Need Parts, Where to go?

[700xcsp]

I am looking for a pair of skis and some miscellaneous parts for a 1972 Arctic Cat Panther, (built Nov 1971) so I am assuming it is a 72. Can anyone tell me where to buy parts for this sled? I looked on Ebay and Craigslist but all I saw was engine parts mostly. Or if anyone has a pair that they are selling let me know.

Also, I finally got the motor free and it has great compression but no spark, where do I start? Points? Coils? All the wiring is in good shape and connected but cannot figure out what is wrong with the spark.

Thanks

 

[1-snowbullet]

Wisconsin Northern Craigs List or Wausau C-List Put Vintage Snowmobile Parts In Search .. I would start by pulling starter recoil off // then flywheel and replace points and condencer -- that would be a good start .. hopfully you have at least over 100 psi per clyelder .. if under not good !

 

[polarisrider1]

Call this guy, His name is Dave. (616) 897-5438 Serious inquirys only. He is rough around the edges, but he carries most everything vintage. about 3 hour drive from you.

 

[skiroule]

For generic suspension, electrical, fuel system, and engine rebuilding parts, I’ve generally used Mfg Supply (http://www.mfgsupply.com/) or Dennis Kirk (https://www.denniskirk.com/) because they carry a lot of stuff for the sleds I’ve worked on. If Mfg Supply has it, I’ll generally go with them, as I’ve found them to be a little more accurate on what will fit. Your vintage ride was very popular and if you “shop by ride” at either place you’ll find a pretty good list of parts for your machine. If you don’t want to mess with finding used, Mfg Supply has replacement skis for your sled. Good quality, made in ND I think.

For parts that have to be purchased as NOS or used, I’ve picked up a fair amount of stuff on the Vintage Sleds classifieds (http://vintagesleds.com/classifieds/) . Prices tend to be pretty good and most guys will ship smaller items. Sometimes entire parts sleds show up and it’s a good way to go if the price is right. Be careful of VintageSleds Classifieds though, it quickly becomes addictive!

If you ever go up 53 past Chippewa Falls, Arts Snowmobile and ATV (http://www.artssnowmobileandatv.com/) is about 15 mi east of 53, just north of CF and has a pretty good selection of used vintage parts. Also, hit the vintage swap meets. I think Wausau has a good one in the fall.

Agree with Snowbullet on spark problem - 99% chance it's condensors and/or points.

 

[700xcsp]

Thanks guys. I will be pulling the recoil and fly wheel off and replacing the points, hopefully that is it. As for the compression, it was above 100 on both cylinders.

I will be calling and searching the sites you have listed, thanks for the help.

 

[azracing]

On your skis check this site out: http://www.arcticrestoration.com/categories.php?category=Ski's

 

[snolover55]

I've got a non-running '72 Panther sitting in my garage that I was going to try and restore. One of those projects that never happened. I would love to sell it if you are interested. It has tons of good parts on it. Let me know if you are interested in it.

 

[snoluver1]

Also, I finally got the motor free and it has great compression but no spark, where do I start? Points? Coils? All the wiring is in good shape and connected but cannot figure out what is wrong with the spark.

Thanks

I would agree with others, your spark issue is most likely point related. Sometimes you can bring them back to life with a simple good cleaning. I just wanted to add a word of caution about your engine. You stated that you "finally got it free", suggestig that it may have been locked up. I'm guessing you dumped some Marvel oil down the cylinders to free up the rings that rusted to the cylinder walls? If that is the case, I would be very concerned that there is also rust on/in the crank bearings. She may start up and run fine for a bit, but then take out the crank bearings shortly after. I would also be very leary of the cranckshaft seals if it has been sitting around long enough to lock up on you. Just some food for thought. It might be worth the extra effort to tear the motor down and inspect everything before you run it and cause catastrophic damage to something that could have been saved. One other thing, if you did in fact use oil in the cylinders, it can give you a false compression reading much higher than you would see with the engine in normal running condition.

Like I said, just some things to think about. Good luck with your project and have fun with it!

 

[Bradzoo]

I would agree with others, your spark issue is most likely point related. Sometimes you can bring them back to life with a simple good cleaning. I just wanted to add a word of caution about your engine. You stated that you "finally got it free", suggestig that it may have been locked up. I'm guessing you dumped some Marvel oil down the cylinders to free up the rings that rusted to the cylinder walls? If that is the case, I would be very concerned that there is also rust on/in the crank bearings. She may start up and run fine for a bit, but then take out the crank bearings shortly after. I would also be very leary of the cranckshaft seals if it has been sitting around long enough to lock up on you. Just some food for thought. It might be worth the extra effort to tear the motor down and inspect everything before you run it and cause catastrophic damage to something that could have been saved. One other thing, if you did in fact use oil in the cylinders, it can give you a false compression reading much higher than you would see with the engine in normal running condition.

Like I said, just some things to think about. Good luck with your project and have fun with it!

Will second this, crank seals are almost always dried out and cracked on these old timers if you are pulling everything apart to get to the points take a few extra minutes to pull the seals and look at the bearings might save the time of tearing it back down again with bigger issues crank seals are pretty easy to change on these older engines just my 2 cents

Bradzoooo

 

[700xcsp]

The sled has been sitting in storage since 1982, I have plans to look into the motor itself before I try starting it. I was just wanting to get spark first to see if there were more electrical issues or not before I started tearing apart the whole motor and rebuilding most of it only to find that there are more problems. This project is going to start Friday after work so once I start tearing it down I may just end up rebuilding and changing everything I can.

When I first got the sled home the motor turned over 2 or 3 times and then locked up, I ended up putting some Seafoam into the heads and letting it sit for a few weeks, took the plugs back out and needed to use a wrench to break it free. I am sure that the rings are bad and possibly a rusty spot or 2 on the walls so I am planning on looking into that.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will printing this thread out and will keep it close by to find parts on the above mentioned websites.

Snoluver55, if you have some pictures of the sled send them to me and let me know what you are looking to get for the sled. mschultz@npcrents.com is the best way to reach me.

 

[j57snow]

There is a place in Janesville,wi called Certified Parts corp they had bought up Arctic Cats inventory when they where in bankruptcy in the early 80's . they also bought up Comet Clutch's & Tecumseh Power a couple of years ago. I was in there about 15 yrs ago looking for some stuff for 75 scorpion Brut, Had parts on shelf.

Here's contact info
http://www.certifiedpartscorp.com/
Certified Parts corp
Phone: (608) 752-9441
Toll Free: 1-800-356-0777
Fax: (608) 752-3528
Email: DianeJ@CertifiedPartsCorp.com

 

[700xcsp]

I wanted to send a BIG Thanks to Gary (Snolover55), I went and picked up the sled that he was selling and actually got it running late last night. It looks like I will be using my original sled as a parts sled and the one I picked up yesterday will be the running sled!

Few things need to be done to get it running correctly but I have all the parts from the other sled. I need to change over the gas tanks as the one I just picked up is rusted to no end, change out the fuel lines, swap the exhaust from one sled to the other, swap the shut off switches, and then swap the councils so I can have the pull cord in the right spot. A few other minor things like going over all the wiring and making sure everything works will be part of this as well but I cant wait to start riding this sled around in some vintage rides.

I am also planning on attending the "Pig In The Ice Festival" at Elkhart Lake on February 15th and possibly entering in the vintage race! It is held at The Marsh and I was there last year and they had a pretty good turn out of vintage sleds, Motorcycle Ice racing and some other festivities, can't wait to tear it up on this old timer!

Thanks again Gary!!

 

[700xcsp]

Pics

Here are some pics of the 2 sleds, the one with the windshield is the one I just picked up, the other one is the one I was trying to get running.

 

[skiroule]

I wanted to send a BIG Thanks to Gary (Snolover55), I went and picked up the sled that he was selling and actually got it running late last night. It looks like I will be using my original sled as a parts sled and the one I picked up yesterday will be the running sled!

It's funny how that works out sometimes isn't it? You have to admit it's a kick to hear one of these old birds run. I'd say you're off to the races. Be sure to post some pics as the work progresses.

 

[700xcsp]

Shes alive

She is Finally DONE! Running like a raped ape! All I need is a Belt and I will order that tomorrow!

What I did to her!

Changed all fuel lines
Swapped fuel tanks from the parts sled
Cleaned and rebuilt carburetor (walbro carb, heard nothing but bad news about these so I had to put a petcock in to keep fuel from going into carb while not running, just like a dirt bike has, getting Mikuni 34MM Next year)
Swapped councils from parts sled
Swapped Plastic Lights and housing around fuel tank from parts sled
Re-wired everything (works but I have no lights, probably need a new one)
Secured passenger hand bars with original nuts and bolts from parts sled
New windshield
Fixed Odometer and Speedometer
Re-riveted and fixed plastic so it is like new
Swapped Back rest from Parts sled so it matched the leopard print
Polished Tunnel a little
Adjusted Track

Only thing left to do is adjust or replace the brake pads and fix head light, that is if the new belt works OK. The belt I have on their now was new but I am not sure if it is the right one as it came with the parts sled and it is now wearing like this ~ and not even and it is smoking an awful lot so I will see when I get the new one, I may to adjust the clutch or re-align the motor.

Other than that this sled has ALL original parts (minus belt), it took 2 sleds to do it but it works great! Pig in the Ice here I come, gunna take it out and race it if I can get the tether figured out, had a slight issue while re-wiring so not sure if they will allow me to race or not but I will be there. For those of you that have not heard of it, it is Feb 15th and it is held at The Marsh near Crystal Lake WI or Road of America. I have been there the past 2 years and it is a good time.

Here are some pics of how she looks now, just got done going for a short ride around the yard and she rips!

 

[Team Elkhorn]

Awesome, nothing sounds like those old Kawasaki motors. Also nothing wrong with those Walbro carbs if they're right. I always liked the on the fly adjustability. (Just keep an eye on the color of your spark plugs.) As for the belt, did someone swap out the motor? I've seen guys swap the motors on these and not use the correct motor mount bracket for the sled screwing up the belt alignment. Also if you order the brake shoes, order a few sets, they're fairly cheap and wear fast because they're so small. Which reminds me I need to order a few sets for mine. (I have the same ones on my '78 Cat.) Have fun.

 

[700xcsp]

The motor appears to be the original, I think that the belt that I had was the wrong one, too wide. I just ordered the right belt and will see what happens with this one when I put it on, ordered 2 and also ordered 2 sets of brake pads. Thanks for the info.

 

[snolover55]

Matt, the sled looks great! Glad it worked out for you, and glad to see it go to a good home.

 

[700xcsp]

Just received 6 more inches of snow today and took the sled on a 3 hour cruise! Everything worked perfect except I still have the belt issue, when the motor gets warm or after 30 minutes of riding and then I stop and try to go again it starts to smoke and smells like burning rubber? Once I start going it is fine but we have about 18 inches on the ground and when I try to get going after a stop it just burns the belt for about 20 seconds then it is fine when it engages? Any suggestions on what I might be able to do? The new belt is starting to get frayed on the outer edges just like the last one, but it is wearing fine, no ~~ and it is fine when it is moving? Lost and don't know where to go to resolve this issue of the belt. Supposed to get 10-15 inches on Tuesday and would like to take the day off and screw around but I am afraid to venture to far from home. Any suggestions?

 

[skiroule]

700xcsp,

This is just a guess but it sounds like your primary is coming in "soft" and is not gripping the belt with enough force. I suppose it could be a number of things with the clutch: sticky weights, weakened spring, maybe even binding on the shaft. There isn't a lot of alignment adjustment on these old sleds and if all of the stuff is original, I would doubt that it is an alignment issue (of course I could be wrong).

Like I said, it's just a guess but that would be the first thing I'd check.

Good Luck