Chaparral vs John Deere: A Build-Off Challenge

heckler56

Well-known member
My first new sled 1974 433GP fan cooled and I believe it had the high/low
New Years Eve 1979. Living on Lake Superior by what is now Lakenenland, 4AM, two men still standing. One with a GP and the other EW. GP says he wants to ride and EW says you’re too drunk. EW goes to bathroom, GP suits up and leaves. As I tried to chase him down the headlight disappears in the trees after riding the road. I turn my head to see if there is carnage and Bamm, hit the rear skid on a ditch culvert. The GP was so much faster than my EW.

The GP was a fast sled at the time (dual carbs as I recall). I don’t remember if they had the high/low but the EW was used in the first expedition to make the Arctic circle.
 

heckler56

Well-known member
Well now we’re talking! If you ever decide to follow up on this thought, I’d recommend holding out for that very sled model for a couple of reasons. First, it has a special significance in your snowmobiling history and second, you know the sled and that would make working on it that much easier. Plus, it would look really cool sitting in the garage next to your other sleds.

Vintage sleds are funny, they have a way of falling into your lap when you least expect it. I’ll bet half my vintage sleds have been acquired this way, so you never know when something you're looking for will pop up.

Yamaha was a big seller back in the day so there should be a fair number of parts floating around and I suspect that items such as ski/suspension parts, graphics, windshields, seat covers, etc. are being reproduced.

People like to rip FB (and rightly so most of the time) but there are a lot of vintage sled groups there that can be very useful for obtaining parts, information, and even complete sleds.
I actually am tracking one on FB. Price is steep and need to off load my back up sled so the wife doesn’t see the initial money go out the door 👍
 

skiroule

Well-known member
New Years Eve 1979. Living on Lake Superior by what is now Lakenenland, 4AM, two men still standing. One with a GP and the other EW. GP says he wants to ride and EW says you’re too drunk. EW goes to bathroom, GP suits up and leaves. As I tried to chase him down the headlight disappears in the trees after riding the road. I turn my head to see if there is carnage and Bamm, hit the rear skid on a ditch culvert. The GP was so much faster than my EW.

The GP was a fast sled at the time (dual carbs as I recall). I don’t remember if they had the high/low but the EW was used in the first expedition to make the Arctic circle.

Great story Heck, I can visualize the whole thing, right up until the culvert.

My first new sled 1974 433GP fan cooled and I believe it had the high/low

So, do either of you guys know when the free-air GPX came out? maybe later, around 76? I assume it was an amped up version of the GP. I think Lenny, who used to hang around on the site quite a bit, had what was probably the successor, the SRX. That thing was stupid fast.
 

heckler56

Well-known member
Great story Heck, I can visualize the whole thing, right up until the culvert.



So, do either of you guys know when the free-air GPX came out? maybe later, around 76? I assume it was an amped up version of the GP. I think Lenny, who used to hang around on the site quite a bit, had what was probably the successor, the SRX. That thing was stupid fast.
Found a 1974 GPX on FB. I don’t recall ever seeing any after the SRX came out. The SRX was a beast.
In high school I guy I knew got a SRX. As I recall those first units you had to have “points” in racing to acquire, how Larry got one I have no idea.
Another story, so Larry ran his van into a tree and broke his leg. Cast on leg winter rolls along 4-5 months later. Larry takes sled out with cast on catches leg on tree. New cast summer comes along. Larry water skis with cast on and breaks leg again. RP7X and I went high school with this guy.
 

skiroule

Well-known member
Found on FB: $2,500. Looks clean. Cracks in hood.
1974 Yamaha GPX 433
Would be a fun sled to have but they sure don’t come cheap. Seems like the price of the vintage muscle sleds has really jumped over the last few years.

Found a 1974 GPX on FB. I don’t recall ever seeing any after the SRX came out. The SRX was a beast.
In high school I guy I knew got a SRX. As I recall those first units you had to have “points” in racing to acquire, how Larry got one I have no idea.
Another story, so Larry ran his van into a tree and broke his leg. Cast on leg winter rolls along 4-5 months later. Larry takes sled out with cast on catches leg on tree. New cast summer comes along. Larry water skis with cast on and breaks leg again. RP7X and I went high school with this guy.
It was pretty cool that Yamaha made the black/gold SRX color scheme available on the Sidewinder, Loved that combination.

I shouldn’t laugh at Larry’s misfortune but that’s a hilarious story. I can’t help but wonder about the reaction if you three guys were ever to walk into a bar together. People would probably be diving under tables.
 

skiroule

Well-known member
Guess I better provide some evidence that I’m not spending all my time on the keyboard.

I had originally intended to use the hood that came on the parts sled but it had hinge issues so I took a closer look at the 440 hood. Except for some small stress cracks and light damage to the base of the hood in front, it was in much better shape than I originally thought so I went with it.

When I’m repairing hood cracks, I always try to work both sides of the hood, which makes for a lot of sanding dust.
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One thing I like about the Cyclone hoods is they have no gel coat so they never get the dreaded spider webbing. Once the repair work was done on the front and all the nicks/chips feathered out, it’s ready for the first coat of primer.
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Apparently, I didn’t take any shots of the hood in gray primer so we’re moving straight to the black.
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Both queued for the paint booth.
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mezz

Well-known member
Moving along nicely, not to mention quickly. I'd say this one will be done before the snow sticks.
 

skiroule

Well-known member
Moving along nicely, not to mention quickly. I'd say this one will be done before the snow sticks.
I admire your confidence Mezz but I think that’s probably a long shot. I try not to think about all the work that is left to do. I have been working at picking up the pace on the painting end. Paint-friendly days will become increasingly scarce as we move into September,

Got the Cyclone paint from Vintage Sled Paints and I always chuckle at his packaging. In addition to the padded packing box, he puts clips on the paint lids, then a dozen or so wraps of shrink packing tape, then two layers of foam padding, followed by more shrink packing tape.

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I could probably save a little money if I didn’t buy his pre-reduced (ready to spray) paint but it’s so handy to use. This is all you need to spray it – gun, paint, and hardener.

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Paint in hand, I did get color on the Cyclone. He was totally right on the black base coat. It wouldn’t have been at all right without it. I use a sheet of white corrugated poster board to test spray/adjust my gun and it looked completely different on that base.

The Mean Green is funny, it’s almost pearlescent and has a different cast on uneven surfaces like the pan, depending on how the light strikes it. Drove me nuts trying to figure out if I was getting even metallic distribution. In the end, the chassis is done.

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Also sprayed the hood. The paint was still pretty wet when this shot was taken so it does flow out a little more. It’s never perfect but then I’ve paid money to shops for paint jobs that are less than perfect so I figure I’m in good company.

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skiroule

Well-known member
Thanks guys. It is a cool color. Deere used it on the 76 and 77 Cyclones and at a glance, it's really hard to tell the two years apart. They went with a different green in 78, the last year of the Cyclone's short run.
 

skiroule

Well-known member
Well, it’s a quiet Sunday night up here on the border. After a late dinner of Walleye filets coated with Andy’s batter and washed down with a Hamm’s or two, it seemed like the perfect time to throw out a project update.

I’ve been trying to multi-task somewhat on the Chaparral and the first task was removal of the pan and hood. Just for good measure I removed the dash so I can sand/paint the dash frame. I get a kick out of this photo because it brings to mind the vintage sled ads that say: “Runs and Drives.” Well, here you go.

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Kidding aside, Chaparral was one of the earliest to realize that the pan did not have to be an integral part of the frame. Eventually, every manufacturer that was left in the business was building sleds this way.

The pan had taken a hit just forward of the tunnel but very repairable.

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rph130

Well-known member
Well, it’s a quiet Sunday night up here on the border. After a late dinner of Walleye filets coated with Andy’s batter and washed down with a Hamm’s or two, it seemed like the perfect time to throw out a project update.

I’ve been trying to multi-task somewhat on the Chaparral and the first task was removal of the pan and hood. Just for good measure I removed the dash so I can sand/paint the dash frame. I get a kick out of this photo because it brings to mind the vintage sled ads that say: “Runs and Drives.” Well, here you go.

View attachment 71476

Kidding aside, Chaparral was one of the earliest to realize that the pan did not have to be an integral part of the frame. Eventually, every manufacturer that was left in the business was building sleds this way.

The pan had taken a hit just forward of the tunnel but very repairable.

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I would call that sled bare bones.
 

skiroule

Well-known member
I would call that sled bare bones.
Indeed!

Kind of a long post here but I can’t remember ever walking through the fiberglass hood/pan crack repair process, so bear with me. There are variations for severe damage but neither sled this year required special treatment.

I don’t get too carried away on the inside, which is less visible and may even be covered by other sled parts. I clean the area well, sand it, and apply a layer of fiberglass mat, in this case to the pan.

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These are two products that I rely on heavily: fiberglass filler and a good glazing putty for the finish work. The fiberglass filler is harder and stronger than regular body filler and this brand of glazing putty is amazing stuff. You can sand it so thin you can almost see through it.

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After the mat is cured and sanded, I apply the Bondo Glass to even out the surface and provide some feathering effect. This may take more than one pass.

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When I’m satisfied with the look of things I finish it off with the glazing putty and a finer sanding.

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In this case, the inside of the pan is not painted the same color as the outside so I just sprayed on a color that I thought was close to the original with a rattle-can.

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What is done on the outside surface depends on the type of cracking. If there are large cracks, I use a small sanding disc to cut a small “vee” along the crack. If there are a lot of small cracks in an area, I try to sand the surface down enough to create a depression so when the filled area is sanded down even with the surrounding surface, there will be more material on top of the cracks

The fiberglass mat adds thickness, which makes it hard to blend the repair so if I can avoid it, I don’t use it on the outside surface, just the fiberglass filler and glazing putty. Give the whole thing some fine sanding, prime it, and yahoo, it’s ready for paint.

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