Rebuild cost

[Funrover]

I am just curious what others have spent. I have a trailfire. Don't want to do a full show resto I just want to use it and have fun. What is a high est? thanks

[WinnipegStPaul9]

$200.00 to $1,000.00, the cost is strictly dependent on your wants, needs, or desires. You will be shocked when you're done with the amount of money you have in a resto.

DA

[427cobra]

The small things adds up fast...

drive belt $20
hyfax $20
Carbides $40
Rear Suspension shock $25
Primary Spring $20
Carb jets/parts $40
Drive Bearings $50
Paint/Primer $50
Carb Boot $15
Other mics parts/hardware $50
Fuel filters/line $20
Recover Seat $140
Windshield $60
New Gas Cap $20

These are all estimates....but just goes to show what things cost. Just depends on how far you want to dive into it and what condition your sled is in...

Good Luck!

[JDT]

At first glance one may think that $300 may get it to the point that it will be good but the reality is that is always a low figure. If you double it you may be closer.
As you tear into it no doubt you will find more to repair.
But when you are done you are done.

[guitardude081]

Never assume that it's going to be a cake walk. At the bare minimum you will have to spend between $25 and $50 on a tech manual. If you're planning on doing the engine, pistons will be around $40 each for a 340 and $60 each for a 440. A complete gasket set is around $30. A fan belt is about $8. So just for parts in the engine you're looking at between $98 and $150. Other things that are a necessity to do unless they have been done in the last 5-10 years are all 4 drive bearings-$15 each X 4, Hifax-$12 per strip X 2, new drive belt-$50, new brake pads $15, Needle and Seat assy.-$25 and new secondary clutch buttons-$1 each X 3. There's another $175 in parts. You'll need chemicals and lubricants and a few misc cans of spray paint for touch-up. You'll easily spend around $50 for all of that. Then there's minor cosmetic stuff like gas caps, new choke lever, seat cover and windshield. You have to keep an eye on what you spend in the cosmetic department. Remember that a nice new windshield and a seat cover doesn't make a sled run better. Always save the superficial repairs for last. Account around $50 for fuel line, cork for chaincase gaskets, misc. o-rings and possible used parts needs. Worst case scenarios are the clutches and the chaincase-rebuilds for each if you do it yourself will be around $80 for a chain and gears and $175 for all primary clutch wear components and a used secondary helix (or $50 for a good used primary clutch).

Things that aren't necessary are: new cables if yours are in good shape, new carb jets (just clean everything very well), carb slide and jet needle, new suspension springs(just install a $20 spring helper kit), new front shocks, a new rear shock (if yours has some compression left in it), new volt. regulator, new gears and chain, drive sprockets, clutching components (if your weights aren't grooved and the bushings are good, and the spring isn't completely sacked out or broken, your old components will get you by--take a good look at your rollers and guide buttons, those are very critical), and a new seat cover (Black duct tape may look bad, but it serves a purpose....THE HANDY MAN'S SECRET WEAPON!)

There are few unforseen things that you may encounter such as the track being dry rotted and unusable (check it over really carefully), stuck and/or bent suspension shafts, worn out drive or jackshaft, worn out track drivers, bad ignition or electrical system components. Some things to think about installing are: a tach (it's good to see what your engine is doing), hand warmers (gloves with handwarmer pouches are more expensive that a handwarmer kit), a spring helper kit (this will save you from bottoming the suspension as easily and bending a shaft), a spare belt, a snowflap support if it doesn't have one.

It's always best to start with a sled that runs and drives good and has a suspension with good wheels and some range of motion. If the engine runs good, have it pressure tested before you decide to rebuild it. Clean your clutches and install new drivetrain bearings. During bearing replacement you will have a chance to inspect the entire drivetrain and decide whether or not your components are good.

A lot of what you fix or replace depends on how much you will use the sled. If you're going to do 1 or 2 25 mile vintage fun runs with an average speed between "OH COME ON!!" and "HEY! That turtle is going faster than I am!", I would make sure your bearings are decent, your clutches are clean, your engine has been pressure tested and your track is in OK shape and just give the sled a good cleanup and servicing. If you're using this as a primary sled and plan on doing 500-1000 trail miles this year, I would scrutinize every component and really check stuff good and replace it if you question it.

Your best case scenario is a great motor, nice track, free moving suspension shafts and wheel bearings, beautiful clutches and a sled in need of a few bearings and a good service...That'll cost you around $200 by the time you hit the trail.
Your worst case scenario is a sled that is one step behind the line of being called a parts sled....I would make sure you have $800-$1000 that you can easily part with before you hit the trail.
Most likely you'll have an engine that needs 2-$3 crank seals ( you don't need to disassemble and engine to replace the crank seals), $75 worth of bearings, a $25 needle and seat, $50 worth of suspension stuff and $100 in other misc. parts and a lot of elbow grease. This will probably set you back around $500 by the time you hit the trail.
Another option is to get a good estimate, and if you think it's too expensive, find a sled that has already been gone through for a price cheaper than your estimate and buy that. You can then work on whipping the Trailfire into shape progressively when you have the time and money. Just be careful buying a sled from Don Amber (WinnepegSt.Paul9). You'll want to have a good pair of sunglasses when you go to look at it. He likes to over-shine tunnels and have everything chromed.

My '82 Liquifire was purchased for $250 and I put about $800 and 100 hours of time into it and it was completely mechanically restored and had brand new lease on life.
For NOS or good used parts, use the classified section. This website combined with a service manual will be your greatest resource. When in doubt, post a question in the Kawi Tech forum and it WILL be answered. Before you purchase parts from DK or Shade Tree, call me and make sure I can't beat them first. A lot of guys here are willing to walk you through stuff over the phone or even drive a couple of miles to lend you a helping hand if they live near you. Use this website and you'll gain a lot of new friends and probably have a bunch of good laughs.
~Jack
(218)-829-7774

[Sprailfire340]

[ChickenRat]

You can hit the $500 mark in no time flat. It is way easier to hit this dollar mark than you may think especially if cosmetics are involved.

Robb

[400brian]

RACE SLEDS!

Race sleds are a hole in the space/time continuum, into which you dump money. It is sucked into that vortex, never to be seen again!

[JDT]

Great right up Jack. Your experience is very evident. This should be archived.

[Funrover]

Thanks everyone. I look forward to this project. but am realizing it won't be done as soon as I had hoped.

[guitardude081]

They're never a quick project. My Trailfire scares me because I was able to rebuild the engine earlier in the summer and do everything else in about 16 hours last Saturday. Nothing ever goes that smooth when it has leaping deer on the hood. I remember having "everything" I needed to restore my '83 Sprintfire. I made a post about how I had already fixed and painted a lot of big things that passed fall and I could probably restore the sled in a weekend. I was pretty confident that it would be finished before I moved down to Brainerd....it wasn't even stripped all the way by then. Here it is 3 years and 3 months and an extra $500 later and I'm still trying to find a perfect original clutch that doesn't need a rebuild and I still have yet to repaint the belt guard. Keep in mind that I lost interest in the sled for about a year and a half....so it sat under a tarp while project '82 Liquifire took shape. It's so close to being done now, I can hear that distinct ruh duh duh ruh duh duh of a Sprintfire motor everywhere I go. Thanks to the donation by Obi-Wan Rainville, Everything cosmetic on the outside is lookin' good.
~Jack

[guitardude081]

I was looking for a post I made about Sprintfire clutch parts a few years back and I found the post that I'm referring to. I laughed my @$$ off thinking about how much I've learned in the 4 years since this incarnation of the board has been around. Here I was talking about a sprocket bolt. It was literally the last bolt I had to remove for teardown, and it was rusted solid through the shaft. Read the date:
New postby guitardude081 on Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:34 pm
Well, I used some conventional ways, and tipped the tunnel over on myself a few times, but I got it. I hacksawed the bolt ends off right to the sprocket, and drilled out the ends. I hope there weren't threads in the hole in the shaft, because I drilled the hole out too. Now I have to take it to the car wash and make as big of a mess as I made with the Liquifire chassis. They love all of the black stuff on the walls and partitions. What does everyone use to polish aluminum tunnels? I was thinking terpentine and a scour pad, and then carnuba wax and a buffer afterwards. The nice thing is that I already have all of the parts I need, so once paint is done on Monday, I can start assembly.
~Jack

Aaahhh, so naive young grasshopper.
~Jack