If you don’t know who Andy Avelis is (fat chance of that!), he’s got the premier Arctic Cat collection and display in the world. I first met Andy way back in about 2000, and have been a fan ever since. His wife and his dad all helped him with his passion for Arctic Cat’s, from free-air’s to snopros. Each one restored to perfection and looking better than show-room new.

Andy’s collection contained some of the rarest machines, like prototype King-Kats, a 74 SnoPro, a 75 PDC and whole lot more. His "Playroom" contained an unimaginable amount of NOS parts, motors and memorabilia.

But more importantly, Andy and his family are just great people. Throughout the decade, Andy has been my go-to guy for Cat info and advice. Andy is also responsible for helping me find some of my Polaris sleds, not to mention infecting me with the enthusiasm for collecting.

To my surprise, and many others, Andy put up a classified ad that alls his machines are for sale. Nothings wrong, he’s just realized that the thrill of the hunt for the machines was more fun that owning them and now he’s on to the hunt for some classic cars that have caught his eye.

Andy has asked that the phone calls be kept to a minimum, but I’m sure if you are genuinely interested in one of his machines he’d be happy to hear from you.

Andy, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say me and the hobby are going to miss you. I sure appreciate all that you’ve done to preserve Arctic Cat’s heritage and representing the hobby as a gentleman and scholar.

Best of luck to you my friend… you’ll do great wherever the road leads you.

Take a look at part of Andy’s collection here and his recently finished Cat history display here.

Here’s the full story direct from Andy:

I can’t thank everyone enough for the positive comments. It’s a close group of people in this hobby/sport an I feel I should explain a little more about how and why instead of just dropping a bomb. I am an only child.

My mother died many years ago. My father and I have lived together for 53 years. I grew up with my father as a child at the Chevrolet dealership during the late 50s and throughout the 60s. It was commonplace for my father to come home from the dealership with Corvettes and Camaros. We owned the very first Camaro delivered to New England. We went on to work together in an independent garage during the 70s where I collected and had fun with Corvettes and Camaros throughout that decade. From there I went on to police work while my father kept the garage.

The sleds came after. The sleds were my strong interests but not so much my father’s. My father participated in the restoration of every snowmobile I ever restored and all the shows because he wanted to help me. On last January 20th my father was suddenly stricken with a dissecting aorta. He was also hit with a major stroke during the operation. He was not expected to live. For the next few months, I lived at Boston hospitals and rehab facilities daily. My father did survive, but he is very different now. He did come home and my wife and I try to provide rehabilitation techniques as much as we can.

My fathers abilities are certainly diminished. His interest in sleds waned. I found myself alone restoring sleds. It wasn’t as much fun anymore. What my father did do was talk about and take an interest in my and my wife’s 71 Corvette. The more we spoke about old Chevy times got me more interested in getting another old Chevy. I ended up purchasing a 62 Corvette drag car and set it up for the street. My father stayed with me in the garage as I worked on the car. It was like the way things used to be when we worked on sleds back in the prior years. My wife enjoyed riding in the 62 Corvette so much that she went out and traded the 71 Vette towards a stock 1962 Vette. A few weeks ago my wife stated how she was enjoying the cars more than the old sleds.

Well… I never thought I would sell the sleds before, but it wasn’t just about me. I decided to use the sled money towards the car hobby. I still love the sleds. It’s just that I was the only one enjoying it. It’s best to turn this stuff over to someone that will show it and to let those that are restoring have a shot at the parts. I did my thing.

I have been in many hobbies. Car clubs, truck clubs, snowmobile clubs etc. I was one of three people who started a club called New England SnowFighters that became too big to handle. (Oshkosk, Walter, FWD, Sicard trucks). However there is no question in my mind this was by far the best group of people I’ve ever associated with. I’ve enjoyed it more than you can imagine. What can I say about the Prestons and Carlsleys and all the rest. I’m not gone. I still have an interest and I will frequent the local events for sure. I’ll always be around if someone needs assistance. No need to say good bye!

Andy

The Nick and Ken have so many great memories from the machine that just thinking about it makes them smile. But over the years, the sled just sat, gathering dust, then dirt, then animal debris then rust and decay.

Last March, Nicks decided the sled was too special to meet its fate by rotting. So he packed it and all the parts he had for it up and hauled off to Jerry Leggit and Bill Adams of Arctic Restoration Specialties.

With a very tight deadline, the boys went to work on the sled. They tore it down to the last rivet and started cleaning and rebuilding. The vast majority of the parts are genuine Cat parts, but the tunnel was just too far gone. So they replaced it with a repop from Arctic Restorations. Just before July 4th, the whole sled was done. That has to be some kind of record doesn’t it?

I really dig the restoration of the sled – it looks as close to it did from the factory as you can get – maybe just tad nicer on the details. Ken Youker was particularly pleased to see the old sled redone and hasn’t lost the smile from his face yet I’m told. Congratulations to Ken, Nick, Bill and Jerry!

Here’s some before and after shots.

Before they got started.

Nick Youker’s got the vintage sled bug bad… his collection has been growing by leaps and bounds lately!

Click each photo for a larger one and a caption on what it is.

Jerry is the owner and curator of the Northwest Museum of Vintage Snowmobiles in Spokane Washington. It is open to the public and not to be missed. It’s pretty large and varied collection of antiques, consumer and race machines, as well as photos, memorabilia and motors.

Here’s a few highlight photos and videos from the show.

Classic Muscle Sleds Lee Fredrickson made the trip all the way from Minnesota and got the honor of interviewing Ski-Doo legend Duane Eck as well as Polaris race legend Meryl Schroeder. Most will remember Eck from winning the 69 speed wars on his Double Eagle, and Schroeder from his major upset at King’s Castle in 1970 when his 650 and 800 Polaris racers beat up on all the factory race teams of the time.

Inside the museum, Jerry has this elaborate collection of Polaris race sleds with all kinds of Western race history.

Inside is Jerry’s special "Merc room". It features on of every Merc racer, including an original 76 factory Snopro originally driven by Stan hayes.

In the other side of the museum, Jerry has assembled a sweet collection of racers, muscle sleds, antiques, unusual manufacturers and custom sleds that you can spend hours looking at.

This antique sled attached to a Polaris rear-engine antique could be one of the very slays Edgar Hetteen and his crew pulled behind on their Polaris sleds across Alaska for the very first time. It was a very memorable trip that got Polaris some excellent press coverage – but eventually led to Edgar’s departure from Polaris and his founding of Arctic Cat.

Probably more than any other sled at the show, this one caused and enormous amount of buzz. Although not 100% confirmed, this appears to be one of only one or two 12 to 24 aluminum tunnel Skiroule racers built. Jacques Villeneuve may have been the original driver. There is all kinds of stuff on this rare sled to indicate it’s something special.

For several weeks now I’ve chronicled the story of Steve Thorsen’s original 1978 Eagle River World Championship 440X Polaris race sled. Well now, I’d like you to meet the owner: Rob McmIllian and his family were there and I can’t tell you how nice it was to finally meet him and the family after I’ve been talking with him on the phone now for a couple of years about his sled. He and his family were just a lot of fun, and talk about Enthusiastic – Rob is another guy who just loves to share, learn and compare.

Meryl Schroeder’s original 1971 Polaris race sled. Meryl was a Polaris dealer as early as 1968. He made four motors for the Kings Castle race in 1970 – and all four motors won their classes. "It changed my life when I won those races" he said. "Everything changed for me. I got offered new jobs and opportunities I never would have imagines otherwise. " I even got to interview Meryl for my book, Star Fire Kids – Midnight Blue Express. That was so much fun for me, and I’d like to thank Meryls for taking the time on such a busy day.

Roger Biddescombe gets an award from museum owner Jerry Kingbaum. Roger has been active in snowmobiling and snowmobile racing from the early years and has been a huge help in the development of the museum and was very helpful in the getting the show going.

WOW! Okay, I am an RXL guy and this was simply amazing. I don’t believe I’ve seen this many RXL’s all in one place – including two of the original factory sleds and one World Champion. All of them in fantastic condition and well taken care of.

Thomas Fiel and his original 74 650 Cat SnoPro. I sat and talked with Tom for quite some time – this is probably the most original 74 SnoPro – it’s very much exactly how it came off the race track. The sled was originally driven by Tom Marks, and was more than likely the sled he crashed on in 1974. I’ll have much, much more on this baby in an upcoming post.

More photos are posted in the Bull Sessions here and here.

Thorsen sled running:

Brad Hulings 1980 Scorpion SnoPro running:

Secrets of the 79 Scorpion SnoPro with Jeff Biddescombe:

David’s latest restoration is a 1967 Arctic Cat Panther drone sled. This is one of six produced with a 4 cylinder opposed air craft engine. While he was at the VSCA Nationals this past spring, Ken Beito (pictured with David at right) was there and confirmed that he built 6 of them and raced them along with other members of team arctic for one season. He said they were about 25 hp and had a lot of low end torque. Ken Beito also said that he attempted one of the high jumps with a drone Panther.

This particular sled was delivered to Carl’s Boat yard, an Arctic Cat dealer in St. Charles, Michigan in 1967 where they raced it. The original motor blew up and was replaced with a Kawasaki twin. David had heard about the machine from some of the local boys in the area but no one knew what happened to it. They all thought it was in the building when it caught fire in 1972. But in 2004 David got a phone call from a guy looking for a 1973 ElTigre gas tank and after talking with him I found out that he had the 1967 drone panther that had supposedly burned up in the fire!

The person on the other end of the phones was the brother in law to Carl (the owner of the Cat dealership) that had the drone back in the day. David went over to his house and looked at the sled and could not believe it.

“I knew what the ID tag should read because Jeff Johnson also has one of the drone sleds ID tag says p32h. We made a deal and I brought the machine home with me.” David said.

Immediately after getting the sled home, David was on the search for parts – mainly a motor. He was lucky to have found one from a friend in Canada. After the engine was found the sled received a complete restoration. David finished the complete restoration with a lot of help just in time for the VSCA Nationals where it took first place in its class. It was a show stopper. People couldn’t stop talking about it, nor stop taking pictures.

At right: David, Jeff Johnson and 1969 World Champion Roger Janssen.

David is still amazed that all along this sled was just 10 miles away from his house in Hemlock MI. It was also only about 10 miles away from the original dealership all of those years and hardly anyone else knew it!

David is also going to do some more racing. Last year he started racing at Eagle River with the Smith Brothers. And if anyone can infect someone with the racing bug, it would be the Smith Brothers. So David is hooked and will be at Eagle River again.

David is interested in doing restorations for other people. He does outstanding work and though he’s mainly an Arctic Cat kind of guy, he would love to look at doing some other brands. Feel free to contact him.

Email: Sledman101@aol.com.

David Schark, VSCA #895

In his job Jesse has the opportunity to travel all over Southern Minnesota and several other states as well. He puts on about 60,000 miles per year. The travel aspect of his job has a happy side effect: It allows him to find old sleds – and get them for a great price.

But That’s not the only way he finds sleds. He actively employs several other tried and true methods for finding old iron. He’s got a friendly local UPS driver he can tap for leads. He uses vintagesleds.com lot. He goes to shows and swap meets a lot. He "networks" with other vintage sledders.

At the swap meets, things have changed a bit since his garage has gotten full.

“I used to go to swap meets and just hunt for stuff. But since I’ve been on the Bull Sessions, I have gotten to know so many people and new friends that hunting for stuff at swap meets is what I do early when I get there. The rest of the day, I’m shooting the breeze with all the people I’ve met online.”

Jesse loves to collect production sleds, but he looks for the more desirable sleds available from the dealers back in the day. His collection features sleds that were only available for one year – such as the Kawasaki Interceptor that was only made in 1982, or the hole-in-the-hood 72 Polaris ATX, or the twin exhaust Rollo-O-Flex.

First up with just 297 original miles on it is his 81 Kawasaki LTD. Since 1982, this has sat under a cover in a garage. Some time ago Jesse was looking for a cylinder for another Kawasaki that he used to own. He got a random email from some one that did not have a cylinder, but they did have a nice original 81 LTD for sale. Several hundred dollars later it was sitting in Jesse’s garage. Other than some paint on the skis and pipes, it is all original. It even came with the parts manual, the shop manual and the owners manual. Even the cover came with it. Jesse then tracked down a matching suit and helmet for the LTD that was once available at the dealerships.

Another random email (don’t you just love the internet?) came from fellow Kawasaki enthusiast. It contained information on a Kawasaki Interceptor in a barn in Iowa. Jesse drove down and picked it up. According to Jesse it is #278 out of 601 ever built. It is a candidate for future restoration.

The 78 Kawasaki invader 440 is one of his riders. He rebuilt the motor himself out of New Old Stock (NOS) parts. His 72 Polaris ATX started out life as a 335, but when Jesse found it, it was a bare chassis with no motor. So what is a guy to do? Why stuff a 530 FA Polaris motor in it! Jesse built the motor with NOS cylinders, pistons and rings. The crank was totally rebuilt. This will be one of his riders for the 2009-2010.

His 74 Roll-O-Flex sled is an interesting piece of snowmobile history. It has a Yamaha fan engine, and the suspension looks to be a knock-off of the Scorpion para-rail – lots of bogey wheels on a stick. He found some information on this Roll-O-Flex site, and the he’s learned more about the sled from Bull Sessions member "Mr. Plow".

The exhaust on this machines appears to be Roll-O-Flexe’s attempt at a tuned exhaust – using parts and ideas from several different manufacturers. Not many of the Rollo-Flex’s were sold with this set up.

Amongst his other sleds, there is a 1980 Polaris Centurion, purchased in "basket case" condition. Jesse is building an engine for it with a new crank and case halves. The cylinder shave been bored and new pistons and rings installed. Like all his other sleds, this one will be added to the stable of riders. He’s also working on a 73 TX for his lady, who got sucked into the hobby after a very popular appearance on this thread… and because she saw how much fun Jesse was having with all of this.

Thanks for sharing Jesse – and we look forward to seeing you at Live on Skis this year!

But Kurt and Joann have been busy working on another project… a really big project. They wanted to give their Ski-Doo collection a fitting display area. So a new building went up and the sleds and stuff went in. It’s not totally done yet, and when it does get finished, I suspect a fine social gathering with adult beverages will ensue. In the mean time, here’s a couple of sneak peak pictures. Nice job Kurt and Joann – this looks like a very fitting home for your sleds and one of the finest private displays anywhere!

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.

What a collection Bob has! Lots of nice race sles and a lot of the extinct brands, much like Paul’s collection. Click here to go to the page, then click on the video on the right hand side.