Chaparral vs John Deere: A Build-Off Challenge

[skiroule]

would like to see what your using for a gun , not much over spray is nice with that kind of paint

I’ve been using this Devilbiss JGA-502 syphon feed gun off and on for over 50 years. At the time I bought it, it was considered one of the better guns available. I seem to recall I paid $125 for it in 1974, which was a lot of money when you weren’t making very much money.

It’s kind of funny, syphon feed guns are now considered “Old School.” In my case, that seems appropriate. Take care of your spray gun and it will last a long time.

 

[rp7x]

bought a binks #7 in 1975 , thats was a hard thing to put down and go to a gravity hvlp

 

[euphoric1]

So...how was the fishing Kelly? hood and pan look incredible! I still keep going back at that stripped down photo of the chap and its still quite amazing their set up! cant wait until you start into the mechanics of it

 

[skiroule]

So...how was the fishing Kelly? hood and pan look incredible! I still keep going back at that stripped down photo of the chap and its still quite amazing their set up! cant wait until you start into the mechanics of it

Thanks Brian! Fishing was excellent. The condition of this sled won’t require the level of teardown that has occurred on most projects but there are things to be done and I’ll try to include some better shots of how everything goes together.

Sat out on the deck for a while tonight watching the leaves fly. They’re falling fast and the north wind has an edge to it. It won’t be long…..

Now that the bigger, weather-dependent painting is done, I have had a little time to take stock of where things are, projects and otherwise. I’m OK with where the projects are at, which is good because I figure there are maybe 30 days before boat fishing becomes a test of will against the weather and cabin shutdown won’t be far behind. So it will be a busy month but I still plan to get in a little project time, even if it’s only a couple of hours a week.

One thing I will be doing is continuing to remove cleats on the Cyclone track.


They must have run this thing down a bare gravel road for 500 miles. I’ve never seen cleats wear this bad running against hyfax. Most are worn completely through and they get weak and break.


I’m including this shot for Heckler. A guy a couple of hours away from me does quite a bit of vintage sled dealing. A friend is interested in the Kawasaki so the guy sent me a couple photos and in this one I see there is also a 433 Yamaha on the trailer. Not being very familiar with Yamaha, I’m not sure of the model or year.

 

[dwz]

Looks like my first new sled, 1974 433 GP

 

[heckler56]

Kelly, thanks for scratching that itch! The 433 looks sweet. I can only locate 1 EW433 with the h/l clutch, in a field, rotting away and they want $800. I will pull the trigger if I sell the backup sled so as to soften the wife’s disapproval on $’s out the door…

dwz, so you think that is a GP? The ones I have ever seen had the dual carbs exposed to the driver and not the plastic fascia this has. Admittedly those owners were brutal riders and that plastic was likely destroyed day one of ownership..

 

[dwz]

The carbs on mine had the cover just like the picture, maybe I wasn’t hard enough on mine!

 

[skiroule]

Kelly, thanks for scratching that itch! The 433 looks sweet. I can only locate 1 EW433 with the h/l clutch, in a field, rotting away and they want $800. I will pull the trigger if I sell the backup sled so as to soften the wife’s disapproval on $’s out the door…

dwz, so you think that is a GP? The ones I have ever seen had the dual carbs exposed to the driver and not the plastic fascia this has. Admittedly those owners were brutal riders and that plastic was likely destroyed day one of ownership..

Well, it's the least I could do . Some might think $800 is a lot of money for a rusting hulk but if it's a hard-to-find model you want and you can see the potential, I think it's worth it.

I once ponied up $1000 for this 72 650 SS carcass for those very reasons. It took almost 2 years but those that followed the "One Man's Trash" thread might remember how it turned out.

 

[euphoric1]

besides it seems they were a little ahead of the curve for the times, what makes them so valuable? not many made? or just very desirable?

 

[heckler56]

besides it seems they were a little ahead of the curve for the times, what makes them so valuable? not many made? or just very desirable?

I don’t think they are desirable except me. Survivors were available a few years ago but now it’s like 1 a year. The H/L transmission felt like a tank at the time and could go anywhere. From what I remember the EW433 made it to the Arctic Circle.

skiroule, that Chaparral is mint!

 

[skiroule]

besides it seems they were a little ahead of the curve for the times, what makes them so valuable? not many made? or just very desirable?

Heckler is spot-on when it comes to availability. In the late 90’s you could pick this stuff up for peanuts, or even free but of course, I wasn’t smart enough to take advantage of that then. Now the guys that know what they have price them accordingly. On flip side, there’s probably stuff sitting in barns that no one thinks is worth anything so they don’t bother to try to sell them.

In the case of this particular Chaparral, the chassis VIN matched the motor so it was an original 650 sled. It had a tach and electric start, which were optional, but what set it apart was some things not found on the run-of-the-mill Firebird SS production sleds. It had a Thunderbird hood, painted front cross member and clutch guard, polished aluminum rewind, fan shroud, and coil cover, but the big departure was that it was painted a non-standard color and had a painted-on Chaparral logo rather than decals. Also, it was hand-pinstriped before it was shipped to the dealer. I was told by the seller, who had a ton of cool Chaparrals and who’s dad was a Chaparral dealer, that he had only seen one other one like it. It would have looked very similar to this Bobby Unser promo model.



I did some rearranging tonight to make some space. If you have to double-deck parts over your other sleds because you have no shelf space, maybe you have to many sleds.

 

[pclark]

Skiroule, if I ever get back up by you I’d love to stop by and see your museum/collection. Look forward to the thread!

 

[heckler56]

Skiroule, if I ever get back up by you I’d love to stop by and see your museum/collection. Look forward to the thread!

I say we all make a trip up there with a couple kegs of Hamm’s (price of admission)!

 

[heckler56]

I thought I saw Unser’s sled at Top of The Lake Museum but I can’t find a photo. Here is another racer.

 

[skiroule]

Skiroule, if I ever get back up by you I’d love to stop by and see your museum/collection. Look forward to the thread!

You're always welcome but be prepared to be bored stiff with vintage sled talk.

I say we all make a trip up there with a couple kegs of Hamm’s (price of admission)!

I think that just a case would get you a personal tour and a T-shirt.

I believe Mezz mentioned this as well but Chaparral is credited with coming up with the first IFS, like the one on the sled in the photo. And this was in the early 70's. Pretty amazing.

 

[pclark]

Nothing against Hamms, I’ll bring the Champagne of bottle beers.

 

[skiroule]

Still riveting....235 rivets in, about 215 to go.



Heckler and Dan, here's a better shot of the Yamaha the guy had for sale. He put it out there for $400 and it went fast. Looks like a pretty decent sled.

 

[heckler56]

All those rivets and steel bars have to add some weight to the track!

Here is what $500 and $800 buy you in my neck of the midwest.

 

[skiroule]

All those rivets and steel bars have to add some weight to the track!

Here is what $500 and $800 buy you in my neck of the midwest.

Yeah, it's a lot of rotating mass for sure. After all the work/money I'm putting into it, I'm hoping the belts hang together. Otherwise, it's on to an Indy track/suspension,

In my opinion, those Yamahas are diamonds in the rough and very cool sleds. If you look closely (and I'm sure you have), there's a lot of potential in either sled and both are worth saving. I am curious as to the difference between a "B" model and a "C" model.