1970 ss396 questions

F

_FIII

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Nov 13, 2007
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Age
44
Location
Regina, Sask
Hey guys. I picked up my first Yamaha this summer at a farm auction. As stated it is a 1970 ss396 in very good original shape. Just wondering a few things:

1: How rare are these things? (production numbers?)
2: How much horsepower did they have?
3: Anything to watch for mechanically?

I think we will be using this winter in the local vintage drags, which should be interesting. Thanks, Richard.
 

I don't know the production numbers, but as far as I know they're pretty rare. I had a 71 SL 338 and 71 SS-433, both were drop dead reliable and we put thousands of trouble free miles on both. The 70 and 71's were still belt drive oil pumps, so after all of these years maybe you should look for a new belt? We never had a problem with the belts ever, but after 30 some years its probably not a bad idea. The SS 396 was rated at 36 HP. Sweet little sled save for the bogies, but a later model slide suspension will bolt in with some work and drilling a couple of new holes. A very good idea as the single sprocket tracks are hard to find in decent shape and are prone to breakage. Thats the one area where we did have problems, both sleds spit the track out the back. The involute drivers would have to be installed as well, but should nearly be a direct bolt in to my knowledge. Where the spindles come through the belley pan they crack the welds out, but it doesn't matter, we'd weld them and they'd crack over and over, so finally we just left them cracked and they never caused any other problems.

An Exciter 440 will bolt right in and give you a gear driven oil pump, reeds, and CDI ignition in the process, and bump you right up to 48 HP too! I talked with Aaen and they're willing to sell a pipe in pieces to make it fit for the application which is good for another 14 HP! But I don't know if you'd wanna mess with a factory piped sled. Best of luck with the old girl. G.
 
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not sure about the serial number but I will get it next time I'm out at the farm. I actually went to the auction to look at 2 74 Super Brutes but a friend showed up who collects them. Then I saw this Yammi sitting to the side and no one was paying attention to her. All I heard from guys standing around it was "those old Yamahas had a bad reputation for being piles of crap". Now as a ski-doo guy I will say that I have a lot of respect for Yamaha when it comes to reliability and engineering, I was just raised with yellow sleds around. So I ended up out bidding some farmer who wanted it to shoot coyotes with this winter and then said he would junk it in the spring. Needles to say I had to rescue it and $200 bucks was a steal. It has a perfect original windshield, seat is perfect hood is great but has two extra louvered vents cut into the front of the hood. It has a rebuilt motor in it with less than six miles on it. It came with a pile of NOS Yamaha parts and a bunch of books, service bulletins and pricing lists from 70-72, all from the local Yamaha dealer who went out of business when this sled was bought from it in the mid-70's. All in all, it will remain in my collection of doo's and deere's.
 
Piles of crap???!!! Yamaha was light years ahead of everybody else with regards to quality back then! Ball joint steering, oil injection, 5 port engines, cadium plated fasteners throughout with lock nuts! I don't remember EVER fouling a plug! Are you sure these guys weren't smoking something funny? G.
 
Just a bunch of rednecks who don't know much. You are right about being ahead of their time. Like I said, I am a doo guy but why did it take bombardier till 82 to start using oil injection. I have always considered Yamaha (and Honda) to be at the forefront of technology and R & D.

I haven't got this machine running, but I can't wait to hear those twin side exit pipes play some music!!!
 
I was just a kid when I had my SS- 433 which had the same side exit exhaust pipes. I don't think I could handle it anymore, it was LOUD! But I have to admit, at full battle cry it was pretty sweet and I always used to pass guys on that side! And pass em I did, went to the airport one day and cleaned up on everything in town including a brand new 72 Ski-Doo 400 F/A, a bunch of 440 TNT's, 640 TNT's, 669 TNT's and one 775 TNT! I could go to the end of the airport, turn around and shut my sled off and wait for them, it was that bad! The only real difference between your 396 and my 433 is a couple of mils of bore size and 4 hp, so that should tell you will be with all of the above. Best. G.
 
All the older folks I talk to say it was Polaris, Yamaha and Sno-jets (Yamaha powered) hauling the other ones home. I see at the shows now that the same sleds after all these years really back those stories up.
 
I won total points in 340 superstock aboard a 75 GPX and when I'd somethimes glance back to see where the rest of the pack was, there was either a Sno-Jet there, or a Merc. None of the others came close except one Cat, one time, and he was found to be cheating. As I recall, the Polaris were maybe marginally better than the rest for reliability, but Yamaha was definetly the undisputed leader in that department. Guys used to think I had electric start! The only guys I knew who had trouble were hotrodding and generally undoing what Yamaha screwed together. Keep the shiny side up. G.
 
there is a ss396 manual on ebay right now. Has a few days left, but I am done at $50. Other guy wants it pretty bad I guess.
 
wow! never thought it would get that high! thats too bad FIII.I WILL KEEP MY EYE OUT FOR YA!
 
We owned one ...1970 SS396, no one could beat it!
The twin tuned pipes either had stingers on the end or else there were two small optional silencers on the end to help quiet it down.
36 HP is correct! For a while, the 338, 396, and 433 had interchangeable cylinders.
A 433 was a 396 bored .120 over. Yamaha kept the same stroke, just different bores.
They later changed from a 5 port design to a 7 port design, and newer cylinders wouldn't just slip on like the good old days. A year or two later, they came out with the SS433, and the 396 became the GP396.
 
Those little silencers didn't quiet them much, just took the edge off a wee bit. I thought they made them sound kind if sick though, taking that crackle away, so I never ran them. Sure wish I knew what became of them though. G.
 
Ebay auctions are getting full of sh*t lately. Why would an airbox for a 73' Sno-jet Starjet (equivalent to a Ski-doo olympique) basic family sled go up beyond $120. I'll tell you why! The sellers are bidding on their own stuff under different names and getting their friends to bid up too. This is bullshit and it's why I have stopped buying from Ebay now.
 
The dealers and salvage yards are starting to play games with Vintage Restoration projects just like they do for automobiles. As the sleds get older and older, the parts get rarer and rarer, so it's supply versus demand. It seems that we're paying as much for a 20 or 30 year old used part as we did when the part was brand new. Yea, someone will mention inflation, but it hurts the little guy trying to do a little project for his grand children. I found a 33 year old cowl out back behind a lean-too shed, frozen in the ground, I would have paid $25-30, but they were adamant about wanting $50, They wouldn't even deal and negotiate. They stood firm and wouldn't budge. Needless to say, they still have the hood!
 
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