vintage srx advice

staggs65

staggs65

Moderator
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
5,524
Age
50
Location
Sabattus, Maine, United States
looking to buy a 440srx for the stable. might be a while before i find one for the right price, but i'm keeping my eyes open. anyways what if any differences are there from year to year? any year to avoid? preferred year?
 
Here's my take and what to expect to pay for something in decent condition.

76 - 77: best most valuable and most difficult to find. Big money: $4,000 to $6,000

78: seems to be growing in value and getting harder to find: $2,500 to $4,000

79: will most likely be your best bang for buck purchase: $1,800 to $3,000

80: not as big a collector mostly due to the black/gold color that many dislike. $1,000 to $2,000

81: vmax 540 chasis with a 440 motor. not a majoe demand since most who like the style look for an 83 with the 540.: $1,500 to $2,000

JMO
 
My understanding is that the 77 was the fastest and highest hp.
78 - slightly less hp but were the most bullet proof.
79 and 80 were solid but down even more on HP.

My choice would be to look for a 78.
 
1980 was the first and only year with oil injection, also were the lowest hp, 78-79 were just about identical, except stickers and paint. 76 was first year, race only sled, 77 was near 100hp, also race only,all aluminum chassis, including bulkhead and skid, by far the fastest....and hardest to find.
 
srx's

78 srx had less volume in the heads than 79 & 80 which use the exact same heads. 78-80 all use the same cylinders. 80's had a different ignition system. 80's have a oil pump and little heavier crank than the 78-79. 80 had butterfly carbs, 78-79 roundslides. 80 had a different suspension with steel rails and mounted in the chassis differently than the 78-79. 78-79 used lighter aluminium rails. IMO the 80 is a sharp looking sled. If you are looking for one to use. The 80 is a nice sled with oil injection. Some of the early 78's didn't have a balancer on the flywheel, small cylinder base bolts like the 77, and had 2 ring pistons. The 78 just because of head design are a little more prone to melt downs if good high octane gas is not used. That is why they added I think either 1.5 or 2 cc's more volume on 79 & 80's.
 
HAD THEM ALL AND I LOVE THEM ALL. WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BUY A 79 BRAND NEW, GREAT SLED WON A ZILLION RACES WITH THAT SLED. ALSO HAD A VERY FAST 77 AND 78. 80 IS PRETTIEST. YOU HAD TO SEE THOSE NEW ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR. ONE THING I WILL SAY IS THE 76-77 ARE MOST DESIRABLE, BUT THE 78/79 AND 80 ARE HARDEST TO FIND. MANY MANY OUT THERE ARE JUNK. THESE SLEDS WERE SO FAST THAT MANY WERE JUST DESTROYED. LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, BE PATIENT, YOU CAN FIND A GOOD ONE. 3:16 (yammie tony)
 
well its been a year and a half since I started this thread and one has finally came up for sale in my area for short $.
Its a 1980, the guy says its been sitting a few years. He sent a pic and it looks decent from what you can see in a pic. I'm gonna go look at it this weekend. I was wondering though just how much lower is the HP on the 80 from the previous years and how much work is it to get it up to say 78 or 79 HP?
 
hope it is in good shape.I am also looking for a 77 to 80 440 SRX.Missed one last winter in mint shape...:o| Mu buddy had a 78 and no one,and I mean no one could touch him at that time.It was quick and fast..
 
80 Srx Was Slightly Detuned Because Of Butterfly Carbs, Oil Injection And Was First Srx That Had Suspension Very Similar To The Ss 440, Which Gave The 80 Srx Aliitle More Weight Than The 78-79. Very Good Hop Up Was To Add The 78 Srx Heads To The 80, They Were 1/2 A Cc Smaller Than The 79/80 And Will Raise Compression Slightly. I Myself Think The Oil Injection Robbed Afew Ponies From The 80 Srx, Keep In Mind The 78 And 79 Were Pre-mix. 3:16 (yammie Tony)
 
Check the gas tank at the filler on the 80. Almost all I have seen are broke somehow. It is a one year, one model tank because the oil injection tank was along side and none of the others (except 81 and a completely different sled) had oil injection. The anodized gold pans and tunnel are also a one of and if not in good shape a real bugger to make look good.

The 80 was a drop dead stunning sled to look at and can be a very good fast trail sled.

76 was a big winner on the track in it's day. 77 was and still is the most potent giant killer at the drags. Outlawed in many classes because of this. 78/79 are bad assed trail sleds or potential dominators at the track.

All VERY!! cool sleds.

81 was a completely different machine. Love em or hate em seems to be the norm. Heavier than all the rest but when built right,,,,,,,, look out. In mod form at the drags they can be faster than the a 77. In trail form they have longer legs than the rest. When they are wrong they will give you a BIG headache. Also bada$$ed

opsled
 
I'm going to look at the 80 this afternoon. Honestly, I'm out of my element on this one and really dont know what to look for. Besides the tank filler and tunnel/bellypan (thanks Opsled) are there any other areas to pay attention to? specifically with the engine; cyl/head/case #s and where they can be found. Just want to make sure I dont end up with some ticking timebomb Frankenstein engine.
 
staggs65 said:
I'm going to look at the 80 this afternoon. Honestly, I'm out of my element on this one and really dont know what to look for. Besides the tank filler and tunnel/bellypan (thanks Opsled) are there any other areas to pay attention to? specifically with the engine; cyl/head/case #s and where they can be found. Just want to make sure I dont end up with some ticking timebomb Frankenstein engine.
Click to expand...

The engines are actually the easiest parts to find for a resto. They can get expensive but are available. Hoods, tracks, seat covers, paint, decals, etc can all be gotten. A straight clean chassis is the hardest thing to find and so are the parts.

The skid is also one year on the 80 (look it over good). The biggest thing for me on the 80 would be the condition of the belly pan, bulkhed and tunnel. The anodized gold aluminum really limits what can be done to repair any damage. Check the front tube in the bulkhead the the skis mount to. Many are bellied out in the center. They should be straight. front and rear seat pans are steel and many are rusted out.

Sometimes you can buy a perfect sled for less than it would take to restore one.

The 80 isn't all that rare so don't get crazy.

opsled
 
Well he's firm at $800 and its 2hr drive each way so if its all there and relatively straight do you feel its worth it. he sent me 1 pic and it looks pretty decent but for some reason it wont upload to photobucket for me to post it here
 
opsled said:
Check the gas tank at the filler on the 80. Almost all I have seen are broke somehow. It is a one year, one model tank because the oil injection tank was along side and none of the others (except 81 and a completely different sled) had oil injection. The anodized gold pans and tunnel are also a one of and if not in good shape a real bugger to make look good.

The 80 was a drop dead stunning sled to look at and can be a very good fast trail sled.

76 was a big winner on the track in it's day. 77 was and still is the most potent giant killer at the drags. Outlawed in many classes because of this. 78/79 are bad assed trail sleds or potential dominators at the track.

All VERY!! cool sleds.

81 was a completely different machine. Love em or hate em seems to be the norm. Heavier than all the rest but when built right,,,,,,,, look out. In mod form at the drags they can be faster than the a 77. In trail form they have longer legs than the rest. When they are wrong they will give you a BIG headache. Also bada$$ed

opsled
Click to expand...
AS ALWAYS YOU ARE RIGHT ON
;)! 3:16 (yammie tony)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top