What started as a cheap 1980s Ski-Doo Safari 377 turned into my introduction to snowmobile racing. When I bought the sled, I had never even ridden a snowmobile before. After cleaning the carburetors, studding the track, and doing some basic maintenance, I took it straight to the track. My first time racing was also my first time riding a snowmobile.

That first season didn't last long. The engine seized from a lean fuel mixture, turning the project into a complete engine rebuild. For the next season, I swapped to a 447 engine and rebuilt it from the ground up. The cylinders were bored 0.020" over, a 0.020" copper head gasket was installed to increase compression, and I learned how to measure and set proper cylinder clearances during the rebuild. The entire engine was vapor blasted before reassembly, bringing it back to like-new condition.

The chassis was upgraded as well. The track was restudded with 120 studs provided by sponsors, and I designed and installed a custom wrap featuring sponsor graphics. Between rebuilding the engine, setting up the chassis, and learning how to tune a two-stroke race motor, I spent the off-season turning the sled into a competitive race machine.

The following season I returned to the track with the rebuilt sled and finished in second place. Going from never having ridden a snowmobile to rebuilding and racing one competitively taught me a lot about two-stroke engine performance, tuning, fabrication, sponsorships, and motorsports competition.