If you’ve got few spare dollars and would like to own what is possibly the single most valuable collection of vintage Arctic Cat snowmobiles in the world, you’re in luck.
We just received word that Andy Avelis, Arctic Cat snowmobile collector extraordinaire from Salisbury, Mass., is selling his jaw-dropping collection. Yep, the whole enchilada. Here is the text of the email he sent:
“This may come as a surprise to many, however I have decided to sell off my collection of Cat sleds and parts. I estimate it will take 2 to 4 years to deplete the collection. Expect to see items appear on ebay and the classified sled sites. I will accept phone calls as well as time allows. It was obviously the frenzy of the hunt that appealed to me more than the long term ownership. I have now turned my attention towards collecting 1956 thru 1962 Corvettes and 1967 thru 1969 Camaros. Please keep the W.T.F. emails to a minimum if you can. Thanks. Andy”
I’ve know Andy since we wrote a story on him in the Feb. 2007 issue of Arctic Cat Pride magazine back, and I must admit I’m having a huge WTF moment as I try to comprehend this. Andy has been a life-long Arctic Cat fan and, over the past 20 years, assembled one of (if not THE) most amazing collections of sleds, parts and memorabilia.
King Cats, Puma Mod racers, 1977-1/2 IFS Sno Pro, Zs, Sno Pros, EXTs…you name it and Avelis had one. Hell, he probably had a half-dozen of each. And he had it all housed in a custom built “playroom” that contained every Arctic Cat sign, poster and promo item you could imagine.
As might be expected, Avelis was shy about predicting the value of his collection for the story. I remember the story’s author, Charles Plueddeman, speculating that it was worth between $500,000 – $1,000,000.
Personally, I’d love for Arctic Cat to swoop in, purchase the entire collection and place it in their Thief River Falls museum. The problem with that is they likely don’t have a spare million laying around, nor do they have a museum.
We’ll investigate this story further and bring you info as it becomes available. For now, enjoy the pictures.
im with you , arctic cat needs to swoop in!
If a museum with these kinds of sleds and memorabilia were to exist in TRF, would you make a special trip to visit?
I definitely would!
sweetening the deal would be seeing prototypes after 1982-present aswell.
eg. afs el’ tigre , wildcat , ext special, prowler z special , wildcat with 975 triple, 93 zr 440 , 95 zr 440 , 98 zr 440 snopro , skinni mini prototypes , 02 440 snopro , 02 4 stroke , 03 zr 900 and any of tuckers mod sleds.
Question, What liquid cooled triple engine would that be from?
I think it’s a ’75 650, and if memory serves…it was one of only a handful. Imagine this collection matched with Tom Rowland’s collection and the sleds you list.
I would make the trip for shur!!!!!! I have never made the hommage home to trf where all fast sleds are born. But this with a plant tour would make it a have to go place!!
Can anyone please post his ebay username so I can watch him because I would like to buy couple of things. Thanks!
I think this collection is simply amazing, it will be sad to see it go, but if he’s ready to sell and part, then he’s ready to sell and part, it would be cool to see Arctic Cat come in and make the offer, if there was to be a Arctic Cat muesum somewhere in TRF I would make the trip as well. Snowmobile museums are the best.
This is a great piece. Looking at all those pics of his collection reminds me of my family when I was growing up in the 70’s. The purple and lime green suits. Our first sled, a 72′ 399 Cheetah. Seeing all those oval racers reminds me of going to the oval races in Hutchinson MN and Alexandria MN to watch the Sno Pro races. Didn’t matter if it was -15F. My Dad didn’t let us miss a race.
Of course AC needs to buy it – SHARE OUR PASSION.
Have it all ready to go for the 50th anniversary bash… =)
The black 3cyl l/c engine in the picture is a 650cc out of a 1974 Sno Pro. In 75 AC for the most part went back to f/a for one last year. the did run some l/c 2cyl sleds but for the 650cc it was all free air in 75.
Mvh
SK
Good info, Sknox, thanks. I recall that this was a VERY limited engine. Maybe even single-digit production. Do you remember? BTW, thanks for coming here. Your site is amazing (bosscatlegacy on my “links” page for anyone who wants to see it).
I feel the same as Andy, it wasn’t the ownership even though that did play a part, it was the hunt. I managed to get R/V’s, Blizzard’s and Sno Pro’s sleds/parts all over the United States and Canada. Maybe not as rare as Andy’s collection, but still some very unique sleds. When individual’s started cloning sleds is when I knew it was the hunt that was more exciting than ownership and sold out. I just want to wish Andy the best of luck in his new endeavor. You collection was amazing.
AC should get this piece of history into TRF. This is a once in a life time collection and we’ll probably never see one like it again. It’s to beautiful to let die. If I had the money and space, I’d purchase a few sleds, etc.
All AC riders/racers in the world should purchase a piece of this and move it to TRF.
Happy trails from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut Canada
As a former AC Rep and devout AC fan, Arctic Cat Inc should and could buy this collection. If it wasn’t for all these sleds the “legend” of Arctic Cat wouldn’t exist. It would be a great draw to TRF….
If TRF doesn’t invest in this collection I WILL BE VERY DISAPOINTED. Those are the machines like my Grandpa used to race and talk about. I would make the trip to TRF with Grandpa so he could see them, it would make his whole year, and mine too. Breaking up this collection to ebay and classifieds makes me sad. There should only be one option and one buyer, ARCTIC CAT INC.
I am saddened to hear of this news. At least, we have our BROCHURES with this collection as a feature and a DVD with him and his dad to remember it all (O:
Just my 2 cents worth…
…………TM
It will be a sad sight when all this great stuff is split up. I’d love to see Cat step in and buy it but with the way the economy is right now it will never happen. They’re in a cash crunch. Of course I’m sure there’s some Cat head honchos with the a million bucks they could easily spend, but the question is would they? Maybe they could all chip in like they did back in 82′. It would defiantly be a benefit to the company to have something like that at the birth place of Arctic Cat.
idea: we start up prtnrship to buy the collection…100 investors $5000 ea= $500,000…sign up here i’m number 1
Hell i am number 2
From Thief River Falls Why not purchase the old Bostwicks building and fill it with sleds. —How about hooking up with the Pioneer Village?
Great Idea Sign me up I am number 3 and I am sure my wife would be number 4
wow, what a collection it is!!!
just awesome, thanks for sharing with us…
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That kind of thkining shows you’re on top of your game
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Arctic Cat definitely needs to preserve this collection. This is history that Cat needs in a space or museum. It’s a must have!
Buy it Cat!
hey what city is this in an addresss- what would the price of the 440 puma
Hello there,
I am looking for a “Two Finger” custom brake lever for a ’98 ZL500?????
Can you help me find this item, thanking you in advance,
Paul Wilkie
Wellston Winter Trails and Promotions
http://www.wellstonwintertrails.com/Home_Page.php
Located in the heart of the beautiful Manistee National Forest
Wellston, MI 49689
Email: wipaulmar3@aol.com
Cell: 734 550 6763
where is this arctic cat musiem ? how many sleds are still available , what about that 440 puma sitting in the corner so lonesome
I don’t know if you can help me but I have two 1979 Arctic cat 3000 cc Jag snowmobiles. They are in better than good condition even though they are older they do not have a lot of riding hours on them. I live in Chicago but the snowmobiles are kept outside of Muskegon Michigan. I would like to sell them and I don’t know if there are any collectors out there who would be interested in purchasing them. I cab be reached at 773/322-7686. Thank you.
i’m interested in any snowmobiles you may have yet for sale! could you shoot me an email or text if you have anything yet available thanks Ray ——– 701-793-0188
You wouldn’t happen to have any 1972 Puma’s or Cheetah’s would you, any shape…
Thank You…
Any sleds left at all…
Hi there would you have a 1974 panther or cheetah 340 or 440 or anything
close to that year thank you so much.
Looking to find a contact number to get in touch with andy ,I sold a 72 Blizzard to his friend back in 98,thanks