Yet another Dator saved from a barn

[80spitfire]

I might also add that the tunnel is a 77 Cyclone tunnel which was swapped out by the previous owner because the original Dator tunnel was supposedly in really bad shape, this is why Mark was thinking that this is your dads's sled because we believe that the tunnel was smashed in that crash that I read about, also I told him about how the electronics were relocated and about the Dator-lite suspension. Everything else on this sled minus the tunnel and the seat are all original Dator parts. This is the sled that Mark found and sold the pistons to the guy that owned it afew years ago,for some reason the guy said he didn't have the hood, but he actualy did.If you want to talk a little more in depth you can call me at the number that I sent in the PM or you can give the number to your dad and I could talk to him.

Thanks,
Brian

[MARK S]

This is Myrons sled!!!!! NOT the original hood..Myron's # was not 87.Original hood laying in pieces at the bottom of the Des Moines river in Windom "I watched it roll and roll and roll.....Sled was on Storage Rack at Deere dealership then Sold to a person...he couldn't make payments on it, was repoe'd he did ALOT of damage to sled...hood,tunnel, etc. sled disappeared for years..When the guy bought the pistons from me on E-bay and I saw that he lived close to me we had a chat!! The sled was NICE before the moron that couldn't make payments got it...

[80spitfire]

Well, I guess that answers it lol So somebody actualy bought that beat up hood and added it? Do you guys have any pictures of the sled when Myron raced it? I would love nothing more than to restore it to exactly as it was when Myron raced it. If this thing ran the I 500 it's definitely going to get the restoration it deserves. I would love to talk to either of you guys or Myron about the sled so that I can make sure it's restored to exactly as raced, minus the tunnel. Give me a call at 507 351 0232

Thanks,
Brian

[80spitfire]

Does anybody else on this forum think this story is getting really good lol

[nick80lf]

Wonder where the hood came from?

[80spitfire]

Yeah that's what I'm trying to figure out. I wonder if it came from the guy that wrecked the tunnel? The reason why I say this, is obviously it got a new hood when it was returned to the dealership after the first wreck, so maybe the guy that wrecked the tunnel raced it. The hood has definitely been involved in a roll, there's breaks in the fiber glass and spider web stress marks everywhere. I don't know what happened for sure though, that's just my guess.

[lwb140]

this is a crazy exiting project glad to see you having a good time with it fun to see the story come together cant wait to see it all restored wade

[JDXspec]

I'm thinking I should of been quicker. I Hope it does return to its glory.

[lwb140]

right time right place a little luck goes a long way!! wade

[80spitfire]

Don't worry boys, she's in very good hands. I intend to talk to the original owner and get all the details and hopefully even some photos so that this little guy gets restored to exactly as it was when it ran the fabled I 500,minus the original tunnel obviously lol I really hope he has some pictures of the original hood that went floating down the Des Moines because I want to repaint the hood to look like the original one, not the way it's painted right now. I'm definitely going to take my time on this one because I really wanna make sure it's done right. It's gonna cost a big chunk of to do it, but if this thing ran the I 500, it earned itself a concourse quality restoration in my opinion.

[fast823]

I am back in MN and going to send pics to Dad today and see what he says. We have some pics and a movie from one of the I500's he was in.

[80spitfire]

Sounds good man give me a call when you find out the info. Definitely have him talk to Mark about the story because he know way more about how this sled ended up with me. Even more than I do lol The main thing to tell him though, is the hood is obviously not his, although it is an original Dator-lite hood, and the tunnel was replaced after the owner directly following your dad smashed it all up. Make sure he sees the bracket that was made for the electronics because Mark made it sound like your dad made that and I'm not sure, but I think he could've added the tunnel intercooler too.

[fast823]

The extra bracket and wiring was because they ran two ci boxes in case on would go out they could just plug into the second one.

[80spitfire]

Oh ok that's an even better idea than what I thought. I thought it was mainly so they could switch the coils out during a race but a second CDI definitely makes sense.

So does your dad think it's his sled?

[fast823]

He said it has been a long time since he has seen it(1978 or so) so he was going to study the pics this week. If you have some more send them over. Where you located incase we want to come and look at it?