Also, Check out these two sections: Jim Adema & Thunder Jet History

We'll start with probably one of the rarest Sno*Jets ever. There isn't a whole lot of information on this actual sled. It is either a 64 Prototype, or a 1965 production model, where only 25-50 were produced. This is one of three known to still exist today. The actual sled pictured was restored by John Livingstone, the western distributor for Sno*Jet back in the 70's. John is a good friend on mine, and has been a great help with this page. John is actually pictured below with Al and Bobby Unser on their 71 Tjets. I also managed to track down a memo from John when he was actually searching for a 64 or 65 Sno*Jet. And the sled pictured is the one he found and restored. He also got most of the parts for the restoration direct from the factory.

Next on the list is the 1970 Sno*Jet GT. It was Sno*Jets first real attempt at the racing circuit. There were three different versions. The GT1 was the smaller sled, had a few different motors available, but were all singles, or small twins, either the hirth or the sachs. Pictured above is the GT2, owned by Jerry McGee. The GT2 came with the 338 right up to the 634. Motors were either a Yamaha or Hirth twin. Then there was the GT3, very limited production. The one pictured below belongs to David Schark, and is in original condition. It is one of about 4 still known to exist today. It was with the 793 hirth honker, and had triple pipes. The sled was also a widetrack to support that amount of power and the actual width of the motor.

Now I now you all saw this coming for sure, because this is the sled that brought Sno*Jet into direct compeition with all the big guys. The ThunderJet! Click here for a complete history on the thunderjet. The Thunderjet was designed by Duane Aho and Jim Adema. Now the first year wasn't the most sucessful, they still had some bugs to work out, but the sled showed that their was hope. They tried to adapt the changes to the GT but ended up just keeping the tjet. The sled was a real start for radical designs, exotic metals and technologies. Also pictured above is Al and Bobby Unser on their 71 Tjets. If your wondering who that other guy there is, well, its John Livingstone, mentioned above with the 1964 Sno*Jet. Beside that picture is Al Unsers sled today. Jerry McGee tracked it down, and the sled is currently up for restoration.

Our next sled on the list is the 1972 Sno*Jet SST. Now the sled isn't all that rare, because it was a production model, but still, for stock racing the sled did quite well and also had potential for modified racing, on both the oval and for cross country. With the SST, they introduced the multiflex slide suspension, which Sno*Jet used till 77, just making minor changes year after year. The SST sort of came after the 71 SS Jet, and just became more popular year after year. With the SST, it was also the first sign of the takeover of yamaha motors over the older and heavier Hirth motors. They kept developing the yamaha motors and they worked great for the stock trail application, another one of the reasons why the SST did so well. Now over the next two years, the SST didn't change that much, other than minor tweaks to the suspension, and minor changes to the seat, hood and gas tank. There were many aftermarket parts available, stuff like Hooker Headers and so. When 74 came around, the SST was quite a beauty, and with the motor, they squeezed about 45 hp out of that basic yamaha motor.

The 1972 ThunderJet took over the racing circuit. There were only one hundred available for each of the 4 motor options, so they are extremely rare, and are still even today very competitive. The sled had one objective, to make a more dependable and predictable consumer machine. The sled featured an aircraft alluminum tunnel, and was very low and wide. It was testing grounds for the stock machines, trying out the new technologies like disc brakes and lightweight alluminum. The motor was more offset than the competitors and worked out quite well in oval racing. Now Sno*Jet never really had a factory racing team, instead they just sold off the thunderjets and actually paid all the entrance fees for every race entered. That turned into the Sno*Jet Million Dollar Racing Incentive Program. Where with every race entered, if you placed, Sno*Jet would turn around and pay out the racer. So that really helped and gave all Tjets owners another reason to race. The sled did great and alot of people turned to the thunderjets in 73 where it basically beat out every other manufacturer, and no other sled company has been able to do that since...

Now in 1973, they just made more improvements to the 72 Tjet. The sled now weighed under 300 lbs. They had the Million Dollar Racing Incentive Program, as well as special discounts on all parts for racers. The factory made all the info available so your average racer had all the help available to keep their sleds up to date. Unfortunaly, 1973 was the last year Sno*Jet made a fire breathing modified racer.

For 1974 and 1975, the ThunderJet took on a different look. The sled design was still improving, but the sled turned into a stock racer. They had some problems in 1974 with the USSA and the production quantity rule, so for 1975, they had to build more sleds. So that means the 74/75 isn't quite as rare as the 71/72/73 mods, but are still highly sought after. The sleds did quite well with the F/A yamaha motors. One thing that did help them was the GYT Kit(Genuine Yamaha Technology.) It contained everything you needed to get the fire breathing mod back into your sled, consisted of pipes, cylinders, heads and made the sled quite competitive again. So you could go out and buy a 74 or 75 thunderjet, and the sled would be an amazing stock trail sled, but you also had the option to go full out and race it. Unfortunatly with the Sno*Jet name being sold to Kawasaki, 1975 was the last year of the thunderjet, and Jim Adema then went and raced for Yamaha. No sled would ever come close to dominating the circuit and the heart of millions like the ThunderJet.

In 1974, Sno*Jet produced a sled called the Sabre Jet. The sled was designed by Jim Adema, using design and technology from the success of the ThunderJet. Sled was pretty good looking, had a wide stance, powerful reed valve motor, and shiny chrome top sticking out of the hood. The sled did quite well, but there were many of them produced, being a stock trail performance sled. Then mid season Sno*Jet surprised everyone with a special Sabre Jet. The 650!!! It was basically the same as the 440 F/C sled, but this one featured a 650 Hirth F/C, so the sled had quite a bit more power and apperently drove circles around the 440. The only other different beside the motor, was the center of the hood, the 440 being black with the chrome motor, the 650 had a black motor with a silver center to the hood. Now this sled is quite rare, there were only 281 of them built, and I have managed to track down about 10-15 of them. The sled pictured above belongs to Todd Koehn of www.vintageskidoo.com he picked it up from an old dealer and the sled is actually completely original. Alot of people are on the lookout just for a regular Sabre Jet, so next time you see one, be sure to check out the motor, you may be in for a big surprise.

Not a whole lot is known about this sled, it is either a 1975 SST F/A prototype, or a 1975 SST F/A presidential model. The sled does have the presidential model sticker on the hood, but does not have the correct motor, as well, the drive system is completely different than anything any snojet has ever had. Therefore it could be some sort of a prototype for the 1975 season. The decals on it mean it was for sure an early production model, there were a few sent out to the dealers, and they didn't like the red stripe or the plain decaling, so they changed it to blue and put on different decals on the side of the hood. If you check the 1975 brochure, you'll notice they all have the red stripes and earlier style decals. The sled pictured above actually belongs to Jack Thompson, and he still rides it today, but he is having a hard time finding info on the sled, as well as parts. There were a few presidential models around, but apparently, most of them were destroyed, so that makes this sled pretty rare.

Here we go with the prototypes again. This one is called the Phantom Jet, again we do not know a whole lot of information on the sled, but apparently the factory built about 50 of them, and shipped them to distributors and dealers, the rest were all destroyed at the factory. This particular sled belongs to Jay Carsley, of Cove Side Wheel and Ski. The sled would have been built around 73/74, and if it would have gone into production, it would have been for the 1975 season. The sled features a 440 F/C yamaha motor, with a single mikuni carburator, and the multiflex 75 track and suspension system. We're not really sure why it never made it, my guess is that is would have replaced the whisperjet. Design is quite similar, but the thing is pretty ugly. I asked John Livingstone about it, and he remembers going to the factory to test the sled out, and actually has the parts manual for it, cause the sled was supposed to be produced, but never made it. So this sled is pretty darn rare, there are only 3 known to exist, and Jay actually has a spare tunnel for his rare beast.

In 1975, Sno*Jet completely changed their lineup. They had great success with the SST from 72-74, so they brought it one step higher. Using the technology from the ThunderJets, they basically started from scratch to redo their most popular stock machine. They used an alluminum tunnel, the new multiflex 75 slide suspension and track system, had the motor mounted low in the bellypan with a wide stance. The suspension was great, there is close to 8" of travel, and it actually took arctic cat till the late 80's to even match the 75/76 Sno*Jet suspension. Those sleds ride great, and power wise, they used the yamaha motors. The sled was available with a 340 and 440 yamaha motor. The 440 F/C featured reed valves, and had quite a bit of power. For 1976, all they really did was change the carburation from Keihin to Mikuni on the F/C models again, and they gained even more power. The great thing about these sleds was that in 1975, there were a few different models available, you could get the F/C's, but there was also the option of the Free Air Yamaha motors. Basically the exact same motor, carburators and exhaust as the 74/75 Thunderjets. The only difference was that the SST F/A was quite a bit heavier than the Tjets. The 440 F/A boasted a very high 65 hp. Then you could also get the GYT Kit for the sled, and basically turn your F/A trail sled into a mod. Pictured above is two 1975 SST 440 F/A's, one belongs to Blake Read, and the other to Joe Kautz. Very tight competition last winter at the vintage drags. Then beside that picture shows a bit of the potential available to the stock sled. John Schmitts 1975 SST 340 F/A mod is shown, the sled is stripped down a bit to reduce weight, but has been ported, polished, has the carbs and pipes, and boy does that thing ever scream. Can't wait till next winters races, as I have a mod in the works right now. The sled did quite well, and even though it is a stock sled, there were quite a few produced, so they are not all that rare, but still right up there on a collectors list. The 340 F/A is probably the rarest of them all, as there were 3 actual different models of the 440 F/A. So keep and eye out, if you find any of the sleds pictured in this section, its probably worth while picking it up.

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