1971 Arctic Cat Snowmobile Sitting 15+ years! Will it Run!?!?!

Dug this gem out of an old barn! lets get her fixed up and go for a rip!
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[@michaelstoliker971]

You are now the proud owner of the original anti-snow device. Owning one of these practically guarantees that it will never snow enough in your area to actually use this device again.

[@mitchcoop1]

YUP Black cloud boy here... Bought a used JAG 440 in 2014...Fixed it up to relive my childhood..and Snow in Rochester, NY. Has been sh^* ever since .. specially when I am not working and can get time to ride.

[@josephbrandt6778]

Hahahaha ain't that the truth I spent almost three years and hundreds of hours and a grand later restoring a 73 John Deere 440...I've rode it I think 4 times....🤣😂🤣😂👍 Central NY

[@anicekid]

Bought one for this winter, its my first snowmobile, and we have not had enough snow yet, google photos keeps showing me pictures titled "one year ago today", and "2 years ago" and theres like 2 feet of snow and my buddies snowmobiles just in frame :(

[@connormany1966]

I always see snowmobiles ripping down the trail in my field and i just recently got an old sled and its December 2nd and we have gotten barely an inch of snow

[@40beretta1]

2 stroke snowmobile exhaust never gets old...

[@adamjacobson1993]

Haha that ending when the garage door opens. Gave me a good chuckle.

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

Definitely shows creativity!

[@MrGattor33]

Ahahahaha, same here!

[@stevenplaskett7728]

Soon as he said a few weeks I knew they storm had gone past ha ha

[@JaimesonLaLone]

clearly no one has seen grass drags before...

[@Spookieham]

I laughed myself stupid when that happened. Nice joke👍

[@jerrymeeuwse859]

Oh my. Brings back ton of memories. Buddy had the same sled. Many years later he bought a new artic cat Wild cat or thunder cat. It was like a 900 cc. Anyway he calls me up and we trailer both his new one and that one to Allegan Forest is S.W. Michigan. I bet we went 150 miles that day. But that old sled kicked my ass. Those leaf spring skies up front and virtually no suspension under it. My whole body ached for days after. But it was a lot of fun and that old sled never missed a lick that long day.

[@seastacker8582]

I don’t love the smell of varnished up fuel... I could almost smell that thru the screen. What I do love is the smell of 2 Stroke. I love it so much I got a Klotz racing oil scented candle at the snowmobile show a few years ago. Makes my garage smell of one of the best smelling 2 stroke oils on the planet. 😎

[@thor942]

I’m not even sure if you’re joking or not with the candle, but that’s a great idea.

[@seastacker8582]

@@thor942 Not kidding. I didn’t pay this much, but it’s very real 😎 Klotz Candle Famous Estorlin "Smell The Klotz" www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXSC7MU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_AHRMTE8S1YZ4AZ642E8G

[@BassickS77]

He’s not joking I have a diesel scented candle my buddy gave me as a joke it smells like raw fuel before then burnt fuel wheel kit haha

[@bobadam7021]

:sigh: going back to Amazon to check for a two stroke scented candle.

[@usernotfound-ue7ld]

Klotz sucks. Shit will gum up lines and all. I used to live by klotz now I wouldn't waste my time pouring it in the trash. It did smell good but it don't burn worth a f**k

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Lol He don't want to Let that Go at all to funny Matt 😂 0:50 @Diesel Creek

[@JonoSann]

It looks like the first ignition coil measured 17 megaohms, which is pretty much open circuit. The second coil measured 6 kiloohms which is about right. When diagnosing stuff, make sure you take notice of the units on the right of the display.

[@Tater79bj]

Junkyard digs just did a revival of the same sled, but his had the rotary in it. His leapord print was nicer condition though 😂. He had to replace the drive sprockets/dogs or whatever you call them lol. He found new ones, so you might reach out to him for info 🤷‍♂️

[@Alice-jt1cd]

You’re the “King” of tinkering! Never doubted you for a minute.

[@deanmurphy7307]

Drift trike: All year. Unless its snowing. Heck. Maybe even in the snow. Snow mobile: Snow only. A custom drift trike made up with that engine would be a cool thing to see.

[@stevenwithanS]

"Up here in the north" sounds funny when I'm watching from Canada. I was wondering how all the under guts were. That 340 is worth more than 5 gallons of diesel. I've been playing with vintage sleds for .....well.....since they weren't vintage. There's a lot more to them than if they run.

[@tmotorman]

Yeah, I'm "up North" I always figured. Being on top of NY state, but you guys got us beat! (got friends in Kemptville, Brockville, Kingston and Napanee, Ontario!)

[@WayneWilliams-pu1wp]

I remember them from back in the day, Arctic Cats were the nice stuff, they always looked very classy. They usually had angled spindles so they turned better than a lot of other sleds too. My parents bought a '68 Snow Cruiser. Wound up on an icy road, 25 per, trying to keep a steel cleat track going straight on that road even at that speed, thrilling. Ride on your knees or get beat half to death suspension. There were a lot of different brands of sleds around at that time with I'm sure a lot of brand engineering going on. A lot of the old machines like the16 hp Ski Doo Olympics had the engine right in front of the rider and the carb reversion would spit fuel all over your ski doo suit. Yep, fond memories!! I just bought a '95 Polaris Indy. Now buying parts and waiting for snow. If not, I watched a video of guys tearing around on wet grass, worth a try, why not!!

[@swede178]

Extra points to Diesel Creek for getting a snowmobile that matches his undies :D

[@CountryAndClassics]

Every time I see a video of an Arctic Cat makes Me regret ever selling Mine. I had the 303 Panther witch was the rotary Engine in it. That Cheata was the 2nd best seller back in 1971. It also gave the 440 Panther a run for it's money.

[@davidsnow1481]

The ending was funny that’s how some of my projects go. Keep up the good work and stay safe out there.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

She so close she just wants to run Heck yeah Nice and loud Sounds good Matt even on 1 cylinder 21:00 @Diesel Creek

[@111000100101001]

Those Kawasaki engines (340 and 440) back then had points under the flywheel. Make sure you clean them up and set the gap. I had a 440 shoved into a Lynx and it would launch with the skis in the air for a few hundred feet. Those old sleds are light and fun to ride…and roll super easy;)

[@marshallcurran1722]

I have a spirit 500 in my lynx

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Good old Minwax Fuel You got there Matt Love the smell of Minwax 15:00 @Diesel Creek

[@oliverman-ff5gu]

I was waiting for him to say in the intro "well look what the cat dragged in"

[@jeremycraddock4108]

Junkyard Digs did the exact same machine a year ago. Loved the door opening and the snow was gone.

[@dombooth86]

Awesome vlog ending had me in stitches spat my beer everywhere 😂🤣

[@myronneuhauser4533]

As an owner of that very sled…73-4, hearing it run brought tears to an old man’s eye. Left it in SD in 76, and have no idea where it may be now.. Now will try contacting you in real life…

[@patb5266]

Love it, Cheetah, Panther, Leopard. I remember when these came out, they were the bomb. Polaris, TNT 440, Elan 250. There was even a cool tow behind sled that Ski Doo made. Lots of snow in 70's.

[@anicekid]

The skiboose!

[@Renville80]

Don't forget the little Kitty Cat!

[@paulsilva3346]

Matt, I see Junkyard Digs has done the same model Snowmobile a week or so before you. I watched yours first... I always have a A Hankering for restoration, to CONTINUE HISTORY with examples of it.!.!.?

[@DeweyCheatumNHoweLLC]

Brings back memories from my youth. Riding sleds from bar to bar, getting buried in snow drifts trying to jump. Tinkering with it all summer trying to get it to go faster. Never did

[@JohnSmith-w8u]

You're the son-in-law I wished I'd had but never did! Seeing that old King Edward cigar box- I had one when I was around 10, kept "treasures" in it for 20 years or so. don't know what or where it ended up, but nice nostalgia seeing it.

[@michaelnugent8285]

The ending was great. Id love to see a repower. Man screaming 8 thousand, 9 thousand rpms. I love 2 strokes.

[@SuperBigdanno]

6500 rpm for that motor max

[@davemclelland9292]

My 85 year old buddy had a 1972 Arctic Cat 440...... state of the art back in the day, Here in Canada where we do get snow

[@the_hate_inside1085]

When you unscrew the plugs on a machine that has been sitting, pour down a bit of two stroke oil in the cylinder prior to turning the engine.

[@frogjunk]

Haha gotta scrape that carbon off some how

[@macsloan58]

That ending was OUTSTANDING. I kind of thought that might happen, but you pulled it off with amazing acting.

[@TheStampede000]

When you pull a line off like that give it a " yah!" Like Derek at vice grip garage LMAO

[@kraigcochran9995]

On the exhaust you should weld a piece of strap across the u tube to give it strength mine cracked just like that and it’s whole weight is hanging of the muffler and vibration cracks it

[@MrGattor33]

Ahahahaaha that ending when the garage door opens and your face reaction gave me a good laugh! Great video as well, Thanks Matt!

[@JDLarge]

Ya win some, ya almost win some and last but not least, ya gain a pretty cool running couch! Quite the shop addition😉 you tried but hey, no one hits a home run every time at bat. I’d say this hasn’t hurt your average much at all 👍🏼👍🏼 Was fun, thanks for taking us along.

[@danhard8440]

funny at 14:44 when you moved the camera close to the fuel tank my nose automatically closed i guess i didn't want to smell that old fuel lol

[@friguy4444]

Wow. Memories. Northern Alberta. 1974 - 77. Snowmobiles were our lives. LOL. The Arctic Cats were very desirable as were Polaris and The John Deer of the time. Ski-doo Elan was big back then too.

[@trinagonzakez2832]

I love how you can take apart anything and then make it run. Good luck with this project.

[@paulrapp6]

Go for the kart! Drift bikes are best reserved for those who like to go around in circles, making no progress. Just finished binge watching ALL of your videos. In order. Oldest to newest. You have come a long way from the kid who thought blowing up propane tanks was the greatest way to spend a saturday afternoon. Keep up the good works. And get to work on the Autocar🧐.

[@2020HotShotTruckingLLC]

Ahhhhhhh...I was just gonna ask about Christine after seeing her pretty yellow motor still on the stand. Teaser there at the end :-)

[@MAD450r2]

Gotta love 71 ;). Was born in 71.

[@jimshoe6828]

Well Matt, now that you have an old snowmobile you will have something to do all winter long. My experience with old sleds is about a 1/1 split on riding and fixing. Good luck 🤞

[@Bret4207]

Brings back memories. I had a 72 Panther with the Wankel engine. What a great machine!

[@Military-Museum-LP]

I hope you fix the sled up and wait till the next snow. To me she’s a keeper. If I lived closer I would be seriously bugging you to sell it as is!

[@marcryvon]

Well, make him an offer ! This is a useless money pit, man !

[@nedkline886]

yea, derek learns us all alot about a lot of things, guys a born teacher. where is my diesel creek hat, you could sell a shit load of them, they would be manly. meatball is my hero.

[@roypearce6968]

Love it thanks showing that old rusty things can come back to life.

[@JessicaTG2008]

Those old 70s Arctic Cats are just way cool. I grew up in Illinois and never had a sled before, now i live in Florida and i would still love to have one, just to have one.

[@jamesarrington6828]

Build a go cart or a trike. For the summer time. Either way I'll be here watching whatever you put out.

[@titopacheco8616]

I love the griswalds cousin Ed "shes a beaut Clark" saying he threw in there, only us old die hard fans would catch that LOL, about to sub im getting into these diesel creek vids🤙

[@jailbreak852]

Matt's pretty good with the carb reconditioning, seems to enjoy that

[@bobwilkinson9894]

Omg..love that look when ya opened the garage

[@OverlordFPS]

I could watch these videos all day, thanks for the awesome content!

[@64marine]

I watched a batch of 7 in a row last week; am I an addict now? lol.

[@4440pvc]

I know this is a dated comment but back in it's day the Arctic cats were the kings of speed nothing could touch them. My 440 could do 75 mph between bars and taverns up in Michigan. Those were the days my friend.

[@mabloodhound]

I rode one of those new in my younger days when I was doing a lot of riding, nice machine

[@No1Bigbear]

I missed this 1...I'm glad I came back and looked at the list ! You do a great job ...Thanks !

[@Roberge-ln1zy]

About time you get a snowmobile👍👍Great Video

[@felixlujan4809]

It makes for a good KZbin video, even if you know it's not going to run. We don't know that. You still making some money.😎💯

[@komitadjie]

Was just thinking that'd make an awesome donor engine for another build! Seems to run darn good, and *still* a good deal for the price, even if it's in a scrap sled right now!

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Compression for days Matt 4:00 @Diesel Creek

[@DudeGuy-zt9eg]

🤣🤣 the ending was golden!!! Great job, love the vids

[@tommyeugene]

ahhh, I'm from northern Minnesota...saw all those problems happening and remembered my youth, spent fixing them ol sleds in the 70's. Ski Roule, Moto-ski, Artic cats, Rupps, and Ski-doo.. ..fun video buddy!

[@frankscarservice1911]

I would love to see you putting that motor into something like a racing go-cart. Thanks for your cool videos.

[@andrewterry8092]

I remember those old Cat's, the engines would flood out constantly, that's why they carried so many spark plugs, you'd be changing them all day. You never went very far since they were always breaking down.

[@alcopower5710]

Properly tuned they ran fine. My Dad bought an old Puma and Panther that was 70-72 when I was young. My brother and I would ride them everyday. I remember the Panther was sometimes hard to start but once started it ran well. Never left us stranded.

[@tmotorman]

@@alcopower5710 That's right! My dad brought home this same model and year Panther in late 71 with a Lynx and Sno Jet to go with it. Never had a problem with any of them. Don't know what "he's" driving but we never had a problem with ours. (we kept them tuned up also) Most I had to do to the Panther was replace the clutch after about 4 or 5 years because we rode it so much! Put a Duster on and she rode like crazy then!

[@tmotorman]

@@alcopower5710 BTW- You must be a train buff? (Alco Power!)

[@alcopower5710]

@@tmotorman ......yeah loved trains my whole life. Have a little KZbin channel mostly about rail fanning.

[@MikeOrazzi]

That engine sound brings back some memories.

[@petebrooks6539]

At one point in my life I worked on Arctic Cats, and swapping those drive sprockets is a major pain in the butt. The under carriage, track, and drive shaft gave to come out which includes the chain case and chain, lower chain sprocket and both lower bearings. We would call in sick if we had one to fix.😊😊

[@normsebby3421]

I have completely rebuilt tracks and clutches for 30 years....fun and patients go well...

[@DrMZfahrer]

I'm from Germany and I like your videos very much. You do cool stuff! That thing sounds like an old east-german car, like the "Trabant". It also has a 2 stroke engine, 600ccm and brutally 26HP. Less power gets replaced by insanity ;-)

[@bmacd2112]

Well that was a fun little job even if you didn't have a chance to get out and rip on it. BTW: I'm pretty sure that the Cheetah print seat adds about 4.7362 HP to that machine!

[@richonlybyname68]

My mom had a 440 eltigra Artic cat, my dad had a 440 Stearns, and I had a 440 nitro full....sure miss those times

[@northstar2007]

I remember tgose, fun as heck too. also. MEATBALL!

[@davemordal5932]

very enjoyable to watch. I spent my childhood pulling the recoil on a 399.

[@Meister1551]

It's always a fun time watching your videos. You are really good at what you do and that even makes it more fun to watch. You had me going for a moment at the end, I really thought you were going to ride off into a beautiful snowy ride. Would love to see you repurpose that engine into something cool you could ride around on go-cart style...

[@chrispy3866]

Neighbors NOT pissed off enough. DEFINITELY a drift trike build!!!

[@careyjohnson4143]

Another great one, thank you for my the daily dose of happiness!

[@duckyakauffetjurswe4533]

in sweden we arrange races with veteran snowmobiles, its pretty fun

[@haydenuk02]

She sounds great and I can’t wait to see what you have in store next.Excellent work and thanks for the awesome content stay safe and take care

[@mnmike6884]

I rode snowmobiles back in that time period. Drive them on the weekends and do maintenance repairs all week. Then repeat!

[@rogerfrancis65]

I can just hear Derek from vgg sayjng... there's a 51.2%percent chance it will run... probably not!

[@Dutchamp]

Hahaha he's very much being nuts but fun to watch his estimations in %

[@bnoone3072]

In 1973 a local boat/outdoor equipment dealer named Anchor Marine (Baton Rouge La) sold an off road bike called a Tri-Sport. I had one. Engine choices were an 8hp Briggs or the 340 snowmobile engine like yours. It had 3 wheels, 2 large wide spaced tires in the rear with a disc brake and a long springer fork in the front with a motorcycle type handlebar. Mine had the 2 stroke 340 engine, with the variable pitch belt drive connected to a lawnmower type axle with a u-joint on each end, coil over shocks, making it an independent rear end. Driving it was a trip. It's hard to describe the feeling. At the time I was about 175 lbs and it would fry the tires with me on it. Top speed??? I chickened out at 80 mph. Had a friend follow me on a quiet road to clock my speed. There was no speedometer. Fun bike, but be careful if you build one.

[@tomriggs3926]

Needle screw starting points: Low end 1 turn out, Hi end 2 1/2 turns out. The back (left) cylinder can burn up easily if the fan belt breaks or the carb is too lean.

[@horstszibulski19]

Yes the back one is far from the fan, gets less air and if there is any obstruction, it will be worse...like the legendary cyl #3 at aircooled VW boxers, according to Mustie1... :-D

[@josephbrandt6778]

Yup been there done with with a 73 JD 440 but she's cherry now fully restored get some cool looks and thumbs up and drive-by hand slaps on the trail with the new sleds going by....😀😀😀😀👍

[@jeffledlow1955]

Check out off-grid with the skinners. He has an EXTENSIVE collection of parts.

[@fullmetaljacket7]

That engine looks like the one a friend of mine have installed on his ultralight.

[@111000100101001]

Yep, crazy that those Kawasaki’s would be used in the air, but with an ultra light you can glide her in :)

[@danhard8440]

that fuel looks like a nicely aged Brandy lol

[@pinkyaddy905]

YOU ARE SO SMART AT WHAT EVER YOU DO MR.FIX IT. HOW OLD ARE YOU? IM SO PROUD OF YOU.

[@blazemaster83]

Id say no to the drift trike because you're not a 15 yr old hipster, my vote is an offroad go-kart

[@jonnyonwheels]

I would have to agree, +1 on the offroad go-kart.....and his yard/property doesn’t exactly strike me as prime real-estate for a drift trike rip either?!

[@MRIsomewhaereguy]

Plus the go cart can be fun in light snow.

[@jimlepeu]

The screwdriver ignition key worked really good 🤠😂🇬🇧

[@kristiankristiansen133]

Reach out to Golden Rust Or Bust. He’ll know where to get the parts I think

[@arnoldhillbillygrizzlyputm1493]

Him an kevin at junkyard digs just did excat same cat thou a yr older . He should know where to get the rear cogs as they just did them on it .

[@clinthowe7629]

Wow! a Cheetah, my dad bought a new cheetah in 71-72. along with a kitty kat, when i was little, we lived in Alaska and someone stole them both about 1974, the police never did anything, we never got them back. who knows, perhaps you ended up with our old sled 😂 cool find.

[@danandyong6653]

"She's a bit of a fixer-upper" ummm yea, you don't buy anything that isn't lol fun to watch "will it run" videos

[@robertvannicolo4435]

Matt definitely some sort of go cart.Snowmobiles are a pain in the butt always fixing especially the old ones at one point my buddies and I had 7 when it would snow would be lucky if one of them was running gave them all away.

[@wrenchinginthewoods]

Yank the motor out and put it in the junkyard golf cart. That would be pretty cool.

[@IspiraGaming]

This would be awesome. The perfect project

[@inkymark7655]

Matt is very thorough

[@johndeeregarage5339]

That my friend is a panther cause the tanks in the back

[@vaniadelfin9261]

Jijii

[@RustyNail5856]

Matt, don't forget to drain the carb if you are to let it sat. great video. glad to see it fix.

[@comeasyouare4545]

The bull dog reminds me of when I was a kid many many years ago. On my paper route this bull dog would run out and bite onto the front tire of my bike, and wouldn't let go. The kid that owned him ran out and grab him by the hind legs, and started pulling him as hard as he could. After about five minutes he was able to pull the dog free. After that when I would go past that house, I would speed up and go by on the other side of the street.

[@davidwright1653]

You rebuild her not because of the dollar value but for the pride of restoration! Make your own parts if needed, find a upholstery shop to rebuild that seat, flush and clean that tank, next winter you'll be admired and envied for the job you did by fellow snowmobilers as you driver her around. Plus it would make for great video content!

[@dboogie2288]

dammit I knew it was coming but I still had a good laugh about it.

[@dankingjr.2088]

I almost feel weird admitting this, but this is basically my current sled. I've got a 1972 292 Panther. Been in my family since new, has been rebuilt several times and runs great. Fun to ride here in thin snow country. Cool video.

[@phillipchurch1851]

Reach out to junkyard digs he just finished one he'll be able to help with the sprockets

[@paulsilva3346]

Awe, ya gave that away... Just about to go TO DIGS and watch their episode. I wonder where J. Mook has been, I miss her smile and can-do spirits...!

[@jjtcrt1]

JYD's buddy that runs golden rust or bust would know where to get anything you'd need for that.

[@ChileExpatFamily]

Summer here and I like it that way. We have not seen snow in over 4 years and it only lasted 15 min. Jim in Chile

[@jbbuzzable]

Back in the day, that was maybe the best snowmobile made.

[@marcryvon]

Huuuum, not really ! Bombardier's Ski Doo was and still is the benchmark. Yamaha was/is still a close contender.

[@jbbuzzable]

@@marcryvon We didn't have that many Ski Doos or Yamahas in my area, as i remember. Maybe dealerships had something to do with that.