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.
