At the end of February the Cranbrook Snowmobile Club held their annual Poker Run and Vintage Rendezvous – it was in fact the club’s 35th Annual Poker Run. Thanks to club member Doug Williamson, he shared some great photos of the old sleds with us here at SnoRiders.
As Doug explains, “There were very large numbers of old vintage sleds in attendance and from what I could see, the 1970 Ski Doo owned by Todd Jones was the “most minty” machine of all the oldies.”
He summed it up: "This was another very successful event for the Cranbrook Snowmobile Club and Kris Peltzer and Mike Sanderman and all their volunteers did a great job.”
So what about this “minty” looking 1970’s Ski Doo owned by Todd Jones?
Well, according to the Snowmobile Encyclopedia (I didn’t know there was such a thing?), “The 1970 Ski-Doo Nordic snowmobile was advertised as the sled “for the man who wanted luxury.” With a starting price of $1045 for the 399 Nordic, the cost was still a little less than the 399 T’NT designed for the “man who loved to race."
"One of the innovations Ski-Doo introduced on the 1970 Nordic was the polycarbonate hoods, instead of the traditional fiberglass. All of the Nordic line had 18 inch tracks, were 98 inches long and 35 inches wide. Already proven in popularity, the success of the Nordic series led to the 1970 introduction of the 35 horsepower Nordic 640E. The original 371E model was upgraded in 1970 to the 399E. Even with electric start, the Nordic sleds were relatively light, with the 399 weighing in at 360 pounds and the 640 ninety pounds heavier at 430. For the Bombardier company, 1970 marked the purchase of the Austrian plant that had supplied its engines since 1962—Rotax-Werk AG, which was renamed Bombardier-Rotax GmbH.”
So there’s some background on that “minty” Ski Doo of Todd Jones. Thanks again to Doug Williamson for his photo contribution. Got a vintage or old sled story or photo(s) to share? Just email [email protected]
