The idea of taking a vehicle made out of sheet metal through the water is a little worrisome to me, but Terra Jet has been making such vehicles for decades. Not to mention that there are Amphicars and other similar half-land-half-sea rides. The seller has this 1975 Terra Jet AV6 amphibious ATV posted here on craigslist in Eupora, Mississippi and they’re asking $5,000. Here is the original listing. Thanks to Lee B. for sending in this tip!
This was never a military vehicle, the previous owner just painted it like that. I could live with that but I’d probably prefer it to be more original-looking myself. That’s a weird quirk of mine. I like to relive the past as it was, not as a modified version of what someone else likes but again, that’s just me. There is something cool about this one being painted like a former Army vehicle, though.
* Just as a heads up, some sources say that the VA6 model came out in the 1980s so I’m not positive about the year but the seller calls this one a 1975 model.
Beginning in 1969, a Canadian company in Quebec started making the Terra Jet, and even on the Terra Jet website, they show it with and without a hyphen between Terra and Jet so I’m not quite sure what the correct version is. Also, between the VA and 6, as in either VA6 or VA-6. A company in Louisiana started selling their ATVs in 1973 in the southern US and they were very successful. In 1994, they ended up buying out the company and they still exist today. We saw an earlier version here on Barn Finds a few years ago and I regret not bidding on that one.
Some of these VA6 models and others had three seats with the center driver seat as you see above and a single bucket seat on each side of that. The company makes 4×4 and 6×6 vehicles all with front steering wheels. You can see how relatively simple the controls are and this steering wheel needs a little help but don’t we all. The seller has owned this one for the last few months and they have done some work on it even though it was a running 4×4 when they bought it. It could still use some fine-tuning. Again, couldn’t we all?…
This one has the original 16-horsepower Tecumseh single-cylinder and centrifugal clutch but they say a different-size belt would make a difference in its performance. The company also offered an 18-hp two-cylinder Briggs & Stratton and a 10-hp Wisconsin single-cylinder diesel. This one has an interesting gas tank setup and here’s a photo of the battery and battery compartment. It all looks pretty good to me and I don’t have a use for this or any place to use it, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want it! Have any of you owned an ATV like this Terra Jet?
When i see these Argo type amphibian vehicles i go straight to the Trailer park boys episode where they’re running dope to Maine via hobby railway train 🚋 set…lol ..and run into the Law driving one of these utility rigs.
Trailer Park Boys – guilty pleasure.
Most of the cars on the show are missing at least one door.
Fun vehicles.
I have a 1974 Terra Jet!
When i was younger i had something close to this, but it had 6 wheels, i think it was a Amphicat.
I was searching for some ideas for my TJ, and ran across this article. I actually bought this very machine from Lee in June of 2022. It’s a really cool rig, and super fun to drive. Sadly I haven’t driven it much or had much time to work on it, and it’s spent most of its time in the shed. The carb runs rich/rough, and it’s pretty much impossible to find parts to fix it. If I can’t find a suitable replacement I’ll likely replace the engine with a 22HP Predator (if it will fit). I’m also going to remove the go-cart seat and try to build an original style seat. A lot was done by someone before Lee bought it, as the headlights are missing as well as some switches. I’ve become more motivated to get it running lately since we’ve got a lot of swamps and sloughs on our property to play in.
I just stumbled upon a 1970 Terra-Jet 400e on facebook marketplace, the twin cylinder 26hp engine is seized up. Needs a ton of work. If I buy it my plan was to install a snowmobile engine. I’ve got several twin cylinder sleds to steal a engine from, both air and water cooled! My old mod sled is just a belly pan and part of a tunnel. But the 650cc Wildcat engine, supposedly built to a 720cc with 100+ hp. Using that engine might be to much, if so I can snag a fan cooled engine from an old early 90 Arctic Cat. If I buy it, I’ll definitely need some help finding parts, this one is kinda rough!…from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 👋🤠