scorplover
L3 The Proven Snowmobile that never lets you down
Posts: 136
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Post by scorplover on Nov 22, 2014 10:08:22 GMT -5
Of all the vintage brands out there, why Scorpion? For me it's because Scorpion was my first Snowmobile. I was looking for one and Arctic Cat was the only brand I was familiar with, but I came across an ad on Craig's list for a Scorpion Super Stinger. It had an interesting look to it and the price was right, so I went and looked at it. When I saw that red metal flake hood I knew I had found my snowmobile. The owner told me he had not ridden it in about 4 years and had new pistons and rings installed about 6 years ago and was confident it would run with new lines and a good carb cleaning. He also told me he had out run a cop with it years ago and ran out of gas, had to stash it in the woods while he went to get more gas and along comes the same cop that had been chasing him. He stopped him and asked if he had seen a guy on a snowmobile, he said nope and moved along. He was right about it running. I put new lines on it and gave the carb a good cleaning and it fired right up. I've been hooked ever since!
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Post by oldscorpman on Nov 22, 2014 13:36:17 GMT -5
my best friends parents were buying 2 new 73 superstingers in october of 1972 and offered me their 1970 mark II for $250.00 . their son, my best friend was getting his dads 1970 stinger with a 399 hirth in it and i had first chance on the mark II. i had about $200.00 dollars saved up from my paper route as i was 13 at the time and had to beg my dad for a fifty dollar loan for the rest. my dad said he would pay the $50.00 but that my 2 younger brothers would get to ride the sled 1 day a week . i said yes of course because all i could think of was having my own sled, even if it was a 75% ownership. we drove the heck out of the sled for 2 winters. i was working after school and weekends at a full service gas station by now and had saved up about $700.00 dollars so i let my 2 brothers have the mark II and bought my first new sled, a left over 1974 arctic el'tigre 295 for $695.00 and drove cats from then to now. i got back into scorpion sleds about 5 years ago when by pure dumb luck i came across the 70 mark II that i had originally bought in 1972 for $250.00 at the house of a kid that came to work by us. his dad had traded my brother a motor cyle for the sled and after tearing the track up parked it in his barn. when i went to look at it there was a registraton card with my brothers name on it in the rear seat trunk. i now have 5 scorpions and put on over 800 miles last year on vintage rides . it cost me 5 years ago $250.00 to buy my sled back.
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scorplover
L3 The Proven Snowmobile that never lets you down
Posts: 136
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Post by scorplover on Nov 22, 2014 14:15:02 GMT -5
That's a great story. I have 3 '75 Super Stingers, one red which was my first, a white and a blue. I hope to get one of each color that was offered. Thanks for sharing your story!
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Post by scorpionlilwhip on Nov 22, 2014 21:52:39 GMT -5
we got our first snowmobile winter 70/71, a Scorpion Stinger II 290. (it was magical to have a new machine in those days)
Our Dad became a dealer for them, as the welding outfit Dad was a dealer for became local distributor for the brand and they offered Dad a dealership, all he needed to do was get 2 sleds to be a dealer, he sold one and kept the other (the other was a '71 Mark)
After that we became fiercely brand loyal, we lived in the country and over the time Dad was dealer 8 sleds were sold by him.
Dad is a master mechanic and because of that any sleds we had were always running, and because of that our machines earned a reputation of extreme reliability in our neighborhood, it helped that Scorpions were/are a well build machine if properly maintained/used, any of our neighbors who did not have Scorpions spent a lot of time repairing their machines (they were poorly maintained and some machines were terrible, the Rustlers were very populous as well as moto-skis, the Rustler was a mive looking machine, but fragile, and the moto-ski'smodels in our area had a design flaw similar to the 73 Super Stingers)
Any of the Scorpions dad sold he maintained, those machines acquitted themselves well (thanks to Dad and Scorpion)
Our Scorpions because of all the factors mentioned became legendary in our area (pride also factored in as well, we always made sure our sleds were maintained in peak condition, in hindsight we likely could have kept most brands going, with the exception of those fragile Rustlers)
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scorplover
L3 The Proven Snowmobile that never lets you down
Posts: 136
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Post by scorplover on Nov 23, 2014 10:34:10 GMT -5
Another cool story, Thanks! A couple winters ago we got alot of snow overnight. My son fired up his Ski Doo Olympique and tryed to ride and it just barried its front end into the snow and wouldn't go anywhere. I pulled out the SS that's in my picture and it plowed through it like a tank. Once I had made some trails he was able to ride the Ski Doo. So, you're right they are a well built machine when properly maintained.
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Post by weverat on Nov 23, 2014 20:13:26 GMT -5
Great Stories!, My dad was a ski-doo Nordic 440 guy, he would trade for a new one every couple years, I had three brothers, we tag teamed the thing, and it took a good beating.But they were clumsy, hard to steer, and hard to start.
My buddy had a Scorpion, at the time we just knew it as a Scorpion, now I realize it was actually a 72 Stinger III with the 400 or 440 CCW, probably a 400 but not sure. It had the wide track and a big long seat. Some times we would ride 3 up, and 2 on the Fold-A-Sled, all the way to the river (about 3 miles). We would have a camp fire, and sneak a beer if we could find some. Man that thing was a work horse.
Strangely enough I can not remember ever fixing or adjusting the carb, I guess back in those days the old Waldos just worked ? We replaced wear bars, bogie's, springs, windshields, skis,and learned how to weld !
Later my other buddy had a 400 or 440 TK (the yellow one with Para-Rail), that thing worked good and was fast!
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Post by stinger440 on Nov 24, 2014 8:45:43 GMT -5
My Grandfather had 2 Scorpions he bought brand new, a 70 stinger and a 71 stinger II. They sat for years in his garage. I think '78 was the last registration on it before I got it. I went to college at Michigan Tech and lived right on Chassell bay. I asked if I could fix one up for Ice fishing. I got the Stinger II, put a carb kit on it and the ole 440 Sachs came to life. I rode that sled all over. Then when I graduated and had real money I picked up a 73 400 RV then another 71 then 80 Whip and well you know the rest.
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tkjoe
L3 The Proven Snowmobile that never lets you down
Posts: 117
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Post by tkjoe on Nov 24, 2014 18:09:00 GMT -5
Before my wife and I were married, we used to cruise the trails on a 77 Range Whip, looking back at all of the other Ski doo's. JD's , and Yamaha's I had owned as a teenager, That Range Whip gave me least amount of trouble,and we could fit both of us on it. Over the years I've owned Whips,TK's,TKX's,Stings and a Lil Whips. But the Tk's and Range Whips are my favorites. I am addicted to Scorpion's
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Post by pararailer on Nov 30, 2014 14:26:16 GMT -5
Why scorpion? Chic's dig em!
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Post by obj1 on Nov 30, 2014 21:23:58 GMT -5
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Post by pararailer on Nov 30, 2014 21:26:59 GMT -5
Nice!
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scorplover
L3 The Proven Snowmobile that never lets you down
Posts: 136
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Post by scorplover on Dec 1, 2014 19:51:35 GMT -5
You said it pararailer!
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Post by 75whip on Dec 1, 2014 21:48:45 GMT -5
Scorpion was not my very first sled, but my brother n law let me have his old 75 whip when he brought a indy trail and a pantera in 1990. The whip was my first reliable sled. I shot my first deer that year and used the whip to pull it out. I remember the Halloween storm in 91 driving it around with my buddy and his old free air colt, and drag racing up and down the 4 lane hwy by my house because no cars could get anywhere because of all the snow. I could beat any of my freinds in any race with it until one of them got a Txl. I think i put over a 2000 miles on it in the 4 years I had it. Man I drove that thing all over the place. I remember I was up north and passed up a guy on a new yamaha phazer I believe. Turns out he was trying to race me, and I dident even know I passed him up until i got to the edge of the lake a he was fliping me off and yelling at me. My older brother and brother n law saw the whole thing and where on the ground laughing about it. Gave it back to my brother n law when I was 16 dident do much riding after I started driving. He sold it a year or two latter wish i knew where it ended up, bacause It was in mint condition. Wish I new the serial number I would like to have it. Hope it did not get neglected. My best memories snowmobiling when I was a kid. Now I got another 75 whip and a few other scorpions just addicted to them. why scorpion? It was the only sled i had when i was a kid that always ran, and never broke down, pulled my freinds home when they broke down. Cant make memories when they dont work.
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scorplover
L3 The Proven Snowmobile that never lets you down
Posts: 136
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Post by scorplover on Dec 2, 2014 22:28:15 GMT -5
Great story. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by bubbanoz on Dec 3, 2014 21:49:14 GMT -5
hey obj1. isn't that a pic of a Yamaha girl there holding up the rake? shes cute but not a scorp chic. you and pararaler got it right though. chics do dig em! all you guys have such good stories about growing up with them. mine seems pretty dull! back in the day my dad brought home a 70 polaris mustang. had a big motor in it.(thinking it was a 634. i was pretty young). my buddys always used to make me ride in the back cause the damn thing would throw cleats out the back. when i was 13 i saved enough money from score keeping mens softball games to buy a 71 puma big mouth with the 440 sachs motor. thing was fast! i was beating all my buddys till one of em showed up with a blue whip. (i thought it was an ugly sled at the time!) that damn thing walked all over my puma! at 16 i sold the puma to buy my first car. a 69 mercury cougar. i loved that car. i never rode sleds after that until about 3 years ago. told the wife i wanted a vintage sled. she said sure what the heck. she had no idea what it would turn into. it was February and there was still no snow that year and i found an ad on c-list for a 70 mark 3 in foley. i had no clue as to what i was looking at. in fact, it scared me a little cause the metal tank was nasty and it had a big dent in it from hitting a stump. got it for 300 bucks!! brought it home and it fired on spray. my wife couldn't believe it. i cut the top of the tank open. cleaned it, fixed the dent. coated inside and welded back together. i knew nothing about how the drivers worked or the suspension so i just left it alone. dang thing didnt have a gas cap so i made an aluminum one at work and threw it on. there was a ride not far from my house so my wife and i took off to check it out. when i got there i seen this black 71 super stinger hood on a weird looking sled. turns out it was pararailers. he came over checking out my sled and asked where i got the cool gas cap. i said i made it. he says, can ya make another one? i said no problem. we've been great friends ever since. its been a blast. i got to have a part in building the make a wish stinger. I won a first place trophy with my first full build. Ive met a lot of great scorpion owners! I love scorps and all you great peps that own em and drive em! SCORPS RULE AND YOU GUYS ROCK!!!
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Post by obj1 on Dec 3, 2014 23:15:20 GMT -5
Bubbanoz. she might ride yamahas but is a scorpion girl at heart! She confided that in me. And she had no problem drinking scorpion juice from the trophy cup. Your scorpion story is awesome Bubbanoz. This hobby is lucky to have you and I don't care what pararailer says about you, I still like you!
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Post by ddub on Dec 5, 2014 19:45:45 GMT -5
In July 4th 69, a Silver metalflake Mark I chassis with a conglomeration of "non correct" parts was given away in Crosby at a Firemans raffel.
On July 4th 1969, my dad purchased this same sled from the winner and it has been in the family ever since. I learned to ride snowmobile on it.
It is the sled in my avatar.
Then they came out with RED METALFLAKE! Oh man, schwinnng
Big metalflake gets the chicks.
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Post by pararailer on Dec 5, 2014 22:09:06 GMT -5
In 1964 my grandfather was a salesman selling plumbing and heating products. He was in Crosby and noticed a small garage on main street was making snowmobiles. He stopped in and took a test drive on one of thier new machines across the street in the town park. He rode one with a 8hp and another with a 12hp engine. (I may be incorrect on the exact HP but anyways) He said the smaller one was plenty good for him! He got to talking with Glen Gutzman and to be a dealer, he said he needed to buy two sleds and 150 bucks worth of parts. My Grampa went home and talked to my gramas cousin and her father. He got a sled, my gramas cousin got a sled and his father in law got the parts. Our family dealership in Mora Minnesota opened in 1964 and lasted until about 1979. They received an award from scorpion for being one of the longest running dealerships. My Grampa and his brother in law raced every weekend and hired drives also. Later after my dad married into the family he also raced but mainly grass drags. I was born in 72 so was too young to remember the early days but was around scorpions my whole life. As a teenager I rode a 77 sting everyday after school. So for me, why scorpion? Its alwas been scorpion!!
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Post by obj1 on Dec 5, 2014 23:00:02 GMT -5
Nice story pararailer. My story is very similar to yours. I always said I liked scorpions when it wasn't cool. I would hide my sleds and never ever told my buddies I had some scorpions. I bought and rode ski doo just to fit in. I started to show some of my stuff when I seen a ad for a event called earl's jalopy ride in Medford wi. Then I hauled a bunch to the very first show in Waconia mn. That first Waconia show was in a gravel lot with very few sleds up the lake from its present location. Scorpions have been both joy and heartache for our family. The last several years have been some of the best for me. I thank each and everyone of you for that.
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Post by pararailer on Dec 6, 2014 10:52:04 GMT -5
Ha! Kept the scorps hiden. Love it.
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