1980 SportFire with 5.6 original km's on it !!!

[chibravo]

I just purchased a 1980 John Deere Sportfire with 5.....yes actually 5.6 km's on it....Unbelievable find !!!!

Sled is close to factory perfect in everyway....What would this snowmobile be worth ? Would someone be interested in buying it for a museum piece ?

I am trying to decide if I should just let my daughter run it this winter, or if I should preserve it etc...

Let me know what you think....( No factory tach, has e-start though )

Thanks guys !....

[Matt]

Need pictures......

The odometer is in miles, not KM. Value would be tough to say. I'm all for riding sleds as they were intended, but kids can trash one pretty quickly.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Regardless of the miles (or lack of) this is still a 30 year old sled. Seals have dried and hardened. Do NOT run this sled until the engine has been freshened. Shall we assume that the sled has always been stored inside? If not there are several other issues to be dealt with. All in all, you made a great find. I like the "museum" idea personally.

DA

[chibravo]

The sled was stored inside and is factory fresh....It appears the only fuel that was in it was from the factory. Speedo is in miles? Never owned anything that had km's in bold, and on the outside of the perimeter of the gauge ? Hard to read the mph #'s in red ?

I will get some pictures uploaded. Serial # J44SJ 121073M, build date of 09/79. Headlight has the number "38" written on it with what appears to be a dry erase marker ?

Wondering if a factory nos tach kit is still available ? If so, I will install one.

I will probably run this sled and display it in my local John Deere store in the summer ?

Appears to be a well built sled...I have owned alot of Arctic Cats, first John Deere ever, so should be a fun new adventure for me...

And yes...I will pull motor and inspect, but it literally runs PERFECT !!! No leaks etc...

[JD600]

The sled was stored inside and is factory fresh....It appears the only fuel that was in it was from the factory. Speedo is in miles? Never owned anything that had km's in bold, and on the outside of the perimeter of the gauge ? Hard to read the mph #'s in red ?

All Deere Speedometers are in miles, although the 1980+ sleds had KM in larger numbers.

And yes...I will pull motor and inspect, but it literally runs PERFECT !!! No leaks etc...

I would also advise you to change these. the rubber in these seals is 30+ years old and most will most likely fail very soon if not replaced. Several members here have pulled never fired NOS engines out of crates to have them quickly burn down because the crank seals had failed very shorly after being started.

Good luck and great find!

DE

[monte44]

Great find! Like the other guys said CHANGE THE CRANK SEALS. Very easy job on that sled and you will have many many miles of fun. Just goes to show they are still out there! Find em guys!

[chibravo]

What is the best place to source parts....I would like to find the following:

Crank Seals
Tachometer kit
Windshield O rings ( Several broken )
Tether Switch kit
Battery hold-down bolt
Handle bar heater kit
Hood Foam ( Original is brittle and flaking off )

Any advise is appreciated....I checked my local John Deere shop, but found that no parts are available from JD....bummer !

[jdrob]

Chibravo Check with MATT (new breed sled parts) he should have a source for most of what is on your list ! The Jd tether is prolly not available, The tack kit not sure what a factory kit includes but I know the wiring for the tach should be right under your dash? It is prolly taped or ziptied up. Your missing the tach and possibly the small pigtail for the light in it ! Should be lots of NOS tachs floating around ! DK trader just sold out of them not long ago !
I agree with riding it and enjoying it ! Thats what it was built for !! Nice find

Jdrob

[WinnipegStPaul9]

..I checked my local John Deere shop, but found that no parts are available from JD....bummer !

Welcome to our world! Just out of curiosity did they laugh at you? Some do, some don't. Bottom line here is learn the read the online JD parts catalog, it's worth a million dollars. Finally, John Deere got out of the snowmobile business in 1984 often times won't acknowledge that they ever were in the business. Stick with us here and you'll find all you'll ever need in parts and knowledge.

DA

[Matt]

I have the crank seals & hood foam in the New Breed online store. I'll check on handlebar heater kits and shoot you message about that.

[AirborneX4Special]

Pictures...............

[JoeRainville]

Darn nice find! Please preserve this sled and replace the cranks seals:>) There are many other higher milage sleds that you could fix up for your kids to ride and enjoy, if you were to ask me.

Also, Deere does accidentally support the sled guys. Some of the chassis bearings are current, as is the tail light assembly, gas tank grommet, brake band on the 100 series sleds, the suspension cross bolts on the 80's Liquifire, and a few other small parts.

Good luck with your sled, and we do like pic's as Pat said above...

-Joe Rainville

[chibravo]

Thanks guys for all the info...I will post pics as soon as I have it all back together....I have about 2 hours in it and the engine is ready to come out...I will disassemble, install new crank seals, top end-gasket set etc, clean carb and completely detail the sled. I will have to decide if then if I run it, sell it or simply store it. ( I am probably just going to run it a bit and enjoy it...) I ordered nos tach kit, handlebar heater kit, new nos belt for a spare, and a few other items that will make it complete with most options available installed. ( Thanks to Richard for your insight and technical guidance ! )

[Kulture Vulture]

Cool find! If it were mine, I wouldn`t ride it. How many "new" Deere sleds are out there? They are only new once. I have a Sportfire, and a Spitfire that I found in almost showroom condition, and it only took them a few seasons to get them good and scratched up. I`m sure you could sell it for enough to buy two or more ready to go riders. But its yours and do with it what you wish.

[mwking]

You should really try to find out the story behind the Sportfire. That's a part of why "time capsule" sleds like this one are so interesting. Someone obviously bought the sled with every intention of using it and enjoying it. The fact that they didn't suggests that something happened that prevented them from doing so. Instead of being sold the sled was kept and stored for 30+ years, there has to be a good story behind it.

Murray