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General topics related to John Deere Snowmobiles
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400brian
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Post by 400brian »

I attended the Badger Steam and Gas show in Baraboo WI this weekend. There were a few vintage sleds, a very old Ski Doo, and a very old Cat. One '73 JDX4.
Attached is a photo of a sled custom built in the very early '70s.
It has a custom built, one piece tunnel. Two slide suspension assemblies, and two tracks together. Probably not too peppy, as it has a singly cyl engine.
Also, the sign said it took a LOT of room to turn it around.

Anyway, for some of you guys with time on your hands, and some junk sleds lying round, food for thought.

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JDFanPa
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Post by JDFanPa »

that is pretty intresting just imagine the amount of unavailable seat material it took to make the seat cover on that. LOL
JD340S
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Post by JD340S »

I believe that sled was in an older VSCA mag. The story was that a dealer in WI or MN did it for promotional purposes. Used 2 tracks. There was also a GOR-SKI built similar to that sled. GOR-SKI's were made in beautiful downtown Pennsylvania somewhere. There is a pic on David's Vintage Snowmobile Page. Ibelieve that Cat was an old I-500 sled :rolleyes: AWZ
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Horicon Joe
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Post by Horicon Joe »

I was at the show last year and looked that thing over. One of the guys there
told me it is almost undriveable because it won't turn. It was an attention getter
though and the one piece tunnel was impressive.
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JoeRainville
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Post by JoeRainville »

Hey Guys,

I believe that Cat is owned by Al Nowiki of Necedah, WI. It was Al's brother Tom that was shot and killed in his snowmobile workshop a few years ago. Tom used to run "Mid-State Snowmobile Salvage" and Al helped out around the place.

Yea, it's one goofy looking machine. I belive there is another one simular to it with the two tracks Aaron mentioned, but this one has a one piece "Fast-Trac" segmented track, put together for one LONG track.

Al still brings it out to shows on a trailer made just for it. It gets alot of laughs and stares. And, yes, it does not turn to save it's life.

Have fun guys,
-Joe Rainville

PS: Hey Aaron Z, drop me an e-mail with your current e-mail address. The one I had stored is outdated. Thanks!

joerainville@hotmail.com
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RSplash40
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Post by RSplash40 »

Did they find the SOB that shot him?
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JoeRainville
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Post by JoeRainville »

I saw Al this spring when I was last in WI the weekend of the St. Germain Show. He said there are still no leads on who shot Tom. There is a pretty large reward being offered, but no leads in a long time. There have been new paper articals about it too.

Tom was just a nice country bumpkin who ran a sled junk yard and repair bussiness. Very friendly guy, and it was a shame he was taken out. Al called me the day it happened to break the news, about 2 1/2 years ago or so. What a friggin bummer

-Rainville
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