Polaris Mutt Mod
- Thread starter skiroule
- Start date
skiroule
Well-known member
Some nice thoughts here! I think you guys reflect what John wanted this board to be.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how I'd like to finish off the storage side of the sled garage to give the finished sleds a proper place to be kept. Probably wouldn’t take too much money - some insulation, sheetrock, lighting, and floor coating.
I figure I have two more projects I’d like to do and one that is about half-done and that were to happen, it would fill all the available space. The Mutt has a special meaning and would definitely be the centerpiece of the “mini-showroom”.
Who knows, by the time I’m done re-building the sleds I have, it could happen. I’m sure I would spend a lot of time in there just mentally going over every project.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how I'd like to finish off the storage side of the sled garage to give the finished sleds a proper place to be kept. Probably wouldn’t take too much money - some insulation, sheetrock, lighting, and floor coating.
I figure I have two more projects I’d like to do and one that is about half-done and that were to happen, it would fill all the available space. The Mutt has a special meaning and would definitely be the centerpiece of the “mini-showroom”.
Who knows, by the time I’m done re-building the sleds I have, it could happen. I’m sure I would spend a lot of time in there just mentally going over every project.
skiroule
Well-known member
Good to hear from you Kirk. As you’ve probably seen, your donated clutch is working perfectly.
Good thing I don’t work with foam for a living, this is just part of the remnants from the seat work. Beer foam yes, seat foam no.
Seat is close enough to make a cover, I might have to do some finishing work on the seams but I’m going to wait until I see what shows through the cover. Hoping my friend can get the cover done before Christmas, snow’s coming!
It’s kind of a weird feeling because these are probably the last photos to be posted until the sled is completely done. I wanted a more cross country racer look to the seat so I made it a little thicker than the original, which I could get away with because of the taller tank. I also eliminated the rear storage door.
The back end looks a little boxy but is basically the original shape over the plywood, minus the storage door. I’m going to use a simple surface mount LED tail light.
Good thing I don’t work with foam for a living, this is just part of the remnants from the seat work. Beer foam yes, seat foam no.
Seat is close enough to make a cover, I might have to do some finishing work on the seams but I’m going to wait until I see what shows through the cover. Hoping my friend can get the cover done before Christmas, snow’s coming!
It’s kind of a weird feeling because these are probably the last photos to be posted until the sled is completely done. I wanted a more cross country racer look to the seat so I made it a little thicker than the original, which I could get away with because of the taller tank. I also eliminated the rear storage door.
The back end looks a little boxy but is basically the original shape over the plywood, minus the storage door. I’m going to use a simple surface mount LED tail light.
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skiroule
Well-known member
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I hadn’t planned on adding any posts before the sled is finished but it will be a while before the seat cover is done and there still has been some activity on the sled so I thought I’d throw in a minor update
Since everything seemed OK with the motor/drive train I started running the sled up to full throttle on the stand. It ran strong up past ¾ throttle but didn’t seem to run as clean as I thought it should past that. I dropped the carb mains from 310’s down to 300’s and that made a big difference. I might be able to go to 290’s but I need to remember that I’m running it in a 70 degree shop. It will be leaner at cooler temps so I’m leaving it as is. I will say that these big fin Fuji free air engines have to be some of the sweetest running vintage sled engines ever built. They’re just music to the ears.
Hood is now installed for good. That turned out to be a lot bigger job than planned. Took some real persuasion and re-fitting to get the hood hinge to line up. Not sure why it didn’t line up like it did in the earlier test-fit but it didn’t. Also put some heat reflective tape on the areas I figured that might need it.
Did a little tidying up under the hood and added some air filters. Went with some inexpensive Uni Filters because they were the only ones that would work with the space constraints. Getting pretty crowded in there.
A few other minor things got checked out so I’m officially done “polishing the cannonball”. I can’t think of anything else that needs to be done so all that is left is the seat.
I hadn’t planned on adding any posts before the sled is finished but it will be a while before the seat cover is done and there still has been some activity on the sled so I thought I’d throw in a minor update
Since everything seemed OK with the motor/drive train I started running the sled up to full throttle on the stand. It ran strong up past ¾ throttle but didn’t seem to run as clean as I thought it should past that. I dropped the carb mains from 310’s down to 300’s and that made a big difference. I might be able to go to 290’s but I need to remember that I’m running it in a 70 degree shop. It will be leaner at cooler temps so I’m leaving it as is. I will say that these big fin Fuji free air engines have to be some of the sweetest running vintage sled engines ever built. They’re just music to the ears.
Hood is now installed for good. That turned out to be a lot bigger job than planned. Took some real persuasion and re-fitting to get the hood hinge to line up. Not sure why it didn’t line up like it did in the earlier test-fit but it didn’t. Also put some heat reflective tape on the areas I figured that might need it.
Did a little tidying up under the hood and added some air filters. Went with some inexpensive Uni Filters because they were the only ones that would work with the space constraints. Getting pretty crowded in there.
A few other minor things got checked out so I’m officially done “polishing the cannonball”. I can’t think of anything else that needs to be done so all that is left is the seat.
skiroule
Well-known member
My seat cover guy gave me a sample piece containing some sewing options, including pleat width, pleat stitching, and piping versus no piping. He has the seat foam now so I laid it on an extra 79 seat foam I had lying around. I liked 1 ½” double stitched pleats the best and he agreed. I’m still leaning towards the piping but I need to talk to him again to see how much effort it would add.
He’s hoping to get the pleating stitched in the next week but said he probably couldn’t start sewing pieces together until after Christmas. I know he will do an awesome job and it will be worth the wait.
He’s hoping to get the pleating stitched in the next week but said he probably couldn’t start sewing pieces together until after Christmas. I know he will do an awesome job and it will be worth the wait.
mezz
Well-known member
I don't think you could go wrong either way appearance wise. The only draw back I have experienced with the covers with piping is the piping ended up cracking down the road long before anything else showed wear on the seat. Considering how much actual seat time will be on this, it's probably a non-issue. Both ways look real good though.
skiroule
Well-known member
My memory isn’t too good but it seemed like a lot of the older piping was a different material than the seat vinyl, more like a plastic bead sewn between the panels. Maybe this changed in the more recent models, I’m not sure. In any case, you're right, there was a lot more deterioration on the piping than on the rest of the seat.
If we do go with the piping, it will be the same material as the seat, sewn around a cord, which should help and as you said, the sled will not get the same use it might have a few years ago.
While I’m waiting for the seat cover, there is no shortage of things to be done. This will be the object of my frustration for at least the next couple of weeks. My trail riding and backup ice fishing sled has some issues that need to be corrected before it's back in riding form.
I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure this is not a good thing.
skiroule
Well-known member
Agree, although a little shot of JB Weld probably wouldn't hurt. It's usually my answer to a lot of issues.Repack with some sea & snow and it should be good for another 5k
Yeah, always trust your broken speedometer, it acutally quit working on a little spin around the yard. The sled has a fair amount of miles (8600) so I suppose I can't complain, but what a pain to change on this particular XC year with mechanical reverse. The skid needs to be gone through so it's probably a good thing that I was forced to pull it.
It looks like I'll have plenty of repair time, 45 degrees yesterday and what little snow we had is going fast. Looks like we'll be pushing 40 a lot of the time between now and Christmas. So much for the northern MN "Icebox of the Nation" reputation.
i would consider drilling and taping the other end to 3/8" as long as its out
skiroule
Well-known member
Merry Christmas Everyone! 
I try to do as much as possible on these projects myself so I can control my destiny but the one thing I won’t tackle is upholstery so I have to find another source for the seat cover. If it’s stock seat foam, there are some ready-made covers out there but the project sled seat is somewhat custom so it has to be made.
As previously mentioned, my friend agreed to make the cover so I’m basically in a holding mode until he gets it done but this has given me some time for other stuff. It’s been a couple of years since I have had the 79 250 running so I pulled the carbs and went through them.
Fired it up and took a spin this morning. Not a lot of snow but enough to wind it up and have a little fun in the yard. I have done some work on the sled but it needs hood repair or replacement, seat cover, and dash/tank paint to be considered a more complete restoration.
These little 250’s are as smooth as a Swiss Watch. It’s pretty cool that they used a two-piece tuned pipe and muffler on these motors, as opposed to the single pipe/muffler combo on the 340’s/440’s.
LOL....Lots of Ice fishing going on but weather conditions have been all over the map, a little cooler weather and everything firms up and then warm with rain and water all over the ice. Fishing has been crazy good but you’re not getting me out there yet. I want consistently thick ice.
I try to do as much as possible on these projects myself so I can control my destiny but the one thing I won’t tackle is upholstery so I have to find another source for the seat cover. If it’s stock seat foam, there are some ready-made covers out there but the project sled seat is somewhat custom so it has to be made.
As previously mentioned, my friend agreed to make the cover so I’m basically in a holding mode until he gets it done but this has given me some time for other stuff. It’s been a couple of years since I have had the 79 250 running so I pulled the carbs and went through them.
Fired it up and took a spin this morning. Not a lot of snow but enough to wind it up and have a little fun in the yard. I have done some work on the sled but it needs hood repair or replacement, seat cover, and dash/tank paint to be considered a more complete restoration.
These little 250’s are as smooth as a Swiss Watch. It’s pretty cool that they used a two-piece tuned pipe and muffler on these motors, as opposed to the single pipe/muffler combo on the 340’s/440’s.
skiroule
Well-known member
After what seems like a long time in the making (because it was), I can officially present to you….The Mutt.
Brakes and clutching work excellent and the motor spins up nicely. It rips pretty good and is an absolute blast to ride, just as I thought it would be. I’m lovin’ this little sled.
A few final shots:
Brakes and clutching work excellent and the motor spins up nicely. It rips pretty good and is an absolute blast to ride, just as I thought it would be. I’m lovin’ this little sled.
A few final shots: