Brian, I’m adding a post with another photo of the rear suspension to give you a little different angle. As you said, there is really no shock dampening on the front swing arm.

The curious thing is how it all really works. The coil-over provides all the springing on the rear of the suspension by pushing against a fixed shaft that is only connected to the chassis mount shaft by a pair of hinged “arms”. This is different from the approach that some manufacturers used in which the shock was mounted directly to a rotating rear shaft.

The coil-over shock resistance is also adjustable, which I think, was a new concept for sled suspensions at the time. I guess it all works, as the sled rides very well.