Will an Abandoned Snowmobile Run After 20 Years? 

That old cat cleaned up great! Nothing beats that seat pattern. They're like fertilizer for mullets. Those Rotary engines sound so dang good. Nice video!

Would love to see some small engine/oddball revivals like the maytag.

That sound the rotary makes is definitely normal - for a rotary. I've owned six first-gen RX7s and one of these 303 cc Sachs engines from a '74 Arctic Cat Panther. They need a 40:1 pre-mix of fuel: 2-cycle oil in order to lube the apex and side seals, as well as the needle bearings inside the rotor that rides on the eccentric shaft (ie: "crankshaft") lobe. These Sachs engines have a very interesting engine cooling feature known as "charge cooling". The external fins and fan pull a large amount of heat away from the engine, but the rotating mass at the engine's core needs more than that. Unlike in the RX7 engine, the Sachs uses a solid eccentric shaft. But like the RX7, the rotor is hollow, allowing cooling media to draw heat away from the rotor. In the RX7 two-rotor oil and liquid-cooled engine, this media is engine oil, pumped through the hollow eccentric shaft. But in the Sachs engine the internal cooling media is air-fuel-oil mixture. That's right: Before the air/fuel/oil mixture enters the combustion chamber after leaving the carb, it is first routed INTO A PORT ON ONE END OF THE ENGINE near the center of the engine where the eccentric shaft resides, through the needle bearings and hollow interior surfaces of the rotor (which both cools and lubes the center rotating mass of the engine), out another port on the opposite side of the engine and finally through a passage that takes this intake charge to the intake port(!) Hence the name "charge-cooling". I was going to use mine on an ultralight, but that never materialized. Maybe that's a good thing. If memory serves me correctly, these 303cc engines produced 19.5 hp at around 5500 rpm, and around 28 lb-ft of torque at around 5000 rpm. These sleds were very fast once up to speed and in track racing They loved to rev. In the high rpm ranges the power curve dropped off much more gradually than with piston engines. But off the line they were slow to accelerate - owing to the rotary's inherent weak torque in the low rpm ranges.

Yes I would definitely like to see this machine again. And the Maytag , you have to get it running

This is honestly 1000% more interesting , informative , entertaining than the crap they put on TV . No scripts , no drama , no stomping off shouting “ if we don’t get this done in 3 days ... its game over !!” . Keep it up 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Kevin: "haven't seen anyone do a snowmobile revival" Derrick: "A guy just did like 3"

When I was 12 yrs old my dad bought a brand new snowmobile, and it was the exact same model, I rode that machine for years and loved it so much, thank you for bringing back great memories for me, now 64 yrs old, you made me fell young again, thank you !!

Any vintage snowmobile will run like a top if you take that old Tillotson diaphragm carb and throw it as far as you can. Get Mikuni carb and fuel pump and she'll run like a million bucks. Awesome video guys! Love the old sleds!

Would like to see the Maytag and the seized engine revival

I think the problem is the glove. You have a vacuum pump with 2 layers. This means the first layer gets the full force of the vacuum, but it can only pull on the second layer with whatever vacuum it has in between them. Just make it one layer of glove and see if that fixes it.

According to the Wisconsin Auto Museum's display, the OMC rotary was so powerful it was banned from competition. It was also quiet. We had our sled stolen right out of the front yard and never heard it drive away. We found it 4 blocks away with the drive belt wrapped around the clutch. I did not know Arctic Cat had a rotary also.

Put grease on the tap to catch the shavings.

I saw the thumb nail and thought, "How many snow mobiles does VGG need!?!" Caught me off gaurd when he wasn't the one introing the video.

I was waiting for John’s mullet to come to life as a second set of hands. He’s like the Joe Walsh of snowmobile repair.

make sure you run premix in that rotary. its a 2 stroke motor basically, so mix the fuel. it will make the rotors and seals last longer. also rotaries go great with turbos, like a er trip made in heaven

I felt like yelling crank seals at my phone this whole last half of the video

I would like to see that single cylinder Wisconsin running and the maytag motor

I had that same machine back in the late 80's, the worst part about it was how often it would get stuck and how heavy it was when you were drunk.

Oh Gee!!! A 303 Arctic Cat Wankle! I used to have one of them. I reached a top speed of 45 MPH. When exhaust is cherry red, is when it runs tops! Also one of the best ever for breaking trails in fresh deep snow. It was 1970 when last one was made.

I want to see it running and ripping up the trails! LET"S GO LET"S GO!!!

I’m working on a cheetah right now that looks just like that thing, gotta love those seat covers .... not sure mines worth saving unfortunately great video 🤘🏼

Idk about everyone else but I’m totally cool with any “stuff with a engine” videos

Now imagine doing some of those operations 3 miles out on a frozen lake in the moonlight at -20 F. That gets you the total experience.

I'd buy it. I like those rotary engines. Making me miss my Rx-7.

that swing arm in the carby, you can actually set the "float level"/move the mixture a lil leaner or richer so to speak by bending them, even in weed eaters, bend em more towards carby for less movement each pulse and lets less fuel in, bend them towards the diaphragm and it hits for more movement each pulse, lets more fuel in Edit: the amount of bending needed is tiny

John is *glowing* Dude has so much energy, it's great.

When John said “it’s a dental drill” I got an add for aspen dental XD

This model was my first snowmobile when I was a kid! Some great memories! Also a big thanks to my dad for letting me use it!

having that glove on there is like having two of those diaphragms stacked on top of each other. Might run better if a fella cut one side of that glove off. Top side is moving, bottom side probably isn't moving much. Just a thought.

The older viewers may know what I’m talking about but John makes me think of Gallagher every time he smiles. lol.

What a Kool old Sled! Hey... A trick I learned for sorta reviving that old gelcoated plastic and fiberglass, is if you've got a good, clean surface to start on (like you have there) you can take that Zep Commercial Floor Finish on a clean linen rag, not soaked too wet, but just damp... And start rubbing it on in circles, just like you'd apply wax to any vehicle. Overlap the circles and go slowly. Once you've gone over all the plastic, let it dry and start again where you started first... Do that over, three or four times and it'll build a really nice finish that'll last a couple years before it starts to fade again... Then, clean 'er up n do it over. Cheers!

Apex seals were always an issue on our 303's. They were fast but very thirsty.

If Mook had rebuilt the "carbotater", it would have run just fine.

The 80's called. They want John back.

Great effort guys! I had a Panther 303 which I ran for four years. It was always fuel related but I did finally determine that it needed copious amounts of fuel to be totally warmed up before it would run and idle. It was only happiest when the muffler was red hot. Seriously, red hot glow in the dark. Mine topped out at 59mph. If you could get it to run untill the engine was up to temp then it was happy Fond memories of a possessed Wankel. Enjoyed your efforts! Hats off!

The dude with the long hair should certainly be signed up for the next rip cord competition! Holy!

Bruuuuuuhhhh...... John’s mullet flapping as he yanks on that crank rope 😂😂😂😂. The man has earned my subscription 👍

I have a sneaky suspicion that the issue lies with the glove as a diaphragm. Try using only one layer of the glove or replacing it with an OEM part.

This reminds me of every snowmobiling weekend of my younger days. Pull, pull, pull. Let’s have another beer!

I enjoy old snowmobiles. I am currently restoring a 1980 Artic Cat Panther 440 F/C. Keep on with vintage snowmobile content. Good job.

You know Kevin wants to keep something when he gets out the d-germ and cleans it properly

We had a couple of these late 60's early 70's cats, you had to carry a pocket full of spark plugs, replace the broken cleats on the track, by the end of the day your clothes smelled like gas, and one arm was longer than the other from pulling on that steel rope all day. Great memories of my youth.

Great video... great sounds. Man does that bring back memories... and EXACTLY the reason(s) why dad had our IDENTICAL sled repowered with a liquid-cooled, 340 Chaparral engine!

That Maytag Multimotor is pretty neat. They are kinda rare too. Those are neat sounding engines. Coils are kinda weird on them though and I think the gas tank is under the engine.

Rick James called: he wants his snow mobile seat back. 😂🤣😂

Kevin, I agree with another commenter, the glove “diaphragm” might be the problem. I noticed that the crusty original that you removed was domed. Check around the ol interweb to see if’n you can find an actual replacement diaphragm and give us another vid! (also would be nice to see you tackle the “massive” old generator and the Maytag washer engine)

I had one just like that back in the late 80's It was also a barn find that I brought back to live and rode all around the trails near La Crosse Wisconsin. Sold it to a friend of mine after a while. Those engines run forever.

There you go junkyard digs and Derek and John all need to revival on a snowmobile that would be awesome to watch

Man I absolutely love John, please have him on more !!

John pulled the start cord over for 30 minutes? Man, that is some determination to get that thing to run.

This brought back some memories. My first sled was a 72 puma my dad bought me in 96, still had the old steel track. The thing was a beast. It sat outside for 20 plus years. My pops and I pulled it inside one night, put new sparkolators in, and put some gas down the carb, and it fired right up.

Fun watching you guys revive this. Ive rebuild a bunch of these sachs 303's and even ported a few an built one with dual carbs, got some porting vids on my channel of them. your on the right track with the crank seals, but you'll need a pop off gauge to set the tillotson up right. these run better with an HR tilly / 34mm carb.

I am 14 years old and every time I see you post a new video, I have a big smile on my face because I know that this is gon be good 👍 I Love your content bud and never stop doing it!

Vargas brothers: Angel Motorsports on RU-vid. They know as much about Rotary's as you could need. Don't give up on the sled, it's a proper survivor and the little rotary sounds cool.

Great video of something we don't have in Florida!! Learned something today...also, love John's mullet hair!! It takes me back to my days growing up in the late 70's and 80's! Love your videos, keep up the great work!

A little trick for your future plug tapping adventures. Put bearing grease on the tap/cutter and itll hold all the metal shavings, preventing them from going in the cylinder. just clean it off and reapply new grease every time you remove the tap to check. :-)

get that maytag running that would be cool to see and can we see a part 2 on this sled definitely pretty cool I've never seen a rotary before

I'd love to watch a revival on that maytag engine. Never seen one in person

Old snowmobiles.. quality, pure quality. Got a Lynx 535 -79 and a Arctic Cat Panthera -78 also a skidoo Elan -76 (that i rescued from a farmers field, where it stood for 15 years, goats had eaten cables and seat. changed cables, ignition cables, seat refurbished and hood re-casted out of glass fiber. started on 2nd pull when i tried to start it up after some refurb work.

Take the pump with the glove off, put a 1/8NPT fitting and put the hose directly to the engine. I've seen it done and it works. That tillotson carb has a pump built in. I had the exact same sled with the same issue and I believe I still have videos on my channel of it

Being Canadian stuck in deep freeze, bring on the snowmobile revivals

You should get those engines running, including those big 6 cylinders laying in that shed. I'm sure the most common thing said about John is "that boy ain't right."

I have 2 here at the house with brand new carbs still in boxes from back in the mid 80's thanks for my dad who had a snowmobile business. That engine sounded classic rotary

Snowmobile sitting there for 20 years good detail seat is good condition new spark plugs awesome video junkyard digs in lowa bless you friend

No wonder the snow mobiles have such a long seat! So you can carry four people to help you make it run each time you stop! Great video with the Team!

This articat needs to come back and go much further this time (trip?) She is practically new as Jon had stated.

Congrats on the new shop! 🍻 I'm in the process of packing and getting ready to move to a bigger house and shop also. I have realized I have more cars and parts than I do actual house stuff. 🤣

Good tip for next time, coat the helicoil tool / tap with grease. Picks up most of the shavings if not all of them. have had to do this on generator engines that are one piece cylinder and head. Also my 1972 Yamaha sm 292 did that exact same thing

Great video! Derek has a unique sense of style. With the Frye boots, tight jeans, mullet, and uncanny knowledge of 70's sleds, I think he might be a time traveler!

That old Maytag came off of a gas powered washing machine. Awesone.

Reminds me of the Rupp we had when I was a kid. The engine was just sitting there in the open. My dad would be messing with the carb as we were riding along. We got an Arctic Cat Jag and Panther in the early 80s and retired the Rupp. Oh yeah, and dude has an amazing mullet!

Wow guys glad to see u got it to move in the snow they can be a pain in the butt to get running after they for long time but fun u get it and going love the video on the skidoo nice change from cars and bikes Thanks.....

Dude grab that maytag engine!!! We the people wanna see u get that running

You and vicegripgarage make some of the best automotive content as of late! Love what you guys do

24:14 "so i got the nuts loose" flips hair, "that was the easiest shaft removal"

I still remember city riding my Dad's Exciter and my buddys Dad had one of these old cats! We would tear around the streets! City streets during a blizzard are awesome trails! Riding up to the party store and getting some brews for the ride!

Don't give up. Make it run. Vice Grip Garage has resurrected 3 artic cat this winter. Yours is rotary so make it different and a challenge.

John looks straight out of early/mid-90s NASCAR with that absolutely glorious mullet/mustache combo. Can totally picture him driving a Pontiac Grand Prix sponsored by some Southern grocery store chain.

Didn't know rotories were in those things, sounds just like an older rx7 too. Even if you used that engine in something else, even if it's temperamental. It's still a really cool machine.

Yes, please do a revival on that little Maytag engine! Love it!

Being in TX and seeing snowmobile - I was literally hovering over the back button until I saw the rotary engine. That set the hook in me

More mullet! It adds horsepower

Put black fuel line on the vacuum pump on the top of the motor. The clear line you have on it is not a vacuum or pulse line and isn't sending the proper pulse to the pump,hence it's not pumping the diaphragm and no fuel is being pumped. I have run into this problem many times over the last 30 years. Happy sledding! :)

The drive bearings that have the locking collar are sometimes referred to as CAMLOCK bearings. I've installed many of them and they are pretty reliable, just get them set good and tight and tighten the set screw.

"ive never had anything fight me so much" Mook has entered the chat

Love these smaller revives can't wait to see another one!! I bet next one is a 4 wheeler or a tractor.

Looks like a jumbo can of starting fluid may be a good thing to strap on the Rotary sled.Also on projects like these I often use a pump up garden sprayer for a temporary fuel source. You can force feed it fuel and make it see things your way.

I love this !.. came for the rotary... but stayed for the mullet !. Seriously though, I had to subscribe, loving the old school, grass roots content... keep it up guy's 👍👍

Your cohort looks like the reincarnation of Inigo Montoya, from the princess bride! "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die!" 😂😂😂😂😂😂

literally eating the ruffles cheddar and sour cream chips as I am watching this, John is an animal pulling that rope like his life depends on it!!

omg a mullet a mustache and a sweatband. the only thing missing is one of those ultla short pink shorts and a flimsy singlet. mmm brings back old nightmares from my childhood😱😆.... respect to that guy

I'm late to the party and have been watching videos daily. I've heard about Johns mullet and stache in many newer videos but this is my first time seeing it! Big ole RIP to the mullet and stache!

My 46 Year Old back and shoulders are screaming watching you lads reef on that pull start....

I have looked at that shed every day for 3 years and all ways wondered what was inside

I love rotaries, but I've never had a chance to work on one. I didn't know they were in snow mobiles, but this seems like a great place for me to start!

MORE ARCTIC CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PART TWO PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Actually VICE GRIP GARAGE has been doing lots of sled revivals lately.. both of you have great content..

Kevin you actually have a 72 panther there. A manufacture date of 10-71 makes it a 72 model year. Not sure what you paid for that gem but she’s mint!!! It’s nearly impossible to find them with a decent original seat anymore!

We always laid the machine on its side and fed the track and suspension in hooked up the front then swung the rear in to put in the bolts. Lot easier as your not lifting it. I was pit man on cat race team and good friend with the dealer

I haven't seen a rotary engine in a panther since I was a kid.I grew up in Lucan , Ontario which gets a ton of snow off of lake Huron. My Rotax would just smoke them. I even rode my Ski-Doo with my shotgun on my back to school. Different times. If you ever find a Mercury who twister purchase it. I drag raced for years and Mercs were awesome! Good vid