on it. Any casual observer will notice right away that it has no speedometer or odometer. Records show the solo-skied machine offered both a speedometer and gas gauge as options.
The gas tank is stored under the sled's narrow seat and there's some storage there too, considered a selling point in 1973 when the Sno-Blazer was advertised as the sled "For the man who Had everything." That could be taken a number of ways.
The Sno-Blazer's light and brake are controlled on the handlebar to the left and the throttle and kill switch (considered a special feature at the time) are in the traditional spot on the right bar.
Other details?
Officially Sno-Blazer is 85 inches long and 22 inches wide. Sales materials of the day say it weighs 225 lbs. Brakes are an H&H heavy-duty single disc caliper and there's a dual chain enclosed drive and Salsbury torque converter. Suspension is nothing fancy with torsion spring bogies.
A few other key features were a locking ignition, a recoil start, Apex gearbox an adjustable head lamp, and a taillight.
Whoo-hoo! Let the good times roll!