'12 race sleds

General topics related to John Deere Snowmobiles
lwb140
Posts: 1807
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:34 pm
Real Name: Wade bennett
Location: linden IN

'12 race sleds

Post by lwb140 »

anyone wrenchin on race sleds yet,ive been eyeing a chassis with big plans , no work done yet but big ideas wade
certificate recipiant of the 12 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifre 440,
certificate recipiant of the 13 vintage challenge !! on a 340/s
certificate recipient of the 14 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifire 440
joe forgot the certificates for the 2015 vintage challenge
crossed the start/finish line twice at the 2013 and 2014 I500 on a 78 liquifire 440
trailfire runner
Posts: 198
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:10 pm
Location: 43302

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by trailfire runner »

No wrenchin yet here still tring to find a 80 or 81 liquifire

Clay
Clay Gerfen
My Sleds
1 1980 Trailfire 340 = Less than five hundred orginal miles
1 1980 Trailfire 440 = My Test Dummy
1 1980 Liquifire = Future race sled
1 1978 Spitfire
1 1979 Spitfire
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johnnycyclone
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:00 am
Real Name: Terre
Location: Dundee, Mi

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by johnnycyclone »

No plans for any race sleds Wade, but I have 3 projects lined up for the year. I started the first one as the snow was melting away. Here is a sneak peak at what I am working on. I will post more pics when they are done. I need 3 more sleds for the family, so we can all ride together next year.

Terre
Attachments
Spring Project - 77 Liquifire 440, mild custom
Spring Project - 77 Liquifire 440, mild custom
phpbyBILkPM.jpg (84.74 KiB) Viewed 1302 times
Summer Project - 82 Liquifire
Summer Project - 82 Liquifire
phplF1YiXPM.jpg (119.65 KiB) Viewed 1302 times
Fall Project - 78 Liquifire 440
Fall Project - 78 Liquifire 440
phprBtZZDPM.jpg (73.95 KiB) Viewed 1302 times
lwb140
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Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:34 pm
Real Name: Wade bennett
Location: linden IN

Re: '12 vintage race sleds

Post by lwb140 »

so 1/3 of a year has passed since red lake last year so does this mean we need to be 1/3 done with our sleds ?? :doh: wade
certificate recipiant of the 12 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifre 440,
certificate recipiant of the 13 vintage challenge !! on a 340/s
certificate recipient of the 14 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifire 440
joe forgot the certificates for the 2015 vintage challenge
crossed the start/finish line twice at the 2013 and 2014 I500 on a 78 liquifire 440
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JD600
Posts: 1117
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:00 am
Location: Fremont NE

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by JD600 »

Rob and i had a good start, but due to his recient issues, we have decided to put the race off for a year. Like i told Rob, the sleds will always be here, none of it matters if he's not here to enjoy it. So i am going to continue to work on it some this year and hopefully it will see snow late next winter, but no race for this team. Thanks guys,

DE
O'Deere Racing
Dustin Elder
Salem, OH


Midmounts.... Lots and lots of midmounts...

"Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege."
lwb140
Posts: 1807
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:34 pm
Real Name: Wade bennett
Location: linden IN

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by lwb140 »

johnnycyclone wrote:No plans for any race sleds Wade, but I have 3 projects lined up for the year. I started the first one as the snow was melting away. Here is a sneak peak at what I am working on. I will post more pics when they are done. I need 3 more sleds for the family, so we can all ride together next year.

Terre
those are awesome looking projects !! cant wait to see more pics wade
certificate recipiant of the 12 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifre 440,
certificate recipiant of the 13 vintage challenge !! on a 340/s
certificate recipient of the 14 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifire 440
joe forgot the certificates for the 2015 vintage challenge
crossed the start/finish line twice at the 2013 and 2014 I500 on a 78 liquifire 440
lwb140
Posts: 1807
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:34 pm
Real Name: Wade bennett
Location: linden IN

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by lwb140 »

the uscc web site has dates posted as jan 13-15 2012 !!!! wade
certificate recipiant of the 12 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifre 440,
certificate recipiant of the 13 vintage challenge !! on a 340/s
certificate recipient of the 14 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifire 440
joe forgot the certificates for the 2015 vintage challenge
crossed the start/finish line twice at the 2013 and 2014 I500 on a 78 liquifire 440
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johnnycyclone
Posts: 867
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:00 am
Real Name: Terre
Location: Dundee, Mi

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by johnnycyclone »

Thanks Wade. Anytime your working on a John Deere it's and awesome project :lol: I will post more pics later as I progress. I love to see what others are working on also, so please keep us in the loop on your race sled project. And I'm sure there are some other members working on their race sleds too, so hopefully they will post also. I love reading about this stuff.

Terre
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JoeRainville
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Re: '12 race sleds

Post by JoeRainville »

Hi Wade and Guys,

I am already working on my 2012 I-500 racer / back up and practic sled. I just recieved a really nice care package from Jerome Kretzman: two rebuild Liquifire cranks. One was already rebuilt, but he trued it up and check it all over for me. The other was a rusty junker that truned out to be in pretty good shape once he gave it the full race prep.

I've been buying the required Cat parts off Evil Bay and such, with the idea being to have two sleds ready for next year...

Image
Honorary Tech Editor

Chuck Norris doesn't get frost bite. He bites the frost.
lwb140
Posts: 1807
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:34 pm
Real Name: Wade bennett
Location: linden IN

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by lwb140 »

sounds awesome joe , my plans are to start right away on a 78 440 lf ,yesterday i cleaned and began assembly on a "spare" motor .fresh hone job with new pistons and seals . trying to figure out which track to use . wade
certificate recipiant of the 12 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifre 440,
certificate recipiant of the 13 vintage challenge !! on a 340/s
certificate recipient of the 14 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifire 440
joe forgot the certificates for the 2015 vintage challenge
crossed the start/finish line twice at the 2013 and 2014 I500 on a 78 liquifire 440
Norton
Posts: 289
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:00 am
Real Name: Keith Bylin
Location: NE North Dakota

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by Norton »

Wade,
Glad to read about the interest in the 1st Gen LF and the Red Lake. If it was me, I would try to match up a single ply modern rubber track (might require changing skid rail center distance which would be time consuming) find a high arch long travel front spring (maybe from AC) and then pay attention to DETAIL on all other parts. I remember the sign over the parts counter at the Cat Dealer in West Yellowstone, "It costs money to go fast".
My 2 cents.

keith
lwb140
Posts: 1807
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:34 pm
Real Name: Wade bennett
Location: linden IN

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by lwb140 »

Norton wrote:Wade,
Glad to read about the interest in the 1st Gen LF and the Red Lake. If it was me, I would try to match up a single ply modern rubber track (might require changing skid rail center distance which would be time consuming) find a high arch long travel front spring (maybe from AC) and then pay attention to DETAIL on all other parts. I remember the sign over the parts counter at the Cat Dealer in West Yellowstone, "It costs money to go fast".
My 2 cents.

keith
there are several tracks that dk lists that could be made to work what specs do you reccommend cleat height/style etc thx wade
certificate recipiant of the 12 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifre 440,
certificate recipiant of the 13 vintage challenge !! on a 340/s
certificate recipient of the 14 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifire 440
joe forgot the certificates for the 2015 vintage challenge
crossed the start/finish line twice at the 2013 and 2014 I500 on a 78 liquifire 440
Norton
Posts: 289
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:00 am
Real Name: Keith Bylin
Location: NE North Dakota

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by Norton »

Wade,
As a general rule, the lower the lug height the less power it takes to turn the track. If the snow was hard and fast, more studs and less lug height. Soft snow the other way around. Have resources for two tracks if conditions change? I would look for trying to squeezing all the efficiency you can from the drive train. Clutching in the mix too. Look into the track AC uses in the Sno Pro 500. HP to weight ratio on the Sno Pro 500 must be very close to a 440 LF. I think cat offers a sno cross track and a CC version. I like these kind of mods on a CC machine over lean jetting or other mods that can decrease sled relilability. Sorry just my general thoughts on the subject. I bet you would like more detail. Maybe someone else will chime in and tell me I am off base...

Now you have my 4 cents worth.

keith
trailfire runner
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Location: 43302

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by trailfire runner »

JoeRainville wrote:Hi Wade and Guys,

I am already working on my 2012 I-500 racer / back up and practic sled. I just recieved a really nice care package from Jerome Kretzman: two rebuild Liquifire cranks. One was already rebuilt, but he trued it up and check it all over for me. The other was a rusty junker that truned out to be in pretty good shape once he gave it the full race prep.

I've been buying the required Cat parts off Evil Bay and such, with the idea being to have two sleds ready for next year...

Image
How much does it cost to have one of those cranks rebuilt for racing

Clay
Clay Gerfen
My Sleds
1 1980 Trailfire 340 = Less than five hundred orginal miles
1 1980 Trailfire 440 = My Test Dummy
1 1980 Liquifire = Future race sled
1 1978 Spitfire
1 1979 Spitfire
User avatar
JoeRainville
Posts: 4355
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:00 am
Real Name: "John Deere Joe"
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Contact:

Re: '12 race sleds

Post by JoeRainville »

Hi Clay,

It depends on how much work gets done, and how many parts are replaced. For example the top crank had already been rebuilt and was equipt with all new bearing. Jerome trued and indexed and shipped it for less than $100. The other crank needed a complete rebuild with new bearings and such, and came in about $250 - $300. WORTH EVERY PENNY.

I hope this helps,
-Joe Rainville
Honorary Tech Editor

Chuck Norris doesn't get frost bite. He bites the frost.
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