1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

This is where you can post the story & photos of your John Deere Snowmobile project.
sledhead16
Posts: 1386
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:39 pm
Real Name: Allan Campbell
Location: Saint Peter MN

1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by sledhead16 »

I met a new friend back in August at the Princeton swap. He flagged me down when he noticed my sweet Liquifire cools it shirt. We began chatting deere talk, turned out he owned a couple deeres and grew up deere. He told me he had a 340/s up on a shelf in his barn. It had been there for close to 20yrs. He had it down about 6 or 7 yrs ago and put a new cdi on it to get it spark and drove it a few laps around the yard and that was it. He found it in Ramsey MN in the late 90s at a sled boneyard while he was looking for parts. He said it looked like someone just dropped it off. He knew what it was right away even though it had cyclone decals on it. He was able to buy it from the boneyard and get it home. It probably made it there because it lost spark.

So I have been trying to figure a deal out with him since august. Meanwhile our friendship has grown and I've got him back into deeres again and he has been picking up a few here and there. He's hooked again! Well we finally worked a deal and out it came from the barn. I got the sled home and just kept staring at it, talked with a few members about it. It is missing a few components but a lot of it is there. The motor has 135 in both jugs, it has good spark. The pan was upgraded to aluminum. The seat and tank cover are shot. The rear compartment is cracked. The tracked is all there but old, the skid looks all there minus the wheel kit. The airbox is gone along with the feed tube. The skis have been reinforced as well as the suspension. The sled screamed to me that it was raced.

With some advice from some members I did some checking. Jesse Babler looked up my SN# and the original owner was from Saint Cloud MN. Then Jesse told me that guy raced in the 1975 I500 Winnepeg to St. Paul race. And was on the roster as #161. He raced a deere. We came to the conclusion that it was more than likely the sled he raced. He finished the 1st leg according to race results in 5hr 40min. But not the last two.

So later that evening I white paged Richard Held and found a phone # not knowing if it was right but I figured I'd give it a shot. I called the number and an elderly sounding man answered the phone. I introduced myself and asked him if he ever owned a JD snowmobile. He stated that he did and raced it in the 75 I500. He stated he bought it from a store in Saint Cloud called Gardner DX. He told me he did all the reinforcing himself. He stated he finished the 1st leg of the race and started the 2nd to Alexandria but never finished. He said he never wrecked. He said he also grass and ice dragged the sled and beat many people in that class. I asked him if I could put his name and race # on the sled when I get it going someday and he was estatic about the idea. He asked for pictures so I will mail him some. Nice gentleman but time has aged him and his memory. This story makes this sled much more enjoyable and my friend was excited to hear the findings as well. I will need a lot of help from the 340/s guys but I'm glad this sled was saved 20 yrs ago and never scrapped. Save those sleds! Ya never know their history ;)
Attachments
2016-03-09 19.01.57.jpg
2016-03-09 19.02.51.jpg
2016-03-09 19.03.43.jpg
2016-03-09 19.04.12.jpg
2016-03-09 19.04.59.jpg
1975 340/s Speed Run Sled
1975 340/s I500 #161
1980 Liquifire SN# 4995 From WA Speed Run Sled
1980 Liquifire SN# 4996 From MN
1983 Sportfire
1984 Liquifire Deep Snow Tunnel 4/6 motor
1984 Sprintfire (2)

***Duelling Deere Garage***
sledhead16
Posts: 1386
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:39 pm
Real Name: Allan Campbell
Location: Saint Peter MN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by sledhead16 »

More pics
Attachments
2016-03-09 18.57.47.jpg
2016-03-09 18.58.32.jpg
2016-03-09 18.59.14.jpg
2016-03-09 19.00.34.jpg
2016-03-09 19.01.18.jpg
1975 340/s Speed Run Sled
1975 340/s I500 #161
1980 Liquifire SN# 4995 From WA Speed Run Sled
1980 Liquifire SN# 4996 From MN
1983 Sportfire
1984 Liquifire Deep Snow Tunnel 4/6 motor
1984 Sprintfire (2)

***Duelling Deere Garage***
sledhead16
Posts: 1386
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:39 pm
Real Name: Allan Campbell
Location: Saint Peter MN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by sledhead16 »

More pics
Attachments
2016-03-09 18.53.00.jpg
2016-03-09 18.53.42.jpg
2016-03-09 18.54.33.jpg
2016-03-09 18.55.54.jpg
2016-03-09 18.56.47.jpg
1975 340/s Speed Run Sled
1975 340/s I500 #161
1980 Liquifire SN# 4995 From WA Speed Run Sled
1980 Liquifire SN# 4996 From MN
1983 Sportfire
1984 Liquifire Deep Snow Tunnel 4/6 motor
1984 Sprintfire (2)

***Duelling Deere Garage***
sledhead16
Posts: 1386
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:39 pm
Real Name: Allan Campbell
Location: Saint Peter MN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by sledhead16 »

More pics
Attachments
2016-03-09 18.49.08.jpg
2016-03-09 18.50.27.jpg
2016-03-09 18.51.46.jpg
1975 340/s Speed Run Sled
1975 340/s I500 #161
1980 Liquifire SN# 4995 From WA Speed Run Sled
1980 Liquifire SN# 4996 From MN
1983 Sportfire
1984 Liquifire Deep Snow Tunnel 4/6 motor
1984 Sprintfire (2)

***Duelling Deere Garage***
User avatar
acesillini06
Posts: 280
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:14 pm
Real Name: Matt Cappel
Location: Rochelle, IL

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by acesillini06 »

I still can't get over this story and find! Absolutely incredible!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
1983 Liquifire 2-1983 Sprintfire's original owner
1983 Trailfire LX 1983 Sportfire and 1976 Liquidator #170
1982 Sprintfire 1982 Liquifire/Intruder "white hood" 1975 340/s #179
User avatar
WinnipegStPaul9
Posts: 5577
Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2005 12:00 am
Real Name: Don Amber
Location: Churubusco, IN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by WinnipegStPaul9 »

That will be a great piece to restore, congratulations on the find.

DA
Feel free to check out our website www.buscobullet.com for restorations or parts.
AirborneX4Special
Posts: 1450
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 10:54 am
Real Name: Pat
Location: N. IL

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by AirborneX4Special »

Great story, Allan. It will be a fun and challenging project for you.
JDT
Posts: 5561
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:00 am
Real Name: Todd
Location: Milbank South Dakota

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by JDT »

Way too cool Allen. Congrats.
Todd Schrupp

Milbank SD
gpuller
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:22 pm
Real Name: Reed
Location: southern MN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by gpuller »

Cool story!
sledhead16
Posts: 1386
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:39 pm
Real Name: Allan Campbell
Location: Saint Peter MN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by sledhead16 »

Thanks guys, I was pretty lucky to have this work out this way. It will be fun and take some time but it's pretty cool
1975 340/s Speed Run Sled
1975 340/s I500 #161
1980 Liquifire SN# 4995 From WA Speed Run Sled
1980 Liquifire SN# 4996 From MN
1983 Sportfire
1984 Liquifire Deep Snow Tunnel 4/6 motor
1984 Sprintfire (2)

***Duelling Deere Garage***
buckeyetrailfire
Posts: 241
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 8:26 pm
Real Name: Mark Elliott
Location: Springboro Ohio

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by buckeyetrailfire »

Great find and awesome story. That's what this sport is about making new friends and preserving history . You made Richard's day bringing up old memories.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1979 Trailfire 440
1980 Trailfire 340
1980 sportfire
User avatar
340sracer
Posts: 108
Joined: Sat May 03, 2014 1:00 am
Real Name: glen wasmuth
Location: battleford sk

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by 340sracer »

Way to go ,glad to see you are going to restore it rather then it collecting dust.
Last edited by 340sracer on Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sledhead16
Posts: 1386
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:39 pm
Real Name: Allan Campbell
Location: Saint Peter MN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by sledhead16 »

Yup, it deserves to be seen and enjoyed rather than stuck on a shelf in a barn
1975 340/s Speed Run Sled
1975 340/s I500 #161
1980 Liquifire SN# 4995 From WA Speed Run Sled
1980 Liquifire SN# 4996 From MN
1983 Sportfire
1984 Liquifire Deep Snow Tunnel 4/6 motor
1984 Sprintfire (2)

***Duelling Deere Garage***
User avatar
jep_800
Posts: 445
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:33 pm
Real Name: Jason
Location: Grand Forks, ND

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by jep_800 »

Man, what a find! And what a great starting point for the restoration! It looks so complete compared to other stories I've heard which require months or years to find everything. This one looks like it could be accomplished with reasonable effort. But I know the attention to details takes time, so it can also be longer than first anticipated. Great find Allan. Still thinking about making a trip to St. Peter in April. I'll send you a message if I get that lined up. Be great to meet, and see that sled!

jep_800
1975 John Deere 800
1975 JDX8 (VC Finisher 2019)
1976 440 Cyclone (VC Finisher 2022)
1974 El Tigre 440 (Sold)
1996 Arcitc Cat 440Z
sledhead16
Posts: 1386
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:39 pm
Real Name: Allan Campbell
Location: Saint Peter MN

Re: 1975 I500 #161 340/s saw sunlight again

Post by sledhead16 »

With the help of our guys we can get her accomplished. Yup swing on in for a visit!
1975 340/s Speed Run Sled
1975 340/s I500 #161
1980 Liquifire SN# 4995 From WA Speed Run Sled
1980 Liquifire SN# 4996 From MN
1983 Sportfire
1984 Liquifire Deep Snow Tunnel 4/6 motor
1984 Sprintfire (2)

***Duelling Deere Garage***
Post Reply