30 years later

[700xcsp]

Well, I finally dug them out from underneath 30 years of garbage inside a garage. I little background of these 2 machines.....My uncle used to race the Suzuki 250 back in the late 70's and early 80's, the sled is one of the first sleds I was ever on. It is a 1971 or 1972, the Tag states it was built in Nov. of 1971 so not sure if they call that a 72 or not. I can remember riding with my uncle on his Johnson Snowmobile and his buddy on this Artic Cat Panther, I think, we would go out around 7pm and ride for hours, when we would get low on fuel we would go back to the house and they would park down the street and send me and my brother into the garage to grab the gas can so my Dad did not know that we were back. He would of made us come inside if he caught us, I was only 7 or 8 years old at the time. Then when we would Finally get home around 2 am. my dad would be mad cause it was so late, remember, NO cell phones or anything back then. I can remember one time my Dad caught me running down the driveway with the gas can and I pretended not to hear him and kept going! The good Old Days.

Anyway, I just picked these up last weekend and they were put in storage in 1983 or 1984, the Illinois Sticker is from 1982, and have never moved. the Bike has compression and will probably start with no problems, new plugs, clean carbs, new gas and few odd and ends. The sled on the other hand seems to be locked up, I tried pulling it but nothing happened. I put some Sea Foam down into the heads on Monday and I am going to let it sit like that for a while. The seat is in Great condition, the Track is in good condition. The Windshield is busted as you can see, and the skis are bent and need replacing. I guess I am posting this to show you guys what I found but also to get some help on locating the following parts for the Sled.

1. Windshield
2. Head Light
3. Will consider Stock Hood with Light and Windshield
4. Pair of Skis
5. Track (don't need it but would like to have just in case)
6. Gas Tank housing, tank is in the back and they had some wood and windows laying on top of it and the housing cracked.
7. Stock Decals

I am going to start looking into this sled more and cleaning it up this weekend, I took Friday off just to work on it! So I am not even sure what it is, I think I remember it being a 340 Panther but there are no decals or anything on it and like I said, I have not even looked at it, I got home late Sunday night, put it in the garage, dumped Sea Foam into it and have not seen it since! If anyone has a parts sled with some parts that I am looking for let me know, if there is a place I can buy refurbished or new parts please let me know. Any help is appreciated as I would love to get this sled running this year for the kids.

Man did this bring back memories when we opened the door and finally seen it for the first time in 30 years!!

 

[gary_in_neenah]

I think you have a 72 Panther there. 71 was the first year they used purple in the color scheme. Most Panthers had the gas tank in the rear, Lynx and Pumas tanks were in the front or mid point. Nice find, should be fun bringing her back to life.

 

[Banjo Man]

That looks very similiar to my 1st sled. A 72 Cheetah with the leopard seat. I recall the gas tank was up front and even had electric start when it worked.

 

[skiroule]

Great Stories! The gas escapades are too funny. You guys were very clever. I think you’ve hit on a couple of reasons why a lot of us are starting to get back into the vintage world: good memories and it is really fun to get this old iron back on its feet.
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Parts for that sled are probably about as plentiful as any sled built in that era (Gary knows his Panthers so it is most likely a 72). You might even be able to find a donor sled that isn’t too far away. The VintageSleds website is good source of NOS and used parts.
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Mfg Supply out of WI also has a lot of the stuff you would need. Good company and good service.
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http://www.mfgsupply.com/garage/vehicleparts/parts/snowmobile/arctic+cat/1972/panther+336/
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I’ve seen decal sets advertised on ebay for that sled. Don’t know much about the company but they do seem to make a lot of sets.</SPAN>

I had a stuck Honda ATV engine and the guys on here told me to dump Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinder. Sure enough, in a couple of weeks it broke free. Still runs like a champ.</SPAN>

Now you need to start posting pics on the Vintage Sled Chat thread so we can see how it is coming along. Besides, then we would have projects from MI, WI, MN, and IL. We’re all just building riders so your project is perfect.</SPAN>

 

[uncle_ed]

Sounds like you had some good times back in the day that got you hooked on snowmobiling like myself and so many others. Just leave it to an uncle to get you into late night ramblings out on a sled

It looks like you have a nice piece to work with for a restoration with the cat so good luck and have fun with the build!

 

[700xcsp]

Thanks for all the replies and the information, I will most likely start to look into the sled tomorrow or next weekend, from that point forward I will post all pics and info in the antique section and let everyone know how it is going. I am hoping that by next weekend I could have it cleaned and ready to tear into but not sure, I will keep everyone posted with pics and info!

Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

One other thing, is it safe to say that it is in fact a 1972 even tho it says it was built in November of 1971? Also, with no decals or no names on it is it a Panther or Cheetah?

I thought it was a 1971 Panther but there is no purple anywhere on it and the only Leopard style on the seat is on the backrest? The rest of the seat is black? Just wondering what everyone thins and when I buy parts I want to get them for the right machine.

 

[skiroule]

When you say antique section, are you talking about the sleds or the riders?

I wouldn't worry too much about getting the wrong parts. So many of these parts are interchangeable. If it's a Panther, a lot of parts will fit it, besides 72 Panther parts. If you by replacement stuff, you can always return it.

Speaking of Panthers, this is a shot of one. If your seat is black, it was most likely recovered. Even if it isn't a 72, you could make it into one. Back then I don't think it would be unusual for a sled to be built in late 71 and be a 72 model. It probably wasn't like it is now where sleds are built much earlier.

Here's a shot of the decal set for 72 340: