1 Sno-Twister – Wayne and Colt Dellandrea sent this picture of their 1976 440 Merc Sno-Twister, which they rebuilt. The Dellandreas are from Kincardine, Ont., and tell us their Twister includes a 440 Super Mod Motor built by POP-A-TOP racing in Connecticut, along with JAWS pipes. We like the pit crew credit on the sled’s side!
2 Liquidator – Anyone who knows Joe Rainville knows he’s a Deere nut. Here he’s on his 1976 John Deere Liquidator 340. “This was the sled that made Deere famous, and I was fortunate enough to buy it from Jon Carlson, of Enduro Team Deere fame. This is a replica he made of one of his I-500 racers. She is all stock, and attempted the 2nd annual Vintage Challenge last year, but the 35-year-old Prestolite CDI went “Presto! NO lite!”Larry Preston photo
3 Thunder jet – This 1972 650 Sno Jet Thunder Jet comes to us from Barry Bender of Wellesley, Ont. He writes, “My father sold Sno Jets in the late ’60s to the mid-’70s and I spent a lot of time helping put together new sleds, repair and maintain the older ones, and of course get in as much riding as possible. I watched the Thunder Jets with great interest as they came on the scene as a radically new design race sled. They changed the face of racing. I begged my father to get one for us - didn’t happen! Not sure why, I was a responsible 15-year-old at the time - LOL.” Barry found this in Winnipeg and it was shipped home “literally in a basket.” Now it’s his pride and joy, but how much did it cost to restore? “Ah, I forget!”
4 Scorpion Brut – The father and son team of David and Tanner Stensen, Osseo, Wis., sent us this photo of their 1975 Scorpion Brut 340, a rarity because it was only made one year after Scorpion bought out Brutanza Engineering. “We bought this in March 2010 in Harris, Minn., and worked on it throughout the summer. We tore it down to the bare chassis and started over. It has a new seat cover, paint, and many hours of tunnel polishing. Luckily it already had a rebuilt motor. We took it to the Cheese Fest Snowmobile Vintage show in Blair, Wis. in fall and won 2nd place in the restored class and Best of Show! That’s Tanner with the sled.
Vintage shows and rides continue to grow each season. You can see photos we take at those shows, plus other restored sleds at our website.