Back In The Saddle

[srg121]

hello everyone,the names Scott,got a max in 1975 when i was 9 years old sold it in 1985....big mistake funnest vehicle i ever had other than constant repairs and cleaning foulded plug a zillian times.had to pull start 50% of the time couse a battery/starter problems,very often having to jump off the back into our pond with the pull start,eventually wearing a slit in upper body! recently while lookin for a quad 4 my son i came across a 6x6 on ebay.....and now im hooked! after 2 monthes of looking for one for sale near nj,finnally found my baby,a 83-85 sidewinder,ad said hustler but after reading forums about sidewinders/hustlers figure must be a sidewinder since under camo spray paint lower tub is yellow.starts right up and purrs like a kitten,18 hourse briggs flat twin all origanal,read that sidewinder had option/mods not on hustler,anyone know what they might be?

[jpswift1]

srg121, Im not sure of the options that the Sidewinders came with that the Hustlers didnt. I do know that Clay Ratcliffe, bought the parts from Hustler (except as you said, different colored bodies) and assembled them under the name "Sidewinder." He was quite the 6x6 enthusiast from what I hear. Since the Sidewinder is basically the same thing as a Hustler, I must say that you picked up a really nice machine. If you pressure wash that body that spray paint might come off. It would look really nice when it is put back to all original. I have a Hustler 980 BIGFOOT and it was the first Hustler that I ever owned. It is a great machine and I am very happy with it. You will be very happy with that machine. Did you buy that off of ebay by any chance? I saw it on there and it looked like it had some real potential. Do you happen to have any pics you could post up? Welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase of another 6x6!

[srg121]

yes i found on ebay has original aluminum roll cage,last guy cut out front cross section but i have it and will soon be welded back,it has mount tabs for lights and center tab 4 rear view mirror which looks origanal and still attached!upper body was cut in front around winch where knees go ,winch plate looks factory too,wondering if this is sidewinder mod or peveous owner hack job....looks symetrical and profetionally done though. front seat also cut out but again looks stock becouse the cuts are to perfect,every one ive seen though has molded seat. gas tank is in rear right of body again looks stock but most ive seen have tank in front. not sure if i like the racing buckets someone put in...there growin on me but if they cant be lowered a custom bench is going in,love fabricating stuff...is dextron III ok for t20,also says type A on lable

[jpswift1]

T-20's use 1 quart ATF type F and you can also add 4 ounces of anti slip differential additive to keep the bands from chattering. The gas tank originally came in the front on the Sidewinders and Hustlers......Im not sure about the winch plate or that mirror, they're pretty good ideas, and maybe they were a Sidewinder addition. Good call on putting the factory seat back in place. I think this machine will look great when you get it back to factory original condtion. Are you going to try and pressure wash the body to get that spray paint off? You have a really nice machine and Im sure we all will be looking forward to seeing the updates on your rebuild.

By the way, it looks like all the Sidewinders that I have looked at have some of the plastic cut around the front where the gas tank goes. Take a look at this picture of forum member Blacklightskid's Sidewinder. His rig, also has the same exact tires as yours too. I bet those were the tires that came stock on the Sidewinder, although I dont think they would swim too well in the water........Maybe its time for some 22" Goodyear Rawhide III tires next.

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Picasa Web Albums - Skid - HUSTLER