Off-Road Antics: 1981 Argo 8
The Argo 8 is an ATV – All Terrain Vehicle. It was built for commercial/industrial applications but could be a lot of fun for personal use as well. The Canadian company that builds them has been around for 60 years and continues to dominate the market. We assume the seller’s 1981 Argo 8 runs and functions as it should, but we’re given no explanation of its history or current condition. Located in Colonial Heights, Virginia, this off-roader is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $2,200. Thanks for the nifty tip, Chuck Foster!
Ontario Drive & Gear Limited was founded in the early 1960s to design and manufacture power transmissions and gears for the North American market. In 1967, they built their first ATV, a 6-wheel-drive, skid-steer unit called the Amphicat. That gave way to the Argo, named after the Argonaut of Greek mythology, and it was capable of navigating on both land and water. 8-wheel Argo’s would come along in 1971 and ODG began using polyethylene material (aka heavy-duty plastic) for their vehicle bodies.
Enter 1981 and the Argo 8 I/C with its hydraulic steering and brakes. It became so popular that the company would quickly rise to 60% of the ATV market. These machines were powered by Briggs & Stratton 656cc twin-cylinder I/C engines. For this reason, we assume these vehicles are fairly simple to work on, and – since the company is still in business – we’d guess that finding parts is not a problem either. So, once you got this thing running (we assume it doesn’t), what applications would you use it for? There has to be a mud bog somewhere to tackle!
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Comments
Mud bog and some deer 🦌 to harvest.
Popular machines with hunters.
Little nitpick , looks like the 17 HP Kohler on my log splitter.
Gee, here is another clue. It says Kohler on top of the air cleaner housing. Koehler would be a significant upgrade from anything Briggs was making in the day.
My experience with these is never drive them any further than you are willing to walk back from
These are cool and I would imagine quite fun with the right crowd. Every time I see one all I can think about is similar to Whiskytango’s comment. I bet they are a bear to work on!
As I recall, there was a lot of noise and vibration without much speed. I would seriously consider an engine swap if I were to cover much ground with one of these. Otherwise a very cool vehicle. I remember seeing these (or competitive brand) out on some small lakes in Ohio.
Every one of these things I have seen over the years has been just like this sitting in a yard looking like it hasn’t ran for a long time.
on/in water too?
I guess w/a lill more tread it would B like an amfib car? I see paddle wheeled
4WD p/u run sand dunes. A tread like that (if vehicle floats) might B of use? But hey, may B this is one too, thnx Russ~
That was for Chisful
Many years ago i was in a club that had these, most were the 6 wheel type, we would all go out to a place and ride all around, it was tons of fun!!
Seen a bunch of these over the years can’t remember seeing a runner.
I know you have a lot to contribute and I would love to read it, but it is really hard for us old guys to figure out what your saying. I just figured out how to program my VCR. So please help us out.
my brother has 75 acres, we could have a little fun with it, but I bet it’s a lot slower than my Honda Rubicon 4wheeler, but hey it floats …..
Does it have one of those breathalyzers attached to the ignition? Only in this case you have to blow at least a .8 to start it?