A sled to go with the engine

[400brian]

This will be the lead bogie shaft.

Blasted and painted, NOS wheels, and 1/4" longer bolts so that locking nuts could be installed.

I removed the PN stickers, but Rainville should note the molding flash on the edge of the rubber tires.

Joe recently confided in me that when it comes to 15 bogie wheels and 2 inches of travel...SIGN HIM UP!

The ground hog must be stopped!

[400brian]

The tunnel is painted!

[JoeRainville]

Looking good Lindner, bogies, baby, BOGIES! Glad that my training classes on how to tell NOS bogies from rusty junk finally paid off. Tuition bill is in the mail.

Tunnel looks great, looking forward to seeing your family machine on the snow at the Vintage Challenge. I don't think a bogie machine has ever finished the event that I can think of. Hope your back makes it too:>)

-Rainville

[400brian]

Who rides the sled, and where, has yet to be determined. Long way to go to get it put together...and running!

The good news today: I set the NOS hood on the tunnel, and at least in the light in the shop, the color match looked real good to me! There's a story to be told about that hood, I'll try to remember to tell that when I get it installed.

[400brian]

Progress is slow, especially around the holidays, but I've made a bit.

Power module is bolted in, as are the motor mount plates. I hope I didn't forget anything that requires access through the tunnel, because the track is in. Finally got all the bogie hardware painted, so that is next.

[jeffreyrempel]

Looks new. You have a lot of nice NOS parts. beautiful job so far.
The seat will be the biggest pain in your ass to install now that the track is in, but its do-able.

[JDT]

WOW Brian.

looking super!

[400brian]

Bogies baby bogies!

Right after this photo was taken we took the sled off the horses, and flipped the sled back onto it's feet.

I took the NOS skis down to the milk house to wash them up. They are a bit shelf worn, and will need a fresh coat of Blitz Black to get them looking good. I also dug out a pair of NOS spindles. If I recall correctly, the spindles were the first parts for the '72 I acquired off ebay, at least 10 years ago.

I am eager to get the engine sitting in the machine!

[kwc]

In what room of the house will this artwork be displayed when completed, the living room??

Looking good Brian!

[400brian]

In what room of the house will this artwork be displayed when completed, the living room??

Looking good Brian!

I was thinking the lobby of the Whitetail.

[WinnipegStPaul9]

[JDT]

Brian I love your idea and it is looking like it is going to be worthy of such a display.

[JoeRainville]

Looking good Lindner. I hope you are brave enough to put gas in it once done, since this is the closest it will be to new since the fall of 71. Maybe you will be nicer to her this time around, LOL!

Boy, you have have some great friends, or a good paypal account, to come up with all those sweet NOS parts like bogies, track, hood, etc

-Rainville

[400brian]

Boy, you have have some great friends, or a good paypal account, to come up with all those sweet NOS parts like bogies, track, hood, etc

I will not discuss the money for a whole LOT of reasons. Remember that it has been spread out over at least 10 years.

As for the great friends; yes indeed! Many have helped and had a hand in this project, and when I get towards the end, I intend to acknowledge them.

What this project has really driven home to me is that a full restoration takes too much effort. I see myself doing this maybe once more, after that it will be detailing, mechanical restoration, and maintenance. In other words: riders!

There is so much to do, and so little time. Tonight I felt the need to see some chrome, so I brought the handle bar and bumper to the house. I got the bar from Greg Stebner 5-6 years ago. It was supposed to be NOS, but like so much of this stuff, it was a bit beat up from laying around all these years. I was just starting to rust when I got it, and it had gotten some worse while in storage.

The bumper came from the same guy I got the 340/S engine from 5-6 years ago. I don't know if it had ever been on a sled or not. Again it was a bit beat up, and starting to rust.

Before I went too far, I wanted to see if the grips would come off the original bar. By the way, despite being under cover for most of its life, that bar was rusted solid brown. I was amazed to see the set screws back right out, and the grips slide right off! The grips aren't even cracked.

I went to work on the bar with Mother's, and it cleaned up pretty good. It would be an excellent candidate for re-chroming, but that is Don's specialty. The bumper is about the same deal, some rust and minor dings and scratches. The bumper is the one item that I tried to acquire NOS and failed. Stebner had a couple of them, but on opening the box, he found they were either bent or rusted beyond use.

[400brian]

Some progress was made today.

The skis took a lot longer than anticipated. The spindles, skis, springs, and shock kit are all NOS. The original spindles and skis were pretty messed up. I have told the story many times; in around '85, my brother rode the sled into a switched railroad track, rolling the skis under the sled, messing up the skis and bending the spindles.

The shock kit was acquired from Greg Stephen out in Denver several years ago. It complicates installing the skis considerably, especially when you are trying not to scrape off all the paint that was just shot. Obviously I haven't installed the shocks yet.

The e-start kit was acquired off e-bay several years ago. Pretty rare item I think, the battery box in particular is unique to '72, as is the manufacturer of the starter motor.