Elsner’s #4: The Old Warrior’s Next Chapter (Part 3)

John and I waved our goodbye and started driving back to Minnesota. Sled in tow behind us, we were both awe struck as to what just happened. “Sandberg says to me, you need to write this story Jim, not me! I’ve got a bunch of pictures and this will be an epic piece!

John asks me about the restoration process. Do you do a full on rotisserie rebuild or are you leaving somewhat patina?

Good question and trust me I pondered it for quite a while. Unfortunately the tunnel had suffered some damage from racing and there were also several random holes drilled thru it up by the footrests. For the life of me I can’t imagine what they were for, but they were going to need to have aluminum patch plugs welded in.

The RH footrest had also been replaced with what looked like a street sign for material.

This was looking more like a complete tear down of the chassis. It was imperative that the tunnel with its stamped in Serial# remain intact, the welder had to be very experienced with welding thin aluminum so as not to warp it. I had never done a project like this but I knew someone who has, and he was an expert with tons of resources. Tom Ische.

THE CALL TO TOM ISCHE:

Hey Tom how’s it going? (We’ve known each other for decades ) A little small talk and I cut to the chase. I got my Elsner sled from Sweden and I did my deal with Sandberg and Bobby, now I’m looking at the restoration process. Oh my god Tom this is more than I can handle! I know this is a big ask but would you consider doing this one for me?

I sent him pictures.The tunnel has several large holes drilled thru and need to be patch welded, that’s something I’ve never done. Quite honestly Tom I want this to look as good as any of your Ische resto’s. I tried a little psycology on him and said, “One good upside for you is you’ll get to see the insides of a factory 78 Snopro that very few others only have ever dreamed of “.

It worked , he said yes!

As you might imagine this was quite an endeavor. I told him from the onset that it was his timeline to complete. I had no expectations, work on it when and as often as you desire. We talked several times through the course of the build. We talked about special pieces on it that he’d never seen before, he said he was thoroughly enjoying the project. As we were nearing the end ,the goal was to unveil it at Arctic’s 60th anniversary.

5 years later, Brianna Ische applied the special 78 livery decals that she designed and produced herself.. It was truly a stunning beauty! It reminded me of the day in the race shop when the floor was full of 12 of these hand built hotrods.

BE SURE TO READ PARTS 1 & 2 OF THIS STORY HERE:

PART 1: CLICK HERE

PART 2: CLICK HERE