This isn't a restoration, but a good project for someone who wants to ride on a budget.
I picked up a nice John Deere Trailfire LX which had a blown motor. I went to my nearest sled graveyard, and picked up a decent looking 340 Liquifire motor, by Kioritz. They wanted $200 for it, but I only had $150 so they took the CDI off and sold it to me for $140. A friend told me that this motor would mount right up, it did not, so I had to redesign the mounting plate. I did that and got it to fit.
Now the next problem, no CDI. I went back to the scrap yard, and all they had was the type "B" CDI, not type "A". I guess the difference is one has a square plug and one has a round plug. I needed the round one. They didn't have any more round, so i got a square model, and did a little splicing. I just put male slide connectors on one end and attached it together. I started it, and it ran great!
But now the final problem, no heat exchanger. I had to come up with an idea. I had a heat exchanger, but it was too large, and running the hoses would be difficult, so i came up with another idea. I went out and bought some copper pipe, and made my own heat exchanger, and it works great!
No leaks, and it stays cool. I added a temperature gauge on the dash to be sure. The sled is suprisingly quick! It goes about 70 right now, and I love it.
Grant Deisig
Saginaw, MI
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