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Tell us about yourself: “I am Millwright mechanic! Love to build snowmobiles, drive them, and race them! They use to call me ‘Johniefast’ when I was racing!”
Twin track snowmobiles entered the consumer market under the Raider brand name in the 1970s, Manta in the 1980s, and Trail Roamer in 2000. They looked futuristic and stood out from the rest with their rear mounted engines, twin tracks and cockpit seating (the 2000 Trail Roamer had a steering wheel, while the boxy 1973 Ski Doo Elite featured side-by-side seating). Unfortunately, the unique concept never caught on; twin track snowmobiles performed poorly on mountainous terrain, and were better suited for trail riding or oval track racing. Today, these vintage twin track sleds are prized collector’s items.
John’s interest in vintage snowmobiles led him to make a twin track of his own. This is the second one he has built for personal use and appearances at Vintage Snowmobile Derbies. It may not be as light or nimble like a modern sled, but it’s quite the attention grabber wherever it goes!
Fantastic job, John! Thanks for sharing your project with us!
What inspired you to build this? I have been building vintage snowmobiles for a long time since the early 80's "as a hobby". I used to race other Ski-doo vintage race sleds and won many races, but now I like building more! This one took about 4 months to build. I take the Twin Tracker to car shows and snowmobile shows, but it’s set up for groomed snowmobile derbies.
What is the main power source for your project? (e.g. electric motor, gas engine etc.) Original ’81 9500 Blizzard Plus Rotax Liquid Cooled 440cc rotary engine - type 454, 61mm stroke, 67.5mm bore. New SPI STD pistons. NIP 4-pole NIP ignition. Two 36mm round slide Mikuni carbs, and Mikuni fuel pump. 1978 Gagne race pipes. Thrush exhaust muffler. Clutch engagement 5400 @ 9700 RPMs + 85 HP!
How do you control your project? (e.g. hydraulic control valve(s), electric switches etc.) Switches, levers, variable belt drive, and brakes. The tracks are cog driven.
What design/build challenges were overcome? I had to learn to MIG weld; I did a lot of stick welding, but never MIG. Built one twin track in 1980, but the chassis failed and it turned out to be 600 lbs! This build is stronger, lighter (at 500 lbs) and works very well!
Chassis: welded bulkhead with 1/8" thick Aluminum plates together with 3/8", 1/2" thick Aluminum motor and chain case support plates. 1-1/2” Outside Diam. Aluminum pipe roll bar. 1/2" Outside Diam. Aluminum pipe steering support bracket welded on. A ‘77 SS Blizzard chrome moly front spindle axle is pop-riveted onto bulkhead. Two 8-3/4"W tunnels made by cutting a ‘81 Blizzard Plus 17-1/2" tunnel in half, and pop-riveted onto the sides of the bulkhead with 1/8” thick 1/2" x 1/2" Aluminum angle-iron supports. Hood and engine cover is made of 14-gauge plate pop-rivets riveted onto a 1/8" thick, 1/2"x 1/2" Aluminum angle iron welded frame.
Tracks and Suspensions: two 7-1/2" W x 114" L, 1.97" pitch, 1/2" lugged rubber tracks made from a ‘83 9700 Blizzard 16-1/2” W track, with 1-1/8" strip cut out from the middle of the track to centre the drive windows. The tracks flat clips are removed from each track and replaced with upright clips in the opposite way to the other upright clips. This allows me to have one rear slide rail suspension per track with doubled up heels. Tightener and shock from a ‘81 9500 Blizzard Plus.
Drive System: two ‘81 9500 Blizzard Plus machined drive axle shafts with flanged bearings. R/H side axle shaft has hydraulic caliper rotor brake disk. Two 13-tooth drive sprockets. Chain case with another chain case output bearing holder, cut off and welded onto the chain case "cover" to allow centering of the two drive axle shafts in the bulkhead. Torque-arm bolted on the end of a shortened cross drive shaft. 21-tooth top gear, triple roller chain, tightened with a stringed lever. Alpine 38-tooth bottom gear. Polaris primary and secondary clutches. 1108 Dayco clutch belt, with 1/8" thick Aluminum clutch guard.
Cooling: two ‘81 9500 Blizzard Plus tunnel heat exchangers, Fuller bottle and hosing.
Misc.: Go-cart race seat. Race car 7 US gal. fuel cell. Citation 3500 steel skis, springs, wideners, spindles, steering parts, handle bar and pad. Wilwood hydraulic master brake. Wahl Bros. hydraulic brake caliper and steering steel tie rod ends. ’81 9500 Blizzard Plus headlight and tail lights, modified front and rear bumper. Aftermarket home bent windshield, trim, and motorcycle mirrors. A/C rubber steering boots. Aftermarket rear spoiler. Speed/odometer not hooked up, no reverse.
If you had to build it again, what would you do differently? Put a reverse on it! Also a better chain drive system, a better hood, and operating control gauges. Other improvements would be putting newer independent front and rear suspensions.
Which Princess Auto location do you visit most? Regina, SK