eagles snow hawk
Amsnow
Very little is known about this firm and attempts at gaining any information has resulted in failure. Letters mailed to their only known address of 1275 Hubrey Road, London, Ontario have been returned with the notation "undeliverable" stamped on them. The letterhead on their stationery states that they built the "Norfolk Hawk," "Piedmont Hawk" and "Hawk 19" tobacco tying machines as well as spraying equipment and "Snow Hawk" snowmobiles.
From what I have been able to learn of their venture into the snowmobile business, they built sleds from the 1968 season through the 1972 season. The 1969 and 1970 models were identical and the picture shown is the 1970 advertising offering. These sleds offered six models with only the engines being different. The models 230, 295, 340 and 440 were "recoil" starters and ranged in price from $499 to $799. The 295 and 340 electric start models sold for $634 and $699.
THE CEECO "SNO-FLITE"
The Ceeco "Sno-Flite" was manufactured by C.E. Erickson Company of Des Moines, Iowa in the 1968 and 1969 model years only. The only difference between the two production models was a change from a tubular bumper to a flat stock design and a switch from JLO (pronounced e-low) engines to Kohler. The sled shown is a 1969 as determined by the flat bumper with the name "Sno-Flite" painted on it. Engine choices were a single cylinder 309cc producing 18 horsepower and a twin cylinder cranking out 23 horses from a 399cc displacement engine.
The chassis was all steel and the hood was reinforced fiberglass of the flip-up type. The fuel tank had a rather skimpy three gallon capacity which would barely get you to the property line of the old homestead. The sled was nothing special for its time and one stated "feature" has left me hanging.
The skis and springs were described as being "in balance with handling" - whatever that means. The clutch was described as being especially calibrated for Sno-Flite. All that tells me is that it was not unlike any other clutch being used in 1969. If you bought one of the 6,000 Wheelhorse snowmobiles produced for 1970 you shouldn't be surprised if it looked like a Sno-Flite. Wheelhorse bought the sled from Erickson and had a 2,000 sled carryover going into the 1971 season- but that's another sled and another story.
"Sno-Flite" Specs:
Length 89 inches
Length with skis 97 inches
Width 32 inches
Height 41 inches
Fuel tank All metal with fuel gauge,
(removable) quick disconnect lines.
Fuel Capacity 3 gallons
Chassis All steel with fiberglass cab
Lights Duel in front and single in rear
Track Molded Polyurethane
Track Width 15 inches
Bogies 15 inches
Suspension Torsion springs
Transmission Belt driven automatic
Brake Disc type
Engines Either 309 or 399 Kohler