My retro build: Sno Pro 600 triple 141" -99

[Bearcat]

Started to build retro sled out of parts laying around my carage. Sled is Sno Pro 440 -99 and engine is ZRT 600 -97. I want 2.25" lug 141" track so I needed to swap the chassis. I had one ZR 600 -02 chassis laying around and it was perfect for this setup. Sno Pro chassis can't take 2.25" lug so this was "must to do". I wanted to save the original chassis if I want to turn back to stock some day... I also changed wide front end from ZR 600 -02.

Because this will be "High Country Crossfire" it needed some running board modifications. For this mod I bought set of runningboard inserts and M series rolls.

My back doesn't like old school driving position/style so it needed to be changed. I moved the tank as far forward as possible. Now it's located next to upper drive axle. Tank moved about 13cm forward and driver position will be way more as the seat will be higher. I need to do my own seat but so far I use M-series seat.

Here's the situation at the moment. The engine is there but pipes are not. Track is stock 307cm long for now as I couldn't find 7 teeth 3" drivers. Tunnel is extended and cooling system is build for 141" long 15" wide track and track is waiting in the carage so this short track setup is just temporary until I find those drivers.

EDIT:
Changed the topic name to match current setup

 

[Bearcat]

Tried to fit stock pipes under the hood - seems it will not be the easiest task to do. Does anybody know if some aftermarket pipes would fit under this small Sno Pro hood?

 

[sprockethead]

An Aaen exhaust system will be the easiest to put in that chassy. It is not the best aftermarket exhaust for the ZRT6 motor though. The PSI or DD is a better performance mod for the motor but will require cutting, rewelding to fit well under that twin hood. Good Luck, and keep us updated on your project!

 

[Bearcat]

Thanks. Messed with stock pipes couple of days ago and seems they can be fit there. Two pipes goes with minor mods but one needs major cutting and welding. I'll post more pictures after there's some progress.

 

[arcticcatwill]

I put a thundercat 1000 motor in a king with stock pipes. 7 cuts in one pipe, start with the outside pipe. Keep laying all of them in to keep a good idea of where they will go. Sawsall and a decent weld is all you need.

Heres my build pics if it helps.

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=317168

Will

 

[Bearcat]

Thanx for the tip

I've been rethinking the engine as track will be CE 153" instead of 141" challenger. Small 600cc triple will be underpowered for that track... somehow I'd like to go turbo way There's good old wildcat 700 engine laying around. But would it be good engine to turbo? I also have cylinder scored ZR 500 APV engine laying around. With turbo and 600cc (or some bigger bore) cylinders it would be one option too. I have never played with any turbo stuff so this would be my learning journey to turbo world.

People - Any suggestions which way to go? Also what turbo would suitable for which engine? I drive only in tight trees so engine must be snappy. No monster power needed. I've been thinking Garret 2860 but what AR etc?

 

[Reeb]

Hey buddy! I didn't know you were building another sled!

laguns and Chad from CR Racing used to turbo the 700 twins way way back in the day. I doubt they would be much help, but they did it will some success.

I like what you did with the running boards, very clean. You also moved the tank to a similar spot as I did on my sled. Makes for a totally new feel for those old sleds. But you know that already!

As for the motor not being able to turn that 153, I think you'd be surprised. Geared properly, those 600's can be great little rockets on the bottom end, as well as top end.

Let's see what you ended up doing this summer!

 

[Bearcat]

Thanx Reeb Yes, the steering/tank/driver position change makes these old irons almost feel like new ones I think I'll suprise my driving pals next winter with this little sled...

After thinking over this project I decided to stick in original plan and this sled will be 141" and 600cc triple. There's no progress during summer as I'm still waiting for the drivers. Hopefully I'll get those before winter. I'd like to put M-series 141" float skid under this to keep weight down. Haven't found the skid yet - honestly haven't searched one too much... Also 700cc kit would be nice too.

Here's baby meeting the snow for the first time:

 

[Idcatman3]

Just to warn you, we had locating pin issues with the pistons in the 700 big bores for the 600 triple. That was going on 10 years ago now, so maybe it's not an issue anymore, but I thought you should know.

I almost think it was a problem at Weisco for a few years, because we went though about 15 pistons in 4 engines in 2 years.

 

[Bearcat]

Ok thanks

 

[Bearcat]

Some progress with this sled: All plans goes into trash can

Now I have 800 EFI engine which may be turboed later. Before that the sled needs to be build. I ported the engine and case as well increased timing 3 degrees. Some pics during progress:

Timing advanced:

Changed the tank to REV SDI tank. AC fuel pump sits there like it's been there allways.

Made over the tank steering supports and going to do front side supports too so the chassis will be quite rigid.

Dropped and rolled the chaincase/jackshaft to accept CE 153 track.

Also made DIY float rear arm bit touhger than stock one. At the moment the rails are stock short ones but hopefully they'll be replaced with some other rails

Also shortened the running boards and moved the steering as far forward I could to still keep the old hood. I think this sled will be nice retro style mountain machine

Now I'm moving engine about 4cm towards center line of the chassis to get better side balance to improve sidehilling both sides. To be continued

 

[Bearcat]

The engine on it's Place. It still needs mount between jackshaft and motor. It's funny how far lef the engine is in the stock form. What has been the engineers point when they designed this? Steering post bottom mount needed to move to right and made curve to post to fit throttle bodies.

 

[j()()se]

Engine placement pretty much dictated by the driven clutch position. Can't really move the driven clutch closer to the center of that sled, so that's just where the engine ends up being.
Cool build! I like the use of the Rev Sdi tank!

 

[Bearcat]

Thanks I like the REV tank too - especially combined with Sno Pro racer steering support plate. They fit together really nice.

Sure the driven clutch axle determs the Place for engine but the only limitating in side position was the PTO side rear motor mount design After rethinking that it was easy to move the engine and shorten the jackshaft.

Still need to put some waterhoses and it's ready to startup! All the wiring etc is there already.

 

[Bearcat]

First pic taken outside

Made seat storage, but it's too high. I'll cut it down from back. It will be covered with foam and old style seat cover to match retro style.

 

[Bearcat]

The seat still is not ready and there's some fuel problems (pickups inside tank grabs air time to time). It was nice weather some days ago so took a new pic

 

[Bearcat]

Finally first trip to nowhere with this sled is a true story Actually, I was suprised how nice it was to drive. Ofcourse there's things to improve, but seems there's potential. Most positive things were handling both trails and off trail. It sidehills nicely and keeps the line as long as you want and reacts to driver inputs easily to change the direction.

But the to-do list is still quite long:
- Narrow front end. Need to cut 15-20cm from ski stance. I tought I'll do it By moving the A-arms towards center line as much as I can so I can keep the long A-arms and shocks. This requires major chassis changes.
- PCV! Bottom end is pig rich
- Track jumps over, need to pay attention there
- More backshift is needed. Drive line needs tweaking
- etc...

Here's short clip in action.
http://youtu.be/pfmmcMJEj1E

And pic after rolling over

 

[Bearcat]

Some progress again. Got PCV for M8/M1000. There's no PCV available for this old iron so I needed to make my own.

HUGE KUDOS for Power Commander especially for their technical support (TJ) for helping me out. Their customer care is top class. Also the product itself is quality made which I can honestly say after having some time with it tearing it apart. Keep up good work guys

I needed to modify the PCV wiring to match it with ZR ECU. After soldering and repinning the connectors I managed to get the sled running and leaning out the bottom end. I put -35 to idle rpm which tells quite well how far away the stock map was The rest of the map is still stock and waiting for Autotune to get it dialed in.

Here's a shoot of rewiring process:

 

[Reeb]

TJ is a real good dude.

-35 on the bottom end? That's amazing! We have a 800 EFI in The Nasty Frog and I was thinking of using a piggyback set-up to add fuel where we needed when we do a 975. I had no idea it would be so rich in stock form. Let's hear what the rest of your numbers end like! Interesting!

 

[Idcatman3]

The 8 and 900 carbed motors are really rich on the bottom end also. We've got pilot jets leaned out a ton from where they come stock.