Penguin Mkll

[Joe Lorenzino]

Here are a couple of pictures of the walking beam shaft, and the tensioner shaft. The walking beam shaft has a round tubing top gusset, and 2 angled side gussets bracing it to the chassis. Not sure if the tensioner runs all the way across, or is 2 stub shafts.

MK3 Brace.jpg MK3 Shaft 1.jpg MK3 Shaft 2.jpg MK3 tensioner.jpg MK3 tensioner 2.jpg

I got a surprize at work the other day, as the previous owner was in and dropped of a complete engine gasket set, and a hardbound copy of maintenance manual SNOW-B3. The book has an old label on it from "Shamrock Const. Ltd".
Today I stopped in at the yard where the "extra" engine was left in storage a few years ago. The owner has since passed away, but his son is going to let me go on a hunt for it. He doesn't remember it being brought in, but thinks that if it was, it might have been put inside of a van or bus out in the yard. They have been scrapping out a lot of the older stuff, but I am hoping it might still be out there.

[Kirk Armitage]

Excellent pics Joe, not to sure how that tensioner works, recognize the spring in a can and tire setup. Mr Bombardier definitely deviated on his later designs(muskeg), from this setup.
Thanks Kirk Armitage

[Joe Lorenzino]

I got a phone call this week from a fellow in Regina SK, who has just recently purchased another Penguin MK3. It is running & driving (with a Buick engine). It was advertised on Kijiji Regina, and was located only minutes out of the city. His interest is in snow vehicles, and he also has a refurbished SureGo. His shop in Regina is named Precision Motorsports, and his name is C M Ross.

He is looking for information/parts to start a restoration on this unit, and is interested in contacting other Penguin owners.

[Bob Phillips]

I would like to post a few questions about the much discussed topic of CDN snowmobiles.

1 Did anyone come up with an easy way to identify a mk2 vs mk3 penguin?
what are the major differences?

2 Were mk1 Penguins (15 for Muskox) new machines or converts from armoured snowmobiles? I have found some detailed pics of them being built at Ottawa car & Foundry in 1946 and there is no sign of front armour ( as with mk2s)

3 The DND snowmobile projects did not end with the Penguin. In 1947 DND had prototypes built of a 3/4 ton oversnow vehicle (Beaver) and also 2.5 ton vehicle (Wapiti). Are there any surviving Beaver oversnow vehicles?? They were Ford built using a V8 engine.These were not completed until 1951=52. By the way the final costs on these last two vehicles were extremely high ($3-400,000 per vehicle)...B.P.

[Marc Montgomery]

Bob- I remember there was a Wapiti parked in a small display area just inside the Longue Pointe base in east end Montreal..along with a couple other older MVs and an old M-109 howitzer. I remember thinking at the time it was a fairly big snow machine...at the time I had never seen one before.... This would have been late 1990;s?
When i finally found out what it was, I went back to Longue Pointe, but it was gone although the M-109 was still there.
No idea where it went...no one seems to know.