The 1973 Polaris Starfire.

I can’t remember exactly when that moment came, but ask my family and they’ll quickly tell you out of all the sleds we’ve talked about, the ’73 Starfire is the only one I remembered. I can’t tell you why I couldn’t remember any of the dozens of sleds we’ve talked about as a family, but I always remembered the good-looking Polaris. After ten years of obsession, the quest for my own ’73 Starfire began.

We were lucky to find an old chassis from a ’73, which could be salvaged and brought back to life with a fresh coat of paint. With a lot of help from Vintagesleds.com people, we found an NOS (New Old Stock) seat, a barely used gas tank, a barely used set of handlebars, an almost new suspension, some skis, the spindles, and original secondary and more. In the span of an afternoon, we had most of the sled put together, even if we didn’t have a motor for it. We ran into one big snag: We had a new mold for the belly pan, and quickly discovered that the new pans were 1 inch too short in the back! Getting the mold fixed would not be a huge deal, but it would take some time – and I wanted this to be my Live on Skis 2010 rider. While my dream of riding a ’73 Starfire for Live on Skis was quickly coming to hault, a miracle happened.

Mike Kollman had a rolling 79 TXL chassis with the 73 hood and pan was for sale. it also had a 73 Starfire steering post and rear suspension. With a great deal in the works, this quickly become the choice for this year’s rider. After pulling it apart in the garage, this was for sure set up for drag-racing, we had a lovely time pulling the studs out of the track and discovering some other minor issues.

But I am excited to say this machine will be ready for LOS ’10 and will definitely turn some heads! Did you know Polaris made a liquid 340 ’73? Just kidding. We stuck a 340 TXL motor in it and got it running in now time!

Last weekend over Christmas break, we got to take the new sled for a "break-in" ride. I can tell you this thing is fast – but a little on the tippy side. We went through a recoil and I broke the steering post on the last ride of the weekend, but once that is fixed, we will be ready for LOS!

]]> http://vintagesleds.com/archives2/2009/10/12/october-snow/feed/ 0 http://vintagesleds.com/archives2/2009/07/16/web-roundup/ http://vintagesleds.com/archives2/2009/07/16/web-roundup/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:45:43 +0000 Boy Wonder http://vintagesleds.com/archives2/?p=3161 If your anywhere near Spokane Washington this weekend, I highly recommend the open house and racer reunion in Spokane Valley Washington. Saturday promises to be a fascinating gathering of the greats from western racing, and I just got a hunch that some very rare stuff will show up. I’ll be there and will be posting pictures just as soon as I can snap them.

Just checking out some cool stuff around the web today that I think you’ll like. After all it is summer, and it can be a bit difficult to concentrate on sleds when it is 70 degrees and sunny out! First up is this page celebrating the airplane nose art of Korean war and WWII. I’m a big fan. Caution: some of the art includes cartoon images of nudes.

This one is cool, unless your one of those chronically unhappy people.

Here’s the 10 craziest products inspired by bacon. My favorite is bacon flavored dental floss. Bacon is like duct tape. There is nothing it can’t do.

I just wanted to hear something old run today. I found a two-for-one!

Minnesota Public Radio interview with Vintage sledder Bud Hovelson and Lowell Ness..

Happy Easter!

First up is a sled only mentioned in legend and rumors. The ill-fated Polaris NX. Yes, an NX. It was to be the new “Colt” but early testing was not so good. Even though many of the parts went into production, the sled itself never made it that far. Years ago while digging through Bud McCullums salvage yard, I found all kinds of parts for the NX, but until today I never seen a complete sled. There is one in Roseau I hear…

Update: I’ve been informed that this is not likely to be the NX. I’m hoping to get some photos soon.

This fellow is a 69 racer… with a twist. That’s one of the first new “Star” engines in the one labeled 567B. The motor did not set the world on fire that day in West Yellowstone. But twins and triples that would follow sure would.

That’s just Bob Eastman relaxing before he goes out and stomps on the other 800’s 650’s at West Yellowstone in 1970.

My thanks again to Ken Jacobsen for sharing these really great photos!

I thought maybe vintagesleds.com readers would like to see some pictures of a machine that my grandfather built while working for Thunder Bay’s Canada Car. This plant is now known as bombardier.

My grandfather referred to this machine as an "ice toboggan". Construction began in 1955. This machine is powered by a 10 horsepower brigs and stratton engine. The frame is made of aircraft aluminum the belly pan and tunnel are of the same materials. Either side of the engine compartment are sheathed with marine plywood, before the belly pan was attached ash was placed along the under side all the way to the rear of the machine.

The PTO side of the engine has a double pulley and from this point two belts drive a model A 4 speed transmission with a 1st gear, 2nd 3rd and reverse. On the opposite side of the transmission he attached a sprocket to the shaft. From here a drive chain went to a center drive wheel (air inflated), inside the tunnel there is a front and rear wheel that a track goes around
similar to today’s systems.

The ride is cushioned by a automobile shock on either side of the tunnel. To steer there is at bar on the under side of the belly with cables fed through the tubing to the steering wheel. The steering wheel is from a model A. Speeds on this machine reached approximately 40 mph.

This machine was built to assist my grandfather in navigating across Dog Lake north of Thunder Bay Ontario. Aside from working full time, he was a trapper in the winter months. Transportation across the lake came in different forms – dog sleds, skis, snowshoes or two men holding a canvas sheet having skates on and using the wind like a sail this was ok providing there was no snow. His invention of the ice toboggan made travel allot easier.

This machine has sat in storage for 47 years following his passing in 1962. I pulled it out of the corner of the garage the other day to check it out. To my astonishment it is in excellent condition. The drive wheels needed air which I filled and was surprised that it held. This was the first time that I had really took a good look,I found that everything that turned had a grease nipple and everything turned, the motor has been used occasionally for our log splitter and still runs well. I plan to put the engine back in this winter and take it for a ride. I will be sure to have a camera and a video to share the moment. This will be a 3rd and 4th generation adventure we are all very excited to have it back up and running. I will be sure to send current pictures of this event.

The crew from the show – including host Dave Mordal – spent the weekend at the Derby Track in Eagle River last January and filmed the whole deal – including Dave Mordal’s attempt at racing on ice for the first time ever.

Grab some popcorn, set the VCR to record, sit back and get ready to enjoy the last Vintage World Championships all over again!