THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Fort Smith teenager Jon Labine is interested in how machines have evolved over the years.

Jon Labine sits on the unique snowmobile he has created using parts from two Ski-Doo models – an Elan and an Olympique. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"I definitely like to see all the different styles of work that go into making a machine," said the 16-year-old.

Labine said it is a hobby, noting he goes online to look for information on machines - old manuals and even notes that workers made about different machines.

"It's a huge learning experience," he said.

And he likes to try his own projects to learn more.

Earlier this year, he began his first project on a snowmobile.

That was working to combine two models of Ski-Doo snowmobiles - a 1985 Elan and a hood from an Olympique from the 1960s.

"The hood definitely came first," he said. "We found that almost two years ago and we got the Elan a year later."

The hood - also called a cowling - was spotted at the dump in Fort Smith.

"It didn't have a windshield," said Labine, who found the hood with his father, Michel. "We actually pointed it out because of the light, just the light sticking out. That's all we saw. And when I walked over to look at it, I said, 'Hey Dad, this is a Ski-Doo here.' It was a really old Ski-Doo. I was really interested in it."

The cowling had a lot of sheet metal riveted to it in different places.

"The paint was fading off of it because the sun was beating down on it," Labine recalled. "So it was definitely hard to tell what it was, but from the pop-out light and just barely seeing the emblem on the side, I knew that it was a very old Olympique Ski-Doo hood."

The other part of his unique snowmobile - the Ski-Doo Elan - came from a friend of Labine's father.

The snowmobile had sat in the man's shed for a long time before he gave it away.

"I guess it was just mainly to get it out of his shed," said Labine. "He really didn't think there was much that we could do with it."

The original plastic hood was still on the Elan, but was very beat up, cracked and scratched. Someone had tried to fibreglass it and there were sheets of metal riveted onto it.

"Basically, just anything you could do to keep it together," said Labine.

A couple of things happened to or were considered for the Olympique hood before it was joined to the Elan.

Labine noted he has a 1972 Harley-Davidson golf cart in his backyard.

"The slope and the contour of the Olympique hood matched the front end of the golf cart," he said. "So I was hoping to fix up and repaint the light, just the pop-up light, and possibly put that in the golf cart. That was my first idea."

That didn't happen, but he and his father drilled holes into the cowling and put Christmas lights around it. They also used pieces of wood to imitate skis and a seat, and a piece of fibreglass for a windshield, and used it as a decoration for their front driveway.

"At that point, we didn't think we'd have any other use for it so why not turn it into something to enjoy," he said, noting most of the small holes in the hood have now been repaired.

Labine and his father put the Olympique and the Elan together just after last Christmas.

"I just thought it would be fun to get this older, vintage model just kind of pieced together a bit," he said, noting that took about a week and he continued to work afterwards on the electrical system and the motor.

"When I was done and I had it running, there was less than an inch of snow left on the ground," he noted. "That's why it sat for so long."

It has only been this winter that the Grade 11 student at Paul William Kaeser High School has started to drive the unique snowmobile around his yard.

"It runs very good," he said, although he notes he still hasn't given it a full run around the community.

Labine said creating the snowmobile was definitely fun, and he enjoyed learning about the history of the Elan and Olympique Ski-Doos and comparing them to the snowmobiles of today.

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