I thought I would share some pictures of a 78 Spitfire that we picked up in October. This deal started out with me posting an ad over on the VSCA site for a 71 Johnson Skee-Horse I wanted to sell and ended up trading Jeff Corn (Indiana Vintage Snowmobile Association) for this Spitfire. Jeff had recently saved this sled from a barn where it had been sitting since the early 80's. He is more into collecting OMC sleds than Deere, so the trade made good sense to both of us.
Close to 30 years of sitting on a dirt floor rotted 9 grouser bars and the skis to the point they were unusable. It was weird, all the other bars and the rubber looked like brand new and those 9 were roached! Once those parts were changed (thank you Terre for the new cleats) the rest was pretty standard stuff, clean the tank/carb, replace the fuel lines and crank seals. The original seat cover only needed re-stapled to get it ready for riding.
Still need to paint the skis/springs and waiting for snow to finish some tuning (thank you Troy for the loaner CDI).
Serial number J34AG 084258M has been officially saved!
Thank you Jeff for the trade!
Here is how Jeff found the sled in September...
This is the trading material...
Starting the clean up...
Rotted bars...
cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
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- Real Name: Kevin Campbell
- Location: Vicksburg Michigan
cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
Last edited by kwc on Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kevin Campbell
Vicksburg, Michigan
Vicksburg, Michigan
Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
What is on the sled lift? pic 3
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- Posts: 393
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- Real Name: Kevin Campbell
- Location: Vicksburg Michigan
Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
That is my slightly modified trail sled.
Kevin Campbell
Vicksburg, Michigan
Vicksburg, Michigan
- nick80lf
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- Real Name: Nick
- Location: The snow free zone of Ohio
Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
It's about time you posted pictures of that sled.
Jeff was telling me about it the day before the swap. Nice looking sled.
Jeff was telling me about it the day before the swap. Nice looking sled.
80 Liquifire (purchased 1996 ~ Running)
80 Liquifire (purchased 2010 ~ Running....Now)
80 Liquifire (purchased 2011 ~ Not running - I officially have a problem now)
83 Snowfire (purchased 2014 father/son restoration project)
78 Spitfire ~ sold (should have been shot for this)
80 Liquifire (purchased 2010 ~ Running....Now)
80 Liquifire (purchased 2011 ~ Not running - I officially have a problem now)
83 Snowfire (purchased 2014 father/son restoration project)
78 Spitfire ~ sold (should have been shot for this)
Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
Man I like that. Could you explain the things you did, or is it top secret? (Track, Suspension, Motor, Handle bars, etc...)
Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
Looking great Kevin!
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- Posts: 393
- Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 1:00 am
- Real Name: Kevin Campbell
- Location: Vicksburg Michigan
Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
Bill, there's nothing top secret around my place, my mouth runs to much!
I built this sled last summer, its a 78 340 Liquifire chassis thats been merged with a 2002 Ski Doo MXZ800. Here is a link to more details http://vintagesleds.com/bs/index.php/topic,44654.0.html
Very fun sled to ride, the handling is very predictable and the big Rotax pulls like a freight train.
Thank you for the compliments!
I built this sled last summer, its a 78 340 Liquifire chassis thats been merged with a 2002 Ski Doo MXZ800. Here is a link to more details http://vintagesleds.com/bs/index.php/topic,44654.0.html
Very fun sled to ride, the handling is very predictable and the big Rotax pulls like a freight train.
Thank you for the compliments!
Kevin Campbell
Vicksburg, Michigan
Vicksburg, Michigan
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Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
Hey Kevin Jeff sent me pics of that little sled when he picked it up but I already have 4 of them so I passed on it , but it cleaned up real nice great job . Are you gonna be at our winterfest on Jan 28 or are there other plans , hope to see ya there . See ya Ed
Nothing Runs Like A Deere
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Re: cleaning up a 78 Spitfire
Beautiful build. Looks like a blast to ride.kwc wrote:Bill, there's nothing top secret around my place, my mouth runs to much!
I built this sled last summer, its a 78 340 Liquifire chassis thats been merged with a 2002 Ski Doo MXZ800. Here is a link to more details http://vintagesleds.com/bs/index.php/topic,44654.0.html
Very fun sled to ride, the handling is very predictable and the big Rotax pulls like a freight train.
Thank you for the compliments!