First, it was the rotary powered bikes. Those were strange. I'm not a 2-wheel guy, but the Hercules W-2000 was a make/model I'd never heard about and the RE-5 was only something I was vaguely aware of -- so imagine my surprise when a link to a rotary powered snowmobile lands in my lap. Find this 1972 Arctic Cat Panther 303 here on eBay with starting bid of $299 and $700 buy-it-now located in Perry Hall, MD. Tip from Hugh.
Sometime on a cold winter day in the late 1960s, a jazzy suit wearing Chrysler product man had a brilliant idea. Imagine combining the snow slaying capability of a snowmobile with the fun & cost of a moped -- and the Sno Runner was born. Find these 1970s Chrysler Marine Sno Runners offered for $1,000 in La Habra, CA via craigslist.
I have to admit that I'm not much of a snowmobiler (not a lot of snow in Southern California), but from what I understand the modern crop of high powered 4-stroke snowmobiles are completely insane
. For less than $10k new you can pickup an Arctic Cat M1100 turbo that produces 177 horsepower and will catapult you into the nearest tree/rock/Sasquatch faster than you can say BOND, JAMES BOND. However, there was a more civilized time when Snowmobiles were slower, but probably even less safe. Find this 1970 Rupp 440 WT offered here on eBay
for $500 buy-it-now or make-offer.
When does a custom car stop being simply a car and become a legend? I dunno, but I can tell you that you are getting close when you add the length of a Suburban and 6 wheels powering treads to the back of your Chevy Nova. Find this 1970 Chevrolet Nova Custom Snowmobile offered for $2,500 in Round Mountain, NV.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier started building his first creation when he was a teenager (in 1922), it was an open concept sled with a Ford Model T engine pushing a propeller in the back...legend has it that his father was concerned with his safety and ordered its destruction. Bombardier did not quit his dream of building passenger snowmobiles, and in 1937 he started production of the B7 fully enclosed snowmobile which eventually transformed into the commercially successful B12 and later R12 models. Bombardier eventually went on to be a household name for his inventions of the Ski-Doo & Sea-Doo, but that is a story for another time. Find this 1955 Bombardier R12 currently bidding for $10,000 CAD ($8,353 USD at time of printing) here on eBay
located in St Norbert, QC, Canada with 6 days to go.
The Serbian built Yugo GV was such an miserably disgraceful excuse for an automobile that even swapping in a LS1 would leave you with a feeling of meh. Its cool...but I'd rather have an F-body Camaro... No. Full stop. The only way you are going to pull a Yugo from the depths of shame is by going full Renée Zellweger on it. Rip out that 50ish horsepower 4-banger and replace it with a 160 hp two-stroke mated to a CVT from an Artic Cat snowmobile. Commence hoonage. Find this 1987 Yugo GV with 900cc Snowmobile Power
currently bidding for $1,350 on eBay, located in Fremont, OH with 2 days to go.