Doc Jim Saurdiff found this 440X motor from gentleman living in mid-Michigan way back in about 2006. There was also a ton of suspension parts, a chaincase, skis and other small parts that more than likely came from a 1975 Polaris factory sled.
When he got the engine home, he couldn’t wait to tear into it and learn all the secrets. A lightweight magnesium crank case. Unique ignition. Perfectly matched cylinders and case porting. That was about it. What he found was an exceptionally well put together engine, clearly the work of someone who knew what they were doing.
Shortly thereafter, the Derby Track Archives found the registration for Larry Rugland in the 440X class was using this very engine. From that point forward, Doc and I spent years trying to track down the original chassis, only to come up with not so much as a lead as to where it might be.
We did find a 75 magnesium bulkhead that had been cut into pieces, and aluminum 73 Starfire tunnel, but that too was cut too far to have a serial number. By 2016, Doc started to feel like were would never find anything, and perhaps he should build a chassis that is like Rugland’s, to at least give the engine a frame it deserves.
It was about that time that I decided to volunteer to try and get it done for him – that is, at least get all of it together and in one spot so he could do all the final work to it. In hindsight, I don’t know what I was thinking. I barely had enough time in a normal week to remember to take a shower, let alone spend a ton of time in the garage.
But slowly and surely, with the help of the best there is, it started to take some shape. Mark Anderson helped be get a tunnel and bulkhead all matched up to an original 1975 PDC. I took the motor over to Wisconsin, where the Reverend Larry Rugland himself pulled a head a cylinder, started measuring and then declared it was indeed his 440X engine.
I sorted through all the parts, and we did have a lot of 1975 magnesium suspension parts, a magnesium 1975 chain case, original 75 aluminum skis, and some pipes that I was at best skeptical of. I got a bunch of it mocked together by 2022, and then I just plain ran out of time, and trying to get any of the missing parts down to Arizona was getting harder and harder.
Enter Ken Simoneau – I met him from another friend and after just a few talks, Ken decided he would like to take a stab at it. So I loaded it and another sled up in a rental van and headed north to the motherland of Minnesota.
We spent a good day going through the whole thing, then a good couple of years exchanging photos to try and get everything as close to Rugland’s as possible. The hood, the handlebars, the seat, and the chaincase were all very difficult to do via text messages and photos, but a month ago… Ken got it all together and HE NAILED IT!
