Posted by Daniel Strohl on December 21, 2007 under Daniel Strohl, Hemmings Muscle Machines, Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car, one-offs and homebuilts, racing, replicas, resurrections and kit cars, snowmobiles | 
Yup, we got snow up here in New England. Enough to get me thinking about a vintage snowmobile again. It apparently has a bunch of H.A.M.B.ers thinking about vintage snowmobiles as well, but along some different lines.
* Apparently, Brit Max Hyde wanted a Mercedes W25 Silver Arrow, but thought he could build his own replica version using a Citroen 2CV chassis and drivetrain. Yes, it looks just as much the train wreck as it sounds. (via)
* Looking at the cobbed-up fiberglass airbox that Chevrolet used for only a handful of 1957 fuel-injected Corvettes, I’m not too ashamed of my own cobjobs. As long as they work, that is. And don’t feel bad about not knowing what an Airbox Corvette is – it seems many Corvette experts and enthusiasts also have never heard of them. (via)
* What’s with the hats that all the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild winners – including a young Virgil Exner Jr. – apparently had to wear for the March 1947 Mechanix Illustrated story?
Posted by Zenwaiter on December 8, 2007 under Uncategorized |
It's a brand new season, and so far, it seems as though our sport has avoided total anihalation.
There is snow, beautiful white fluffy snow everywhere, and the temperatures are cold, darn cold. So far so good.
I landed in Quebec a few weeks ago, and I have been making the rounds. Everyone I have met is optimistic about the snowmobile business this year, and spirits are riding high. Snowmobilers however, have been tentative about booking rooms so far, and about buying the yearly snowmobile trail permit.
"They are not booking the rooms ahead of time like they used to" says one snowmobile motel owner. "I guess it will all come at one time, probably at the last minute."
Meanwhile, the full machinery of snowmobile clubs I have talked to, is in full swing. Signage is going up, trails are being groomed, and the heat has been turned up to high in all the motels and hotels, in preparation of what should be a banner year. Quebec has already recieved twice as much snow as usual for this time of year.
Snowmobile business people in Quebec are wondering about the effect of the low rate of exchange for the American dallor. Already snowmobile and ATV dealers have lost hundreds of sales to the USA as Canadian sledheads run across the border to save thousands off the cost of a Canadian dealer's best offering. This has hurt dealers, but will it dampen the enthusiasm of the riders themselves?
I say it will not.
Experienced snowmobilers that have known the thrill of our trails for many years, will be here to enjoy the snow. But what if there is lots of snow in New Hampshire and Maine, New York and Vermont? Will the Americans still head north?
Yes, our snowmobile business in Quebec is still a fragile thing that depending upon many uncontrollable factors. It's an adventure sport all right, one which requires both the participants as well as the suppliers of the experience, to be more than adventurous. It'a a bloody risky industry, no matter how you slice it.
Perhaps that's exactly why this sport it so compelling, risk . Who knows. All I know is, there is a ton of snow everywhere I look and the temperature is staying at an average of ten below freezing. In the end, that's all I need to enjoy snowmobiling. Well, that's not true. It takes cash too, and alot of it. Cash for gas, equipment, food and lodging, and travel.
But everything I do requires money. I guess it comes down to a question of priorities. Where do I want to spend my hard earned bucks? Zooming around with a bunch of idiots at 20 below zero, on a trail made of ice and snow? ..........
Yup!zwZen's Canadian Snowmobile Blog is produced and owned by Zenwaiter Internet Services, Box 53, Mossbank Saskatchewan Canada e-mail zen@zenwaiter.com . We welcome your snowmobile stories and photos, and all your ideas.
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