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HOW COLLECTORS STORE THEIR SNOWMOBILES

One of you asked how the collectors featured on ArcticInsider store their snowmobiles. I thought it was a great question and asked two of them. If you have any tips/tricks to add to the conversation, please post in the comments section. – Kale

One snowmobile in the Thomas Sno Sports collection is this 2004 Arctic Cat Factory R&D Mod Sno Pro code named P.U.T.S – Pipes Under The Seat.

“We store our collector and/or vintage units differently based on usage. No matter the rarity, we try to use our units. It’s our feeling, that the unique sights, sounds and rides are what they were made for. The true fun of owning them, for us, is to experience all of that and share with others who also admire them.” -Tom Rowland, Thomas Sno Sports

Here’s a better look under the hood and the twin pipes exiting straight back under the seat and dumping in the tunnel. This 600 mod has a truly unique sound at full send.

So, to answer your question, we look at usage. If we restore a snowmobile from ground up and know the unit will go on a shelf forever (rare for us) then we build and assemble everything, but leave internal components dry (chaincases, oil and fuel tanks etc).

Tom Rowland brought the P.U.T.S Sno Pro to ERX Motorpark to the Arctic Cat Share the Ride event this past spring. Seated is Troy Halvorson, Arctic Cat Snowmobile Product Director. As a valued part of Tom’s collection, it was truly awesome to see him offer Troy the chance to demo ride the Sno Pro Mod and it was even cooler to watch Troy rip a bunch of laps and return with a huge smile!

For units we know will be used, they are stored after the ride season in a typical fashion. We make sure carb bowls are drained and fuel lines are shut-off. As for fuel in the tanks, that varies too in how we preserve it. A lot of our snowmobiles have race gas because of its longer shelf life, but that’s not to say we don’t store some sleds over the summer with a bit of fresh non-oxy (gas) with a fuel stabilizer treatment in it. Unless it’s a special occasion or event, we typically don’t fire up our sleds once they are prepped and stored for the summer.  

Troy Halvorson ripping laps at ERX Motorpark on the 2004 Arctic Cat Factory R&D Mod Sno Pro.


“We typically try to store our sleds in running conditions – That doesn’t always mean we will ride them, but the majority of our stuff can run at any time.” – Zach Herfindahl, Factory AC Cross Country Pro Racer

Our lead photo showed a few snowmobiles in the Herfindahl collection, here’s a peek at a few more.

Any sled in our collection with twin pipes that are hand welded, get a coating of transmission fluid. This coating prevents any rusting issues and preserves the pipes. When it comes to fuel and the fuel systems, we typically choose to store everything with race gas because it doesn’t go bad. I usually have a supply of 116 around, so each sled gets 1-2 gallons in the tank. We try to start them up a few times throughout the year to ensure all systems are working. 

Just a couple Sno Pros in the Herfindahl collection…

Our 1978-1981 Sno Pros are treated differently though. Those particular sleds are drained of all fluids including gas, oils, coolant, and if they have them, the track lube tanks are cleaned out. Our reason for storing them in this fashion is basically due to parts availability and we really don’t have a reason to be riding these Sno Pros. If something happened to them, you just can’t find parts because of their rarity. 

When we spend our summer days Waiting for Winter, I can’t think of a better way to pass the time than firing up rare old Arctic Cats – When those engines come alive and the pipes sing, followed by the incredible smell of 116 race gas, it’s just a beautiful thing!

You’ll wanna turn up your volume for these heavenly sounds!
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2 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks for the story. Very interesting. I would guess that a collection like the Ische family one is never used and therefore is drained of all fluids and left dry. I mean, where would you even run one of the oval race sleds. Still, I wonder what the internal components (engine, chain case) look like after all the years of storage. I guess it doesn’t really matter if they are just for show…but what a show.

  2. I know a guy who was a fan of ATF in the crankcases for his vintage oval sleds. Seemed to keep seals moist fight off rust. These were trailer and shelf queens. So many vintage ifs late 70s racers were chopped up into grass drag sleds that I don’t blame not riding them. Only original once.

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