Hi Folks.
I joined a month ago to help a friend out with a question.
I never thought I would be back asking you questions of my own.
I have not made an impulse buy in over twenty five years. Well today I was delivering (UPS) to an old guy and he had this vehicle in his yard. I looked at it and remember riding in these when I skied the back bowls out west. He works for the National Forest Dept. in my state. They bought a Bombi in 1975 and he has maintained it since. To make a long story short, I have to go get it when I get time.
Here is what I know of it.
He grooms the cross country ski trails for them and has been their mechanic for a long time out of his house. They must have funded his pole building because it is a gear heads dream come true. This guy could probably fabricate anything he wanted to if he had to.
He maintained it since new. He has a ton of parts in his garage. Clutch plates, filters, hoses, a lot. I didn't have time to dig. I asked why he doesn't use it and he told me the Forest Dept got him a new bigger & better one and that one has sat since. 7 years. He drives it around the house to keep it running but told me it needs carb work that he has not done since the new one arrived. I know a lot of people that will vouch for this guys honest and expert opinion & character. They know him as the old coot that wrenches the Forestry Dept. vehicles. He told me it is a hell of a deal in his opinion. He has the owners & parts manuals from new along with the maintenance logs since new. It is a 1975 Bombardier Bombi. All equipment is there. It is complete. Runs but needs carb work. He has the tracks up as he is going to let it set & told me you should never let it sit for an extended period of time on the ground.
This was not for sale. I just started looking at it when I delivered to him and he called his boss to see if they wanted to get rid of it. Next thing you know….
What I was wondering is what type or years should you look out for IE: lemons.
Is Bombi a decent one or low grade that never made it big. Anything you can tell me on this would be much appreciated. I know I should have asked this BEFORE buying it but what should you look for and what are the common weak points or flaws in the design of this thing. Is there a guide book your club has BEFORE buying one of these. I know most if not all of you think I’m nuts for doing this as the whole day I was thinking what in the Hell am I going to do with this thing. If it turns out to be a diamond in the rough Than I have no objection to restoring it to stock.
A little background on me. I restore vintage automobiles to stock so the mechanical aspects would not bother me. I have no clue why I bought this but it looks like a neat piece of machinery that could fit in my stable of automotive history. If you do not own a ski resort just what do you guys do with these???? I will get pics when I can get back out there. I am going to shoot/post a couple of pics of the parts list and motor parts list so you guys can have a clue of what I’m talking about. As of now I don’t even know the model number. Hope this pic thing works.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to figure my latest bonehead move out.
Joel.
I joined a month ago to help a friend out with a question.
I never thought I would be back asking you questions of my own.
I have not made an impulse buy in over twenty five years. Well today I was delivering (UPS) to an old guy and he had this vehicle in his yard. I looked at it and remember riding in these when I skied the back bowls out west. He works for the National Forest Dept. in my state. They bought a Bombi in 1975 and he has maintained it since. To make a long story short, I have to go get it when I get time.
Here is what I know of it.
He grooms the cross country ski trails for them and has been their mechanic for a long time out of his house. They must have funded his pole building because it is a gear heads dream come true. This guy could probably fabricate anything he wanted to if he had to.
He maintained it since new. He has a ton of parts in his garage. Clutch plates, filters, hoses, a lot. I didn't have time to dig. I asked why he doesn't use it and he told me the Forest Dept got him a new bigger & better one and that one has sat since. 7 years. He drives it around the house to keep it running but told me it needs carb work that he has not done since the new one arrived. I know a lot of people that will vouch for this guys honest and expert opinion & character. They know him as the old coot that wrenches the Forestry Dept. vehicles. He told me it is a hell of a deal in his opinion. He has the owners & parts manuals from new along with the maintenance logs since new. It is a 1975 Bombardier Bombi. All equipment is there. It is complete. Runs but needs carb work. He has the tracks up as he is going to let it set & told me you should never let it sit for an extended period of time on the ground.
This was not for sale. I just started looking at it when I delivered to him and he called his boss to see if they wanted to get rid of it. Next thing you know….
What I was wondering is what type or years should you look out for IE: lemons.
Is Bombi a decent one or low grade that never made it big. Anything you can tell me on this would be much appreciated. I know I should have asked this BEFORE buying it but what should you look for and what are the common weak points or flaws in the design of this thing. Is there a guide book your club has BEFORE buying one of these. I know most if not all of you think I’m nuts for doing this as the whole day I was thinking what in the Hell am I going to do with this thing. If it turns out to be a diamond in the rough Than I have no objection to restoring it to stock.
A little background on me. I restore vintage automobiles to stock so the mechanical aspects would not bother me. I have no clue why I bought this but it looks like a neat piece of machinery that could fit in my stable of automotive history. If you do not own a ski resort just what do you guys do with these???? I will get pics when I can get back out there. I am going to shoot/post a couple of pics of the parts list and motor parts list so you guys can have a clue of what I’m talking about. As of now I don’t even know the model number. Hope this pic thing works.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to figure my latest bonehead move out.
Joel.
