Updated 9/17/06
Since the story below was first written some significant changes have taken place.
The Skiroule 250 Sno Pro is now in the Jerry McGee collection.
The image below was taken at the Saranc NY show in the summer of '06
The 340 Skiroule is now owned by my good friend "Skiroule Pete" Purych of Ontario. I've added the story of our trip to get the sled below.
Below on this page ,following these updates ,is the original article on the restoration of 2 of the rarest sleds on the planet.
It was just a sled purchase for Pete's sake ...
Originally posted on 9/6/06
Things got pretty hectic around here earlier this month following the sale of a particular Skiroule to a friend of mine.
I'm sure many of you already know , but for those who might not , my buddy " Skiroule Pete" is the proud owner of a 1976 Skiroule Sno Pro. I had the good fortune to go along on the trip to pick up the sled and bring it back to the RetroSno .com showroom.
Here's a few pics from our road trip.
This is what you look like when you arrive to pick up your " new " sled.
First pic of Pete with his sled.
It's imperative that one gets all the information as to the proper care of a Skiroule I.F.S.
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Loaded up and ready to head back to Maine.
One last look from Scott......
**********
An uneventful trip back " home" had us unloading the Skiroule late at night.
The next day gave me the opportunity to take some "Ego pics" with the Sno Pro in our showroom.
Of course the usual posing went on...
Skiroule Pete..Still smiling....
The last time I got to sit on a Skiroule Sno Pro was at the Paul Bunyan Open in Bangor , Maine in 1976...That time it was Jacques' 250....Just after he had smacked all 3 Team Arctic drivers in the 250 Super Mod...I was 12 then...
One last close up.
The transaction involving this sled caused quite a stir in the hobby. A lot of people had a lot to say about the whole thing and a few had a lot to say and knew nothing about the individuals directly involved . A handful that spouted off probably could'nt find their own butt with both hands and a road map.
Here's the final word gang....
The pics above are the result of one man waiting nearly 2 decades for this moment. Those years were filled with nothing but hard work. That's how he got to this point.
I was fortunate enough to get asked to help out and go along for the ride. In that process I witnessed my closest friend ,( More of an adopted family member , really) , realize his dream.
It was a wonderful thing to be a part of.
Many thanks to Skiroule Pete for letting us have the sled for display for a while and to our many fellow vintage enthusiasts that didn't get caught up in the petty behavior.
Congratulations " Brother Pete" !!!
You deserve it !!!!
The Skiroule Sno Pro's
A lot of noise has always been made about the 1977 Polaris Sno Pro sleds being the first appearance of an independent front suspension in professional snowmobile racing. While alot of credit is due to the team from Roseau , a much more accurate description of the impact of the '77 Polaris Sno-Pro sleds & the subsequent RXL's would be that they exhibited the first instance of domination of an IFS sled in oval racing.
The automotive type IFS had been around snowmobile racing for quite some time before Polaris perfected it. Chaparral brought out IFS in it's 1972 & 1973 factory Mod racers & the Villeneuve brothers had an IFS on the 1974 Alouette twin track Sno-Pro sleds. It should come as no surprise that the first truly effective IFS set up came from the Villeneuve camp.
In the fall of 1975 , the new owners of Skiroule Ltee., HMK Group. , decided to re-introduce the brand to professional snowmobile racing & who better to lead the team than Gilles & Jacques Villeneuve ?
Along with race director Peter Hill , the Villeneuve brothers put together a classic underdog team that would go on to set the "big factories" on their ass on more than one occasion.
1976 Skiroule magazine advertisement.
The first strike by the Skiroule team came on the week end of January 24-25 , 1976 at Lancaster , NH. Gilles Villeneuve made a clean sweep of all Super Mod classes at the 12th Annual International Grand Prix Kilkenny Cup races.
Younger brother Jacques took the reins the following week-end at the Paul Bunyan International Open in Bangor , Maine by passing all 3 Team Arctic drivers in turns 1 & 2 to win the Super Mod 250 class. Skiroule had it's first major Sno-Pro win !
Februaury of 1976 brought more accolades to the Skiroule Sno-Pro team as Gilles won 6 of the 8 Sno Pro events held that week end in Quebec City & Montreal. The 1976 season wrapped up with Gilles finishing 3rd overall in the Sno-Pro points standing.
Hopes were running high for the 1977 model year with Skiroule's wins in the '76 Sno Pro races & rumors of a liquid cooled Laser consumer model being in the works, but it was not to be. Skiroule's owners , HMK Group, used the company for a cash cow , went bankrupt and production ceased in the spring of 1977. The Skiroule Sno-Pro racers were sold off during the liquidation of assets , Gilles Villeneuve went on to further his Formula I auto racing career and Jacques would show up on the Kawasaki Sno Pro for the 1977 season.
That brings us to the story at hand. It 's fortunate for us that the Skiroule Sno Pro sleds survived. It is known that some of the Skiroule's saw oval action in 1977 with the Cote Racing Team out of Ontario.
Photo above property of SnowTech Magazine : Used with permission
I don't know how many of the racers were purchased at auction by the late Fern Cote , but the unofficial story is that it was more than one and the sleds were sold off following Fern's passing.
After spending time in the hands of various race teams on a number of different race venues , the existing Skiroule Sno-Pro's were acquired by the father & son team of Doug & Scott McLlwain.
(shown below)
( www.rtxdoug.com )
Currently the Jacques 340 Skiroules resides at Image Enterprises in Eagle River , WI .
Image Enterprises owner , Bob Kloiber , purchased this one from Scott McLlwain.
The Gilles 250 is in the Bombardier Museum
The Jacques 440 is owned by Brad & Keith Warning & is on display at the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame Museum in St. Germaine , WI
The Gilles' 440 Skiroule is currently awaiting restoration in an undisclosed location.
The restoration of Gilles Villeneuve's 340 was undertaken by owner Scott Clarkson of Chichester , NH. This is the sled we will follow on it's road back to life. the other skiroule that appears here , the Jacques 250 , is owned by Scott's buddy , Rob Young .Scott is known here in the Northeast as a guy who does'nt make much hullabaloo about what he's working on. Scott likes to spend time caring for a small but pristine collection of race sleds , spending time with his family snowmobiling , and working with his young son restoring snowmobiles & classic muscle cars.
If you spend even a couple of hours at Scott & Wanda Clarkson's home , you will experience what this hobby is all about....
The people !!
Now for the story on Scott's Skiroule Sno Pro.
Scott started with no more than a barley salvagable, torn up chassis.
Factory stampings in 5 locations identified the chassis as that of Gilles' 340
A staggering number of components needed to be fabricated & re-created for the little Skiroule.
The slide suspension skid frame
The fuel tank
The hood
Months of labor started to bring things together.
The true test of Scott & Rob's restoration skills came the last week-end in January at the races in Canaan , NH. Jacques villeneuve was racing that day so the guys loaded up the little Skiroules & headed out in hope to get Jacques to check them out.
Jacques poses with the sleds.
Gilles 340 /w/ Jacques autograph.
" In Gilles memory"
Scott Clarkson wins theNHSMA 2005 Peoples Choice trophy with his newly restored 1976 Skiroule IFS Sno-Pro.
Another shot of the then Clarkson owned '76 Skiroule Sno-Pro.
Images from Rob Young's restoration of the Jacques Villeneuve 1976 Skiroule Sno Pro
Could you start with any less of a sled ??
Just plain depressing ...
The reconstruction starts..
Bare bones
Damn ,,those pipes look good !
It's looking better all the time !!!
( Nice hat , Rob)
We'll have this sucker running in no time !
Anybody recognize that green hood in the background ??
Looking alot like a race sled...
Damn !...I know this thing fits.....
A true friend is one that will help you indulge you passion !
Say nothing about getting stuck with sanding a hood !
Serious progress showing up now !
It looks mean just sitting there !
The Jacques 250 in all it's glory.
