Wednesday, October 21, 2015

so much good stuff, a company truck, and the prototype Polaris snow mobile


Found on http://vintagesleds.com/photos/2011/oct/65prototype.jpg

the 1st 1956 Polaris snow mobile:

http://here4now.typepad.com/here4now/2011/07/minneapolisst-paul-mn-part-iii-minnesota-state-museum.html

In the U.S, Edward Hetteen’s Polaris Industries, originally a Minnesota-based farm machinery manufacturer, got its start in snowmobiles when some employees built one using a grain elevator conveyor belt track and a Chevy bumper ski.

 The eventual result was the Sno-Traveler.


The light blue 1959 Sno-Traveler on display in Hershey features full-length wooden skis and a rear crank to winch the tracks off the surface in the event it became stuck and some traction enhancement needed to be inserted underneath it. Powered by a rear-mounted 9-1/2 horsepower Kohler single-cylinder four-stroke engine, the gas tank on this model does double duty as the driver’s backrest.

http://www.lancasterfarming.com/B1207-vintage-snowmobiles#.Vifxz36rSM8

9 comments:

  1. It is a real pic-- I have a copy of the original. But it has been doctored. It's popular lately to photoshop vintage photos by slamming the vehicles in them.

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    1. thanks! I haven't seen that trend pop up yet on old photos... just new photos of old cars. They did a good job!

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    2. can you email me the original? jbohjkl@yahoo.com so I can compare the photos for the phone number?

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  2. The snowmobile looks like an early Polaris, which had the engines mounted in the back. I was just at Polaris in Roseau, MN last week, and they have a small museum and visitor center there. They had a few snowmobiles like this on display. The wheels and stance on the truck look photo-shopped to me.

    I'll ask one of my contacts if he's seen this picture before.

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  3. http://vintagesleds.com/polaris-protoype/

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  4. The second machinevpictured here is NOT the first Polaris snowmobile.

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    Replies
    1. it is carefully labeled, the 1st 1956 Polaris. Now, it's not the earlist Polaris, it's the 1956 sled that came off the line 1st. See?

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