Strange or Not ??

[JDT]

Oh come on DA. Just think how that polished tunnel would look with all that bling your famous for.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

[Wildfire II]

Grab more popcorn!! Talked to Jack Hoffman today and he does not recall telling that story. The employes did not make the color change, never heard that story. Those changes would have to come from Moline. My guess it wasd a cost reduction thingy. So if you guys want to reaky get to the bottom of this, like joe said we have to see the tunnel up close. Also WHERE it was found and some history. A test sled will not have a Ser# with the stanpings. It is possible that tunnel came off the line as just a bare tunnel that was destened for some shop project. That is a very wild --- guess. ED

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Darn!! It was such a great story and kept me rivited when I heard it. Glad Keith heard it to LOL.

[Norton]

When I was at the Horicon reunion in 2009 it was my first opportunity to meet many of the folks that post on this form (also the second time I have ever been to Horicon, the first time being the 340/S service school in fall of 74). So I have no idea who was sharing this story. I do remember the frustration that was in his voice when he told the story dealing with plant bureaucracy in order to get an “unpainted tunnel” off the line! Yes Don, I am glad we heard the same thing! I will leave it up to Joe and the other locals to figure out who was sharing stories. Hope you guys can track down the history of this sled. Like the story of DA’s 78 CC, I believe the owner history is just as important as saving any sled.

[Sledshack]

Well boys and girls...It ain't much, but I am now the proud owner of this sled. I gave it a quick bath and looked it over and I see no evidence of black paint on the tunnel anywhere. It sure would be nice to find out why.

[Sprailfire340]

Time to get comfy...

[ChickenRat]

Very interesting.

Robb

[mikehjd]

Nice straight looking sled. Nice to see it was saved from the junk yard.

[jdrob]

start digging for info !!

[JoeRainville]

Those pic's make me wonder if it's not something special. No hint of black paint anywhere. I don't think the sticker around the serial number were replaceable or purchaseable. Maybe it is something cool?!

Good luck on this mystery Liquifire, I hope it turns out to be a factory job!

-Rainville

[Wildfire II]

Myself and Wanie talked about this sled. Joe is upnorth grouse hunting this weekend. We need MORE INFO. WHERE DID YOU GET IT. SCRAP PILE??? Looks prety good to be on a scrap pile!! It would not be a test sled. At the end of production there could have been a couple built. They would have been compleatly stock production sleds with unpainted tunnel. Nothing special. There is a Wisconsin tag. need to know who owned it. If you realy want to know about this sled you have to come up with more info. If you dont want to disclose the info on here Email ekruel57@gmail.com. ED

[jdrob]

How about this: It was built either on a friday right around beer thirty ?? or a on a monday morning right around starting time ???

[427cobra]

I picked up a 80' LF a few years ago. It was a 83' "Look A Like." The tunnel was stripped and no signs of black paint. However it did not have the decal around the serial number....

Looks like a fun project.

[Horicon Joe]

Scott … I should be able to give it a look on Sunday. Here are my thoughts as of now.
It is a 1980 Liquifire according to the tunnel stamp. The month it was made is correct for
it being about the 120th from last sled made that year. The fact that no name appears at a dealer
tends to indicate it was sold at an employee sale. What they did and still do is ... you show up at the
sale and if you win the right to buy the sled it must be sold through a dealer. No name can = no warranty
as it would have been used. Interestingly it is missing the decal to
the right of the serial no decal? (see picture) I would be curios if the TPR's are painted black
or are they unpainted black? From the pictures it looks like they were not painted as well but
not sure. If anyone has a 1980 with a serial no higher than this one please
chime in! This would help us figure this thing out as well.

Joe Wanie