Thursday, December 20, 2012

Ski-Doo repair!

Heres a post I bet you thought you'd never see. Today after I got my Pantera started I also started my 1964 Cub Cadet garden tractor and pulled my 1970 Ski-Doo Olympique 12/3 out from where it has sat for nearly 5 years. One thing I was reminded of immediately is how light this machine is, the rated dry weight is something like 295 pounds. Because of that weight I probably didn't even need the Cub Cadet, I could have hauled this by myself. We went all the way around the yard because its hard to turn a sled strapped behind the tractor, and into the garage. The last few feet I put the sled on a furniture dolly so it was very easy to position. Now in my garage I could more easily access what I'm up against. The last time I ran this sled the seat broke loose from its moorings and when I ran it low on gas it sucked crap into the carb. Fortunately I'd fogged the engine good so it's still free. The last I checked the engine was low on compression, around 80# which could be carboned up rings from running too rich a mix and from not getting run hard enough. My plan is to get it running again and take it on the trails in our local state park. I'm told that somebody running something like that early in the season won't be hassled. So I need to place an order with Spaulding Vintage. I need seat clips which I will weld onto the seat frame, and a rubber for the windshield. This sled has a cut down windshield that I really like so I'll keep that. Once I get those installed I'll clean the carb and probably set myself up with a small gas can for testing, then I'll look at the main tank and see what needs doing. If I can run it on that this year I will and next summer look into cleaning and resealing again.

And we're back!

Boy its been a long time hasn't it? 2012 has been a washout for snow. The 2011/2012 season was completely lost, we had two feet of snow in late October 2011 and not a flake until March when we had another four inches. I got the '78 Pantera started for that snow in October, managed to get halfway around the yard before I buried it in the soft wet snow and there it sat for two weeks until the snow melted. It taunted me because each morning when I went to work the snow would be all nice and hard but I didn't want to wake the neighbors and at night it would be all soft again until I was ready to go to bed. So phooey! Here at the end of 2012 we've been taunted a few times but nothing worth reporting has fallen. I did managed to get the '95 Ski-Doo Grand Touring out of its slumber. I was pretty much shocked when it started right up. I'd expected it to fight me but it was really just a peach. As a reward I washed, polished and waxed it up nice and gave it a new tarp which I managed to rig in such a way that the whole seat is covered. The previous tarp left the rear of the seat out in the open which is of course hard on it. Today I started the '78 Pantera which was unsurprisingly difficult to start but once running didn't give me any problems at all. It also got a nice new tarp but needs a little time with the vacuum cleaner, leaves and stuff have a way of getting inside even though its covered and I put a jar of mothballs to repel the critters. That works by the way, get any kind of glass or plastic jar, don't use metal as it'll rust just from condensation, and put a handful of mothballs in. Put jars on the running boards and in the engine bay. If you do put them in the engine bay remember to remove before you start up in the spring. I find putting them near the engine isn't really required anyway. A jar will last forever as long as it doesn't get seriously wet. I've got a couple gravy jars I've been using for years and years.