3 Cylinder Sleds To Be Highlight
Naubinway
By Paul Gingras

Snowmobiles began as singlecylinder work sleds, powered-up to two-cylinder pleasure vehicles, and went full-speed into three-cylinder racing machines, said Charlie Vallier, organizer of the 16th Annual Top of the Lake Antique and Vintage Snowmobile Show and Ride, which will take place Friday, February 15, through Saturday, February 16, in Naubinway. People can view the sleds on display all day Saturday along US-2 at Naubinway, and can bring their own sleds to display there, at no charge. The show also includes a Friday ride and bonfire, food booths and a swap meet Saturday, and a banquet featuring a presentation about vintage snowmobiles.

Saturday's expected display of about 250 sleds along US-2 will feature machines with three-cylinder engines, originally produced in the early 1970s for a variety of makes and models.

Three-cylinder snowmobiles have one thing in common.

"They are fast," Mr. Vallier said.

For 15 years, each Naubinway show featured an antique or vintage sled. This year, organizers chose to focus on racers.

Three-cylinder sleds "were great in their heyday, and they are still very popular in vintage-racing circuits," said John McGuirk, president of the Antique Snowmobile Club of America, who will attend the show and demonstrate old-fashioned sleds.

Originally from Pontiac, Mr. McGuirk was an informal racer of three-cylinder sleds on downstate lakes in the early '70s.

"It was all about seeing who was king of the lakes," he said.

The early three-cylinder engines increased riding speed, produced a lot more noise, and riders had to contend with their temperamental nature, he said. They were not rugged sleds built for harder conditions on trails. The early models were air-cooled and great for drag-racing or crosscountry racing.

Their status among racers continues. In fact, racing vintage, three-cylinder snowmobiles is nearly as popular as racing new snowmobiles, he told The St. Ignace News.

Years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency pushed snowmobile manufacturers to curb vehicle emissions, leading companies to abandon three-cylinder motors for twin or four-cylinder engines.

Saturday, Mr. McGuirk will speak about three-cylinder racers at the Naubinway Snowmobile Show banquet. He will cover early models, including the 793 cubic centimeter Hirth, nicknamed the "Honker," built in 1970 and 1971, the German JLO engine, which was included in early Arctic Cats, and a Kawasaki engine used in the Arctic Cat EXT.

Mr. McGuirk has worked with Mr. Vallier since the first Naubinway show 16 years ago, and while he now lives in Ohio, he looks forward to spending a week in town around show time.

"Naubinway is the premier show in Michigan," he said, noting it still offers the largest display of antique and vintage sleds in Michigan, and it set the stage for other shows throughout the state.

Events begin 9 a.m. Friday with a vintage snowmobile ride. Registration is not required. Riders will venture from King's Motel in Naubinway to Garfield Township Hall in Engadine, where the West Mackinac American Legion will host a breakfast for children and adults. The cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children 6 to 12 years old. There is no cost for children five years old and under. The breakfast is open to the public. It begins at 8 a.m. and concludes at noon. A 50/50 raffle will take place during breakfast, and American Legion Post 290 Women's Auxiliary will hold a bake sale.

At 1 p.m., drivers of any type of snowmobile may take part in a six-mile ride to the Pipeline Bridge. There will be a bonfire there, and riders may bring Husskis for the "Hus-ski Hustle" obstacle course.

Registration for sled display begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, at Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum on Center Street in Naubinway, just around the corner from the display area on US-2. Registration is free.

Slides will be shown from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Food booths and a swap area will be at the museum.

The museum will be open during the show, Mr. Vallier said. The cost to tour the facility is $5 a person and $10 a family. Sleds not previously shown will be on display, Mr. Vallier said.

From 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Garfield Township Hall, there will be a banquet, Mr. McGuirk's lecture, 50/50 raffles, and a drawing for door prizes. The cost for the banquet is $9 for adults and $5 for children.

For $5, participants can enter a raffle featuring a 1967 Polaris Colt as first prize, a queen-sized log bed as second prize, a Jonsered chainsaw as third prize, and a case of snowmobile oil as fourth prize.

The Antique Snowmobile show is sponsored by the Naubinway/ Engadine Merchants Association.

For more information, contact Charlie and Marilyn Vallier at 477-6192.