Hi all....i have the chance to trade a very good and sound Alpine 640 for a 1988 AC Panthera 440 liquid with reverse no starter....i need feed back on this machine.....i know fairly well FC machine(all Alpine or Nordic 640).....That would be my first liquid......it has 2 rad...one inside the cowling and one in the tunnel. Are they hard to start in the cold??????do they tend to overheat in say.....+4/5 ....ect......Thank you in advance.
1988 Artic Cat Panthera feed back
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Joined
·
189 Posts
What purpose are you going to put the sled towards, riding for fun, as a workhorse, something to use as a family sled?
You do realize the Ski-Doo Alpine and the Arctic Cat Pantera are two very different machines...? One of them being a work horse meant to pull heavy loads, the other one being kind of the luxury sports sled of those days...?
The 1988 Pantera is basically the same machine as the 1988 El Tigre, but equipped with little bit more luxury...I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure part of the luxury with the Pantera was electric start as well as reverse. It definitely had a weird looking leather seat, where the El Tigre was little bit more performance oriented. I had a 1988 El Tigre around 1990 and it was basically performing on par with the Formula MX, but not as fast as the Formula Plus. Definitely faster than the Yamaha Phazer and SRV, but not as fast as the VMax and Exciter.
Also, you are asking about 36 year old machines. A lot of bad things can happen with miles and 36 years...I don't remember any particular dramas with a relatively new El Tigre. It came with bit of a weird clutching and it was running a lot stronger after getting that sorted out. It did un-thread an end eye off one of the front shock absorbers. But in general I would think about it as a reliable and strong runner back in the days.
The 1988 Pantera is basically the same machine as the 1988 El Tigre, but equipped with little bit more luxury...I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure part of the luxury with the Pantera was electric start as well as reverse. It definitely had a weird looking leather seat, where the El Tigre was little bit more performance oriented. I had a 1988 El Tigre around 1990 and it was basically performing on par with the Formula MX, but not as fast as the Formula Plus. Definitely faster than the Yamaha Phazer and SRV, but not as fast as the VMax and Exciter.
Also, you are asking about 36 year old machines. A lot of bad things can happen with miles and 36 years...I don't remember any particular dramas with a relatively new El Tigre. It came with bit of a weird clutching and it was running a lot stronger after getting that sorted out. It did un-thread an end eye off one of the front shock absorbers. But in general I would think about it as a reliable and strong runner back in the days.
Joined
·
189 Posts
The EFI of Arctic Cats of those days relied on having a good battery if the sled you are looking at had it. Cold temps and those okd electronic fuel injection Cat machines were not good.
We were out at -36F one nught and a friends would not start. We had to go get a trailer to get that sled home.
We were out at -36F one nught and a friends would not start. We had to go get a trailer to get that sled home.
Thank very much
The 1988 El Tigre / Pantera has carbs. This is couple years before the first Wildcat equipped with EFI.
Joined
·
6,432 Posts
Good machine in general, but as mentioned with the age there is no way to predict this particular one. It could be an excellent reliable sled or constant problems. I think you need to tell us also what you want to use it for. The air to water rad will give it an advantage in cooling over a heat exchanger only but would benefit even more if it had a fan, say if you are trapping or using it on a sugar bush etc. It will still need to be moving to not overheat, unless you can add a fan.
It should not be hard to start if everything is in good order. It will have a choke(enrichment circuit), not a primer. If you really like it and want to you, I am sure you could add an electric starter, used parts should be around with a bit of searching.
I think also how bad you want to get rid of the Alpine and condition for condition if this would generally be a trade in your favour / a good deal for you. If it is a good deal for you, if you don’t like the Cat, you can sell it and still be ahead, presuming it is a good machine and not full of problems.
It should not be hard to start if everything is in good order. It will have a choke(enrichment circuit), not a primer. If you really like it and want to you, I am sure you could add an electric starter, used parts should be around with a bit of searching.
I think also how bad you want to get rid of the Alpine and condition for condition if this would generally be a trade in your favour / a good deal for you. If it is a good deal for you, if you don’t like the Cat, you can sell it and still be ahead, presuming it is a good machine and not full of problems.
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
