This 1974 295/S
is owned by Jim (75rat in the forums). It was the 10th one built,
and was raced by the Deere factory team in the 1974 Winnipeg-St. Paul
I-500. It
was ridden by Jim Dano (#89) of Nisswa, Minnesota. He was
running in 37th place (out of 282 sleds) when he collided with a
car that wandered on to the race course and put him out of the
race. After that, the sled was taken back to the factory and
rebuilt.
All
the changes were done at the factory when new. Among the biggest
changes are the fuel tanks. This machine never had the standard
production tanks (2.5 gal or 5 gal). In the front, is a tank that
looks standard, however has an extra 2" section added, raising it
higher, and this is what pushes the filler up through the grill.
There is a custom tank built into the belly pan, which is connected to
the front tank with a 1" dia. pipe. As you can see, the fuel
pickup comes from the lower tank. There is a skid plate to
reinforce the belly pan. There is yet another custom tank under
the seat, between the rider's legs. There is no fuel storage in
the backrest.
Chassis modifications include a bogie/slide
suspension with studded rubber track, moved footrests, stirrups, high
windshield, backrest and custom seat.
Jim wanted the restoration to match exactly how it was raced in '74, right down to the duck tape. This was a challenge, because when the sled returned to the factory after the accident, the custom seat and backrest was removed and replaced with a stock seat. This forced Jim to use pictures and the memories of Jim Dano and Jack Hoffman (former chief engineer for the JD snowmobile program) to complete the restoration as accurately as possible. As many original parts as possible were used, over 75% in fact. The sled is over 99% complete, but there are still a few small things that Jim would like to do.
The rivets you see secure a bracket
that keeps the fuel door
closed. Control
modifications include hand warmers on a fused circuit,
twist grip throttle, a cylinder head temperature gauge, and a dash
mounted tether switch instead of a key switch.
Jim wanted the restoration to match exactly how it was raced in '74, right down to the duck tape. This was a challenge, because when the sled returned to the factory after the accident, the custom seat and backrest was removed and replaced with a stock seat. This forced Jim to use pictures and the memories of Jim Dano and Jack Hoffman (former chief engineer for the JD snowmobile program) to complete the restoration as accurately as possible. As many original parts as possible were used, over 75% in fact. The sled is over 99% complete, but there are still a few small things that Jim would like to do.
These photos were taken in Alexandria after the first leg of the 1974 race, look for #89 in the middle of the photo.
Racing