Fox Sundowner production year question

[Augiedoggie]

Any help identifying my recent Fox purchase would be appreciated. My seller told me it was 1974. Just trying to confirm if possible for future reference. Serial #012556 on steering stem. Hoping to start a restoration project on this gem early next summer. Any advice or assistance is most appreciated

 

[Triley41395]

Any help identifying my recent Fox purchase would be appreciated. My seller told me it was 1974. Just trying to confirm if possible for future reference. Serial #012556 on steering stem. Hoping to start a restoration project on this gem early next summer. Any advice or assistance is most appreciated

From everything I have read and been told that would be a 74. I was told that Fox bought the speedway inventory and the sundowner with no rear suspension, speedway tank and wheels were 1974.
Again I'm no expert but from my understanding that bike would be the same year as mine.

 

[Sprocket86]

My very first mini bike was a early 70's fox Sundowner. I was a kid and zero idea that it was a mini bike from the golden era.

The 2 stroke engine was long gone but even as a kid those odd rear engine mounts hinted at something. My dad and I had a lawnmower shop weld in some steel plates to mount a 5hp Briggs flatty. I cringe thinking back on this lol.

We could never get the rear brake to work correctly. Thinking back we used a bicycle hand brake lever. Nowhere near the leverage required to actuate those drum brakes.

 

[markus]

I have some sheets copied from the internet that show a revision date of 3/10/1975 to that version with the Speedway parts but Fox registered and dated the blueprints/patent in later 1973 for the first version that used the leftover Fox tanks, spoke wheels, some had fold down handlebars with internal shocks etc... they were continued to be offered and leftovers sold through Manco after Fox shut down till at least the end of 1978. The engines usually show an early 1970's date code from what I have seen so fFx had problaby got a great deal on a warehouse full of those engines at one time.