New project - 91 Phazer II boondocker 144"

YooperWoods

YooperWoods

New member
Joined
Apr 20, 2014
Messages
273
Location
Marquette, MI
Website
uptrailerandhitch.com
So I picked up this 91 Phazer for almost nothing and plan to make a backwoods boondocker out of it. It's got less than 6000 miles on it and while it needs some work overall it's not too bad of shape.

The plan is to wedge a Ski Doo SC3 144" skid I happen to have into it along with either a 2" or 1 1/4" lug track. I have both and hopefully will be able to fit the 2", although it looks like there's plenty of room.

Other work planned:

Gear it down. Have to do some research on available gears and see what's currently in it.

Drivers. Are there any extros available to fit, like a 7 tooth?

Go through the clutch.

Clean carbs.

Go through the front pogos.

Extend the tunnel of course.

New seat cover.

Since I have all the big parts(plastic skis included) I shouldn't have too much into it. Will mostly be used at my camp and for a buddy sled. Should be light and nimble in the woods. Won't be getting started for a couple weeks or so since I have to finish my main sled first. In the meantime I am open to all suggestions on how to make this sled better and for parts resources or whatever you may have to help. Thanks!

 

find your local wps dealer for the anti-ratchet 7t drivers. part # 54-2509. 2" wont clear, but you have a good track to work with once you cut the lugs down to around 1.5" and thats going to be a bitch to stuff in with the anti-ratchets. once you pry things in the clearance is acceptable with the cut lugs.

skis should be a high priority after the track install. rid the stockers and adapt anything you have that are all plastic.

have some fab skills and tooling to bend up a tunnel extension or have friends that can do that for you. .100 or .125 aluminum is what you will want, and then you need to create a bumper from there.

good luck finding gears. most likely you wont need them. i didnt on the last few i did. the 7t drivers seem to compensate well for lack of gear availability. 17/29 most likely to be your existing gearing and it will work well with the longer track, in my experience.
 
Thanks for the part #. Ouch, $84.95 each! Was hoping to keep this a budget build. I guess if I don't need to change gearing that will save some coin though.

So the clearance issue to run a 2" must be in front of the drivers? I looked down the tunnel, think I even stuck a tape up there, and on top there looked to be plenty of clearance. If I can't get the 2" in there I have a 1.25" Camoplast Predator that I'll stick in. I'll take a closer look when I get it in the shop.

No problem with fab and wrenching skills. I am a mechanic and own a service garage here. Just finished putting a 151 skid and track in another machine which was originally a 121, then a 144, and now a 151. The track and skid I want to mount in the Phazer came out of this one.

 
the 2" track along with the extros make it damn near impossible to get the drive shaft back in. it simply does not clear the bulkhead without beating, prying, using hydraulics, etc.

once you get it in, if you get that far, you will see you lack clearance. yes, it will work, but is inefficient as can be for evacuating snow. its a power robber for sure. the install will be easier if you can find non-extro drivers in 7t. i havent checked for awhile but the last project i couldnt find any is why i went extros.

that 1.25 will be a vast improvement, or cut down the 2". in your shoes, i would shove that 2" up in there and you will see what i am referring to. then cut about 1/4 to 3/8 off the lugs and have fun. i have done several and that 1.5+ lug works best in my experience.
 
Thanks for the info and advice Snowdad. It made it's way into my shop today after a good power washing. I did get underneath for a look and I see what you're saying. Will most likely go with your recommendation to cut the 2" track down. It should get around pretty good with a 144" x 1.5". That will allow me to sell the Camoplast Predator track which is almost brand new.

So my next step is to go through everything. Pull the airbox, clean the carbs, clean the chain case and see what gears are in it. Put a new recoil rope in it. Check compression. Get it running. Want to make sure she's solid before I go modding it.



 
I might have found an option for gearing, looks like the SRV's used the same chaincase and came with 15/33 gears. I found one cheap for $20 complete shipped. Think I'll get it just to try. Gear ratio would be 2.2 vs 1.7 (with 7t drive sprockets) and that's a substantial change.
 
for that price, put them into inventory, not in the sled, yet. you will be surprised if you go with 7t how well the clutches shift out and how the sled pulls. you dont want to under gear it or you wont get enough rpm to get the track going. basically a clutching nightmare will present itself.

i assume your running at near to nothing elevation there in michigan. i tried the regear thing myself and even with a 153 nytro skid and track i went back to stock gearing less one tooth. this at elevations 4500 and above. you experience will most likely be different as i have no low elevation tuning experience back yard is just under 3000' and i just go up from there.

the 136 swaps werent so bad, but the 144's and over have a tendency to lift the front end because you have so much track under so little weight. you will have to do some skid tuning to find the balance, or ride with body english. lots of counter steer with the long tracks. define that as fun!
 
I did buy the gears and chaincase since it was so cheap but I'll give the stockers a try first. Looks like I'll be buying some more unexpected parts too. I got this sled for $75 because the kid couldn't start it. The recoil rope was broke and he couldn't get the electric start working. That was simple I just replaced the fuse and it was turning over.

So last night I checked compression and had 140 on mag side and zero on pto side. Pulled the head and found this burned down piston. Alright wasn't expecting that but not that big of a deal except I might need a pto side cylinder, definitely need a head. Are the cylinders nikasil?



 
cylinders are boreable, they are not nicasil.

i have many pz parts stored away along with a couple engines left over, i think, if your interested. i was saving for a lawn mower project but if you cant find anything, i can dig out the plastic bins and see what i have left.

on those heads, depending, on how bad, just smooth off the rough/sharp bits and run it. if i recall correctly, those are side specific so account for that when you go shopping. take a close look at the rod to be sure it isnt tweaked.
 
Thanks Snowdad. The head is pretty trashed, looks like the top ring spent some time in there before finding the exhaust port. I'll get a pic later.

I put an add in Craigslist and got a call this afternoon from a guy with a few Phazers and lots of parts. Got a good cylinder, head and piston plus a good rip free seat for $100. I'll probably hone and re-ring both sides since the base gasket is one piece (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) and should be changed. Gotchya on the rod and need to make sure nothing got in the crankcase.

Both bolts were missing on the pto side of the y-pipe and I swear the head bolts were not tight enough to be torqued to spec so I believe he knew about this. Probably why he didn't really counter my low ball offer.

So I've been searching and reading the board here and looks like a midrange lean burn down is common with these carbs. Will that be a concern for a woods only boondocker sled? This thing will never see the trail and not spend time at a constant speed. Also how do the crank seals hold up? I'm just wondering if the pto seal is bad and that side got lean. Don't want to rebuild this and have it burn down again because I missed something.

For right now I just want to get it running on the cheap, then get the skid and track in and make it useable. If we like it and it's fun in the sticks then I might commit to putting some more cash into it. Thanks again for the info!
 
Those phazer motors had a problem with the head bolts loosening off naturally. Most guys just re-torqued them every year. Uncles did this on a venture motor he had in his phazer but only found it when I lost power while ice fishing.
 
I'm doing a similar project. My top end is at mrviper700 getting his phazer treatment right now. Might be a good time to get some porting since it's apart and he's doing mine and his at the same time.
 
Good to know on the head bolts Maim, thanks.

Looking at this cylinder I just got today it could use some cleanup on the bottom of the intake ports. That's probably all I'll do to it and I can do that at my shop. I've done a lot of porting in the past, albeit mostly on small block Chevy's, but also dirt bike engines. The cylinder, piston and head I got look in excellent condition. I might throw it on and check compression. These fanners are so easy to work on, been a long time since I worked on an air cooled engine.

Did get the seat today too. It's not perfect but will work fine for this sled.


 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top