A Winter Behind A Blue Windshield

skiroule

Well-known member
I have to admit I was pretty nervous about posting this thread for such a large (and knowledgeable) audience but it’s great to see that so many of you enjoyed it. A special thanks to gary_”the_mule”_in_neenah for his constructive suggestions for improving the video, although I didn’t find his suggestions for improving my personality nearly as constructive.

For me, vintage sleds have the potential to become the snowmobile equivalent of street machines, street rods, or classic cars, but at a fraction of the cost. Much as I would like to have one again, the muscle cars I once owned in my younger years (kids’ college expenses had a way of making these things go away) are now out of my price range but I can manage a vintage sled or two.

Ironically, the trails are typically so good now that these sleds are almost more ride-able than when they were originally built. While they won’t approach the speeds of the modern sleds, many can be cruised at a respectable pace on today’s trails.

Working on them does take time and patience but as long as one owns or has access to the four basic tools: impact wrench, Sawzall, sandblaster, and WD-40, most problems can be overcome.

As I hope this thread shows, I love riding mine so if you meet a guy on the trail riding a red/white/blue TX and wearing an Evel Knievel helmet, it could be me so give em’ a wave.
 

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
Back to the Future

A quick check of our world at the time Ski's TX was brand new...

Gasoline was 86 cents per gallon

Average Household Income was $17,500

The reactor at Three Mile Island went critical

Iran took 63 Americans hostage in our embassy

Popular TV shows included; Mork & Mindy, The Waltons, and Charlie's Angels.
 

skiroule

Well-known member
A quick check of our world at the time Ski's TX was brand new...

Gasoline was 86 cents per gallon

Average Household Income was $17,500

The reactor at Three Mile Island went critical

Iran took 63 Americans hostage in our embassy

Popular TV shows included; Mork & Mindy, The Waltons, and Charlie's Angels.

One more thing: Ski's hair was shoulder-length and dark brown.
 

durphee

Well-known member
thanks for the video! keep up the good work, I enjoyed watching and reading your sledding experience. I showed my father ( he no longer snowmobiles) your pis and video and instantly starting chatting about the good old days riding his rupp!
 

StreetnSnow

New member
thanks for the video! keep up the good work, I enjoyed watching and reading your sledding experience. I showed my father ( he no longer snowmobiles) your pis and video and instantly starting chatting about the good old days riding his rupp!

Same here! Thanks for posting!! Your vid & pics brought back some very cool old memories. My Dad had a '76 TX, as one of the many sleds I grew up around. They used to yank us out of school for trips in the winter when I was little.
 

uncle_ed

Active member
Nice looking old sled ski, sure brings back memories! Reminds me of the Kawi 340 drifter airhead that my cousin used to have. Man that sled was a blast to ride. I stumbled across an old ski-doo Rv a few years back that I was going to restore but never got around to. Somebody made me an offer on it so I sold it but kind of wish I still had it to tinker with.
Thanks again for the flashback!
 

cobraindy

New member
Wow. Great video!! I love the different camera angles. Great editing job. Looks like PowerDirector is working out good for you. The sled looks Awesome. Looking forward to seeing your other sled next year.
 

skiroule

Well-known member
Wow. Great video!! I love the different camera angles. Great editing job. Looks like PowerDirector is working out good for you. The sled looks Awesome. Looking forward to seeing your other sled next year.

Thanks cobraindy. It’s pretty safe to say that almost everything I know about video is stuff I’ve learned from talking to you. PowerDirector has been working well for me. It seems surprisingly powerful for the money. Takes some serious CPU power though. </SPAN>

Both my cameras (the Roam and the Roam +2) have gotten software update downloads, which solved an intermittent, aborted recording issue on the +2 and dramatically improved the quality on my original Roam.</SPAN>

One thing I learned the hard way is that if you rotate a lens for off-angle shots, remember to return it to zero when you’re done. Have quite a bit of video that was accidentally recorded with everything 45 degrees off-level. The video could be rotated with the video editor but I keep it around as an anti-stupidity reminder.

Have some vintage video plans in the works for next season. Will have to see how it works out.
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