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Matt's Snowmobiles

1974 John Deere 295/S
Purchased in winter of '04-'05, in the condition you see here.  I always wanted one of these since I posted the restoration of Ron Sonnek's 295/S.   This one is original with about 1000 miles, and very complete, except for aluminum skis. 

1974 John Deere 600 - In the restoration process:
This sled is currently torn down while parts are being cleaned and painted. 
This is the condition I got it in, but it did come with almost everything else, plus another parts machine. 

Fall/Winter 2010 Update: I finally started working on this project again, after starting it something like 9 years ago.  The engine, clutches, and steering are in place.  I have a new bumper and backrest, recovered seat, NOS muffler.  Hopefully, I will be able to fire up the engine soon.

I started by tearing it down to the chassis, then built it back up.  First, I put the drive system back together with all new bearings, and sent the seat out to be recovered.  Then I moved on to the engine. 

There, I ran into problems.



The bearings were shot on one side of the crank shaft.  I sent it out to our site sponsor Crankshaft Services, who informed me that the rod pin on the crank had been damaged by being run with the bad rod bearing.  It would need to be replaced, however individual replacement parts for these cranks were never available.  Replacement cranks were sold complete.  I spent several months looking for a NOS or good used crank, or one that I could combine with mine to make work.  I ended up buying a rusty crank on eBay, that Jerome was able to clean up & rebuild.  By the time I got it back, it was late November, and I had not worked on the sled any more because it seemed I was not going to be able to ride it in 2009 anyway. 

So now, it was a mad rush.  I assembled the engine with the fresh crank, new seals, gaskets, pistons & rings, and rebuilt fuel pump & carb.  Engine installed.  Replacement used, painted TPR panels installed.  Steering, wiring re-installed with new switches.  Fuel tank cleaned, and set up with new fuel lines, filters, and grommets.  Clutches cleaned and added with a new belt.  New John's Upholstery seat.  The original bumper is a little beat up, but I didn't have a replacement so it was cleaned & painted.  The original hood was in rough shape, so for now I picked up a free '80 Liquifire hood, and added a new headlight, and Cannon Classic Sleds windshield.  The suspension had been gone through by the previous owner, but I later realized that the front set of track idler wheels was never installed, so I had to add them.  Mid-January, and I finally had an almost complete, running sled. 

The old skis were rusted & damaged, so I bought a set of new after market replacement skis.  Unfortunately, when putting them together, discovered that one of my leaf springs and shocks were bad.  So I swapped the skis from my JDX8 as a temporary solution for the season. 

The first ride ended up being late January '09, with several more rides in February, including the Ride With the Champs in St. Germain, WI. 

Winter 2010: The Sportfire is back in the 2010 season with new skis, NOS ski springs, & carbides.  Some new studs were installed in the track to supplement the already existing old ones, and the suspension had to be gone through again to deal with some seized shafts.  The same Liquifire hood is still on it, with the decals removed and a quick spray can paint job.  This past fall I got a much nicer hood that needs paint & decals set aside for a summer project, but I still need to find a bumper. 

Winter 2011: I have finally painted and decaled a new hood for the Sportfire.  I did the paint myself, learning as I go.  It didn't come out perfect, but I'm happy with it.  During the summer, I also installed the oil injection system that had previously been removed due to a bad pump.  I'm going to be running pre-mix until I'm sure it's working properly.  A nice bumper is still needed.