1986 polaris scrambler 3-wheeler restoration

[campdrew]

Hello. After a few years of searching, I bought a 1986 Scrambler 250 about 3 years ago. It was in very rough condition, but as few of them as I've seen, I wasn't going to be picky. After a couple years of sitting, I finally started working on it this spring. I stripped it down to the bare frame and sandblasted it. Being a typical Polaris, the swingarm bolt holes were very egged out, so I made bushings and welded them in. The gussets on the frame inder the motor were very rusty and had a few holes in them, so I made plates to reinforce/ cover them up, then ground it back down to look as stock as possible. Then I had the frame powder coated in a mid-gloss black.

After locating (new and used) all the parts I need, I'm now working on putting it back together. I'm trying to keep it as original/ stock as possible, but I've had to replace a lot of worn out parts. I had the cylinder bored .020" over and installed new crank bearings and seals. Currently I'm in the process of cleaning/ painting all of the small parts.

From what I've read it looks like there were about 1500 of these Scramblers built and after the legal problems, all but about 550 were bought back and destroyed/ turned into 4 wheelers by Polaris. I'd like to learn as much as I can about the history of this machine, so if anyone has any info/ history on it, I'd love to hear about it.

[Tippmann98]

Make sure you post a bunch of pictures. Everyone here will love to see the progress you are making!

[Howdy]

Hello. After a few years of searching, I bought a 1986 Scrambler 250 about 3 years ago. It was in very rough condition, but as few of them as I've seen, I wasn't going to be picky. After a couple years of sitting, I finally started working on it this spring. I stripped it down to the bare frame and sandblasted it. Being a typical Polaris, the swingarm bolt holes were very egged out, so I made bushings and welded them in. The gussets on the frame inder the motor were very rusty and had a few holes in them, so I made plates to reinforce/ cover them up, then ground it back down to look as stock as possible. Then I had the frame powder coated in a mid-gloss black.

After locating (new and used) all the parts I need, I'm now working on putting it back together. I'm trying to keep it as original/ stock as possible, but I've had to replace a lot of worn out parts. I had the cylinder bored .020" over and installed new crank bearings and seals. Currently I'm in the process of cleaning/ painting all of the small parts.

From what I've read it looks like there were about 1500 of these Scramblers built and after the legal problems, all but about 550 were bought back and destroyed/ turned into 4 wheelers by Polaris. I'd like to learn as much as I can about the history of this machine, so if anyone has any info/ history on it, I'd love to hear about it.

Welcome to the P3 owners club ( not an official group ). From the info I have gotten Polaris made around 1716 3 wheelers. There are a few of us here on the site that own P3's ( we call them "P3's" for short. I know of about 10-20 owned by 3wheelerworld members. If you haven't done it yet, I would reccomend cleaning or replacing the starter ( one of the biggest PITA to replace ). The swing arm bushings have been discontinued by Polaris. I have a friend that has made me a few sets ( I have 5 P3's in my stable ). I have a few more sets of these bushings on the way and will be getting more once these get here and are sold. I would never weld bushing in.
Howdy

[jeswinehart]

Welcome Drew.
Howdy got my interest started in the P-3 several years ago and I knew basically about the (low) production number but don't recall hearing {quote} " From what I've read it looks like there were about 1500 of these Scramblers built and after the legal problems, all but about 550 were bought back and destroyed/ turned into 4 wheelers by Polaris. I'd like to learn as much as I can about the history of this machine, so if anyone has any info/ history on it, I'd love to hear about it. "
Can you elaborate on where you picked up that info please, I think it would be some what awesome if true, and by NO means am I saying it isn't, just want to know more about that info if I may.

Well anyways, looking forward to seeing pictures !

john

[Howdy]

Welcome Drew.
Howdy got my interest started in the P-3 several years ago and I knew basically about the (low) production number but don't recall hearing {quote} " From what I've read it looks like there were about 1500 of these Scramblers built and after the legal problems, all but about 550 were bought back and destroyed/ turned into 4 wheelers by Polaris. I'd like to learn as much as I can about the history of this machine, so if anyone has any info/ history on it, I'd love to hear about it. "
Can you elaborate on where you picked up that info please, I think it would be some what awesome if true, and by NO means am I saying it isn't, just want to know more about that info if I may.

Well anyways, looking forward to seeing pictures !

john

Heck John you originally got my interest started on the P3's and to think it was all over 350x parts. lol

Drew,
I am with John on wondering were you found your information on The P3's. I have quite a bit of P3 info ( Sales Video, OEM Polaris shop manual, pictures, ect ). But I am always looking for more.
If I/we can assist in any way let us know.
Howdy

[campdrew]

John, all of the info I've read about P3's has come from searching on google. As far as the part about turning them into 4 wheelers, I used to work at a Polaris dealer and I asked the Polaris sales rep about them. He told me that his family owned a Polaris dealership in the 80's and that because of all the safety concerns about 3 wheelers, that Polaris offeres to buy them back from anyone who wanted to get a 4wheeler. He also said that Polaris then either destroyed them or updated tehm to a 4 wheel atv and sold them to Polaris Employees. I have never read this anywhere or seen any that were converted to 4 wheel, but that was what I heard first hand from a Polaris sales rep.

[campdrew]

Howdy, just to clarify, I did not weld bushings into the swingarm, I Drilled out the pivot bolt holes in the frame that were egged out and welded a bushing back in to take it back to the right size.

[Howdy]

Howdy, just to clarify, I did not weld bushings into the swingarm, I Drilled out the pivot bolt holes in the frame that were egged out and welded a bushing back in to take it back to the right size.

Ok, that clarrifies it. be sure to keep an eye on the tranny where the pivot bolts go. I seen quite a few that have been broke do to abuse.
Howdy

[campdrew]

Yeah, the tranny case was junk. I found a good one from an 85 Trail Boss.

[campdrew]

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As you can see from the pics, the Scrambler was in pretty rough shape when I got it. The whole machine had been spray painted black, the seat had been recovered (very poorly), the inner and outer clutch covers were junk, the transmission had a huge hole in the bottom of it and the skid plate and shift lever were missing. The throttle cable was stuck and the throttle lever housing had plexiglass for a cover. The rear hubs were welded to the axle and the chain tensioner was cobbled. The swingarm bushings were shot, and the lefthand footboard was broken out of the frame. I was told that it has run up until the throttle cable stuck.
Fortunately, there seemed to be more good parts on it than bad, and you can't be too picky when you're looking for a Polaris 3 wheeler anyway. Most hardcore Polaris guys don't even know they exist, so I took what I could get.

[jeswinehart]

Over all it still don't look too darn bad ! By FAR, the single most common comment I hear about P-3 trikes is folks saying "I didn't know Polaris made a 3 wheeler !"

[Keepah Rolln]

Nice find..

[campdrew]

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Since I can't find pics of the bare frame after sandblasting and welding, here are some pics after I got it back from powder coating. You can see in one pic where I welded in new swingarm pivot bushings and in the other pics where I welded in new frame gussets. I'm not an expert welder, but was surprized at how bad some of the factory welds were. There is no way it would pass quality control inspections today. On the lefthand side, the footboard mount broke out of the frame and then the peg broke off of the board when I tried to free it up. The last two pics are of the foot boards that was broken off after repairs. The boards look like they were galvanized from the factory?

[campdrew]

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[muthey]

hey drew I was given a trail boss 350 four wheeler, let me know if there are any parts off of it that you can use, it didn't come with a motor but almost all of the rest of it is there. I was thinking about your rear axle and wondering if they would interchange, as mine is in great condition, and has aluminum hubs that are not welded on. Let me know, would rather part it out than try and find a good complete motor for cheap.

[drivetime]

Looks like a nice rebuild. I would imagine parts are hard to find for this.

What do these things you usually go for money wise?

[TheBlueWale]

The P3's are awesome trikes, I see you have a fairly nice(even though there is a small piece chipped) shifting knob, did you ever consider getting it reproed? Those are very hard to come by in good condition.

[TheBlueWale]

Looks like a nice rebuild. I would imagine parts are hard to find for this.

What do these things you usually go for money wise?

The only hard to find parts are the front rack, front rack mounts, front fender in the purple/dark blue color(otherwise you can get a yamaha one and paint it), and the gas tank, and the Frame is rare, but you can most likely convert a trail boss frame if you really wanted to.

Also, There are many parts available for these, because the trailboss used the same parts.

[campdrew]

hey drew I was given a trail boss 350 four wheeler, let me know if there are any parts off of it that you can use, it didn't come with a motor but almost all of the rest of it is there. I was thinking about your rear axle and wondering if they would interchange, as mine is in great condition, and has aluminum hubs that are not welded on. Let me know, would rather part it out than try and find a good complete motor for cheap.

Thanks, but the 350 is a newer (gen2) chassis and there aren't many parts that are the same as the gen1 chassis.

[campdrew]

The P3's are awesome trikes, I see you have a fairly nice(even though there is a small piece chipped) shifting knob, did you ever consider getting it reproed? Those are very hard to come by in good condition.

Yeah, there is a small chip in it. I'll probably keep my eye out for a better one. Do you know someone who repro's them? Also, I believe that under the spray paint my front fender is black. Did some of the P3s come with a black fender rather than dark blue?

[campdrew]

Looks like a nice rebuild. I would imagine parts are hard to find for this.
What do these things you usually go for money wise?

The machine was pretty much complete when I bought it. All of the parts I needed I either borrowed from a Trailboss or was able to still find them new from Polaris. In the case of the front brake/ cable and front axle, I was able to find good ones from a Yamaha YTM, which shares the same front end.

[atcandrewglover]

im pickin up an 86 p3 in a lil bit today. 4 hour drive to pick up. it need swingarms bushing. and i am getting the owner manual with it too. message me because i would to to put it up but dont know how to

[1982atc250r]

looking good

[CTPATRIOT]

I've only seen 2 of these.One was at the dealer new in "85,another i bought and sold in the late "90's.(could have been the same one?!)

[3W3W3W]

They are in Stover MO, 65078 $1300.00 for the 2 of them with all the parts to put the restored one back together. The complete one runs and looks nice.143690143691143692143693143694 573-746-1310

[atcandrewglover]

lol i bought it from ny im in poconos pa