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Kevin Lehse ran into some odd-looking antique snowmobiles at the Hay Days swap meet about 10 years ago. That's when the bug bit him. Now, he owns 35 vintage and antique sleds.
"It's kind of a fever you get. With me, it's like tractors. I want something very unique … it's really neat to have one that's a one-of-a-kind. This is really kind of a disease," Lehse says with a chuckle.
The vintage contingentHe's not alone. Thousands of snowmobile collectors, restorers and vintage racers have infected North America. They have seen the light, and collecting is nothing short of a calling of sorts.
"A lot of people covet the sled they first learned to ride on, or that their uncle or dad had and taught them to ride on," says Les Pinz, an avid Scorpion collector and antique sled enthusiast. Pinz, also an
AmSnow test rider, has 20 Scorpions and 50 other historic vintage machines.
"Guys really want that first machine they ever rode," says John McGirk, president of the Antique Snowmobile Club of America (ASCOA), which was started in 1976. McGirk claims 135 sleds (78 brands) in his Ohio barn.
Yet, the big growth spurt for collecting, restoring and even racing antique and vintage snowmobiles has come in the last 7-10 years. The blizzard of activity, some say, is the natural progression of things, or the aging of a generation that first blazed the snowmobile trails on 1-cylinder buckboards. They have the disposable income, the time to work and show the sleds and the inclination, the love of the sport to do it.
ASCOA's membership is growing, hitting 2,188 members this season, while on the vintage side, folks in the trade estimate there's at least three times more enthusiasts. The Vintage Snowmobile Club of America (VSCA) serves that group by putting out a quarterly magazine.
Museums that show antique (sleds made in 1968 or before) and historic sleds are growing too. For instance, the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wis., not far from Sayner where Carl Eliason is credited with creating the first snow machine (his Motor Toboggan in 1926), has expanded. Loren Anderson, the Hall's founder, notes a 5,000-square-foot addition was just completed to give the museum roughly 9,000 sq. ft. of display space. That's enough for 80-90 snowmobiles to be shown at any time.
Another 15 miles up the road in Eagle River, Wis., is the World Snowmobile Headquarters, right next to the Eagle River Derby Track, home of the World Championships every January. This museum (which displays sleds from ASCOA and VSCA members and others) opened just a year ago and has 5,000 sq. ft. where it displays 58 sleds. Tom Anderson, who heads the museum, says that at least another 1,200 sq. ft. of display space will be added by the end of January.
Both museums have antique and vintage snowmobile rides associated with them too.
Rides, shows multiplyIn fact, antique snowmobile rides and shows are springing up all across the snow regions of North America. McGirk says Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are the nucleus of the activities for older sleds.
"But we have the most sleds," he says. Many of the early snowmobiles, including the first Arctic Cat and Polaris sleds, were made in the Upper Midwest. So, it stands to reason there are more old sleds to be found in Midwest barns and sheds, plus more interest from their former riders.
Dave Guenther, ASCOA director and long-time antique sled fanatic, says cost of entry for an antique sled is as little as a couple hundred dollars too. Fixing them up doesn't cost much either and often can be done in a couple nights in the garage. That's why restoring, showing and riding them is growing in leaps and bounds, he says.
"Ten years ago there were maybe 2 or 3 major events a year. Now, you can spin a bottle on the hood of your truck and go in any direction any weekend to find one," says Guenther.
In Waconia, Minn., an annual January event is billed as the world's largest antique and vintage snowmobile event. Lehse says it'll draw upward of 5,000 people with 400-600 sleds on display, plus there are many other activities. Another event in Pequot Lakes, Minn., is in its 14th year. In early February, ASCOA will conduct its winter convention in Eagle River, plus reenact the 45th anniversary of the Eagle River Derby at Dollar Lake.
These are just a handful of events, and they're not limited to the Midwest; the East and Canada are adding more vintage events each year too. Last October, the second annual VSCA National Show was in West Springfield, Mass.
Racy oldstersVintage racing also is growing and gives the dedicated sled tuner another, usually less expensive, way to race his own sled.
Dick Decker, who has run the Derby Track in Eagle River with his family forever, saw the vintage movement growing, and 8 years ago started a vintage race weekend the week before the Derby World Championships. Fewer than 100 sleds entered that first year. Last year, there were more than 500, and Decker expects 600 this year.
The racers are getting more serious each year too, better preparing their sleds, Decker says. "That first year if we put 10 sleds on the track for a race, maybe two would finish. Now, nearly all of them finish," he says.
Racers are beginning to put more money into their vintage racers too. Decker says he has heard of competitors spending up to $18,000 on their machines. But that isn't necessary. You can spend much less and still run, Decker says.
"The good thing about vintage is that it keeps a lot of people in the sport," Decker says. He is seeing a lot younger crowd, guys in their 30s joining the middle-age racers who grew up riding these sleds originally. He says the younger guys enjoy how small and simple the sleds are and enjoy doing their own work.
McGirk agrees, saying would-be racers in their 30s and 40s can buy a vintage sled for a couple thousand dollars and then add modern technology to be competitive without spending as much as they would just on a new race sled.
Vintage trail ridersYounger folks are spreading to the mainstream trail-riding end of the vintage snowmobile world too.
In Minnesota, Pinz says he's seeing a lot more young folks riding vintage machines with their buddies and families. They seem to enjoy the slower pace and the simplicity of the machines.
"Young people are having more fun on these lately. The vintage sleds are cheap and easy to fix. … and they're smaller than an old car to fix up and put in the garage," says Minnesotan Pinz. "These are sleds that start with 5- to 8-horsepower motors and go up to 600cc with 30-35 horses, but will still go 60 mph on the snow."
McGirk notes that he restores sleds because it gives him the satisfaction that he is preserving history, a common theme among restorers. But he believes all sleds need to be run on the snow too.
"Anything I restore, I take on the trail and ride. It must run or it won't go on the trailer for a show," says McGirk, a retired mechanical engineer.
He, like many of the those on the restoring and collecting end, are Boomers or beyond.
"This is great for the older group like me who's not as action-oriented or eager to pound down the trails at speed. This keeps me active in the sport and connected and having fun!"
How to find out moreIf you want to find out more on vintage and antique snowmobiles, check out these spots for more on restoring, showing, riding and racing.
ASCOA has a bi-monthly newsletter, Iron Dog Tracks, that includes classifieds listing sleds for sale and wanted items. It also has a listing of coming events, something you also can find on its Web site. Most folks say you can find sleds or parts readily through the newsletter and its Web site, which follow:
The VSCA is both a club and quarterly magazine devoted to vintage sleds. It is run by Mike and Judy Meagher.
Also note that our Web site,
www.AmSnow.com, has a Vintage forum where you can discuss restoration, racing and more. Our site also has For Sale and Wanted forums where you can swap or find parts, or sleds. Our industry directory online also lists companies that sell parts for vintage and antique sleds.
Check the following:Antique Snowmobile Club of America:
John McGuirk,
President;
17719 Sharp Road,
Sidney, Ohio 45365;
Johnk17719@hotmail.com;
www.ascoa.orgVintage Snowmobile Club of America:
www.vsca.comAmerican Snowmobiler magazine and forums:
www.AmSnow.comOr look at
www.vintagesleds.com, another site that talks sled history and also helps people find sleds and parts.
Another site many find parts on is
www.nhsnowmobilemuseum.com, the Web site for the New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum in Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire.
In Canada check out
www.acscc.com, the site for the Antique and Classic Snowmobile Club of Canada.