It’s never too early for snowmobiles, as far as I’m concerned. NW Iowa Kevin must feel the same way, as he sent in the tip for this 1971 Sno-Pony ASV Convertible, reconfigurable snowmobile/ATV. This unusual thing is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Brookings, South Dakota, and the seller is asking a very tempting $1,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks for the great tip, NW Iowa Kevin!
Brookings is a good four hours from me, so probably $500 in shipping, bummer. If this were local, I would probably make an offer on it. I’d love to have this oddball; they don’t come up for sale too often. I’ve only seen one in person, and that was at a local vintage snowmobile show a few years ago during a pretty light winter, snow-wise. The Sno-Pony was originally conceived as a way to have two small snowmobiles for the price of one normal-sized one. Needless to say, that idea wasn’t too popular, and the company eventually branched out to making “normal” snowmobiles. It’s 69 inches long, so just over 5.5 feet, making it a tough fit for a car trunk, but easy as pie for a pickup or SUV to carry it to the trail.
Production began in 1968 in Minneapolis as Couparral Corporation with these small, lightweight (around 150 pounds) Sno-Pony models known as the Colt, with unique front-cross leaf springs (“torsion bar ski suspension”). Eventually, things picked up when they came out with other models, and the company even held the world record for the fastest speed traveled on snow in 1970 with a rocket-powered “snowmobile”, which wasn’t really a snowmobile, sort of like Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon “motorcycle” jump wasn’t really on a motorcycle. This little four-season runner has nickel-plated bogie wheels for longer life than usual.
As the vintage snowmobile world went in the 1970s, a few years of poor snowfall created issues, and a lot of companies went out of business or were bought out by bigger companies. Sport Power, Inc., a division of Gravely and Studebaker company, bought Couparral and continued manufacturing these unique snowmobiles. The small Colt morphed into something they referred to as the ASV (I’m assuming “All Sport Vehicle”) and was known as the ASV Convertible. It could be converted from a snowmobile with track and skis to a three-wheeled ATV-type vehicle in about an hour with just 10 bolts, for the summer months. It was a great idea and a way to try to keep business flowing year-round.
The company offered these unusual ASVs in 1971 and 1972, and after that, the company declared bankruptcy. The ASV part (wheels, etc.) added about 100 pounds and it’s powered by a 16.5-hp single-cylinder, and sold for around $750 new. The seller says it runs good and everything “pretty much works,” but I’m not quite sure what that means. Does it have the original skis for the front? We don’t know, but I’d hope so. There’s no mention of it, and they may be hard to find. Have any of you heard of the Sno-Pony?
This is really different. I’ve never seen or heard of one of these. The idea of using a snow mobile in the warmer months I think is a pretty good one. When I saw “Convertible ” in the title, I was trying to figure out how Scotty was going to edit the photos of this lol. ( perhaps a crew cab pickup version???) Anyways, I enjoy coming on this site and seeing all different kinds of transportation, this one included. Great find NW Iowa Kevin, and great wrote up too Scotty, I learned about something new here today.
Here’s the new summer/winter setup.
https://youtu.be/XhYsYpZ5Ep8?si=Kt_ROw5NQxaC_pz8
Like the Chrysler Sno Runner concept from 79 to 82, but with power, suspension, parts network etc
He’s back!!! YAY, and not a moment too soon. I actually remember the Sno-Pony, although had no idea where it came from. Sno-Pony was just another of the 220 some snowmobile makers, that systematically got eliminated as engineering progressed. Not many ventured in this direction, but I do remember some enterprising individuals, from Minnesoty mostly, that would create these things, and had no issues being seen on something like this. I couldn’t find a “16.5hp”, but they did have a 15 HP, a German motor I think. These so called “dual purpose” concoctions rarely work out, one side or t’other works best. Cool find, welcome back, SG!
Out of the 220 snowmobile makers back in the day ONLY 4 makers today. …..Arctic cat, BRP ( Ski-Doo ), Polaris, and Yamaha. I can’t believe the technology in these new sleds.
Or the prices!
How did I know you would remember these? Maybe I’m psychic.
Interesting concept but not interesting enough to save the company it seems. You pick the best in eclectic transport, Scotty!
Just when you think you’ve seen everything… Nice write up.
I had never seen one of these. And just the other day when seeing a newer sled for sale fairly cheap. I thought about how to make one into something my granddaughter could drive around the property. But dismissed the thought as too much involved to be practical/cost effective. And then here comes Scotty! (lol) Interesting concept, but not as much fun on the dirt as on the snow. As Howard says, go one way or the other. Dual purpose ok for putting around. But for REAL fun, better off with a specific designed vehicle.
Yamaha has unfortunately left the snowmobile business effective last year. The very last Yamaha produced was sold by Yamaha to raise money for the snowmobile industry and sold for something like a whopping $165K. It was the very last Yamaha made but also the last SRX. Really special but that was a pretty crazy price.
Arctic Cat was just recently sold by it owner Textron to an investment group from Argo. Arctic had ceased production earlier this year so this was something the whole industry was hoping for. They appear to be hitting the ground running.
Sno-Pony had strong ties to the Twin Cities and actually sold a fair amount of sleds. They are considered modestly collectible in the Vintage Snowmobile Hobby. This one seems not out of line or at minimum a good starting price to work from.
The Vintage Snowmobile Nationals will be held in Huron South Dakota next summer. This years show out east had 550 vintage sleds in the show.
Love the wide track Scandic models John
Dang, someone grabbed this Sno-Pony! Was it one of you?