I've had the pleasure of walking into the playroom and meeting Mr. Avelis Jr. and Sr. . Both of them great guys with an incredible collection, we walked away with quite a few sleds.
holy shit. i want every last one of those sleds. if theres one vintage sled i could have if i had a choice it would be the King Kat 800 4 cylinder. the most badass muscle sled ever made.
Being from nearby Connecticut we always heard about Andy’s protected collection. I could be wrong but I heard he sold it. ??? I’d do anything to find another 1971 EXT free air 399. My family threw it out knowing any better in the late 80’s. I almost died when I found out. Still looking for one.
The early EXTs are super hard to find now. Are you looking for the EXT Special with the long chassis or the short one based off a Puma? 399 top ends are hard to find too. A lot got swapped over to 440.
And yes Andy sold off most of it a few years ago and got into a Corvettes. He collected for 20 years and did a lot for the hobby. I’ve heard basically three big collectors got most of it and a few machines went to smaller collections.
and he lives in mass. i live close enough to him, too bad i have no money and my dad just bought a 2007 F6 sno pro. so its not like we have any cash left. lol
i was shocked andy did not have any 1971 puma z parts.or a sled model from his collection? does any one know the big tilly carbs hd14?+ can be used on a kawasaki 440cc mod.
Looking to find out where my uncle's sled ended up? 800 4 cylinder king Kat David S Hyde he raced it a lot any information on where it went would be appreciated! Info@hydeautoworksunlimited.com
I had Cats but I remember around here the Thunder Jets dominated the races in the early to mid 70's. The King Kats were flat out awesome but that Texas chassis would corner.
Still equal to the Yamaha 77 when set up right. Go watch the 1977 Karwartha cup video. All three sides the 77 Z the 77 SRX and the updated 76 Mercs were so close it depended on the set up . Jim Dimmerman beat a lot of other makes racing a 77 Z. My best friend is a Yamaha nut and we both agree on this. Both great sleds, just depends on set up and driver talent. Today’s vintage racers are replica racers. They aren’t running the old stuff mint it’s all updated. Some areas had certain brands dominating because that’s where the talent went. Today a 1977 Z is worth more on a cat nuts wall than all mangled into a Decepticon looking thing to meet modern rules. That’s why you don’t see them racing anymore.
However I will add that at a hill drag 12 years ago at Denton Hill one restored 1977 Z 440 showed up and took a third place in one class 500? a top ten in 600 class running against bigger twins including a 600 REV l! The track was groomed smooth and hard. I was the one guy laughing hard at all the new iron having a hard time beating a 40 plus year old oval racer.,,, I’d have cheered just as hard if it was the same year SRX, both those are still crotch rockets on the flats.
I've had the pleasure of walking into the playroom and meeting Mr. Avelis Jr. and Sr. .
Both of them great guys with an incredible collection, we walked away with quite a few sleds.
holy shit. i want every last one of those sleds.
if theres one vintage sled i could have if i had a choice it would be the King Kat 800 4 cylinder. the most badass muscle sled ever made.
would love to see this collection one day
OMG 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌. Is this heaven. Can this place be viewed to the public ?
Being from nearby Connecticut we always heard about Andy’s protected collection. I could be wrong but I heard he sold it. ??? I’d do anything to find another 1971 EXT free air 399. My family threw it out knowing any better in the late 80’s. I almost died when I found out. Still looking for one.
The early EXTs are super hard to find now. Are you looking for the EXT Special with the long chassis or the short one based off a Puma? 399 top ends are hard to find too. A lot got swapped over to 440.
And yes Andy sold off most of it a few years ago and got into a Corvettes. He collected for 20 years and did a lot for the hobby. I’ve heard basically three big collectors got most of it and a few machines went to smaller collections.
Can’t believe he sold all of this.
and he lives in mass. i live close enough to him, too bad i have no money and my dad just bought a 2007 F6 sno pro. so its not like we have any cash left. lol
Can’t beat a cat 💯
Bless you 😇
Hah, my first sled was a 30 horse Johnson., then moved onto Cat's (uncle became a dealer in 71').
i was shocked andy did not have any 1971 puma z parts.or a sled model from his collection? does any one know the big tilly carbs hd14?+ can be used on a kawasaki 440cc mod.
Lots of collectors have no idea about the Puma Z. Too rare. Cat gave up on them halfway through the 1971 season because the FA EXT was such a hit.
All FOR SALE!!
haha, hell yeah, I agree with you 100%.
i just creamed my carhartts. .i love my arctic cat..
Looking to find out where my uncle's sled ended up? 800 4 cylinder king Kat David S Hyde he raced it a lot any information on where it went would be appreciated! Info@hydeautoworksunlimited.com
Cat all good until merc showed up.
True for 1976 the LC Mercs dominated ovals. Then for 1977 Cat improved the Z so it was competitive again and Mercury quit the sled biz.
I had Cats but I remember around here the Thunder Jets dominated the races in the early to mid 70's. The King Kats were flat out awesome but that Texas chassis would corner.
@@nomoremr.niceguy4778 Yeah - but then Yamaha SRX 440🧐😲😁👍
Still equal to the Yamaha 77 when set up right. Go watch the 1977 Karwartha cup video. All three sides the 77 Z the 77 SRX and the updated 76 Mercs were so close it depended on the set up . Jim Dimmerman beat a lot of other makes racing a 77 Z. My best friend is a Yamaha nut and we both agree on this. Both great sleds, just depends on set up and driver talent. Today’s vintage racers are replica racers. They aren’t running the old stuff mint it’s all updated. Some areas had certain brands dominating because that’s where the talent went. Today a 1977 Z is worth more on a cat nuts wall than all mangled into a Decepticon looking thing to meet modern rules. That’s why you don’t see them racing anymore.
However I will add that at a hill drag 12 years ago at Denton Hill one restored 1977 Z 440 showed up and took a third place in one class 500? a top ten in 600 class running against bigger twins including a 600 REV l! The track was groomed smooth and hard. I was the one guy laughing hard at all the new iron having a hard time beating a 40 plus year old oval racer.,,, I’d have cheered just as hard if it was the same year SRX, both those are still crotch rockets on the flats.