Winter is here! Well, it’s not here but it’s near, at least the winter that involves snow and cold for a few million of us who live in areas that get snow. Here’s a way to make snow great again: it’s a 1970 Mercury 250ER. This fantastic vintage snowmobile is listed on eBay in Onamia, Minnesota and the seller has a very reasonable buy it now price of $800 set on this great sled. Let’s check it out.
The 1960s and 1970s were the era of cool, fun, unusual snowmobile designs when companies were trying anything to grab some market share. This unusual Mercury 250 design would give way a handful of years later to the Mercury Twister, that’s quite a change. These are such unusual snowmobiles, or sleds, as most of us in the upper-Midwest say. They aren’t unusual as in having any sort of inherent flaw or characteristic that’s bad or annoying, just unusual in looks, at least from the front.
See, have I lied to you yet? On purpose, I mean. That close-set twin-headlight cowl is so jet age. Mercury snowmobiles were the brainchild of Carl Kiekhaefer, maker of the famous Mercury outboard motors. By the late-1960s, there were hundreds of snowmobile manufacturers. The industry was absolutely booming until a couple of years of low snowfall put a lot of them to rest, unfortunately. Mercury made it for a few more years, and vintage sleds like this Merc, despite being, well, like old cars in that they’re clunky, usually ill-handling, not the safest, they smell like gas and exhaust all the time, they’re.. well, they’re fun!
The 250ER was the top of the line for Kiekhaefer Mercury at this time. For the record, the E was for electric start and R was for reverse. Fancy stuff for 1970, although some snowmobiles had both of those features several years prior to the 250. This example has “has very little rust on chrome and tunnel” according to the seller. They also mention the dry cracking on the track. The exhaust was unique in that it ran under the seat and exited out the back under the gas tank, which was also the backrest for the rear passenger, if there was one. The Merc, as did most sleds of this era, used a bogie wheel system for the track as opposed to the more modern and smooth slide system.
Powering the 250 was a 436 cc twin-cylinder with 25 hp, hence the 250 name. This one “turns over, but doesn’t run. It has good compression. It has been rewired, but it needs the trigger/pick up switch fixed or replaced to run.” These old sleds can almost always be made to run, I have no doubt that this one will be kicking up snow again, maybe this winter. Have any of you: A) Owned a snowmobile? B) Ridden a snowmobile if you haven’t owned one? C) Owned a Mercury snowmobile?
I have the same sled, I found it a few years back. The previous owner stored it properly so it took little effort to get back in running order. You are correct they are clunky to ride & you have to use your body weight to keep them upright even as slow as they are ( didn’t know any better in 1970). That being said, I enjoy putting around the woods here in Michigan. Never thought it was worth what he’s asking, hmm.
Added note; I was told by an “expert” that these were the first with aluminum tunnels ??? Still heavy as you know what.
Tried to load a picture of it in action, but I guess photos from my iPhone don’t work.
Upload the video to YouTube and then post the link.
No question who wrote this up. Where to start? A tad early to be talking snowmobiles, I haven’t even taken the GW for a last ride yet.( and may not even) Mercury made some kick-a$$ snowmobiles in the 70’s. This, unfortunately, was not one of them. I grew up in Wisconsin, and Mercury’s biggest competitor( in Wis.) was John Deere ( who also made neat sleds, btw)My back aches just looking at this sled, but for it’s intended purpose, which was puttin’ slowly through the woods pulling the kids in a sleigh, it worked. Hammerin’ down the trails, not so much. Not to say many didn’t cut their teeth on sleds like this, and they DID hammer down the trail, and have bad backs, like me, because of them.( ungroomed trails get incredibly rough) The “Sno-Twister” was the absolute king, with Rupp a close 2nd. Sno-Twister’s are highly sought after these days. I saw a 250 Sno-Twister( don’t let the 250 cc fool you, it smoked them all) at a drag race years ago, when the light turned green, this thing, with studded track, jumped 20 feet in the air when the guy nailed it. I had the Asian knockoff to the Sno-Twister, the Yamaha Exciter.
Bogie wheel suspension will make for wallowing handling, like Bmac says, and pretty straight forward operating controls ( off, run, start) and electric start and reverse are VERY handy, as the author states, that was quite a luxury in the 70’s. More than once, the day was over when the starter cord broke, and reverse, well, pretty self explanatory there. I miss snowmobiling a great deal, and may return to the UP of Mich., in part, because of that. I know, living in Colorado, you’d think it would be a hit, but it rarely snows where I am, and back in the mountains, is a bit tense. Could “go missing” REAL easy back there.
Today, snowmobiles have taken on an entirely different form, made to go FAST, comfortably. Biggest problem with today’s sleds, is stopping them, not much of an issue with these. Made for a simpler time, when barreling at break neck speeds to the next watering hole, wasn’t an issue.( not to say we didn’t) I know you Minnesotians will cringe, being home to Arctic Cat and Polaris, both great sleds, but as far as I’m concerned, Mercury was the best. Thanks, Scotty. Nobody picks them like you!
Living in Michigan all my life snowmobiles were a big part of our winter excitement, and having a family business manufacturing seats for these when everyone and the brother were building them we had plenty of the odd balls. My first was a 68 ski doo single cyl. I had two favorites Mercury twister & the Polaris free air.
Howard, do you remember the Gilson 423? They had a better idea, mount the engine ahead of the skis, didn’t work over 4 inches and it turn into a snow plow. How about a Tradewind tiger? throttle like to stick, good looking sled until it hit a tree a full tilt. I bailed!
Had a raider rear engine & a manta also rear (freeze your butt off in these). Stuck the manta between two trees took two hrs. to free it, last time I rode it!
Oh and Massey Ferguson built a good sled too.
Great write up Scotty, this is why I enjoy Barn Finds. It stirs up great memories!
Oh yeah, I remember the Gilson, made in Plymouth, Wis. and don’t forget Coleman Skiroule. Fact is, just about every small equipment maker tried their luck at snowmobiles. Remember AMF Harley’s entry? Columbia, Scorpion ( lousy sled), the M-F Ski-Whiz, the JD Liquifire, one of the 1st liquid cooled sleds, Suzuki made a nice sled, and Sno-Jet, that became Kawasaki, I even had an Evinrude Rotary, I got for nothing, and never did get it running, it had like 40 miles on it, but hands down, the best sleds I had were my Yamaha’s, and that’s what I’d go with today. Here’s a list of 70’s sled makers, many I’ve never seen, and I did a LOT of riding in the 70’s and 80’s
.http://www.vintagesnowmobiles.50megs.com/brochures.html
Just curious, did the sleds seem to go faster after the bars closed? :)
My father worked at Mercury for 43 years. Bought a 250 thru some deal at work when me and my two brothers were in our teens. Lived across the street from the Milwaukee river about 1/2 an hour north of Cedarburg. Great for running the river and trying to get in bars underage. I had a friend that had a Bolens Diablo. Now that was a strange sled.
Hi Doug, your dad must have known Carl Kiekhaefer. I heard he was a great guy and treated his employees fairly. He was especially fond of the truck drivers, as he knew full well, without them his business couldn’t exist. He would buy drivers lunch. I bet your dad participated in the “Evinrude meltdowns” at the company picnics,,,Carl was so proud his outboards were metal, as opposed to Evinrude plastic, they’d take an Evinrude, his old employer, btw, light it on fire, and watch it burn. He was a character, for sure. I picked up( or delivered to, I forget) to Mercury Marine, but Carl was long gone by then.
Howard, yes they did but had a tendency to aim at trees,rocks and any immovable objects. Lol
LOL is right Bac!
Of all the markets Honda went into, they never got into the snowmobile market. They did make a prototype, made in Wisconsin, no less, called the Honda White Fox. I think it looked kind of cool, better than the Chrysler Sno-Runner, for sure. Ever see one?
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hmn/2013/01/1973-Honda-White-Fox/3721111.html
Pretty cool, never seen one. But I do have a sno-runner, rode it once, spent more time on my butt then on the machine. All the “fun” I could stand.
I love the sno jet sst, the thing would wheelie with a 433, love all the old rigs
All I remember from my Grandparents old Polaris are the words. Don’t ride it out further than you want to walk home. The other block of instruction, if you hear the ice crack stay in the throttle.
Snow. Bah,humbug.
3/4 of the roads here closed in winter, every 1 knows the sled trails to needed spots (deer, bar, groceries, work). In that order 8^0
I remember these, they built a good sled for the time. Anybody remember that Homelite built sleds about this time also?
I remember the black round hood Scorpian my dad bought with a 24 horse single Rotax. If you didn’t use the decompression, it would almost break your arm pulling it over.
This is an example when old technology isn’t better. After a 25 or 30 mile ride you were just about beat to death. Good times.
Our first sled was a Homelite/Polaris with a 292 JLO as I recall. Slow and top heavy, it was soon replaced by a pair of Arctic Cats.
Hmm, I knew Homelite made sleds but don’t remember them being Polaris knockoffs. My 1st sled when I was 10, was a Polaris Charger, also single JLO, crummy clutch setup,always broke and would not run with the cowl in place.
http://davidsleds2.mysite.com/PAGE_21910.html
Most memorable moments riding our old Merc like this? Digging the damn thing out of soft snow.
With a narrow stance, no cleats on the tracks and the weight of the gas tank way out back I’d invariably get stuck in soft snow and have to dig and try to push the back end over onto a patch of harder packed snow. Came home sweaty and exhausted from far too many “rides”
Inspiration for the front end came from a bumper car.
Beat me to it, first thought was that front shot reminded me of an old bumper car.
Can you have the Mercury Blues for a snowmobile?
https://youtu.be/vHY0YxdswyY
Being a Michigander, I love snowmobiling and consider it the last frontier for legal speeding where you can cruise at triple digit speeds without the cops on your tail. Definitely risky though, as the collisions get pretty ugly and are often fatal. The new sleds are so comfortable with heated everything, including helmets, it’s also a great way to see nature that’s not accessible by car.
Had a SkiDoo 9500 for a while. Quite a fun machine!
Those Blizzards were fast machines. Had a lot of fun with SkiDoos. For an almost 40 year old sled,I’d still like to have one today.
http://www.vintagesnowmobiles.50megs.com/PP11273.html
I’ve had some great cars and bikes over the years but the most fun I ever had on a vehicle was on snowmobiles in Northern Maine. My first was a ’74 Artic Cat El Tigre 440, my last was a 1980 Polaris Centurion 500 triple, a very fast sled for the time. I haven’t ridden sled in a long time but if I were to ride again, I would try to find a vintage Centurion.
Love the look of this old Mercury; probably worth every bit of $800.
The farm I lived on in N.Wis.the guy had a 3 cylinder Polaris. Biggest POS. Oh, it was fast alright, if you could get it started that is. No electric start, pulled that thing for half an hour one day. And heavy, handled poorly, and lousy brake. Come to think of it, I didn’t care for any Polaris anything.
850 Scorpion Brut….. Damn it was fast!!!
I had one of these when I was in high school. It is worth noting that the reverse switch does nothing more than flip between the “Counter-clockwise” electric starter motor and the “Clockwise” electric starter motor. That’s right, two starter motors. “Reverse” is achieved by starting and running the engine BACKWARDS. The engine had mirrored pickups for the CDI pickup, and being a two-stroke it was perfectly happy to rev up in either direction.
That was about the only redeeming quality of the machine. It was slow, tippy, and a gas hog. In spite of the aluminum tunnel and high amount of magnesium in the engine, it was heavier than the equivalent machine from Evinrude, the Skeeter. Of course, this large amount of aluminum and magnesium was the downfall of my machine, along with the design flaw of having the fuel tank in the very back AND the exhaust system under the seat. I got away fine, but once it cooled down all that was left were the two steel skis in the front and a couple of spark plugs.
Isn’t that how golf carts go in reverse too?
Alberta has already received snow.
Predicted 2 feet back in the mountains tonight and tomorrow, only a dusting here in the valley. Happens every year, they say.
Great reading through these comments. Yes, I live in NH, but have only driven a sled once – in Colorado, up for a view of the Great Divide.
Last time I saw one of these was 1979 in Whitehorse Yukon, weird then too.
Being from Northern CA you would not think much about snowmobiles but when you have a friend that moved here from Northern Minnesota you can learn a lot and I did, had some good lessons and some fun times riding in the Sierras to places only a snowmobile could take you. Started out on an old Ski Doo from the 70’s and also had an old Rupp, then in 1990 bought a brand new in the crate Ski Doo Formula Plus, now that was a fun and good time! My friend bought a new Formula Mach 1, fast and furious at the time. This old Mercury looked like a grand old sled and would be one to restore and keep.
I had a brand new 1969 220. It was a great sled! Not sure I get where you guys got stuck all the time in it. I lived in Northern Maine with no sled trails to speak of back then and I only got it stuck once jumping drifts in a pasture. My fault. Took me an hour to shovel it out. That muffler under the seat was great for keeping hats and mittens warm. Had that sled for years. I could take 3-4 other kids on with me and go anywhere. It started on the first pull every time. Had a big windshield to keep you warm. I broke so many windshields we wound up buying a full sheet of plexi-glass to make new ones. The only thing I didn’t like was I could not beat a 16hp Oylimpic ski-doo!