Snow Master Restoration ~ by Snowcat Operations

[Snowcat Operations]

I have been finding out that I am in need of some rear deck snow guards. In powder my tracks tend throw powder up and back forward from the back of the tracks. This powder build up gets very thick! today on a rescue mission to recover my neighbors Excusion :D I drove about 5 miles in 12" plus of freshly fallen snow. I must of had 12" on my track decks when I got to his vehicle. I have seen some type of guards on other Snow Masters (see pics) Does anyone else have these? I believe when my vehicle goes to the metal shop I am going to have them build me a set.

(Pics not of my Snow Master)

[villi]

??

[Snowcat Operations]

Villi,
My tracks stick out about 12" past the back of the machine. The tracks then are free to fling the snow farward from the back onto my track deck. Thanks for the pictures. They gave me another idea!

[Melensdad]

Mike, it seems to me you could farily easily fabricate new sheet metal to duplicate the factory snow guards. Here is a photo from an Aktiv brochure.

[BigAl]

Villi,
My tracks stick out about 12" past the back of the machine. The tracks then are free to fling the snow farward from the back onto my track deck. Thanks for the pictures. They gave me another idea!


Mouse Ear ,
Since you will probably be broke down on the side of the road in that old Snot Trac anyway ,I would not worry about it !!!:moon: . Given about August it should melt off the tracks on its own anyway !!!heehee
Good Morning :tiphat:

Big Al:coolshade

[Snowcat Operations]

Well Big ALLLLL I must say my Snow Master has seen some pretty deep snow. Has yours? I didnt think so. :yum:

:coolshade :beer: :coolshade

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks Bob. I am actually on my way over to the metal fabriction shop to give them some ides on what I want on the rear. I have decided to extend my rear deck and put new railing around the decks. I will extend the railing further forward and on the rear will have grab handles as part of the railing for easier access when in deep snow off the back. Ive also decided to add two tanks with a capacity of 20 gallons up to 34 combined.

[BigAl]

Well Big ALLLLL I must say my Snow Master has seen some pretty deep snow. Has yours? I didnt think so. :yum:

:coolshade :beer: :coolshade



OWWWWW !!!!! That was a cheap shot ! I kinda wish i had thought of that first ....

Oh well ! My Kristi has more parts than yours and they are scattered all over my shop floor , SO THERE !!!

Hmmmm....?? maybe that did'nt come out right ...

[Snowcat Operations]

LOL. That was a cheap shot. Sorry. Now whats this about parts scattered every where? Thats ok mine is next on the shop floor this summer. You just got a head start!

[Snowcat Operations]

I returned later today from the Metal fab shop and they will be starting my trailer real soon. (I changed a bunch of things AGAIN so it really was my fault but will be detailed in an article when she is finished!) I also talked to them today about working on my Snow Master. I will be having my decks lengthened to overhang the rear of the tracks. This will give me much more cargo room plus some much needed grab handles for when I'm in the snow to my waist as I have found out. I will also have a front and rear hitch built for my moveable Warn 9K winch (54 lbs.) The side rails will be completely torn out and brand new ones will go in there place. They will be taller and will go much farther forward. I will have tie down point all over as well. I will also be having a new roof rack made which will tie into the side rail supports. A new rear deck for cleaning off you feet (stomping) which will not extend past the tracks. and finally a nice coating of Rino liner to finish off the roof and decks. I am having them look at extending my cabin hieght after my wife said it needed a bit more room for the noggen. This I am not to sure on yet.:beer:

[Lyndon]

All the Track Masters & Snow Master tended to do this. There is a 'fix', that is a Factory 'Fix'. The first machines that I saw with rear fenders and mud flaps were made for NATO and do not resemble the British Military machine. Machines prior to a certain year did not have rear windows except in the door. After they added the rear 2 quarter panel windows this became a problem, mostly on the wide track machines. They resemble the 45 degree angle flaps as seen on the groomer model. This item appeard to never have been listed in any parts manuals. They were pressed or more correctly bent out of sheet aluminum and attached to the rear fenders. The Factory photos actually first show this accessory on a 3 belt (Big Wheel) Snow Trac, not on a Trac Master or Snow Master, the 4 and 5 belt machines. LYNDON.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks Lyndon,
I plan on building extended fenders out the back. I will also install a short rubber flap to help reduce the danger of backing into someone and pulling them into the beef jerky cutter. That would be a very horrible way to go!

[Snowcat Operations]

Well I finally had the time and almost the right weather to yank my engine out of my Snow Master today! With one hand not quite up to par I was able to get the engine out in about 3 hours (basically 1-1/2 hands). This also included 2 hours trying everyway to get to the drivers side lower bolt and actually remove it. I could feel it no problem just couldnt get anything to it to loosen it up! Figured out a way to do it with out yanking the entire exhaust system off (heater boxes). But next time I will remove all exhaust and heater boxes first. BUT all was good. I pulled the motor up and out from the top. I have come to realize that it would be much easier to remove the motor from the bottom. BUT I did learn alot and the next one should be out in a hour or so. I will post some pictures Tuesday sometime. I am still amazed at how light these motors are. Next will be the removal of the variators and then the transmission. I will also be rebuilding this motor to a more potent and much better engine. This will be going into my next up and coming Snow Master rebuild. Should be a fun rebuild. Its a good motor but I have a special need for a better more powerful and highly balanced engine. I will discuss that later on as that engine rebuild progresses. For now I still have to finish this complete frame off restoration (with many many improvements). Should be a blast! Pictures Tuesday.

:beer:

[Melensdad]

I will also be rebuilding this motor to a more potent and much better engine.
:beer:

Have you considered putting in the Subaru boxer engine? It fits. There is an adapter plate to mount it to the existing transmission. And you'd get the benefit of a water cooled engine and a REAL heater.

:weneedpic

[Snowcat Operations]

I have checked all of the possible swap combinations there are within reason. (Kennedy engineering) While there are some that are really nice and have more power ect ect I have come to realize that an aircooled engine is probrably the best and most reliable for my needs. First they are as simple and as easy to work on as you can get. Pound for pound they are hard to beat for power. The "stock" transaxle can only take so much power. They are easy to upgrade to a more HP configuration and still keep the stock reliability (and keep your transaxle safe). They have less moving parts and just less parts in general. This makes it more reliable. BigAl has an idea to create a water jacket around part of the exhaust system which would give you a nice heater as well. The old buses used an auxilary oil cooler with a fan for a heater in the rear of some buses. I will try this to see how it works. BUT I have rarely needed more heat than what was comming in anyway and it gets pretty damn cold here. No I think I will stay with the VW engines and just boost them to 100 hp. The transaxle can take that and still live a LONG life. I will be checking out converting a type IV / Porsche 914 motor for use in the Snow Tracs. Those were pretty beefy from the factory and had depending on size 80 hp. For now at least I am happy with the aircooled.

[Snowcat Operations]

Pictures

[Lyndon]

The 2 lower engine bolts are actually studs, Metric, and would have a 17MM nut on a VW, but Snow Trac used a 15MM. they are so hard to get at that almost everyone cuts a 1/2 slot, from one skid pan support to the other so that it can be accessed from the bottom. Just did this conversion to Earl's rig. You shouldn't have to remove the heater boxes. In your specific case it would be necessary to remove the extractor exhaust.

[Snowcat Operations]

Hello Lyndon. Hows Alaska? Thanks for the info. The two lower fasteners were 17mm. Actauly three were 17mm and the top right (drivers side) was a 15mm. Next time I will do the same. The bottom left wasnt to bad. Next is the remaval of the variators and transmission (see your PM box). Any suggestions before I dig in? I will be pressure washing everything first though. Its completely covered in grease and oil. Rear main seal was leaking and I over did the greasing my first time around. Live and learn.

[Lyndon]

Alaska is Great! It's about 30 Deg. ducks are out everywhere, some light snow. Spring is just around the corner. No bugs yet! when you go to pull your transaxel/variator make sure you don't loose any of the specialty hardware which consists of some machined spacers at or near the bell housing, and the special flat rectangular nuts that are on the long bolts going back to the 2nd frame member. these are double nutted and the nut on the other end of the rod, the variator end near the sprockets, is braised or welded on. If you crank on it with out backing off the double nuts at the other end it usually breaks the weld/braising. they should be 13/16 and require a thin wall socket.

[Snowcat Operations]

Every nut and bolt gets Tagged and bagged as I go. I am a littler nervous about pulling it apart the first time around. After that all will be good. Who rebuilds your transaxles?

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks. I will keep track of everything. :thumb:




Alaska is Great! It's about 30 Deg. ducks are out everywhere, some light snow. Spring is just around the corner. No bugs yet! when you go to pull your transaxel/variator make sure you don't loose any of the specialty hardware which consists of some machined spacers at or near the bell housing, and the special flat rectangular nuts that are on the long bolts going back to the 2nd frame member. these are double nutted and the nut on the other end of the rod, the variator end near the sprockets, is braised or welded on. If you crank on it with out backing off the double nuts at the other end it usually breaks the weld/braising. they should be 13/16 and require a thin wall socket.

[Lyndon]

Gary Zink, a great old german that really knows VW transaxels. Most people go thru Ovals Motorsports in Federal Way WA, ask for Fred. Mr. Zink has reworked several Variators at this point. 2 for me and several for associates of mine. If you get ahold of the local VW hippie shop in your area they will probably have a similar connection that is "closer to home" for your area. I found that it's cheaper and easier to just have the Experts deal with it than try and tackel it myself. they have special jigs and tooling as well as knowlege that is hard to come by for the One Time mechanic.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks Lyndon. I will call Wednesday. So he has also done Variators? Thats a huge help.

[Snowcat Operations]

LYNDON,
I talked to your man Gary Zink today (great guy). His prices are great and shipping is only $18.00 more to ship to him FED EX Ground compared to shipping to Ca. Plus he will check out the variators! Thats more than I can ask for. Thank you. If anyone needs transaxle and or Variator work PM me for Gary Zinks phone number.

[Snowcat Operations]

Does anyone know what type of seal was used to seal all of the cab joints? Roof and body sections are seperate and I want to replace them before I paint. Any ideas. Thanks.

[Melensdad]

I can't tell you what is SUPPOSED to be there, but I can tell you that I found silicone caulk in SOME of the joints.

[Snowcat Operations]

I'm not sure what I found. What ever it was its now all dried up and brittle. Looks like a goup of some sort from that factory that was layed down before assembly. Of course 30 years later it hasnt faired very well.

[Melensdad]

Over the years technology has changed. I sure wouldn't use an old style caulk if there was a better alternative! SILICONE doesn't dry out & is water tight in seams.

Of course, BigAl probably used some of his nose buggers as caulk when he put that plastic clamshell KT7 back together :yum:

[BigAl]

Don't use silicone . It will not accept a paint cover . I have Body sealant here so don't worry about it . It is the same stuff they use at the factory on cars and trucks when assembled .

[Melensdad]

Al, that is a good point about the silicone not accepting paint. But on many of the seams on a Snow Trac the metal is folded over to cover the silicone line. There are some roof seams that would have exposed silicone, and for those seams your solution of using body sealant would be a better choice.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks Guys.

[Snowcat Operations]

BigAl I PMed you about the body stuff.

[BigAl]

Again Never use silicone ! Ever ! You should not even have a silicone tube in a body shop !

The 3M body automotive sealant will work fine(better) to join and seal pieces of body parts together no matter what . If it squeezes out a little ,no harm is done . If it is silicone ,it is just about impossible to get a good tight finished painted joint or seam . Believe me ,someone used it in my KT7 and I spent hours getting that crap removed .

[Snowcat Operations]

Here is a quick lesson on the removal of the windows and the gaskets. If you are going to take the time to repaint your Snow Master or Trac then take the 15 minutes it took me to remove all of the glass. This will make for a much nicer paint job. DO NOT MASK AROUND THE WINDOWS! It will take you longer to mask and do a nice job than it will to remove and reinstall the windows. BigAl told me how to do it on a PM and it was even easier than what he told me. 15 minutes later and I was done! This is my first time doing this. Pics to follow.

[Melensdad]

I'm guessing you just pulled the locking strip out of the rubber. Popped the windows. Then pulled the rubber. There are 2 basic types of rubber that lock the windows in. Some have a rubber locking strip, some have a folding lock. You can buy replacement stripping at many auto parts stores and catalogues.

[Snowcat Operations]

Well photos will have to come later. Here is a quick how to. On the inside of the window is the widow gasket and inside that gasket is a rubber cord. Find the seem and with a flat tip screw driver (small) pry out one end of the cord. (where saftey glasses and dont try and pry it up so hard that if you slip the screw driver doesnt bury itself into you eye socket!) Now grasp the cord and pull it out. Now on all the outer edges simply push towards the center of the window. This will break the 30 plus year seal. now on the bottom push the gasket up and out of the metal window opening. This is the hardest part of the whole job (and its not hard). Work the whole bottom section out gently. No need to be the Hulk here. Now go outside and grab the bottom of the window and gasket and wiggle down. Do NOT pull so hard that when it leaves the opening you break your window because you smashed it down. All of this with simple easy movements will work fine. Mine were a bit harder since the gasket edge was painted in the past when they repainted the outside.

[Snowcat Operations]

Yes Bob I will be replacing the gaskets and the windows. I will have those reinstalled by a professional. I was quated $80 to $120 bucks to have these removed! What a rip off. I may just buy a window installation kit (professional window installation tools). But since I will have to have the widows cut to fit I may just have the new ones installed. BUT I will watch them do it! After that I should be able to do it myself. BigAl may even know how to reinstall windows. I'm sure its simple to do. Just that this first one will be repainted and I dont want to scratch it. I will keep my windows stored for safe keeping and will also build templates from them to give to my Glass guy. (remember he will need the thickness too)

[Junkman]

Glass installation is easy if you use the right tools and lubricants. One thing to remember is that the gasket itself doesn't always seal to the metal well, so you might have to caulk under the rubber. When reusing original glass, mark the opening that it came from and which side of the glass was to the outside, and place an arrow to indicate the UP direction. All these things will make the job easier. Also, if you purchase replacement glass, make sure that they polish the edges of the freshly cut glass. It will save you lots of cuts on your fingers if they do this one step. Also have a spare cut at the same time, for future damage..... Junk....

[Lyndon]

I had good luck using the old seals by cleaning them off with brake cleaner and lubing them up with silacone after. Also I found both types, the fold over and the one that use an insert piece, at automotive glass shops. A local glass shop that did alot of car restoration work charged me 300$ to replace all the glass, put in new seals, and add sliding wing windows for a 63 tucker 443 which had 8 pieces of glass.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks. I pre marked everything from the inside. I just stacked all the glass with the original rubber in a plastc crate box. The exception is the two larger windows. Those are in my small work shop.

[Snowcat Operations]

Great idea on having the edge polished. I will make sure they do this wether I install it or not. Should help the next time I repaint.

[Junkman]

Polishing the edges is done by running the glass around a fixed belt sander that has water lubrication. It might take 2 or 3 minutes or less to do a 12" square piece of glass.

[Snowcat Operations]

My goal today will be to pull the steering column as well as the dash and wire harness. My question is has anybody removed a column before? I am not sure how to do it so I just wanted some pointers. I will go through my manuals to see if there are some detailed pictures / diagrams that may give more of an insite. BUT first hand knowledge is always better.

[Lyndon]

Once you get it unbolted from the Variator the only thing holding it in place is the 2 hole pipe clamp under the dash. You must remove the steering wheel in order to slide it out.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks Lyndon. Will do. It needs to be repainted as well as the whole interior. I'm just going to paint it another color or I would just leave it in.

[Snowcat Operations]

Heres another question. Do you know off hand what size that steering wheel nut is. If not no big deal. I just dont have anything big enough and was going to have my wife pick up a socket on her way home. Thanks.

[Melensdad]

Mike

How about some step by step photos?




:nopics:

[BigAl]

Mike ,
You may need a "steering wheel puller" also if the wheel is swedged in place . I have one here if you do and we can pull it real quick .
Allen

[Snowcat Operations]

I just re-fixed my digital camera. So I will be able to take pictures. I didnt do anything today since I dont have the proper size socket yet. I Also have to build a fence Saturday so Sunday should see me doing quite a bit on the snow cat. I will post photos of all work. Also my kids wanted to play today at the park. So most of my day was there.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks BigAl. I should know Sunday if I need it to pull the steering wheel.

[Lyndon]

I don't know what size it is but I know that it's metric. Put a puller on it and tap the center bolt of the puller and it will pop right off. It's tapered with a woodruf key. Somewhere around 26mm.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks Lyndon.

[Snowcat Operations]

The nut holding on the steering wheel is 27MM. I had pre soaked mine for a few days. Going out once or twice a day to re spray it. Held the steering wheel Loosened the nut wiggled the steering wheel straight back and off no problems.

[Snowcat Operations]

Today I pressure washed the engine compartment real good. This time I had a real pressure washer and was able to clean the last 30 years or greasy oily gunk that was pasted all along the variators and transmission. You couldnt even tell there was paint under all that grudge. Took me two hours to really clean it good. I used Citrol and Castro super clean to pre soak everything. I did this about three times. I then pressure washed between each soaking. Now it will be much nicer to pull the Variators and transaxle.

[Snowcat Operations]

Two more.

[Snowcat Operations]

Next to come out is the Transaxle or Dash board. Havent decided yet. That will have to wait till after lunch and after I clean off all the grease that got sprayed one me.

[Junkman]

Taking it apart is the easy part...... getting it back together and working is the hard part. That is why "basket cases" come in two versions.... women, and mechanical things.....:yum: :yum: :yum:

[Lyndon]

Take the Variator out. You may find that there is a bit more pressure washing to do. In order to take the dash out you will need to take the front part of the cab off. It's all 1/4 20. If you try to back the nuts off the large #3 phillips screws will usually strip out. the easy way is to Hold the phillips and overtighten the bolts until they break off. You'll need a 6point 7/16 socket, 3/8 drive, deep, works best. You only need to remove the Steel section of the cab, which is the windshield and wing window section. The 2 upper rear sections of the cab are alloy and don't usually need to be sand blasted. You simply clean them up, scruff them up and they are ready for paint. The Steel cab section is an entirely different beast. It really should be sandblasted or bead glassed. There are various places that have been spot welded that need to be sealed with something like POR 50 or equal. Braise up any unused holes too. Leaky cabs suck! People drill all sorts of holes to support antenna's and lights that later get abandon. Braising is easiest but someone with a small wire rig that's good at body work and sheet metal can dress them up that way too. Prime, Paint blah, blah, blah,....Now for the Dash. You've got to get all the electrical disconnected, pull out all the control cables for chocke and throttle, remove the speedo cable and any windshield wiper linkage THEN the dash will come off. It usually doesn't need to be sandblasted. Original paint was Hammerite Silver. It's available in spray cans and one can will do the whole job. Don't forget to tape off the all important "Don't turn machine..." Tag that is right above the steering columb.

[BigAl]

I don’t care what you and Lyndon say ,that thing still looks much more complicated then my KT7 . That viberator thingy has still got me buffaloed on how it works .:smileywac

NO !!! Don’t tell me . My brain is taking a break and I don’t want to think .:moon:

And whoever is walking on that hood by the front window had better not let me catch him doing it again !!! I am a body and paint man not a
miracle worker . I may have to warm up a few hides over that !!!:mad: :mad:

[Lyndon]

Actually Big Al is totally correct, they ARE more complicated. When you think about it the engine, tranny, brakes, heat system and complicated steering assembly as well as some additional gearing in the form of sprockets and drive chains are all stuffed into a 3 Ft. by 3 Ft. by 2 Ft. area making the engine compartment a pretty busy place. Tucker's, Thiocol's, and Bombardier's are all simpler machines. Compound that with a VW aircooled that's in backwards and it's a wonder that most mechanics didn't arrainge for their buddy with the tow truck and car crusher to "Haul Off & Dispose of Properly" after the first time they ever opened the hood! I'm can't imagine how many mechanics that were pretty fimiliar with ford,chrysler, and GM products Cursed, Cussed, Kicked and thru up their hands in complete disgust at these marvelous beasts that only a true VW hippie could love. Like I always said: One has to be a real 'Glutton for punishment' to own a "Trac Rig'.

[Snowcat Operations]

I find these units very simple to work on. Yes it is not as easy as a regular car lauout but damn close. Putting it back together I dont think is the hard part. The hard part is to make a commitment and then stick to it. Come hell or high water this unit will be the best damn Snow Master to EVER see the snow! Thanks for all the help. I will need more.

[BigAl]

Come hell or high water this unit will be the best damn Snow Master to EVER see the snow!

Hmmmm...... :rolleyes: Kinda sounds like a challenge was just throw out there . I may have to go dig around in my old yard sale stuff and see if I have a old Snow Master to putter on .

So what your saying is your either going to drown or go to hell to get it done ??? Man ,that seems kinda harsh .

[Lyndon]

Having rebuilt some dozen plus Snow Cats, primarily Snow Trac but also a few Bombardier's and a few Tuckers I have found them easy to reassemble, slightly tougher to dissassemble and a REAL BEAR to clean! Question of the Week: If Kristy's are such great machines why did they DIE OUT? and then there's the issue about Iceland:A hundred surviving ST4's and NO Kristy? whats with that? And what about this world famous Musher in Fairbanks that uses his sled dog to pull around his Kristy for a work out? I can just see Al now"Them's fighting words", your up.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks LYNDON! Coming from you that means alot. Now I know it will be how I thought it was going to be in putting this thing back on the snow! Yes by far the hardest thing bellieve it or not is the cleaning! Every thing else has been real straight forward and simple to this point. Having this forum has been a HUGE help! And BigAl anytime you want to build a Snow Master and have a build off challenge let me know!

[BigAl]

Hey Lyndon ,

Did you feel the earth quake last night at 11:17 PM cause that was when I read this :eek: !!!

I can see as a young person you need a history lesson ,and I sonny , am about to give you one :mad: .


The word Kristi originates from ancient Greek and means “Really cool Snow Cat” in Latin :thumb: .


Oh Yea ,Them old Greeks were always saying stuff to one another like “That is a nice Kristi you have there ,Zaricuss“ . Now this was before the big quake of 5007BC and Atlantis fell in the ocean and the snowy Greek Alps collapsed and all them Greeks became fishermen . That’s why they had the sled drawn Kristi’s that were pulled by dogs back then .That is why ,to this day you still see the word “KRISTI” written across the stern of their boats . It is out of respect .

That old boy up in Alaska probably still has one of the first ones and doesn’t realize it .What a fool ! It is worth a fortune !

Anyway …. Where was I ….Oh yea … Kristi’s were the Cadillac of snow travel back then. . Every cave man wanted one but it cost like 50 rubles , 10 flying thingamabobs , and a good women .

That is why you do not see any in Iceland ,as they ran out of women and thingamabob’s and could not afford them .Ever wonder why there are hardly any people in Iceland ???? HELLO ???? NO WOMEN :boobies: !!!!! DUH !!!

But I am getting ahead of myself about 2 million years .

Did The Kristi “die out” as you state . Not really …. The serious Snowcatters know where to find then and most dumped their old “Rust Bucket Snow Trac's” on some poor Icelander , a cornfield in Indiana or a knucklehead in Ely Nevada :smileywac OH yea … Now there’s a smart one !!!!

That is why you still find them today in Iceland . Did you ever wonder why there is always a hole under the drivers seat ???? Its because the Icelanders turned them into something useful !!!! A traveling outhouse !!! If it looks like sh#t, drives like sh#t and smells like sh#t it is proably a Snow Trac !:toilet:

And lastly the term “I coulda had a Kristi”???? originates from Snow Trac owners everywhere who have muttered those words after being saved , countless times from impeding death and destruction when attempting to leave their garage in the poorly built Snow Trac .

I find it shameful that a man of your travels and brains would be so unaware of this :( . Next you will be telling me that you had “No Idea” that the ancient Aztecs were into bungee jumping and that is why they no longer exist . Come on Man ! Read a history book and learn something useful !!! For cryin out loud !

[BigAl]

Thanks LYNDON! Coming from you that means alot. Now I know it will be how I thought it was going to be in putting this thing back on the snow!

:yum: :yum: :yum:
Well see.....:yum: :yum: :yum:

[Snowcat Operations]

HhhMMmmm Seems like someone is suffering from Trying to reassemble that POS Kristi air intake system and wishing HE had a Snow Master! Come on BigAl If you had a Snow Trac it would have been done buy now! Hell it would have been ready for last winter! I bet you will give up on that Krapy and get a real Snow Master or Trac! I will even bet some money on it.

:D

[Snowcat Operations]

And whoever is walking on that hood by the front window had better not let me catch him doing it again !!! I am a body and paint man not a
miracle worker . I may have to warm up a few hides over that !!!:mad: :mad:
__________________

I AGREE! It was like that when I bought it. Oh well it has been an absolute great machine with hardly no work to speak of. I cant complain.

[Snowcat Operations]

Today the rubber deck matts and trim will be removed. I will wait on removing the dash until I get it up to Grass Valley. The cab needs to come off for that. Well at least the front half according to LYNDON. Thanks Lyndon. I will need to have a special wheel adaptor fabricated up. The adaptor I bought with my new steering wheel will not work. Is that tapered and keyed steering wheel shaft a stock VW configuration?

[BigAl]

I bet you will give up on that Krapy and get a real Snow Master or Trac! I will even bet some money on it.


Mikey,mikey,,mikey ….:pat:

Now you know that would not be fair of me to take your money like that . You also know that KT7 is going to get completed and “fly like the wind” very soon .

I am just taking my time and turning it into the “Fire breathing,Ass Kicking, Snow Trac belching” killer machine that has always been possible .:thumb:

She just needed someone to do it right and that someone is me . Yes I know ,I am modest but the truth hurts . You also know that I am a perfectionist and it has to be completed in a just and proper way . It is a Kristi KT7 ,not some old “Rust bucket Snow Trac”. :moon:

I will eventually get around to showing you and old Lyndon how a Snow Trac should be restored correctly . Bob S. thinks they are for farm use . Hell, he does not even have any brakes . But I guess if it is broke down most of the time ,you don’t need any .:StickOutT

So you and Bob and Tommo and Lyndon just keep thinking you got something . I’ll be along soon enough to give each of you a little slice of humility pie . :puke1:

[Lyndon]

They use St4's to groom the Iditirod and as emergency vehicles along the route. Sick puppies get a delux "free ride". I once had a team of Huskies tied to my ST4, but it was only used as a "Hitchin Post" for a few minites while we used another ST4 to mash down the route so that the dog teams could get thru. And until I see that "KRUSTY" actually run, My Trac Master will still be " the King of Snow Cats ". Here's a challenge Al: Meet you at the "I Did A DOG" Cafe, in the town of Iditirod. It's a real place, but you'll need to pack some extra gas beside the all that 'Hor Air'. We'll have a Team of Huskies ready to pull you home waiting and ready to go!

[Lyndon]

6010 Mt St. Helens was looking good, but no there wasn't any noticable or "Krusty" seisemic activity this morning.

[Snowcat Operations]

They use St4's to groom the Iditirod and as emergency vehicles along the route. Sick puppies get a delux "free ride". I once had a team of Huskies tied to my ST4, but it was only used as a "Hitchin Post" for a few minites while we used another ST4 to mash down the route so that the dog teams could get thru. And until I see that "KRUSTY" actually run, My Trac Master will still be " the King of Snow Cats ". Here's a challenge Al: Meet you at the "I Did A DOG" Cafe, in the town of Iditirod. It's a real place, but you'll need to pack some extra gas beside the all that 'Hor Air'. We'll have a Team of Huskies ready to pull you home waiting and ready to go!


:laugh:
:yum:

Hey BigOld full of HOT AIR
I
Do
believe Lyndon
JUST
gave you
the

:finger1:
:loser:

[Snowcat Operations]

Mikey,mikey,,mikey ….:pat:

Now you know that would not be fair of me to take your money like that . You also know that KT7 is going to get completed and “fly like the wind” very soon .

I am just taking my time and turning it into the “Fire breathing,Ass Kicking, Snow Trac belching” killer machine that has always been possible .:thumb:

She just needed someone to do it right and that someone is me . Yes I know ,I am modest but the truth hurts . You also know that I am a perfectionist and it has to be completed in a just and proper way . It is a Kristi KT7 ,not some old “Rust bucket Snow Trac”. :moon:

I will eventually get around to showing you and old Lyndon how a Snow Trac should be restored correctly . Bob S. thinks they are for farm use . Hell, he does not even have any brakes . But I guess if it is broke down most of the time ,you don’t need any .:StickOutT

So you and Bob and Tommo and Lyndon just keep thinking you got something . I’ll be along soon enough to give each of you a little slice of humility pie . :puke1:







:stroke:
What ever!

[Snowcat Operations]

Nah I know you will make it as good as it can possibly be. Thats still not saying much since it is a Kristy after all! But you can only do so much with what you have at hand. The real test will be this comming December when Bob "the crayon eater" and Lyndon "the walking Encyclopedia" and I "Mighty Mike" come up to STOMP on some type of new fangled snowcat hot tub!

[Lyndon]

If us Snow Trac and Snow Master guys (and Gals) stick together we have the "Krusty" crowd seriously out numbered! whats a Krusty anyway, just a modified bobsled? One that someone mistaked for a REAL snow machine. I don't think there's a hunter in the whole state of alaska who would be caught dead in one.

[BigAl]

If us Snow Trac and Snow Master guys (and Gals) stick together we have the "Krusty" crowd seriously out numbered! whats a Krusty anyway, just a modified bobsled? One that someone mistaked for a REAL snow machine. I don't think there's a hunter in the whole state of alaska who would be caught dead in one.

Oh sure . There are more Snow Tracs around . They need then for parts machines .:yum:

You guys may want to see if you can get some of that English Snow Trac crowd headed this way too ,for our little meet . I am a little more snow catter than some "weaked knee LMC owner" and I like to wipe my Arse<-( English for ASS) on a snow Trac'er every morning right after my "morning constitutional":toilet: . On second thought you Brits might want to stay home and protect your honor . It won't be pretty ....

In fact ,you Snow Trac'ers better bring a whole case of "Whup Ass" if your even remotely are thinking of going to come up against me .:beer:

So lets see here ..... 1 superior Kristi owner , 22 Snow Trac owners of various shape and sizes of smart mouth , and 1 LMC owner who is still trying to figure out what he has ...... Yea ,thats about right :5boobs: . Sounds to me like the odds are stacked heavy in my favor .:thumb:

I would even pay for the trophy that says "#1 BOSSCAT" on it for the winner , but that is like buying a gift for myself .:rolleyes:

Oh and LYNDON .... That would be a "Modified Bobsled on steroids".

"Kristi , the #1 manly snow cat machine for real men and the women who love them"

[Snowcat Operations]

Here are a few more pictures. The style of steering wheel colum is pre 1967 bus. It has a tapered end with a single keyway (NO SPLINES). Wish I had these pictures before. So maybe it will help someone else who is looking to replace there steering wheel.

[Snowcat Operations]

Last One. Hope it helps.

[BigAl]

Hey Mike , Bring that new steering wheel with you . I got a guy out here that can make it work just fine . You need something on that snow trac that looks better than my Kristi .

[Snowcat Operations]

Will do. I believe a CNC guy can whip something up out of billet aluminum pretty easy!

[bczoom]

So lets see here ..... 1 superior Kristi owner , 22 Snow Trac owners of various shape and sizes of smart mouth , and 1 LMC owner who is still trying to figure out what he has.
And one honorary KKK member (who's job seems to be the guy to buy & deliver the beer). :whistle:

[BigAl]

Yes that is so true . But since that other member was forcefully removed from the membership:mad: and I have to continually defend the honor of the club ,that only leaves you :whistle: . But you can drive my KT7 when you come out .:17875:

[Snowcat Operations]

Forcefully removed???? Uhmmm lets get the facts straight. First I was the ONLY one to buy the beer! You guys Drank 99.99% of it when I went to get the Pizza! Then after I brought the Pizza back which I paid for I had to go and get mre beer which I had also paid for. Then when I came back again you guys had eat the entire pizza and left me the crusty ass ends! Thats when I walked away and left you guys saying I would be back with some hard liquir. You got pissed and called me on my cell phone and asked what was taking so long. Thats when I told you to go jump in YOUR lake. I quit! No I left for my well being of my bank account and my stomach. :pat: Getthe facts straight BigAl!:pat:


:yum:
:moon:

[Snowcat Operations]

Oh yah and you ate my entire jug pickled Pigs feet! Not cool man not cool.

[BigAl]

Oh yah and you ate my entire jug pickled Pigs feet! Not cool man not cool.

Ok ???? So whats your point ??? The damn things things tasted awful and I had Mikey gas for a week . Had to bring the dog in the house so I could blame him:fart2: . The damn dog still growls and tries to bite me every time I walk by him . Stupid dog...


And if your dumb enough to leave pizza or beer and go to town ,you have nobody but ypourself to blame . Damn ...I am glad we kicked him out . He is such a whiner .


Meeting adjourned

[Snowcat Operations]

HELP!


I know this sounds real dumb BUT I cannot get my windshield wiper arms off! I have removed the allen key but the arms will not pop off. If I try any harder I am afraid I will bend or worse break something. Any ideas?????

:pat:
:confused2:

[Junkman]

You need to lift them from underneath with a flat bladed screwdriver. I would gently pry up from the side that is 180 degrees opposite the arm itself. If the arm points at 3 o'clock, then you pry up at 9 o'clock. The end of the arm is on a splined shaft and it is a very tight fit. There is a special tool made for removing windshield wiper arms, but I have never used anything other than a screwdriver.. Junk...

[mtntopper]

If you can get to the underside, spray some rust buster (panther pee) to help lubricate and loosen the splines and stud shaft of the wiper arm. That is what that little red nozzle taped to the can is used for....:whistle: Good luck as with many older rusted things like this it is much easier said than done.....:thumb: You always have the hammer option!!!!

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks guys,
I have been soaking them all night. Will try again later today. I wasnt sure there were splines inside since you cant see anything and they pivot like on a ball socket. BUT after thinking about it there must be splines. I will try the screw driver bit too.

[Junkman]

.......... I will try the screw driver bit too.

Use a screwdriver with a handle, it will work better...:yankchain:

[DaveNay]

Are the arms made of aluminum? Do you have one of the small butane torches? Even one of the oversized charcoal grill lighters would be enough to apply some heat.

DO NOT TRY THIS IF THEY ARE PLASTIC.

[Snowcat Operations]

Use a screwdriver with a handle, it will work better...:yankchain:



LOL:D

[Snowcat Operations]

Are the arms made of aluminum? Do you have one of the small butane torches? Even one of the oversized charcoal grill lighters would be enough to apply some heat.

DO NOT TRY THIS IF THEY ARE PLASTIC.



Yes they are aluminum. Great idea! Ok so I need to lube it down with Panther Piss. Pry on it with a screw driver that has a handle, after I torch it up. Thanks. Now where do I get this Panther Piss? :yum:

[bczoom]

Now where do I get this Panther Piss?
From a panther of course :pat: :tiphat:

Use PB Blaster if you don't have a panther sitting around.

[mtntopper]

By the way some panther piss like (WD40) is flammable, so be ready if you use the torch also......:flame2: LPS and others make good panther piss for dissolving rust as WD40 in my opinion is not that great for rust busting.:whistle:

[Junkman]

Skip the torch idea....... no self respecting mechanic would ever resort to using a torch on a windshield wiper arm. Give it a gentle rap with a dead blow hammer or a piece of wood. Besides, I doubt that it is made of aluminum, but rather a form of chromium steel or stainless steel. Aluminum isn't strong enough for a wiper arm. Just rap the sides and top a few times and it should come off. It is a windshield wiper arm, not some 5 ton press fit item. Where did you get your mechanical skills anyway??????? :yankchain: :hide: :yankchain: :hide: :yankchain: :hide: :yankchain: :hide: :yankchain:

[Snowcat Operations]

Nope its alluminum. I have rapped it with a ball peed hammer gently. Tried prying it but that was a bit nerve racking since I could see all the internal stuff flex. The Panther piss is a good idea that I should have done first. My problem is that they feel like there is a ball socket connection inside and not just straight splines and such. Time will tell.

[mtntopper]

Another idea is to pry up with two prys evenly underneath and at the same time use the HAMMER gently on the top. Might take three hands but may work to free it up on the spline shaft. If this fails it may be time for the big pry bars and an "oh chit look what I just broke," oh well I won!!!!!:eek: :D :yum:

[Snowcat Operations]

Well some of you know I have been searching for a suitable Porsche engine for my Snow Master. I have even driven to Colorado 8 hrs one way to inspect a so called NICE Porsche 356 Super 90 engine to only find the guy who rebuilt it was a Meth head. Needless to say him and his friend were not to happy to learn I was carrying a gun and had no intention on buying it! :yum: Anyway I have looked and searched and I have come ta realize a Porshce engine just isnt in the cards. So I have gone back to VW engines and although very nice and effeciant They still are pretty old design and to have one built to my specs would be $5,000 when all is said and done. So I have started to rethink my engine choice once again. I have come across a few engines that would work but have now decided on one set of engines. The Subaru 1.8 2.2 and the 2.5.

1.8 Has 110 HP and 110 FT LBS.
2.2 Has 135 HP and 140 FT LBS.
2.5 Has 165 HP and 162 FT LBS.

The 2.5 is relativley easy to find. Hell My plan is to buy a Subaru Legacy and use that for my engine swap. Now with the fuel injection the swap becomes more difficult since you need the wire harness, Computer. But still more reliable than the standard VW engine. The weight is real close to the same as our the dimensions. The advantages are alot more power, Water cooled (great heater) and still very easy to work on. No need to worry about altitude since the fuel injection will compensate. A quick search on Ebay shows several high mileage Subarus for under $1500. That and a Japaneese swaped engine (30K miles) for $1200 and you have everything you need plus a spare engine. I can use the original donner engine and then swap out the new engine down the road.

The 1.8 engine is the simplest conversion since it has regular carbs and no computer. This is my first choice if I can find the correct donar car. Hell at 110 hp thats more than double the HP and Torque! Either way I believe I have found my new engine.

[Snowcat Operations]

I also talked to Mr. Kennedy at Kennedy Engineering today. His company makes the conversion kits to bolt many types of engines to the VW transaxle. Also with the conversion kit comes instructions (Subaru 2.2 and 2.5) on how to remove everything you need for the conversion.

http://www.kennedyeng.com/


If anyone can think of a better engine please feel free to speak up. I have thick skin.

[mtmogs]

The Subaru 1.8 is a good engine. I'm not an expert on the VW 4 speed transaxle, but I bet that anything more than 110 horses or so would seriously challenge it. My experience with German engineering is that it's outstanding in performing the job it was designed for. But...there's a certain practicality (frugality) to their engineering so components are not over-built for the job. When do you figure you'll perform the conversion?

[Snowcat Operations]

I am not sure. I am trying to locate a suitable donor car. The transaxle can handle 100 hp no problem. Above that you can start to break stuff if you doing stuff like droping the clutch ect. I can have a beefed up transaxle made no problem to handle 200 hp easily. For now I will stay with the stock unit and just run her normally. I like the idea of fuel injection the most. I should also see alot better fuel economy using the Subaru. Thats always a plus.

[mtntopper]

But still more reliable than the standard VW engine.

Mike, I have found the old VW engine while not high on horsepower is very bullet proof, will take a serious beating and keep on ticking away the miles and hours.....:thumb:

[Snowcat Operations]

Yes its a great engine no doubt. I just want something a bit diffrent. I believe the Subaru is the best choice. Of course I could be wrong.

[Snowcat Operations]

Hello everyone. I am continuing my Snow Master restoration. I will be asking B. Skurka to drop all the other articles I have started into this one (Is that ok Bob?) My original intent was to have it divided up into small individual sections. That way people would be able to go to just that section and see how I did a certain thing. BUT I have learned that the forum has grone so much that these individual articles get lost in the mass. So Like BigAl (but probably not as good) I decided to place everything her or at least from here on. So here it goes.
Edit by Bob: Mike, it is easier to ask me to merge all your theads together than for me to do it. I can do it, if I can find all the threads, but it will take some time. I ask all of you to be patient during the process because some things may appear out of sequence.

ALSO, all the other threads will appear at the BEGINNING of this one, since the posts will appear in the same time sequence as when they were originally posted. That means that if you had 2 different threads running at the same time, the posts will be intermixed and may be confusing.

[Snowcat Operations]

WIRE HARNESS REMOVAL

Today I decided to take on the old wire harness my goal was to completely remove it and all my gauges. Here are the pictures.

1. I KINDA CHEATED HERE I HAD ALREADY REMOVED THE DASH BUT PUT IT BACK ON LESS A COUPLE A GAUGES TO GET THE PICTURE. I USED KROIL PENETRATING OIL TO GET THE SCREWS LOOSE. (HELPFUL HINT #1 USE KROIL)

2. WHAT A RATS NEST! THIS THING HAD MORE SPLICES THAN I COULD COUNT!

3. PRETTY SMALL FUSE BLOCK. THE NEW ONE WILL HAVE AT LEAST 25 FUSES.

4. SMALL FUSE BLOCK.

[Snowcat Operations]

5. WIRE HARNESS REMOVED.

6. DASH COMPLETELY REMOVED. ALL GAUGES REMOVED.

7. KROIL

[Snowcat Operations]

Hello everyone. I am continuing my Snow Master restoration. I will be asking B. Skurka to drop all the other articles I have started into this one (Is that ok Bob?) My original intent was to have it divided up into small individual sections. That way people would be able to go to just that section and see how I did a certain thing. BUT I have learned that the forum has grown so much that these individual articles get lost in the mass. So Like BigAl (but probably not as good) I decided to place everything here or at least from here on. So here it goes.

Lyndons article is in this thread. http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=4040&highlight=wire+harness

Another excellent article on wiring and dual batteries. http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=4060&highlight=nickle+plated

[Snowcat Operations]

Today I went out and pulled off the pas. side front sprocket and brake assembly. Will bag everything up Thursday and set them in a box. All of these bearings are sealed and look pretty much brand new. They dont need to be replaced but I will anyway. These I will keep as spares. I will pull the drivers side off in the morning. I am in no hurry presently as you can tell to get this all apart. I have 2 to 3 months of cold weather and wont paint till its about 70 degrees average. I am also waiting for some parts to come in. I am waiting for one supplier who is pretty swamped with his real work. So there is no hurry to get it done. I have been busy with general layout of my new wiring system. Lights have pretty much been figured out. The engine thing is really bugging me since I cant seem to find a suitable donar car for the Subaru engine swap. I may just put a Very Nice VW engine in this one and worry about the Subaru on my Snow Trac project. I will post some pictures in the morning.

Mike

[Snowcat Operations]

DUAL ALTERNATOR SETUP

Ok. I am very bored and drinking alot of coffee. I have been re-reading some old threads I started and thought they would go great in here. This first one is on a Dual Alternator setup.

http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=3231&highlight=dual+alternators

The power requirements on my Snow Master will be quite high at times. I will be running anywhere from 2 to 10 lights, winch, GPS, radio, Auxilary power supply for the Sat phone, coil, fuel pump, tail lights, ignition ect ect ect ect. Anyway this thread will show you what the Military did on there Snow Tracs. I plan on something very simular.

[Snowcat Operations]

Winch on a Snowcat

Winch discusion. I have had a need for a winch on my Snowcat in the past. I had about 1500 lbs of gear, grub, gog, guys and girls in my Snow Master. I just couldnt quite make it up the last 40 yards to the top of the mountain. So we unloaded everything and they sleded it in the rest of the way. (My light switch fried and I was running out of day light and had over an hour trip back through the mountain). So I didnt have time to unload drive up and over then repack everything. If I would have had a winch there were tons of trees I could have winched from. Anyway here is an another thread on winches. When I install mine I will have tons of photos and detailed how to (at least on my vehicle).

http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=2397&highlight=dual+alternators

[Snowcat Operations]

Here are some pictures of the large front drive sprocket. There must have been 5 lbs. of grease behind the sprocket inside the engine compartment. I started to wipe off all the grease and decided I should just scrape it off. Scraped off then cleaned up with WD-40 (finally a good use for it). I then scraped off the sprocket and cleaned it with WD-40 as well (1st pic). If you look closley at the brake assembly you can see it says $14.56 (4th pic). Someone has completely rebuilt the brakes at one point. I suspect they had also replaced all the bearings as well. These are all in new like condition. Still have some cleaning to do but so far so good. Everything is in great shape. I will completely rebuild the brakes which should be about $100 dollars for everything.

[Snowcat Operations]

BACK SIDE ALL CLEANED UP

[Lyndon]

The Axel Housing casting that the shaft that this sprocket rides on holds over a full tube of greese (cartridge like goes in to a greese gun). Once it has been packed you should not ever have to add greese. I don't knnow why they even put a Zerk on it because this is what happens. When greesing the chassis SKIP this Zerk. It tends to push a bunch of excess greese in to the wrong places like brakes and the engine compartment. Also too much greese in the rear(Big Wheel) will push the seal out.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thats where all that grease came from! I knew it was my Amsoil grease but I couldnt figure out where it had come from! Thanks for the info.

[Snowcat Operations]

Ok. Finally after a long a bit of hard work I decided to go buy a small gear puller so I could get my drivers side brake assembly off. The gear puller I bought was really to small. The arms needed to be about 1/2" longer on each side. BUT I was able to grab one arm behind the brake assembly and the other on the web. I have soaked the axle shaft for a few days in Kroil hoping to just pull it off like I did the other side. No go. So I bought the small gear puller, attached it and took out the slack. I turned the wrench 1/4 turn and the whole assembly slide right off! So now its off and everything is getting cleaned tagged and boxed. Here are some pictures.

[Snowcat Operations]

5 more.

[Snowcat Operations]

Picture of the small gear puller I used. Cost me $14.39 and even though it was to small I was still able to grab one of the webs. I was not going to put alot of force on it. In fact I was going to just tighten it up about a 1/2 turn and then let it sit overnight. Came loose in 1/4 turn .

[Snowcat Operations]

Today I went out and removed the deck Extensions someone had added on. They used 1/8" steel deck diamond plate for the extensions and welded part of that to the rear angle iron piece coming out of the rear cab area. They also riveted the botom to the edge of the aluminum deck (original piece). After all was said and done they were a pian in the arse to remove. I havent a way to weigh them but suspect they are close to 100 lbs each. That decking is way to heavy. I spent the rest of the time designing and measuring out my new decks I will build plus the rear fender I will be putting on. Here are some pictures.

[Snowcat Operations]

More pictures.

[Snowcat Operations]

Last ones. :thumb:

[Melensdad]

Mike those wide decks are great, but that steel they used was simply wrong. One thing that I would consider if I was you when you put it all back together is to omit the rubber mat over the top of the new deck and have Rhino-Liner or Line-X 2-part epoxy material sprayed onto the deck instead. It will bond to the surface, no water can get under it, it is durable, and it looks good. JMO.

BigAl used it very successfully on his KT7. You might want to consider it. If you have a modest air compressor, you can do spray the liner material on yourself.

[Snowcat Operations]

My plan is to go with Rhino liner since its more of a "rubberish" compound than the other guys.. I dont care if its not as durable. I want the rubber effect to help quiet down the vibrations and noise. I will do the same inside my cab as well. Two more pictures. The last picture is showing you how far my rear fenders will over hang.

[Snowcat Operations]

In the morning after it warms up I will go out and wash down my workshop area again. I cant believe how much "Crap" was under the rubber matts! Good thing it was aluminum or else it would have been rust central!

[Snowcat Operations]

JASCO PAINT STRIPPER!


Sometime Tuesday my "real" paint stripper will arrive! I will be using Jasco epoxy paint remover. This stuff is the real deal. NO MORE of that B.S. Environmentally safe stuff. First off I dont see how using 100 gallons of "Environmentally safe" stripper (that does not work anyway) is safer than using 1 gallon of the good stuff (that does work). Now if it was a two gallon to one gallon rato then I would do it in a heart beat. If it worked I would do it in a heart beat. But that stuff just does not work. I have spent almost $200 bucks on samples plus shipping from all over the US and Canada and none of it works people! SO if you learn anything from this resto I hope its to use the stuff that works and forget the stuff that does not. USE "JASCO". A link is below.

http://www.jasco-help.com/products/prod_rem.htm#0201-4

[Snowcat Operations]

GAS TANK REMOVAL

Today I spent my time removing the stock in cab gas tank. Here are the pictures. I also took pictures of all the tools I used.

[Snowcat Operations]

1. The first picture is of the two bolts that hold the tank straps. Unbolt these. These are 1/2" nuts.
2. Pull the straps out after they are unbolted. They become twisted when they are originally tightened. Just work them out.
3. Unbolt this nut. Use 1/4" ratchet. I believe it was 1/2" (dont drop your socket and ratchet into the gas tank as I did!)
4. Vent is removed.

[Snowcat Operations]

1. Remove these bolts next.
2. Remove the passenger seat floor support.
3. Them remove the passenger arm rest / seat support.
4. Better picture of tools needed.

[Melensdad]

Mike, instead of removing the floor support, lifting the seat, etc, you could simply remove the some of the door frame bolts, rotate the door frame out of the way and the gas tank slides sideways right out from under the seat.

[Snowcat Operations]

1. with the seat supports removed you can now pul up on the seat and then pull the right corner of the tank toward you.
(Now take some big channel locks and some WD-40. Spray the wood blocks down with the WD-40. Pull the wood blocks out with the channel locks)
2. With the wood blocks removed you need to tilt the gas tank toward you and pull up on the back. Tank should come out. The filler neck is what you are trying to get through.
3. Bag up and tagged all you nuts bolts ect ect. You will forget where stuff goes as time goes on. This way you know where it belongs.
4. Picture of the tools I used for this project. I was hoping the socket sizes would be visable. Guess not. Also my daily work/check list in background.

[Snowcat Operations]

1. Tank and straps removed
2. Hole is from tank fill nozel
3. Tank removed
4. I will simply replace this panel with a new piece of aluminum

[Snowcat Operations]

Yes you could do that as well. I just pulled the supports since I needed to remove them and box them away anyway. But I guess if someone wasnt going to repaint the inside and needed to just repair there tank that would be the way to do it. :thumb:






Mike, instead of removing the floor support, lifting the seat, etc, you could simply remove the some of the door frame bolts, rotate the door frame out of the way and the gas tank slides sideways right out from under the seat.

[Snowcat Operations]

First bit of new hardware that I will install! Sorry people but I cant tell you anything about our super secret snowcat club or the secret handshake! :yum:

[Snowcat Operations]

OK time for a nice hot cup of coffee!

[Snowcat Operations]

REMOVING THE AXLE SHAFTS

Today I will be removing both my axle shafts. I dont like banging on stuff and gave up after a bit! I came up with an idea and will take it slowly to see how things go. I have sprayed every thinh down with penetrating oil and hooked up my set up to get the axles out. Here are some pictures.

[Snowcat Operations]

I am expanding the jack a little at a time over the period of hours. I will let it sit overnight.

[Snowcat Operations]

Well today I spent the rest of my time finishing takeing off the rest of the stuff.

Brake Master cylinder
Brake lines
Pedal assembly
Under dash heater duct
Engine compartment heater duct work
rear deck/hood area sheet metal
Windshield wiper arms
windshield wiper motor
linkage
sun visor and rear view miror

Waiting over night to see if I had any luck loosening the axle shafts. If not I guess I will start pounding them out.

[Snowcat Operations]

I GOT THOSE AXLE SHAFTS OUT!!!!!!:alc: :rock: :dancing: :flagusa:

[Snowcat Operations]

Here are some pictures.

[Snowcat Operations]

More pics

[Snowcat Operations]

The Jasco is working great! I took all this off in about 10 minutes. I need to come back and treat it one more time. My first coat was a bit to thin. Great product! There is also 4 layers of paint it has to penetrate through.

[Snowcat Operations]

In the morning I will be outside working once again on the Snow Master. Crappy cold weather has put a few set backs in my plan (like wheeling the cat out onto the back yard area) But I will resume again in the morning weather permitting.

[Snowcat Operations]

Stripped the hood today. All in all it took me about 30 minutes. In the mean time while waiting between coats of stripper I removed the outer axle bearings. These were completely shot and rusted which built up material between the aluminum tube and bearings. These were really stuck in there. One bearing was broken and you can see it partially still in the axle tube. I will remove it in the morning. I have it soaking in a penetrating lube. Wish I had my Kroil but am all out. There is also none to be found in this little town. I will get a gallon of this stuff when I head off to Las Vegas this weekend.

[Snowcat Operations]

1. Broken axle bearing. The rest is still in the tube to be removed in the morning after soaking all night in penetrating lube.

2. Broken bearing housing close up.

3. Rest of bearing in tube. Getting ready to push all the grease out of the tube into my bucket. This is a messy job.

4. Close up of broken bearing in tube.

Its amazing this snowcat ran just fine even with the broken bearing. No noise. All bearings will be replaced.

[Snowcat Operations]

1. Big glob of grease pushed out of the axle tube. That was just a small part of grease per axle tube.

2. The top ring is the outer axle tube seal. The one below it is the actual axle bearing. The dark spots are actually rust.

3. Back of seal. If you look close you can see the rust.

4. Hood is 99% stripped. The rest is very tough primer from the factory. I will lightly sand the rest off. The vents slats I will remove completely and use a wire screen in there place. This will give me a little bit better air flow. Ok so it wont be noticable but it sure will look better!

[Snowcat Operations]

Started stripping the paint off again. It finally warmed up above the minimum temp. required or suggested on the can. Today was a shocker at 70+ degrees. Man there are so many coats of paint its hard to really see how many there trully is. So far I have orange-red (original) then primer, white with a blue stripe. Then someone painted what looks to be a type of reflective white paint over the blue stripe. Then yellow then the final color of redish. Looks to be a definite pattern. I had seen something like this at Bill Gunthries place from a video in Lyndons collection..

[Snowcat Operations]

I will sand the remainder of the paint that will remain or I may just take it down and have the guys hit it real quick with the baking soda blaster. After she is completely stripped I will remove the forward cab area and have it touched up at my local metal fab shop. I have had great success with them doing work for me in the past. The other option is to do all the (steel) welding myself. BUT I cant weld aluminmum so that I know for sure I will farm out.

[Snowcat Operations]

ENGINE

Well I finally found where I can get a good engine. I have decided to go with a Subaru engine after all. COOPER started me thinking again and I redoubled my efforts to find what I needed. Since the weather was so cold I couldnt strip (paint that is) I spent my time looking for the engine. FOUND. If anyone wants a great source for the Subaru engines please let me know.

[Snowcat Operations]

Found this sign under all those layers of paint. See pics 3 and 4. It says something then "Telephone Co." Thought it was pretty cool.

[Melensdad]

Mike, if I recall some of the import history that Lyndon wrote up, didn't the Canadian utility companies bring over a bunch of Snow Tracs to work on their telephone lines? I don't know the name of the Canadian telephone company, but I suspect that may be where your Snow Master originated?

Is it possible the first letters before the word TELEPHONE are "R C" which could be short of Royal Canadian??? Just a guess!

Maybe some of our Canadian members can shed some light on the issue for you.

[Snowcat Operations]

Bob,
It could be RC but to me it looks like BC. Lyndon suspected mine was a Ex Tele cat. Which I do recall the previous owner said he got all of his from them. Lyndon suspected because of all the mods done to the engine. These were standard mods for the phone company. I also picked My Snow Master up from BC so it makes sense. I will try and remove the rest of the paint a little more gently till I find out what is says. OH well its kinda fun. Then back to stripping.

[Snowcat Operations]

British Columbia Telephone Company ( Now BC TEL ) Found this. BUT I suspect the picture isnt going to post.

[Snowcat Operations]

Yup no pic. Oh well there is a B C Telephone Company

[Snowcat Operations]

I wish I had a picture of her when she was new and then after her painting for the Phone company. That would be neat!

[Snowcat Operations]

Since I will be running a Subaru engine I wonder what I should do with the vents on the hood itself. The back vents will be replaced with flat sheet aluminum. Maybe some hood scoops for the hood?

[mtmogs]

Thanks for the pics SNOWMASTER, keep 'em comin'. You're making some good progress. Can't wait to see the subuaru engine installed!

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks Mntnmogs. I didnt think anyone was even looking at this thread. I felt well at least I will have the pictures to show my progress and return to later to see how I did something. Thanks.

[Vance]

SO,

I'm watching this thread, too!! Very closely actually as someday... I will own a Snow Master!!

Keep up the good work and let me know if you get sick of it and want to sell...

Vance

[Snowcat Operations]

lol. Thanks Vance. Maybe when I complete this first one? This is my baby. I may just keep her until I die. As you know I have aquiered two more Snow Masters. I will be selling one of those when I finish them.

[scooterd]

I am also watching! I just don't say much! The stripper seems to be working well. Are you worried about residual stripper in the body seams? I read about a guy that had problems with his paint later because he didn't get things cleaned up well enough. What's your plans for cleanup? Post lots of pictures and keep up the good work!

[Snowcat Operations]

scooterd,
My plans are to pressure wash in stages. After I strip the sides and rear I will push the cat out and pressure wash the hell out of it. I will then strip again and then repressure wash. Each seam will get a heavy dosage of pressure. I will then take the cat and have it Soda blasted. She will be further taken down and repressure washed for the last time I suspect unless I find a need to. I will the reinstall the new panels and fenders ect and wash everything with either a water borne wax and grease remover or a chemical born wax and grease remover before I lay down my SPI Epoxy Primer. I will then do any body work which so far I see where the factory had added about a nickle size dab of bondoe. I will the respray with either an epoxy primer or a filler primer. I need to consult with the SPI at that point. Either way I should be painting (weather permitting) in about a month. The temps again dropped to low 60s today. Another month will get me perfect weather for painting. Thanks for the support.

On the painting I have picked out my color which is known as SPI Red. (SPI is Southern Polyurethane Industires) They have paint that is equal to the best out there at 1/4th the price. They are a small company but will help you anyway they can. How many companies can you call and get real knowledgable advice from the CEO? They are also setting me up with a professional gun and all that I need to paint the cat myself. Going through them I am able to get this way cheaper than the cheapist place I have found on the internet just for the gun. Anyway great company to work with.

[Snowcat Operations]

ENGINE UPDATE

I have picked out the Subaru EA82 Carburated engine. This engine produces 97 H.P. and 103 ft lbs.. My next project will include a Turbo charged fuel injected Subaru engine swap. This is what I was planning on for this project but decided to bow out to the cheaper engine which will also be alot easier to install. My next project wi9ll tackle the added hurdles of installing that type of engine. Learning how to paint is a huge hurdle I need to accomplish on this unit before I move on to my next.

[Snowcat Operations]

The nice thing on the Subaru engines is that they work so much easier than an equivelant VW aircooled and consequently more reliable. Plus for a 100 to 120 HP built VW engine you will spend $5,000. I am not talking some guy in his garage but the best VW engine builders out there. SCATT, Aircooled.net ect ect The Subarus will be about $4000 grand including adaptors ect.

[boggie]

one thing you may want to consider adding to the oil pan is a deep sump so that you will not run out on side hills and steep grades

[Snowcat Operations]

Thats a valid point. I once had a friend build a move able oil pickup for a cj I owned. Not sure how he did it but the oil pick up would rotate to the lowest position.

[weatherby]

On the painting I have picked out my color which is known as SPI Red. (SPI is Southern Polyurethane Industires) They have paint that is equal to the best out there at 1/4th the price.
SPI is very good paint though it is not available in my part of the country I,ve heard good things about it. I,ve been watching your progress you are doing one fine job I would help a lot more if I could but I don,t know any thing about Trac Masters but I,am learning from watching yours:thumb:

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks WEATHERBY! Today I removed the front bumper. What a pain in the ass that was! Had to get out the brand new Fathers day present (Dremel) and go to town on two stripped and rusted solid bolts. The Dremel made quick work of them. Then I removed the front fenders and supports. Then it was onto the emergency brake cables and handle. Had to get the old Dremel out once again to cut both ends off a cotter pin. Everything is of course tagged, bagged and boxed away. The bumper is in my truck to take to my metal fab guy. They used 1/8" steel when they should have used 3/16" or 1/4". The weak spots I have seen on every single Snow Trac / Master is where the supports bolt up to the bumper. The holes weaken the bumper and the constant up and down motion of snowcatting along with the weight of the fenders and any gear eventually bend the bumpers. NOT on my new one. I Will of course beef it up plus do a little bit diffrent design since I will now have a radiator to think of. Extra airflow!

[Snowcat Operations]

Here are some more.

[Snowcat Operations]

These pictures will help me when I go back and reinstall everything. The last picture above is the emegency brake assembly. That cotter pin you can just see the spread pin is the one I had to dremel. Little bastard!

[Snowcat Operations]

Last three pictures for tonight.

[Snowcat Operations]

I have a pretty big to do list for Friday. Time flies when your having fun. I love these LONG days of sunshine! Sunday I need to do a deatil cleaning of my shops. Dont know how much work I will get done then. See you all in the morning.

[groomerguyNWO]

:applause: I'm really looking forward to following this rebuild very closely. You're doing an awesome job so far.

[Snowcat Operations]

WOW. Thanks GroomerguyNWO. We will see how Great I do once I start painting! This will be my first paint job ever. I am buying all the best equipment and products. The owner of the companyI am buying my products from says this is the easiest way to paint. I am doing base coat clear coat. I am also spraying my own bed liner as well. Either way I will have fun. BigAl was kind enough to offer his place and skills and paint my Snow Master. The man trully has a big heart. BUT he has alot on his plate and I figured I would try and lesson that burden and "JUST DO IT" myself. Hell right now he is building an entire barn for the Forums first Snowcat get together sometime in 2008 (Jan?) Anyway I need to learn how to do this part. One thing about paint. It doesnt matter how great a rebuild is or how reliable it is ect ect. If the paint looks like crap thats what everyone will think of the project. So I better learn pretty damn fast! Thanks for the pep talk.

[Snowcat Operations]

Removed the panels today and the door skin. Took them to my local fab shop. Took the bumper too but they cant bend the thickness I want. Need to go to a bigger City for that I guess. When I get those back I will install them and remove a couple more and have them done. The upper and lower cab are loosey goosy with out the supports in. Time to clean shop. Be back later.

[groomerguyNWO]

If you need some help with the paint, I'm sure my 3 year old would love to help you out! Just give him a brush and a can of paint..........

[Snowcat Operations]

Team him up with my 3 year old and this thing just might get painted!

[groomerguyNWO]

There's an idea! We could all just sit back and :alc: :beer: :drink:

You'd end up with the most original looking paint job out there:thumb:

[79bombi]

Team him up with my 3 year old and this thing just might get painted!

With the leadership of my 5 year old they could pinstripe most of your carpeting, walls, furniture, and spacecraft hellbent on the moon thru the living room ceilings. Let me know! My 5 year old has plenty of markers ready to work!!:thewave:

79Bombi

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks for all the posts. I recieved all the paint supplies and bed liner stuff today. I am still waiting for my bad ass paint gun. Dont know how to use it but its supposed to be one of the best. At least I have the help of the owner of SPI Southern Polyurethane Industries. He gave me his cell phone number and said he would help at every stage! Pretty damn good customer service! (he does this for anyone who needs help) I will get everything unboxed here in the next day or so and take pictures.

[BigAl]

Hi Mike, When you install that new subaru engine ,use a modine #935 radiator .Get it at Napa . They are cheap and come with a lifetime warranty. It should work fine . It is very small and made for subaru engines .If you need more cooling they also make a heavy duty 3 roll . I AM NOT SURE OF THE NUMBER .If you have a wreaking yard close by get the electric cooling fans that are made for this model . It will look factory !!!!

[Snowcat Operations]

Thats funny because my brother said the exact same thing. Except to by just a new Sub radiator instead of the modine but to get the fans ect from a junk yard.. you know exactly which one!

[gordon robertson]

so villi , how was your winter ,,, we finally got our snow trac out after restoration ... hope all is well gordon robertson

[Snowcat Operations]

CRITICAL SUBARU ENGINE SWAP INFORMATION




FOR ALL YOU WHO ARE PLANNING A SUBARU ENGINE SWAP INTO YOUR SNOW TRAC HERE IS SOME VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

The EA82 series is a great motor but is 36 inches wide. That gives us 1/2" clearance and each side of the engine compartment where the heads are. PLUS the spark plugs are on the end of the heads so the wires wont clear. The EJ22 Engines are 32" wide at the heads and the spark plugs are on top just behind the heads at an angle. Alot like VW plugs. This is also the most produced Subaru engine in this class and the most reliable. Even if you break the timing belt the Valves dont get bent! It also has the most spare parts available and is a great motor series. The Ones we want are:

EJ22 OHC: 2.2L OHC Legacy (90-94) 135 HP @ 5600 RPM 137 ft lb @4400 rpm

EJ22 OHCT 2.2L OHCT Turbocharged Legcy (91-94) 160 HP 5600 rpm 181 ft lb @2800 rpm.

The engines need to be brought in from the bottom on any of them since the top bends in and also the chain splash guards if still in are each 3 inches wide. Thats 31" between the two. The heads will be below these. Hope this helps.

[Snowcat Operations]

Well I have picked out the exact engine for my cat. I will be going with the Subaru EJ22 OHCT 2.2 Turbocharged. Thats 160 HP with 181 ft lbs or Torque! These came out of 91-94 Subaru Legacy Turbo. Should be quite the engine swap. Now I need to get my transaxle beefed up which is not a big deal. Other than that and running a fuel injection fuel tank the system it should be a pretty straight forward swap. My engine will come with a pre built wire harness and ECU. This will eliminate all the wiring headaches! The wire harness is $450 just for the engine. BUT thats money well spent! My only question I havent had a chance to anwser yet is the exaust run from the Turbo.

[BigAl]

Mike,
You will need the 3 row for the turbo . I want to say it is a #2302 , but recheck this .Go Napa/Modine. They carry a lifetime warranty .
ALLEN

Well I have picked out the exact engine for my cat. I will be going with the Subaru EJ22 OHCT 2.2 Turbocharged. Thats 160 HP with 181 ft lbs or Torque! These came out of 91-94 Subaru Legacy Turbo. Should be quite the engine swap. Now I need to get my transaxle beefed up which is not a big deal. Other than that and running a fuel injection fuel tank the system it should be a pretty straight forward swap. My engine will come with a pre built wire harness and ECU. This will eliminate all the wiring headaches! The wire harness is $450 just for the engine. BUT thats money well spent! My only question I havent had a chance to anwser yet is the exaust run from the Turbo.

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks BigAl. I will! Sounds like those Modines rads are pretty good.

[Snowcat Operations]

The paint gun is a Anest Iwata? Sound right? Or that may be the distributor. Not sure. It will be here Friday.

[villi]

so villi , how was your winter ,,, we finally got our snow trac out after restoration ... hope all is well gordon robertson
Well Gordon this winter is no good ,no snow at all did go one time in Snow Trac in to the higher ground found snow there lot of fun there.http://www.123.is/album/display.aspx?fn=thingey&aid=747308798

[Snowcat Operations]

Villi<
Did you buy the Subaru engined Snow Trac? If so do you have any engine compartment pictures? I am putting a Subaru motor into my Snow Master. Thanks for any help!

[villi]

Villi<
Did you buy the Subaru engined Snow Trac? If so do you have any engine compartment pictures? I am putting a Subaru motor into my Snow Master. Thanks for any help!
No I did not buy that Snow Trac but I can take some pictures some time for you.

[Melensdad]

No I did not buy that Snow Trac but I can take some pictures some time for you.
Villi it would be a big help to a lot of people if you could take and post several photos. :wave:

I actually have gotten quite a few emails from people who specifically ask about engine swaps. Please get some photos when you have a chance and post them here.

Larry Coy at the Roughwoods Inn in Alaska did an engine swap and installed a Toyota engine, but it required modifications to the hood and some other sheet metal mods. He posted a couple photos of his. But as the Toyota engine didn't fit really well, the Subaru engine makes a great choice to install into the Snow Trac.

I've also had several people ask about installing a VW TDI engine. I'm not a good mechanic, but that seems like it might also be a nice engine if it is small enough to fit.

[Snowcat Operations]

If you could that would be perfect. Is the new owner wanting to sell it? Anyway I would love to get some pictures of the engine compartment. Thanks Villi.

[groomerguyNWO]

Any updates on this resto or has it died a lonely death out there in the circus tent???

[Snowcat Operations]

Its in cold storage. Ran out of fun money for that project. Next summer should see her completed.

[Bobcat]

Its in cold storage. Ran out of fun money for that project. Next summer should see her completed.

Translation from SnoOpese to 'merican...

"It's in cold storage" = Elephant sat on it. Told him not to keep the clown car in the same tent as the elephants. :pat:

"Ran out of fun money for that project" = Gave up. :idiot:

"Next summer should see her completed." = Ten yard roll-off scheduled for spring. :loser:

[Snowcat Operations]

No Comment.

[Bobcat]

HA!!! Score! Got a 'no comment' from Mike-the-Mouth!!! Two months left and my year is made already!

[Snowcat Operations]

Bumsen Sie Sie BOB und der Kristi, in dem Sie mein Tor durchgingen!

[Bobcat]

Bumsen Sie Sie BOB und der Kristi, in dem Sie mein Tor durchgingen!

Must be some of that SnoOpese mentioned in my previous post. :rolleyes:

[Snowcat Operations]

No problem Bob. :pee_smilie:

[Snowcat Operations]

I think we just found a new name for your Kristi Bob. Old Yeller!:yum:

[Bobcat]

Found this dead thread in the back of the FF closet. Dang, got dust and cobwebs on my typing finger. :rolf2:

[Bobcat]

Great news...Mike finally got his Snot Master clown car out of the circus tent and converted it for summer use. Great job, Mikey! :clap:






YouTube - Mikeys Snot Master








:poke: :yum:

[thcri]

I got dizzy just watching it.:w00t2:

[Snowcat Operations]

You guys are so funny.

[Snowcat Operations]

Today I test fitted some rear cab panels I had made about 3 years ago before I started my then new job. 3 years later Im ready to restart the rebuild. The panels fit pretty good but one needs. a little trimming. I will take pics tomorrow. Work keeps me away most of the year.

[BigAl]

Today I test fitted some rear cab panels I had made about 3 years ago before I started my then new job. 3 years later Im ready to restart the rebuild. The panels fit pretty good but one needs. a little trimming. I will take pics tomorrow. Work keeps me away most of the year.


And Rum Keeps me dizzy the rest of the year !!!!!:yum:

[Snowcat Operations]

[/B]


And Rum Keeps me dizzy the rest of the year !!!!!:yum:



:whistling:

[Snowcat Operations]

I also had a new outer door skin made. This one has a window as well.

[BigAl]

Its good to see you working on her again Mike !

[Snowcat Operations]

Feels good as well. Ive been busy trying to save her since my temp garage collapsed on her a few nights ago when we recieved 28" of snow. I have it braced up right now but need to figure somehing out.

[snow dog]

great pictures. Good luck with the roof. There is not much we can do except offer words of encouragement.

[Melensdad]

great pictures. Good luck with the roof. There is not much we can do except offer words of encouragement.

My thoughts exactly. We don't have anything near that much snow here but the snow and cold temps have been wreaking havoc here too. Fortunately I've not had a roof collapse. With any luck you'll get some braces under the roof and can lift it, even a bit, to take the pressure off the Snow Master (and anything else it fell on) so the damage is minimized. Good luck and keep the photos coming, looks like another 1st class restoration.

[muleman]

Did you get yours out of the garage yet?:whistling:

[Melensdad]

Did you get yours out of the garage yet?:whistling:

Nope, but I had fresh concrete poured today. It actually climbed up to 33 degrees, it was the first day in a month we've been over freezing. There is also a refrigerator sitting in between the Snow Trac and the overhead door, and then a pile of construction debris, covered with a tarp, which is then covered in snow, blocking the door too. I'm hopeful that the concrete pour today will allow the contractors to move much of their materials INSIDE the new garage area and that will allow me to get the Snow Trac down from the 4 post lift that is holding it hostage. Maybe another week?

[Snowcat Operations]

Thanks guys. The garage roof is about 2" from the roof of the Snow Master. We received another 24" today! This has been the BEST snow year since ive been here. This was the norm for this part of the country a few decades ago and before. Now its back to normal again....I Hope! Ive added a few more braces and plan to cut open the roof and just let the snow pile in. I can thaw her out this Spring. That way the roof wont collapse any further. I just shuvelled out the snow drift in my front porch (6' tall!) and used the snow blower to clear out the rest. The winds been pretty high. The Storm "seems" to have passed. Tomorrow will see me cuttingout the roof and shuveling around the garage.

[Snowcat Operations]

Ive been going through all the parts I purchased 3 plus years ago. I dont remember if I showed a picture of my steering wheel Im going to use.

[Lakeside518]

I have a SnowMaster Cat with a VW engine. I also have a spare engine. One track needs to be rebuilt. It's in good condition. New lights and wiring installed. A custom hood was fabricated. It runs. I am looking to sell it... I inherited when my father passed away. He had several SnoCats. If you know of anyone looking for one of these please PM me! I am located in Upstate NY. Albany area

Thanks

Kris