The Namesake

[skiroule]

Exactly Gary, “Steady as she goes.” is the goal. This photo shows why the smarter guys like Kirk600 really take their time and go through things thoroughly before they fire up one of these engines that has been sitting for a long time. When I pulled the front cooling shroud off the donor motor, I discovered that a family of mice had made it their home for quite a while. This nest would have most likely caused overheating.

 

[skiroule]

Got the top end cleaned up. Now the trick will be to get it back together without breaking something or losing something. Gave the cylinders and pistons the once-over with maroon Scotchbrite and ATF. Doesn’t have a lot of effect on the chrome cylinders but it might knock down the glaze a hair, at least microscopically. I’m not going crazy on the external appearance of this motor. The casting is kind of a drab gray so it’s not a real flashy motor to begin with. Just cleaning off the grime.

.

 

[kirk600]

Looks good Kelly, I am always amazed how much your projects look like new when your done. I need more time and patience because I'm usually working on sleds when I am supposed to be working on something else....... Hope your well and the fish are biting for you this summer !

Kirk

 

[skiroule]

Kirk, I do go through a lot of Brake-Kleen and lacquer thinner but the truth be told, the camera seems generally kinder to the condition of snowmobile parts (and snowmobiles) than reality. I’m not nearly as meticulous about reconditioning as a lot of restoration people. Some of the work these restorers do is unbelievable. I don’t like putting dirty parts back together so I do try to get things looking as good as can be achieved with a reasonable amount of effort. Sometimes I’m happy with the results, sometimes not so much. Any yes, fish have been caught but we’re getting into the dog days of summer so the bite is changing a little.

 

[skiroule]

Not sure why I find this stuff interesting but I do. I’ve been curious about the “C” stenciled on the top of the cylinders but always assumed it indicated chrome-plating. Going through the Sachs manual the other day I discovered that it represents a tolerance level (presumably a milling tolerance). Apparently, the cylinders are marked “A, B, or C” according to tolerance. Unfortunately, the manual didn’t indicate which letter represented the tightest tolerance but it did say that the pistons must be paired accordingly, which makes sense. Once I got the pistons cleaned up, sure enough, there is a “C” stamped in the top of each piston. This would be an important tidbit of information if one were trying to replace the pistons with new ones.

 

[skiroule]

The top end of the mill is back together (with minimal drama). Whether it hangs together is something to be determined at some point in the future. With the top end back in place, I could roll it over and was pleasantly surprised to find that both cylinders had excellent spark. This is no small thing for a 50 year-old motor with points ignition.

 

[mezz]

Nice! To a degree, you have to love the simplicity in the early years of design. Good to hear that you are doing better. Enjoy your summer. -Mezz

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Kelly, just wondering how far away are the fires in Winnipeg from you. Looks kinda close on the maps.

 

[skiroule]

Kelly, just wondering how far away are the fires in Winnipeg from you. Looks kinda close on the maps.

The Winnipeg fires are quite a way off but there are much closer fires in Ontario. Nothing super-close, 25 miles is probably the closest. No shortage of smoke though. Man, it was smoky last night! A little concerned about the cabin. A Canadian friend sent us some photos of the property last weekend, lots of tall, dry grass. If that were to ignite, I think we might be in trouble. Unfortunately, we won’t be allowed to cross the border to get up there and clean things up until Aug. 9th.

- - - Updated - - -

Nice! To a degree, you have to love the simplicity in the early years of design. Good to hear that you are doing better. Enjoy your summer. -Mezz

Thanks Mezz. In a way, these motors are beautifully basic. Put on a carb and attach a fuel supply and it would fire up right there on the table. The motor is essentially back together and believe it or not, I found every appropriate screw, nut, bolt, and washer. If nothing else, these projects have taught me the value of organization and photos, photos, photos. Sometimes it might be months (or even years) before items get re-assembled. Things can get lost and you can forget a lot in that time. Although the motor is ready for installation, there are a LOT of chassis tasks (big and small) to get done first. If anything, “newsworthy” happens, I’ll add an update.

 

[kirk600]

Looks great Kelly, kind of unique the spark plugs at a 45 degree angle. The things manufacturers
tried with these old sleds.

 

[skiroule]

Now that you mention it, the angled plugs are probably not the most common design for cylinders using a single plug. The head combustion chamber seems somewhat unique as well. A “divot” is machined out where the plug screws into the head and there seems to be minimal clearance between the piston and the head. Not sure of the reason behind the concept. Maybe it compresses the fuel/air into a concentrated spot and generates more force but really, I have no idea. The Sachs 440C motors were pretty fast for the day so the concept didn’t seem to hurt performance. I should add that they were also a little prone to burn-down. Maybe it’s related. This is a shot of a spare head:

 

[skiroule]

A little Saturday night project action. Well, “action” might be a bit strong. I had the track/driveshaft mostly assembled a long time ago but never really got it installed completely so the next step for the chassis was to finish the track and drive axle installation. As I have said before, this is always a bit of a challenge on a lot of sleds and this one was no exception. The chaincase bearing is an open bearing so it requires an inner seal and because both bearings have to be basically pressed on, both they and the seal need to be on the axle when it is installed. By leaving the chaincase loose and with a lot of wiggling/jiggling I had gotten the bearing to seat in the chaincase earlier (it’s a tight fit). So tonight it was just a matter of lining things up, bolting everything in, and getting the seal fitted into the case. Glad to have this job checked off.

 

[skiroule]

If it weren’t for the front shaft bolts, this suspension would be one of the easiest I’ve ever installed but they more than make up for the ease of the rest of the process. Unlike a lot of sleds, the front shaft bolts are located inside the pan, in front of the foot rests. This makes it a real challenge to see when you have the shaft lined up and when you’re doing this by yourself, it only adds to the difficulty. I have found that when you run out of unique swear words, using the same ones over and over is equally effective. It did eventually go together and the brake caliper also got assembled and mounted. Now I need to sit down with a couple of malties and take some time thinking about what else needs to be done before I move it from the “assembly table” to the sled lift.

 

[Deleted member 10829]

It's coming together nicely Kelly! Looking great!

 

[mezz]

You are amazing. I love your work! -Mezz

 

[jd]

Another masterpiece Kelly!

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Apparently the "cussing" is working. It took the paint off the wall over by the Breaker Panel!

 

[skiroule]

Thanks guys! I’m reasonably confident now that it will all get put back together before the snow flies. Whether it actually runs and drives, not as confident. And yes, paint-peeling language occasionally goes with the territory. Guess patience doesn’t always increase with age.

 

[skiroule]

Stumbled across this last night and thought I’d throw it in just for fun and because there is a connection to the subject of this thread. It’s a shot of a trio of 72’s taken on the family farm in about 1974 – my (original) RTX, my brother’s Charger, and my wife’s Firebird SS. Assuming the current project gets finished, my wife and I will have a restored version of the very first sled models we could each claim as “my sled”. My hope is that when conditions are right, we can take them out for a spin on the very same logging roads we rode 50 years ago. Would be pretty cool.

 

[dwz]

Great picture thanks for sharing!