1974 Thunder Jet 340 F/A


Update - April 2020: This sled has been 95% completed for some time now. All that's left to do is mix up some gas and try it out. Well, I could wire up the tether cord the rear taillight, but those are minor details. Otherwise, scroll right down to the bottom to see some photos of the sled being raced back in the 70's.


I'm very excited to share this with everyone. I picked up this sled in 2016, completely apart. Technically there were two and a half machines. I say two and a half because there were two good tunnels, then a third tunnel with the bulkhead cut up. Parts to build almost two complete sleds and a few other pieces.

Anyways, the story is, Randy Whitlow bought the sleds used in the 70's. From a local racer named Ken Bird. Randy raced the sled for a few years with mixed success. The main sled shown below was essentially a stock setup. The other tunnel pictured was actually a Thunder Jet setup with an SRX powerplant.

Years later, the sleds were sold to another local collector. When I received a phone call from him, I was incredibly excited to go take a look at these sleds and even more lucky to work out a deal. I'm building a second machine at the same time with the extra parts. You can see that sled under restorations as well.

The engine is rebuilt, it's in place, I just need to wire it up, run the fuel lines, mount the clutch and belt, and it should be ready to roll. Hopefully another update will follow soon.

What's really interesting about the hood, its all hand painted. I guess the original decals were taken off. Replacement decals weren't available at the time. So Randy took the hood to a local paint guy, he did it all by hand. I love it!

While the tunnel had a bit of damage, and some modifications, it was straight. All I did was put on this patch panel to keep it from getting worse. I know the color is slightly off, but that same color was a almost perfect match on a different Thunder Jet I'm building.

How it all started... Once everything was unloaded in my garage.

The load in my trailer, and there was more in the car.