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My Conversion Has Begun- 442 Cab For Sale

heavydsparks

New member
This forum was able to provide me with some great information to help identify the year and model of my Tucker. It turns out that my machine received a wide track conversion from Sierra Engineering back in the 70's and it is really set up for deep powder and backcountry travel. Having said that, the GM 250 motor and the tiny cab are very impractical for me and my growing family. We use our Cat regularly to travel 10-15 miles into our backcountry cabin. This is why I have decided to fit a modern truck cab and powertrain (2009 Nissan Titan Crew Cab) onto my Tucker chassis and converted tracks.

The cab is a 442 extended cab with a custom flatbed. The serial number plate was removed by previous owner when it was painted. The sheet metal is in decent shape, it could use some love but it's a very cool platform for somebody to do something cool with. I also have the GM 250 engine and 4 speed transmission. Both functioned properly when removed.

These parts are available for pickup in Salt Lake City. I can also arrange shipping. Asking $3500 for everything. You can call or text me at 801-721-5130.

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redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Hey Don( snow trac nome), How much do you give me to go pick that up and mount it to the 2100........

LOts of good stuff there.

I want to see what the remainder looks like.

Mike
 

JimVT

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
don, put it on your crusty that your hiding and have a low rider
 

jask

Member
Make sure you post up some pics of the conversion progress and results! that sounds like a fun project.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
I don't know if I could put on a Nissan cab the guy who did the van conversion had a pretty cool idea I think a modern surburban or short bed crew cab pu body might be nice
 

Track Addict

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
RIP tomb of the unknown Tucker! Good luck with the project.

Maybe some pics of the gear you are keeping to put on your new rig and lots of pics of your conversion.
 

heavydsparks

New member
Haha, DaveNet, I have never been accused of dragging my feet on a project. We started full swing into this thing a couple nights ago. Here's an update:

I am in the custom truck business and really wanted to go the diesel route with this build. The goal was to put a 2011 Powerstroke Cab and drivetrain on the chassis and tracks but it was just going to be too heavy and too much power/torque. The also considered a suburban/van/or gm crew cab cause I am a GM guy at heart. These were all viable options until this wrecked 2009 Nissan Titan came across the auction block and I stole it for $3500. Super clean interior and only 49k miles. The frame was toast so it wasn't a suitable project to be rebuild for road use, perfect for a snow cat. I cut the frame off about 12" behind the cab and plan to run just the crew cab and then fab up a small flatbed/luggage rack. I will be keeping the Titan frame, engine, transmission and basically just setting it atop of the tucker chassis and running a new driveshaft to the Tucker T-case. The Titan has a spectacular power to weight ratio, especially with the bed removed. We will be trimming weight in other places as well. Shooting for a 6000 lb total weight when all said and done. This means the Cat will power windows, locks, and seats as well as heat and AC. (should be the ultimate sissy-mobile)

Here are few pics of the Titan. First 2 pics show exactly how it looked after I picked it up, 3rd pic shows the frame cut and getting prepped to set on Tucker chassis.

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Here are some pics of the bare Tucker chassis. Of course I still have to remove the old motor and trans.

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Stay tuned for more progress. We are making this a sprint build in hopes to use it while my Family is in town for the Holidays.
 

Track Addict

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm sure you will but check that Tucker frame pretty thin from factory and most had to be sisters up for support.

Ambitious! I like it
 

heavydsparks

New member
Progress continues. Tonight was super productive. Got the old drivetrain pulled from the Tucker chassis and got the frame down to bare metal. It's pretty obvious that the frame will need to be beefed up so I will be building a box frame over the existing Tucker frame. Will square it up with some triangulation so it should be plenty strong.

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I also got the Titan placed in position to begin the mock up and start taking measurements for fab work. Debating what to do with the transfer case/drivelines/etc. Does anyone know what type of gear reduction these Tucker t-cases have? Trying to figure out if I'll need the low range from the stock Nissan T-case or if I'll get enough reduction out of the Tucker case and axle gears. Any info is appreciated.

The truck is sitting tall in these pics, I am going to get it as low as possible. Hopefully 9-10" lower than these pics show.

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teamster

New member
You shouldn't need low range. There would be no gear reduction thru the transmission when the old drive train was in high gear. So if your new power train is not overdrive it will travel the same speed at the same engine speed as the old power plant. Having said that the old 250 chev probably had lots of torque at 2500 rpm while your Nissan will probably be at 5000. Your unit may just be a little quicker than it once was. Good luck.
 

sno-drifter

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
HDS, I am not familiar with the after market track set up, but here goes: If you drove this unit with these tracks and it had adequate performance, it should do ok if the low gear ratio in the Nisson box is similar and you don't add a lot more weight and the Nisson engine puts out similar torque. The Tucker will pull a drag/ roller in it's stock configuration. You may have to put a transfer case with a drop rear output shaft like the old jeeps or the T 211 Rockwell's that came in the '60's Chev and GMC to get the power from so high up down to the Tucker case. Way better if you don't have to go that way. Or turn rig around and use Vee drive for a boat. I would go with getting everything as low as possible- Think Center of Gravity. You sure are moving along, keep the photos coming.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
food for thought, on the tucker cab ,seems when guys put on side pipes they have problems with track clearance when the tracks move up and down in articulation. you have now made the cabin wider if you lower it too much you may find your self using a sawzall for clearance. for a work machine I think your power train will just suck, as for a remote access vehicle it might be kind of nice in the long run with a top end around 18mph. don't forget an aux oil cooler for the auto trans, or that likely will be the first thing you are repairing. I find snow cats like boats in the water you are always under load, and the deeper the grousers the heavier the load
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
food for thought, on the tucker cab ,seems when guys put on side pipes they have problems with track clearance when the tracks move up and down in articulation. you have now made the cabin wider if you lower it too much you may find your self using a sawzall for clearance.

My thought as well. You may not want to go much lower. While you have the ability, lift the frame at the center point and check the articulation of the running gear in all directions. In particular, fully turned either direction and tracks rotated forward & back to full lock. Don't forget the axle rocks side to side relative to the frame as well.

With the extra weight, everything will be trying to make contact a lot easier. You may need to put extra limiters on the suspension to keep from ripping the door skins off. But, that will start to limit the all terrain capability that the machine is known for.
 

Pontoon Princess

Cattitute
GOLD Site Supporter
how is your conversion coming, you got off to a great start, and looked like you are well on your way to making it all come together, update? good luck and hope you finish it up soon
 

heavydsparks

New member
Remember that time I said I wanted to get this project done for the holidays? Let just pretend I never said that.

The initial idea was to make a this a quick an dirty swap just to get a functioning truck body on the tucker track system. As we dug deeper into the original Tucker parts, we found more and more cracked welds and brittle parts. I decided that if was going to do this, I needed to it the right way so that I wasn't constantly working on this machine. We basically threw the Cat in a time machine and stripped down every part. Here is a pic of the old frame which had been patched and repaired about 1000 times before.

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The first thing to be done was toss the old frame and build a new one. This also allowed us to increase the wheelbase of the Cat an additional 24 inches so that we can run a full size Titan truck bed. This will look like a factory conversion by the time we're done. Here is a pic of the new frame construction which we decided to build out of 2x4 box tube. Keep in mind, we have not added any crossmembers yet, that will be done once steering and t-case are installed. The frame will be triangulated and very strong.

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We also decided to build a new front pivot assembly and new bushings throughout. Went out and bought some chunks of brass which we machined down to work us pivot sliders. The pic below shows the old worn our brass slider.

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Here is the new frame mounted on the track frames.

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The fit and finish is amazing. We basically redrew many of the Tucker factory parts and rebuilt them our of new material, improving small design flaws along the way.

The main hiccups I have ran into are the following. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated:

Sprockets- Nobody that I know of has the mold to recover these old worn out 9 tooth sprockets that came on the Sierra Engineering wide track conversion. I found an old thread that the late Bill Guthrie might have had a mold so I am still trying to contact his wife, Mary. Any help is appreciated.

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Idlers- Replacing all wheels and tires with solid foam tires. I think I've got this under control.

Track belt hinges- The old hinges on the tracks were made by Flexco using the part numbers 375-2 and 375-3. The only Flexco hinges I have been able to find come in 12" strips, I need them in 2 and 3 inch strips. Any input on good belt connecting hinges?

Axles- I am going to be installing lockers in front and rear axles and will be upgrading the shafts to chromoly for strength. Any idea what axles I have here?

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All in all, I don't regret the decision to do this the right way. I have found numerous items that would have failed very soon. This Cat will be up for sale sooner or later and I don't want the new owner to experience any issues. I've got a few surprises up my sleeve that should make you die-hard Tucker guys proud. Just waiting on parts now...

Stay tuned for updates.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
the axles are a Chrysler axles, I wouldn't install lockers unless they could also be un locked because of how well tracks will hook up.
 

Kristi Kt-4

Member
We will get to watch the rest of this build since this is the Diesel Brothers machine that is on Discovery Channel. It looks like it will have a diesel powerplant! :w00t2:
 

loggah

Active member
SUPER Site Supporter
Well looks like a Dodge and Cummins ended up on the chassis:biggrin: Neat job ,but like all reality shows all the commercials drove me nutz !!!!!! definitely had plenty of power in the show, kinda reminded me of the old "lancercat' from years ago!!:biggrin::biggrin:
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Hopefully HeavyD will give some real life background now that the show has aired.
 

heavydsparks

New member
Well guys....what did you think of the build? As you know I started toying with this idea over a year ago but decided to hold off and save this build for the tv show that we started working on last summer. The Ram 2500 was the perfect fit for this project. There are so many details that I need to update you all on such as building a new pivot plate, building my own sprocket molds, etc. I'll try to write it up when I get a little free time.

However, I will tell you this, the machine straight works. I mean it works well. Cruises comfortably at about 25mph with more power than I could ever use. In fact, I've never pushed it more than 1/2 throttle. It floats in the deep stuff and actually goes everywhere my BR350 groomer can go (with the exception of not having a blade to push drifts).

Overall, it was a successful endeavor. I'll try to give you guys more updates/videos soon.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just curious, but are you going to make some body panels to fill in the front wheel wells so it has a more finished/custom look?
 
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