Our candidate to be a Formula 340 racer: This 1980 Polaris Indy 340.

The high cost of a modern Champ racing sled can be prohibitive to a lot of young potential talent out there. Many people involved with oval ice racing have been pondering a way to get our future World Champions started in a class where they can be competitive and can afford.

This is no easy task when you consider all the potential pit falls.

Thankfully, John Hooper of Hooper Racing and some others have hit upon an idea that sounds very promising. He calls it ‘Formula 500’. Formula 500 will be run in the USSA circuit this coming winter, and eligible sleds will also be able to run in the 440X class with the vintage guys at S.L.E.D.S. racing.

The proposed rules for Formula 500 class can be found here. Basically you can run any 1989 to 1992 Polaris Indy 500 with a mostly stock suspension, pipes & motor, but you can do anything you want to make it comfortable to drive and look cool.

The Wolf Lake Outlaw vintage racers in Alexandria, Minnesota, had earlier come up with an similar class for the 2006 season – ‘Formula 340’.  Only slightly different from the Formula 500 class, the Formula 340 class will have a special place to run at Wolf Lake as well as being eligible for the 340 SnoPro class with the S.L.E.D.S group.

We thought it would be cool to show you how easy one of these sleds can be built, and how inexpensive they can be. Our sled is being built for the Formula 340 class, and as we go through we will point out the differences in the classes. The first obvious difference is that Formula 340 only allows a 340cc Polaris Indy motor, while the Formula 500 class allows a 500cc Polaris motor.

We know what your thinking– why only Polaris? Well, John Hooper has done the research. There are simply tons of Indy's available (cheap!) and parts are plentiful and inexpensive. Having everyone start with the same basic sled means it will be much more focused on driver skill then the machinery. Using one basic chassis & motor also makes it easy on the various associations to police the class. You can discuss more about the rules on the Snowmobilenews.com discussion boards.

We found our candidate within a day. A 1980 340cc Indy, intact and mostly functional – Price? Just $100, thanks to Mike Maegher of the VSCA. Please note this sled is eligible for the Formula 340 class, but the Formula 500 class requires a 1989-1992 Indy chassis.

Here's the parts we took off and won't be re-using.

Step one: Tear it down to the bare chassis.
Our sled was in a pasture for several years, rusted like an old tank and in serious need of tender loving care. It had a ton of dirt, leaves, grease and debris stuck to it. A bunch of bolts had to be drilled or ground off. If your chassis is as old as this one, make sure you have a portable grinder, a good drill and an impact wrench handy. A really big can of Sea-Foam rust remover or an equivalent can also be very handy. If all else fails, you may need a torch.

Step two: Decide what you want to keep or discard.
We ditched the skis, hood, pan, tank, seat, airbox, footrests, belt, bearings and hoses.

Optionally, we threw out the track, heat exchangers & trailing arms. If your track is in excellent condition, you can use it. But be careful - this is a major safety issue. If that track looks at all week or worn, simply order a new one as we did.

The heat exchangers are required in Formula 500, so you'll want to test them for leaks, clean them up and keep them. We chucked the trailing arms because they were bent, and because we happened to find a nice, slightly newer set at salvage for just $35.

The chassis needs to have the paint removed. A word of caution: It will be tempting on these older ones to send the chassis out to be sand blasted to remove the paint. The tunnel will require serious work to bring back to life if you blast it. Instead, use Aircraft grade paint remover in a well ventilated area. This is nasty stuff, so make sure you read the directions carefully and keep it off your skin. Do it in small 6" X 6" patches, and cover it with plastic so the paint remover can work before drying out.

When you are finished, you will have a tunnel that looks baby fresh and is a real pleasure to work with.

Next up: Build that front end!

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Sled: $100.00
Track: $550.00
Paint Stripper: $25
Trailing Arms (optional): $35

Total cost of the project so far: $710.00