MONCTON – A Moncton snowmobile collector says his old snowmobiles continue to garner attention when they’re out in public.
Danny Gillcash has been collecting and restoring old snowmobiles for 25 years and says he’s got 15 machines that date back as far as 1950. They feature wooden skis and tracks made with wood and rubber and most of them were used for woods work.
Gillcash says they still get respect for the work they’ve accomplished when he takes them to tradeshows and exhibits.
“People say, ‘well I remember when my father had one of these,’ or ‘my grandfather had one of these,'” he said.
Get breaking National news
“It’s just kind of neat I guess.”
Gillcash keeps his snowmobiles in sheds until they’re put on display at trade shows and exhibits. He says he started collecting them thanks to his brother.
“My brother collects Ski-Doos, the old bubble-nosed Ski-Doos from the 60’s,” he said. “He has quite a collection of those.”
He says his favourite is a one-ski snowmobile called the Snowbug.
“It’s got a neat suspension on the front of it so when you’re driving it the steering wheel moves up and down about a foot,” he said.
He says the biggest challenge is finding the right colours to paint them. But it takes time and effort, especially to find the parts.
“The parts are available you just have to search it out,” he said.
Comments