DAVID'S VINTAGE
SNOWMOBILE PAGE.
RESTORING THE
SPORT ONE PIECE AT A TIME.
VSCA
2016 NATIONAL SHOW PAGE 47
1970
SNO FLITE
SNOWMOBILE
?????
WHAT
I AM SUGGESTING BELOW,
IS
NOT FACT BUT A
POSSIBILITY.
11TH ANNUAL VSCA VINTAGE
SNOWMOBILE NATIONAL SHOW
LANCASTER, NEW
HAMPSHIRE - JULY 16 & 17 - 2016
EVERY TIME
I GO TO A SHOW, THERE IS A SLED THAT I WISHED I TOOK BETTER PICTURES OF.
WHEN
I WAS TAKING PICTURES, I DID NOT STOP AND LOOK AT THIS SLED AS I WALKED
BY QUICKLY.
AT
A GLANCE, I THOUGHT THIS SNOWMOBILE WAS A
WHEEL
HORSE.
WHEN
I GOT HOME AND LOOKED AT MY PICTURES, I REALIZED THAT THIS SLED IS A SNO
FLITE AND
I
THINK IT COULD BE A RARE 1970 SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILE.
1968
& 1969 SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES WERE YELLOW
AND IN APRIL 1969, C.E. ERICKSON SOLD THE
REMAINING
PARTS / STOCK / INVENTORY OF SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES TO WHEEL HORSE.
IT
WAS THOUGHT THAT ALL OF THE REMAINING SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILE FRAMES, HOODS,
WERE
PAINTED RED,
ASSEMBLED, RE-BADGED AND SOLD AS
1970
WHEEL HORSE SAFARI SNOWMOBILES.
NOW
I AM THINKING THAT THERE WERE SOME 1970 SNO
FLITE SNOWMOBILES BUILT
BY USING SOME
OF
THE 1969 SNO FLITE
SNOWMOBILE
REMAINING
PARTS / STOCK / INVENTORY.
SEE
AD FOR SNO FLITE
MODEL
309
ELECTRA
NOVEMBER
8, 1969
SINCE WHEEL HORSE WAS GOING TO BE
LEFT WITH MANY PARTS THAT THEY COULD NEVER USE
AGAIN,
I
THINK THEY
ASSEMBLED
AS MANY 1970
SNO
FLITE SNOWMOBILES AS THEY COULD BY
USING
SOME OF THE 1969 SNO FLITE PARTS THAT HAD
THE NAME
"SNO
FLITE"
WRITTEN
ON THEM LIKE THE METAL PLATE
ON THE FRONT BUMPER
AND THE HOOD DECALS.
I THINK WHEEL HORSE
THEN PROCEEDED TO USE
THE
REMAINING 1969 SNO FLITE
PARTS
SUPPLY / INVENTORY
AND PROCEEDED TO
BUILD
AS MANY 1970 WHEEL HORSE SAFARI
SNOWMOBILES AS POSSIBLE.
A FEW, SNOWMOBILE
COMPANIES BACK IN THAT ERA TOOK UNSOLD SLEDS FROM ONE MODEL YEAR,
PUT
NEW DECALS ON THEM, AND THEN SOLD THEM AS A NEWER MODEL FOR THE NEXT MODEL
YEAR.
EXAMPLE,
IF
A SNOWMOBILE COMPANY HAD THE EXACT SAME MODEL, IN THE NEXT MODEL YEAR,
WITH
ONLY A FEW MINOR, OR NO CHANGES TO IT, THEY
COULD TAKE A 1969 SNOWMOBILE,
PUT
NEW DECALS ON IT AND SELL IT AS A 1970 SNOWMOBILE.
SO
IT COULD BE POSSIBLE,
( NOT FACT )
THAT WHEEL HORSE TOOK SOME OF THE
1969
SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILE INVENTORY PARTS,
BUILT SOME NEW SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES AND
LABELED
THEM AS 1970 SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILE
MODELS.
PEOPLE
WOULD THINK THEY WERE GETTING A
1970
SNO FLITE MODEL RATHER THAN A 1969 SNO FLITE
SLED. EASIER TO SELL.
LET'S
FACE IT, SINCE WHEEL HORSE TOOK SOME OF THE 1969 SNO FLITE SLEDS AND MADE
THEM
1970
WHEEL HORSE SNOWMOBILES, THEY COULD EASILY
DO THE SAME WITH SOME OF
THE
INVENTORY WITH THE SNO FLITE NAME PARTS AND MAKE THEM
1970
SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES AS WELL.
OVER THE YEARS, THERE WERE
MANY SNOWMOBILE COMPANIES THAT WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.
THE
INVENTORY WAS BOUGHT UP, IN SOME CASES, THE NAME OF THE COMPANY WAS CHANGED
AND
THE
INVENTORY WAS THEN SOLD UNDER A NEW BRAND NAME AS NEW MODELS FOR THE NEXT
SEASON
OR SEASONS.
KEEP IN MIND THAT I HAVE
NOT FOUND ANY ADS SAYING 1970 SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES,
BUT WHEN SLEDS WERE SOLD
IN THE FALL OF 1969 AS NEW SNOWMOBILES, MOST
OF THE TIME,
THEY WERE 1970 MODELS.
IN THE TOP PICTURE ..........
THE
METAL SNO FLITE NAME PLATE IS RIGHT ON THE FRONT BUMPER AND IF YOU LOOK
AT THE
DASH
PICTURE BELOW, YOU CAN SEE THE SNO FLITE ROUND
LOGO ON THE DASH.
TO
ME, THIS IS ONE OF THE SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES THAT WAS SOLD IN THE
FALL
OF 1969 AS A 1970 SNO FLITE MODEL.
I
KNOW THAT THERE WERE SNO FLITE MODELS BEING SOLD RIGHT NEXT TO
WHEEL
HORSE SAFARI SNOWMOBILES ON
THE
DEALERSHIP FLOOR AS I HAVE AN AD SHOWING THIS TO BE TRUE.
I
HAVE OTHER ADS ADVERTISING SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES IN THE FALL OF 1969.
I
AM NOT 100 % SURE BUT I CANNOT SEE ANYONE PAINTING THIS SLED FROM YELLOW
TO RED
AND
PUTTING ON A NEW SNO FLITE DECAL ON THE DASH TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A NEWER
SNOWMOBILE.
I THINK THIS PAINT JOB IS ORIGINAL.
ALSO,
NOTICE THAT THE BIG FRONT
CHROME
GRILL AROUND THE HEADLIGHTS IS MISSING.
SEE
YELLOW SNO FLITE PICTURE BELOW.
THEY
DID NOT CUT OUT THE AREA BETWEEN THE HEADLIGHTS, INSERT
THE CHROME GRILL WITH THE OPENING THAT ALLOWS
THE AIR TO PASS OVER THE ENGINE TO COOL THE MOTOR DOWN.
I
THINK THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH CHROME HEADLIGHT GRILLS SO THEY JUST USED
THE HOOD
THE
WAY THEY WERE WHEN THEY CAME OUT OF THE MOLD. THE HOOD ALSO HAS A
FUNNY TOP.
IT
MAY HAVE BEEN ALTERED BY THE OWNER OR CAME THIS WAY FROM THE FACTORY.
THERE
WAS A 1969 SNO FLITE - 309
ELECTRA IN THE 1969 SNO FLITE BROCHURE.
THAT
SLED WAS YELLOW.
ALL
SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILES WERE YELLOW
FOR THE 1969 MODEL YEAR.
I
THINK, THESE ARE THE LEFTOVER INVENTORY PARTS THAT WERE NOW ASSEMBLED ON
RED FRAMES
AND
SOLD AS 1970 SNO FLITE
SNOWMOBILES.
1970
SNO FLITE
SNOWMOBILE
?????
THIS
IS THE 1969 SNO FLITE SNOWMOBILE
THIS
IS THE 1970 WHEEL HORSE SAFARI SNOWMOBILE.
