DAVID'S VINTAGE
SNOWMOBILE PAGE.
RESTORING THE
SPORT ONE PIECE AT A TIME.
PAGE 19,398
SNOSCOOT
HISTORY
THIS
LETTER FROM CANADAIR MENTIONS THE PRE-PRODUCTION 1965
SNOSCOOTS SNOWMOBILES
THAT
WERE MARKETED IN 1964.
RESTORATION
TRIALS: An obscure brand
By
Valdi Stefanson
I
grew up on the prairies of Canada. My passion for education, demonstration
and restoration has me attracted to
snow
machines manufactured in the Western Canadian Provinces. My
friends north of the border love to
bring
me “farm auction specials” --- their term for a rusty specimen of an obscure
old snowmobile that nobody else
would
bid on at the machinery sales they attend.
This
is a tale of the lowly Robin Nodwell SNO SCOOT, made for three years in
Calgary Alberta.
The
Sno Scoot brand rated one of 24 chapters in the large book, AS THE SNOW
FLIES and will be
included
in Pierre Pellerin’s SNOWMOBILE HISTORY Part 3 when published.
The
Robin Nodwell Company made large equipment for Canadian oil companies.
They
specialized in huge tracked vehicles to support oil exploration in the
bush and muskeg
conditions
of Northern Alberta.
Not
unlike Armand Bombardier, Bruce Nodwell received several patents for tracked
vehicles and was awarded the
Order
of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honor, “for his contribution to the
opening of the Canadian North through his
inventions
and development of various types of tracked vehicles”. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Nodwell
Over
the years I have been fortunate to be able to speak with the manufacturer’s
son in Alberta and the production
manager,
now retired in British Columbia, to learn more about the motivation behind
their snowmobile project and
production
experiences. Apparently, by 1965 the Calgary Company felt that they should
enter the snowmobile
marketplace.
From original company records, I acquired a feasibility study that spoke
glowingly about the potential
growth
in snowmobiling. The report compared the Sno Scoot prototype to eight other
manufacturers and
concluded
that it was as good as or better than the competition. Marketing
was to be two fold ---
traditional
motorsports distributors and a major merchandiser.
(1966
models were sold at Simpson Sears stores in Canada.)
Production
cost estimates were based on 5,000 or 8,000 units per year, at a cost of
$ 600 and retail price @ $ 875.
All
of this turned out to be optimistic. In a production span of three
model years an estimated 475 were built.
Moreover,
it was discovered impossible to build them at $ 600. The manufacturer’s
son told me that he remembered
a
heated rant at the dinner table one evening when Bruce Nodwell lamented
that there was no way to build their
snowmobile
for $ 600, which apparently Ski Doo was managing to do out east.
The
cost constraints were crippling. Subsequently, most Sno Scoots were
built very crudely:
No
brake.
No
muffler.
Engine
exhaust was routed by flex pipe down into a tunnel cavity directly in front
of the
track
that was stuffed with raw fiberglass insulation.
No
gas tank. Instead, a fiberglass bowl was molded to the underside
of the hood.
No
continuous track. Not even a piano hinge to seam the track.
Instead,
the track material was simply overlapped at one cleat.
No
front bumper.
Exposed
drive chain.
No
key switch. A single toggle operates spark and lights.
Steering
shafts made of tubing that was too thin.
Many
of these deficiencies were remedied in their final model year (1967).
As
it played out, however, the upgrades were “too little and too late”.
For
years at my place, I used to enjoy showing my snowmobile buddies these
unsophisticated and peculiar features.
Soon,
however, I got an itch to restore them. After a decade, I had both
( 1966 & 1967 snoscoot ) model years and
a
blue 1966 Snow King and went at it. In fact, seven un-restored machines
were chosen for refurbishing.
Most
were in poor shape.
However,
one prized 1966 model that I secured was never used. I bought it
from
a
Calgary kid who was just given it by a neighbor who had won it at a 1966
golf tournament, but never removed it
from
the factory trailer! Ahh, the power of the Internet. I discovered
the kid’s post on a Canadian ATV blog, when
he
posted, “SNO SCOOT – what is it and what’s it worth?”
The
greatest restoration challenge came with the chassis units and track/bogies.
Once all stripped down,
it
became apparent that a major design flaw was lack of support at the chassis
where the secondary clutch
was
mounted. Every chassis was cracked and ripped at this juncture. The
fix required reinforcement plates welded
both
above and below the top of the tunnel. It became apparent that the
secondary clutch mounting was misaligned
at
the factory. In one instance, the engine mount plate had to be moved
over nearly an inch so that the two
clutches
were aligned correctly!
Only
two original tracks were usable. Three bogie wheel sets were reused.
Other than that, early Alouette and
Ski
Doo drive-train elements were found to fit, or be modified to fit.
With these other brands the entire under-chassis
drive
was changed over, including front driver, bogies, rear shaft, “scissor”
rear suspension, track and all.
The
original steering shafts were too light. In almost every case, the
shafts were twisted and bent. At one point in
their
lives, someone had tried to turn the skis that were frozen to the ground.
The skis stayed stuck, and the shafts
failed.
Most were farmer-welded and could not be reused. Special thanks to
Mike Hubinak in Bend Oregon who took
on
the project, built a special jig and hand crafted all new handlebar sets.
A
decision was made to install mufflers. The original set-up with flex
pipe and fiberglass batting was too crude and
way
too noisy. It was discovered that a Ski Doo muffler of that era would
fit and were readily available.
Another
“upgrade” was to install a brake onto the secondary clutches.
The
trusty old JLO L252 engines were no problem at all. Even those that
came to me after sitting outside on the
Saskatchewan
Prairie were all able to run by cleaning the points and rebuilding their
tiny Tillotson HL carburetors.
One
1967 model had a Sachs engine. Like all manufacturers in the day,
they used whatever
2-stroke
European engine was available at the time.
No
room for a real steel gas tank under the hood, so a decision was made to
stay with the original setup.
It
was a simple “salad bowl” shaped fiberglass cavity, fiberglassed onto the
underside of the hood.
It
must hold a couple of gallons of gas. In practice, I have been advised
to install a drain spigot on the hose leading
to
the carburetor, and drain-down the entire tank for summer storage.
Also, I will unscrew the cap to vent any
remaining
gas tankfumes. I have learned about other old snow machine brands
where the gas tank was fiberglass,exposed and painted. The gas fumes can
tarnish the paint finish or leave a ghost image.
So
there you have it. This Calgary manufacturer was trying to emulate
Armand Bombardier and his Ski Doo
manufacturing
success. It didn’t work out and after three years, Robin Nodwell
decided to stick with his strong
suit
– manufacture of oil exploration vehicles.
P.
S. Some old Sno Scoots did migrate to the USA.
THANKS
VALDI FOR THE GREAT PICTURES AND HISTORY OF THE SNOSCOOT AND SNOW KING.
