Kitty Cat Snowmobiles

Hi, I've got a '73 Kitty that came with no air filter element. Wondering if you can just put a similar sized round paper filter in it or if it needs to be the oiled foam type? Or maybe someone could post of picture of an original? I've looked at the fiche, but it doesn't give me enough info. Thanks, Jared

The original kitty air box is nothing more than a tin box with holes in the bottom to draw up air. It really has no filter in it at all.

My original air cleaner element was pretty deteriorated after sitting in the barn for 30 years, but there was enough of it left that I could tell how thick it was (about 1/4", maybe 3/8") and how porous the foam was. Since new elements are not available, I cut a 2" circular piece from an extra pre-filter from my Toro lawn tractor; it was exactly the same thickness as the Kitty element. I slipped it between the two screens on the air intake of my 1972 Kawasaki T5A Kitty engine, and it fits perfectly. I also made a few spares.

Just for the record: the original black foam element had what I would call "large pores," not the tight pores you find on an air precleaner (the light green ones) for a Briggs & Stratton lawnmower engine, for example. Unless you're riding in dusty conditions, or you let the element get too dirty, I doubt it makes much difference whether it's large-pore or small-pore foam.

Hope this helps.