Here are some more photos of Dimmerman’s almost-restored 1984 World Championship Phantom. The photo above is Jim (L) and sled/team owner Ted Nielsen. Nielsen should be given huge credit for the decades of support he’s given high level snowmobile racing.
The pix were shot a couple days ago at Nielsen Enterprises and illustrate how close this sled is to becoming a runner.
To my eyes and emotional headquarters, seeing a naked race sled is as good as it gets. Every element is so purposeful, almost sacred. They reveal creativity, engineering, unique ideas and, in the case of sleds like the Phantom, the pinnacle of snowmobile development during a particular era.
If ever there have been pix published of the Phantom without fiberglass, I don’t remember them. So I give a HUGE thanks to Jim for sending and sharing these.
Here Jim and Ted are joined by Jeff and Christie Nielsen.
I had a long talk with Jim about his thoughts on whether the Phantom would be competitive with today’s top Champ sleds. In short, Jim thinks it would be.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Dimmerman built up another Phantom, based on an Arctic Cat Sno Pro with the Z-bar front end, and teamed up with his friend Aaron Scheele for some vintage oval racing?
Yeah, I think so too.
Truth be told, the idea isn’t mine. It’s Jim’s. Which is why he’s on the lookout for an Arctic Cat Sno Pro. Got any leads?