Saskatchewan Snowmobile: Blasphemy or Brilliance?

So wrong… and yet so right.

This little gem appeared magically on my Facebook wall last night, courtesy of the incomparable Number_Six. Part of me is screaming “NOOO!“, while another part of me wants it so badly I can taste it.

Judging by the diamond-plate flooring, it was likely a car that was very nearly beyond the point of being salvageable without spending many tens of thousands of dollars to restore a car that would be worth a fraction of that when completed. Much as I adore these little Metros, they’re not exactly the kinds of cars that will draw hundreds of thousands of dollars in bids at Barrett-Jackson, even when restored perfectly.

So if you’ve got one, it’s not salvageable, and you have some bits lying about, what do you do? Specifically, what do you do if you live in Saskatchewan, one of the worst places on earth, and you have to contend with nine months of winter every year? Why, you rock a sled, that’s what you do.

I still haven’t decided if I love it or hate it, but let’s be honest, I have a hard time hating a Metropolitan.

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  1. tonyola Avatar
    tonyola

    I'll come down on the "it's cute" side. It's only a Metropolitan after all. Save the Molotov cocktails for the MGA snowmobiles.

  2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    Cool, yah. But not quite a Raider Twin Track, now is it?
    <img src="http://www.raidertwintracksnowmobiles.com/sitebuilder/images/Raiders_front_06-600×449.jpg&quot; width="500">

    1. Deartháir Avatar
      Deartháir

      Eugh! And thank heaven for that!

    2. dmilligan Avatar
      dmilligan

      No, but if the heater works that would be a real plus for me. And it's much cuter.

  3. mdharrell Avatar

    Blasphemy and Brilliance! I'd take one, but I hate snow.

    1. CptSevere Avatar

      Maybe put some quad tires up front and run it in the sand? Nah. I'm with you, snow is overrated. Ask any Canadian Snowbird who's down here with us in AZ for the winter. The closest I want to get to a snowmobile is the Arctic Cat powered golf cart that this one maniac here in town built.

      1. dmilligan Avatar
        dmilligan

        Hear hear. It might be a bit top heavy for sand thrashing though.

  4. fisheater Avatar
    fisheater

    I love it. I would fill the continental kit with whiskey and blankets.

  5. 98horn Avatar
    98horn

    Genius!

  6. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    Makes me want to buy a Metro and slip a 4×4 chassis underneath.

    1. mdharrell Avatar

      That's been done. Works great.
      <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3403/3318550627_d62513ca22.jpg&quot; width="350">

  7. JeepyJayhawk Avatar

    I like it, I just hope they upgraded the heater.

  8. lilwillie Avatar

    Met's look cute and awesome in any configuration. That one is in much better shape then ours. I do wish Dad wasn't so damn bull headed about his. It is still in the barn
    <img src="http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i65/lilwillie_wi/Car%20stuff/met.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    1. austinminiman Avatar
      austinminiman

      That barn looks incredible… I love old shops/garages/barns.

  9. muthalovin Avatar

    It seems that the general consensus is brilliance, and I am inclined to agree. This person will have the last laugh when the next Ice Age happens.

    1. BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ Avatar
      BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ

      My Sno Train runs over your snowmobile
      <img src="http://landtrain.net/images/images/let_4_136.jpg"&gt;

      1. $kaycog Avatar
        $kaycog

        You have to catch me first!

    2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
      Peter Tanshanomi

      Good thing Larry Shinoda's not around to hear you say that…
      <img src="http://deansgarage.com/wp-content/gallery/shinodaford/90shinoda.jpg&quot; width="500">

        1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          You'd win. You'd be dead, but the winner.

        2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          Just because I've got this photo and the topic of snow dragsters doesn't come up very often (and not nearly often enough!)
          <img src="http://www.tanshanomi.com/temp/sno-job-6.jpg"&gt;
          And yes, that's a Triumph twin…

          1. smokyburnout Avatar
            smokyburnout

            Is that two seperate vehicles, or the sidecar-snowmobile of death?

          2. dmilligan Avatar
            dmilligan

            I hope it's a sidecar. I want to watch the snow monkey do his stuff in a race.

  10. mdharrell Avatar

    No, not at all. What I meant was "Works great for an MG." Sorry that wasn't clear from context.

  11. texlenin Avatar
    texlenin

    He started well, but didn't go far enough. As others have said, why not a AWD, with
    steering on the front (or possibly both)sets of bogies? Where is the heater, btw? And
    does it come with the optional hardtop, or ragtop only?
    Needs moar rally lights, a rollbar, the wheelarches filled in, continuing to a full belly-
    pan, and storage compartments like those found on new truck beds, built into each
    wheelwell.
    I worked on one in college in bodyshop- that engine bay is very narrow and tall. Wonder
    what mill he's got under there?

    1. ptschett Avatar
      ptschett

      …and now my cartoon bubble is envisioning some sort of OHC inline with a tunnel ram.

      1. texlenin Avatar
        texlenin

        Datsun L28et with paxton supercharger?
        My choice would be a Bell gas turbine. Noise keeps the bears away, takes care of the heater,
        and you can divert exhaust to clear any driveway in seconds…….

  12. smokyburnout Avatar
    smokyburnout

    Kind of on topic: Kei trucks with tracks!
    [youtube NsOOztVikFQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsOOztVikFQ youtube]

    1. Hoonda Avatar
      Hoonda

      I must have one.

      1. smokyburnout Avatar
        smokyburnout

        You can have one, if you're a farmer or Canadian.

  13. From_a_Buick_6 Avatar
    From_a_Buick_6

    I think anybody who's into Metropolitans (or any Nash/Rambler/AMC, really) has got to be so off-kilter that they can't not love this.
    Being one of those people, I don't see how this car could be more full of win.

    1. mdharrell Avatar

      One possible improvement: It could've been badged as a Hudson.
      If nothing else, the owner could then go around correcting people: "Wheels? Oh, you're probably thinking of the NASH Metropolitan. I guess the bodies do look kinda similar…."

  14. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    I never would've pegged Weird Al for a sledneck.

  15. dead_elvis Avatar
    dead_elvis

    Hell, what's not to love? Assuming it would otherwise have been junked, this is an infinitely better option. And this is Hooniverse – aren't we all about unholy mashups?

  16. faberferrum Avatar
    faberferrum

    Excuse me? "One of the worst places on earth?" We Hosers beg to differ!
    Ha ha, no hard feelings. I live in Saskatchewan, I've dreamed of building something like this to go cruising around the countryside in.
    By the way, a heater is precious little use in an open car in winter here. Today, for example, it's something like minus 30 with windchill. We just wear Skidoo suits to go Skidooing!

    1. Mr_Biggles Avatar
      Mr_Biggles

      The funny thing is, Deartháir's one of your (our) fellow hosers and he's slagging Saskatchewan from tropical northern Alberta.

      1. faberferrum Avatar
        faberferrum

        Tropical Indeed! Positively Balmy! Might as well be Jamaica! Lol I spent the afternoon on the tractor blowing out four foot drifts.