With a -30 wind chill as I write this, I have to admit that I would still love to own and ride this big, luxurious snowmobile right now. Heavy on the love part, and heavy on the heavy part, at just under 700 pounds. This 1973 Ski-Doo Elite can be found listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $7,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
I thought this location looked familiar. I recently ran across this gent here on YouTube, Not Normal Nick. Being a vintage snowmobile fanatic, I had to watch the video here of him finding this first-year 1973 Ski-Doo Elite, bringing it back to his shop, and digging into it. Then, part 2 can be seen here, where he gets it running like a charm, and leaves enough left for the next owner to do.
Seeing this photo is when I knew I had seen this rare deluxe two-seater Elite before; the house in the background is the same one shown in the videos on his test runs. Ski-Doo made the Elite for 1973, and we saw one nine years ago here on Barn Finds. The snowmobile industry was in a severe downturn in the early 1970s, so Bombardier already had the ’74 Elite in design and production, and it’s a much sleeker design. They introduced it again as a 1975 model, and then they went away until 1978. Oddly enough, we saw one of those here on Barn Finds back in 2019. You can see that the ’78 model was all gussied up like a Ford LTD II or similar late’70s car, with faux woodgrain everywhere.
Sitting side-by-side wasn’t new for snowmobiles; there had been other attempts at making a posher riding experience. Bombardier seemed to have a magic touch, and the Elite is hard to find these days, and when they do come up for sale, they aren’t cheap. The folks in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada – home of Bombardier – designed the Elite for a new series of wide trails in Canada, almost like a highway for snowmobiles. There was no breaking a trail through the deep snow or through the woods; they were groomed trails, perfect for this heavy, wide sled.
The engine is a Rotax 436-cc twin with 30 horsepower, electric start, and reverse. It wasn’t much power to spin two 15-inch tracks and two riders, along with a 682-pound weight on its own. This one runs and operates great (please watch the YouTube videos if you have time), but there is one headlight out, and the taillights and cigar lighter aren’t working. Those will have to be checked out by the next owner. Have any of you owned or ridden in an Elite?
Very COOL!!
Literally!
First off….. A -30 Wind Chill!!! Yikes!!! Secondly. This is a cool side by side Scotty. I’ve never seen one of these before, so it’s a treat to be able to see one here. It’s in amazing shape for a ’73.
Lothar and SG team up yet again on a great find. 👍 is that a rollbar on there ?
I expect to hear from Howard A. On snow mobiles for sure. I have not seen his take in a week I think. I like to hear what he has to say about unusual things. Does anyone know if he is ok?
This is the first year Elite so check that serial number. Serial number 1 is in a private collection now but it would be fun to see how early this one is. I had a chance to drive one of these trail riding 20 years ago and it was really fun. Late in the 70’s they added oil injection which was a big plus. In the early 2000’s Ski-doo built new ones for two years and they were VERY impressive sleds and now very desirable and expensive collector items.
Back in the early 80s I bought a partially built log cabin in ski country. It was at the top of the “mountain” (about 1,000 feet tall). I was in my early 20s and it was my first real estate purchase…. and it turned out my road was not plowed in winter. I made friends with my new neighbour Bing, who had a collection of snowmobiles and all kinds of other vehicles and machinery. He sold me a 1973 Ski-doo Elite for $500(on the condition I sell it back to him if I didn’t need it), and let me park at his place to access my cabin. The Elite was perfect for the job, as long as I stayed mainly on the roadway. It was not good in really deep snow. My Elite was in about the same condition as this one. I sold it back to Bing about 2 years later when I realized it made more sense to sell the cabin, and by a home in the city.
I am now semi-retired and our country home has snowmobile trails running through our wooded property. We bought a new Arctic Cat 2-up, but I still miss the Elite. I have been looking for a while, and have found several within a 2-hour drive during the past few years. Good ones are not cheap. Decent first gen models begin around $5K, with third gen (2004-2005) getting $20K++.
Wouldn’t want to get this stuck!
Tubby Wubby was a sled,
Tough to steer I’ve heard it said,
Weighing in somewhat like lead,
Six hundred something pounds of dread.
They say two tracks are better than one,
Double your pleasure, double you’re fun,
Twice the work and thrice the price,
But you can drive it backwards and that’s pretty nice.
All good things shall come to pass,
All Tubby needs now is a tank of gas,
Done to run before she’s dead,
Tubby Wubby’s one big ass sled.
When these were new, they were the cost of two or more snowmobiles. Shockingly high, yet they sold. These are purpose built people haulers for the snow and they work really well! At my dealership in Truckee, Ca, I regularly serviced these for several ski areas and also for home owners on trails that weren’t plowed. Even old ones were low mileage and usually in clean condition. They lived an easy life.
They were geared quite low, and the top speed was perhaps 40MPH on a packed trail. But they trundled along down the roads very well.
They weren’t much good off road with deep snow and even though they had a very light footprint with the twin tracks they could get stuck pretty easily because the track had very low lugs. Taller paddles might help, but give a rough ride, need more power and get you stuck further in. Once stuck they were NO FUN to unstick!!.
They didnt have a lot of power, I think 56 HP. If I recall, the later versions had some sort of cab and the engine fan heat outlet blew into the seating area to help warm the occupants. For the right situation this is the perfect snowmobile, especially hauling a trailer.
For a used snowmobile, this is a lofty price, but there just isn’t much in this class to do the job it is designed for. A UTE with tracks would do it better/faster. But a LOT more cost.
Sold, sold, sold! I’d love to have one of these someday. Sadly, the somedays are getting fewer the older I get.