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1982

8K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  Homer J 
#1 ·
These are some pictures of my 1982 El Tigre prototype.

Some back ground....I first learned of this particular sled back in 1991, I then lost track of it. I tracked it down again in 2003 and this time got it purchased. I am the 4th owner of this since it was sold on the Arctic Enterprises liquidation auction back in the early 80's. It has been a "daily driver" for each of the previous owners. It has over 6000 miles on the odometer!

At one point after the original engine had broken down, this sled even had a (cough) Polaris fan-cooled engine in it. Miraculously, the sled owner had the forsight to save the entire original engine, mounts, exhaust, etc; even though the crank was broken. After purchasing it, I had the original crank rebuilt and put the entire package back in the sled.

After great debate, I did have the hood refinished. For the most part, as much of the sled as possible has been left as original so as to try to preserve as much of the historical accuracy as possible. This 1982 was an "engineering" sled and not a picture/display model. Thus, it has the 1981 Tigre seat and not the 82 style as in some of the show pictures that exist today. This sled is serial numbered as a 1981 model. A fellow collector in MI has an 82 like this that is only 2 VIN numbers apart from mine, the sleds are nearly identicle in every way.

There are many things that make this proto unique..The 500 l/c engine has a "sand cast" lower end so as to accept the oil pump. Arctic had never yet offered an oil injected El Tigre at the time this was being developed. As a matter of fact, it was the 1986 model year before they actually did offer an oil injected Tigre. This also has an experimental oil tank over the driven clutch, a production sled never used this design.

This sled also has a never-produced dash/console that was being developed, it is a slightly "flatter" design. The hood is a design that never made it to production either, even though some of the 1986 models have some similarities. This sled uses a "nosecone", these had not previously been on a production Arctic. The belly pan on this model was destined to be redisigned and produced of TPR rubber. The belly pan on this proto looks as if it may be an 80 Panther pan that was widened out to serve as a starting point for further production.

Various holes in the side of the tunnel lead me to believe that different skid frames may have been in this sled at some point. Even though it was still a leaf springer, I think that Arctic would have been onto something big had they been able to release this model.



Compliments of vintagesleds.com
 

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#2 ·
that sled is Tom Rowlands. Tom runs an Arctic dealership in MN. http://www.thomassnosports.com/

He also has a 1982 Puma in the vintage section. Another great find. I have seen his sled collection and it is nothing less than incredible. Plus I have bought MANY parts from him for various projects over the past few years. If he doesnt have it, he knows where to find it or it doesnt exist! :thumbsup:
 
#7 ·
Hi all, I am logged in here under my sons account name. I now have a picture of my group of 1982 Arctic Cat prototypes as they were lined up and displayed at the Thief River Falls MN show in May 2009. From the left side...1982 El Tigre 6000 oil injected, 1982 Cougar 500 fan, 1982 Pantera Liquid, 1982 Jag direct drive and the 1982 Puma direct drive. It has taken me 10 years to get my 82 collection this far, and have had lots of fun along the way. A number of fellow collectors along the way have helped me locate parts, information, photos, engineering notes, etc on this group of sleds and I am grateful to each and every person for this. Please contact me with any comments/etc on any of these, I love to talk old Arctic Cats. I have closer pictures of each of these at my website www.ThomasSnoSports.com. Thanks, Tom Rowland.
 

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#8 ·
Tom-

That is AWESOME! What were the differences on the 1982 Pantera's engine verses the 1985-89's? Was there ever a 1982 Panther prototype made by Acrtic Enterprises before they went bankrupt?

I really enjoy the pic's!

7up
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the kind words 7up. The engine in our 82 Pantera is essentially the same as the engine in the 1985-1989 Panteras, maybe some small detail difference. There were at least a few 82 Panthers produced. I have personally seen an 82 Panther liquid right here in central MN but have lost track of it in the last few years. I have also spoke to a man in WI that owns an 82 Panther liquid with direct drive. Ironically, the engineering notes that I have do not even indicate that a liquid 82 Panther was in the plans for that model year, just the 440 fan...so goes the world of pre-production models and prototypes. Of course Aktiv of Sweden produced the 82 Panther Long Track in that market. It will be fun to see how many more 82s may/may not turn up in the coming years. I have read with interest the great story you posted about getting your 1985 El Tigre back, that is great! Oh yea, since we have last spoke...I have gotten a fairly decent 1989 El Tigre 6000, much better than the one in the back lot. It is just a production model, not as rare as yours. I can see myself having fun with this thing at some point though. Call ahead and stop in again sometime. Tom Rowland.
 
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