1966 Arctic Cat Panther

This is one of the original Black Panthers that were produced prior to the 1967 model year. While this Panther looks much like the more common 1967's, there are many differences: open drive chain (not a chain case), non-traditional rolled edge on the running boards, aluminum dash panel, 140/141 style fiberglass hood, no taillight, different rear suspension, skis made from a 140/141 model, etc, etc. Of interest on this sled are all of the old signs of red paint showing through on many of the black parts...maybe being black was an after thought? After the pioneers at Arctic were done testing and engineering with this sled, it was sold by then Arctic Enterprises sales representative Marv Manning to the family of Cole Adkins from Twin Valley Minnesota. We purchased it from Cole in about the late 1990's. Tom's dad Wayne gave this a good mechanical restoration in about 2001, cosmetically it has been left mostly as it was when we purchased it. At sometime in its life the unique 1966 rear bumper/backrest was replaced with a 1968 version, but the original mount holes still show where the original was. The original triangular hood decals were later replaced with Panther decals, and a Panther front bumper was added long ago too. This is always maintained and ridden at least every few years since being freshened up over 20 years ago. We are nearly certain that this is the exact sled shown prominately on the cover of the 1967 Panther brochure, when closely examining the photo and the snowmobile, it appears to be one and the same. Of the 21 1966 Panthers that were built, there were a few things that seperated some from the others: a few different versions of dash panels exist, a few different versions of gas tanks exist, a few different versions of running board rolls exist, etc. Of those that still survive there are a few different engines too: This one is a 12 hp Kohler 4 stroke, at least a couple have 8 hp Kohler 4 strokes, and at least one has a 247cc JLO.  This snowmobile is featured on pages 8, 9, and 94 of the book "50 Years of the Cat" by John Sandberg (the original Minnesota Registration numbers are edited out in these images, they remain on the snowmobile today). The original identification tag on this reads Serial: BP6-4631. Model: BP