Vintage Trivia

[heckler56]

Yeah, I forgot to mention that, cycles too. AMF was quite the story, a huge company with tons of diversification which eventually caused their demise. They couldn't manage it all and many of their products suffered in quality. They were just too big and managed too poorly, eventually bought by a holding company which dispersed most everything for pennies on the dollar.

Let’s hope that Textron isn’t following that same pattern…

 

[mezz]

Let’s hope that Textron isn’t following that same pattern…

They have bailed on a number of SxS parts, literally unavailable parts for quite a few models. After years of devotion to AC SxS's I have moved onto Kawasaki. I will not get left with an expensive product that I can't maintain again. "Let the Good Times Roll"...

 

[gary_in_neenah]

OK, we'll start off Monday with the following;

Name the make, model, and year of the first snowmobile with an Automatic Transmission. i.e. No clutch or drive belt.

 

[mezz]

1972 Arctic Cat Panther 440. Plans were to produce a 1973 Panther VIP with Cat a Matic Hydrostatic transmission engineered by Kawasaki.

 

[mike1970]

Late 70s John Deere Spitfire 340 had a direct drive. I think 1978?

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Mezz is correct. The transmission worked just fine, it was just too heavy and so was the price tag, almost $2,000 when other sleds were selling for half of that. Of course you get what you pay for, a cigar and cigarette lighter, oil injection, and your personalized name plate on the wood grain dash if you ordered one in advance. Cat built and sold 4,000 units for that one year only.

Thanks for playing!

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Getting a later start today so we'll stay with Arctic Cat for Tuesday.

The 1967 Arctic Cat was different from earlier models and other manufacturers in several ways. Name three features for the Cat in 67.

 

[bearrassler]

This is just a guess but I will say aluminum tunnel, slide suspension, and a front mounted engine

 

[gary_in_neenah]

This is just a guess but I will say aluminum tunnel, slide suspension, and a front mounted engine

Yep, the guys in R&D were busy that year. You can see for yourself in the following ad.

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[gary_in_neenah]

It was called, "the snowmobile that liked to go straight", the early Ski Doo Olympique. If you wanted to turn you had to lean like crazy and hope the skis would bite. Our neighbors had one and from what I recall it didn't turn worth a hoot. Technically, it was a 12/3 Olympique. The 12 was the horsepower, what did the 3 signify?

 

[ddhanna]

1/3 less weight?

 

[mezz]

Olympique 12/3 = 12 horsepower, 300 cc

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Olympique 12/3 = 12 horsepower, 300 cc

mezz is correct.

Other definitions;

12 hours of repairs/3 hours of riding

A 12 minute/3-mile Warranty

Sooner of later we're gonna stump Mezz, but it hasn't happened yet.

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