Liquidator

Jagsf6 · Post by **Jagsf6** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:54 pm

I just picked a liquidator up for $300.00! It's in great shape, and the only thing missing is the motor. What is the difference between the 340 motor out of the liquifire that year and the motor that was in the liquidator that year? I haven't had a chance to look at the serial # yet, but how many dators were built that year? And lastly how do you tell the difference between the standard suspension and the optional suspension? Any input would be great .

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:03 pm

The big difference would be that if you put a production LC motor in it, you could ride it!

Jagsf6 · Post by **Jagsf6** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:17 pm

I was wondering about that! Did the dator motor have a different compression from the liquifire? Different bore? The sled came with the twin pipes, could they be used successfully with a stock motor or were they meant just for the dator motor?

JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 5:47 pm

Jag,

Deere built about 600 Dators in 1976 only. There were no 77's, only 76's that got rebuilt and/or updated with light weight parts and such. The original 76 rear suspension was steel, and heavy. The "77" update was aluminum and very light in comparison. The "Dator lite" suspenion looks a lot like the 78 suspension used in the Cyclone and Liquifire, but is not quite the same.

The 76 hood is also "heavy" at 30 lbs, being a LF/Cyclone hood that was cut and had a scoup bonded into it. The "Dator Lite" hood was one sheet of very thin glass and only weighted about 10 lbs and is kind of fragile.

The Dator motor was a 60mm bore and stroke, and a high rev'ing one at that. It was piston ported instead of case reed like the Liquifire's of that era. No parts interchange between the two motors, except the guts to the recoil.

Dator pipes should be a power improvement for the stock 340/440 LF motors, but you would have to clutch, jet, and possably port to make them work at the fullest potential.

Nice job finding a rolling Dator for $300. Good Luck with it. Just for reference a complete Dator motor is worth about $1,500 and a good set of pipes can bring around $500 or more.

-Rainville

Jack Frost · Post by **Jack Frost** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:06 pm

Jagsf6 how about posting some pictures of your new toy for all us sickness pepole to drool over.

afponiky · Post by **afponiky** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:17 pm

Lucky you!

I've been looking for a rolling chassis for a few months now.

Good for you! Let's see some pictures.

GRP

cyclone crazy · Post by **cyclone crazy** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:59 am

I bought a rolling chassis this year with a 440 Cuyana running gear. I put a 440 Kioritz in it. Bore, port,polish, AAEN, and you have the coolest head turning vintage sled around. Don't sweat staying true to a 340, stay true to a vintage era Deere running gear that will crank. You will really enjoy it and there is nothing tougher looking than a big snouted Dator pulling the ski's. The advantage is running it like crazy and not sweating any melt downs.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:05 am

GREG, You dog, you are alive!

Jagsf6 · Post by **Jagsf6** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:45 pm

Thanks for all of the replies! I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.

Dator76 · Post by **Dator76** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 9:43 pm

i have a dator with a 440 liquifire motor in it it uses the pipes and dator carbs. if you get a complete 76-78 liquifire for parts its pretty much a bolt in deal but many things are different i recommend the 77 as it has the aluminum motor mount and is usually cheaper and easier to find than a 78. however the 76 liquifire motor is a premium fuel only motor with a different head. (76=slightly more hp)
I will try to explain some of the differences.
1. motor sits in a different spot off to one side causing you to use either a cyclone Y pipe and liquifire muffler or cut the dator pipes on the back weld and extend the pipes about 2"
2. if you use the twin pipes the length of the little pipes coming from the engine is very important as their length moves your power band up and down the rpm range
2. motor mount is exclusive to each motor but bolts in
3. air box mount is exclusive to each motor and if you switch around carbs from other motor you cant use either airbox.
4. for a rider id suggest finding some later carbs as no matter what i do to a dator carb they wont run as well as a set of later carbs or just use liquifire carbs on that motor.

this is a very doable swap im very happy with mine as the lighter motor and the heavy suspension make it a nicely balanced sled, also the 440 piped with the bigger carbs has good power. the next thing im going to try is swapping out the 36mm dator carbs for a set of 38mm dator carbs. i also run an exhaust temp guage which allows me to tune the carbs

bpmailman · Post by **bpmailman** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:32 pm

I've got a running 76 440 lf motor Cheap if you need it.
Mike

Dator76 · Post by **Dator76** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:16 pm

a 78 liquifire heat exchanger is advisable as well. as with only a radiator you need to run at least 40 mph at all times to stay cool. theyre at the front of the tunnel and small and light so you dont need to cut the big hole as with the 77

afponiky · Post by **afponiky** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:12 pm

Hey Jag, interested in selling it to me?

Let me know.....

I know, all you guys were waiting for that post.

GRP

:ph43r:

Jagsf6 · Post by **Jagsf6** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:05 pm

Thanks for all of the info! I can't believe this, but I thought I was getting a dator for $300.00, so I go out to the guy's house to look it over and he has a bunch of other sleds sitting around! It turns out he's in a pinch for money and the township has been on his case to clean his place up. I end up leaving his place with a total of 11 sleds including the liquidator for a grand total of $500.00!!! I ended up getting a nice 1980 El Tigre 5000, a 78 panther, a 71 ski-doo tnt 775, a 1979 liquifire 440, a 1980 liquifire 440, a jdx 8, a Kawasaki 440 intruder, a 1980 Yamaha srx, another el tigre chassis, a scorpion 440 with aaen pipes on it and various spare parts. Some are complete sleds, others are rolling chassis and some are tunnel/bulkheads. The dator is in pretty good shape, the paint and decals are pretty good, the seat needs recovered but the foam is in great shape, it has the pipes but they're all rusted out, the skis are gone, but the track is in real good shape. I opened the hood and the carbs were in there still hooked up. the water pump was still in there, the radiator is still mounted up and everything from the secondary to the chaincase is still intact. I'd really like to find an original motor for it so I don't think i would sell it, but I would be curious to know what it's worth? Is anyone running the radiator set up and the 78 liquifire heat exchanger together? Here are some picks:

Jagsf6 · Post by **Jagsf6** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:09 pm

I tried to post the picks, but it won't let me. How would I go about doing this?