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Can someone identify this snowcat

mrwanted

New member
Can someone identify this snowcat. I cant find any information on it. its from 1978
 

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Snowcat Operations

Active member
SUPER Site Supporter
Do you need a manual? We have them for free here on the Forums for our members. PM BSKURKA for a manual on CD. Can you also tell us what type of engine is now under the hood? Pictures would also be very nice! Whats your location?
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Yup that is obviously an Aktiv Snow Master. The hood, and presumably, the engine under it, have been replaced. Without looking under the hood we can't say for sure the engine was swapped out, but looking through the front grill it appears that there is an engine cooling fan installed and possibly a radiator so its probably got a water cooled engine under the hood instead of the standard air-cooled flat 4 industrial VW engine.

Mechanically I would presume the engine is mated up to the stock transmission so it would work with the traditional Variator steering system; I say that because the steering wheel is still present so it is very likely that this unit simply had an engine upgrade and the engine didn't fit under the stock hood so a new hood was fashioned too.
 

mrwanted

New member
Its for sale in Norway where i live. heres some pictures of the engine and belts
 

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Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Well it is obviously an engine swap with a Nissan water cooled engine. The Variator system is still in place and can be seen behind the engine right where it should be. That said I'd have to bet the engine was mated to the standard VW transmission and the likelihood is that all the other mechanicals are pretty much stock Snow Master mechanicals since those things would be driven off the Variator system.

It looks like a simple engine upgrade. There have been photos of other Snow Tracs/Snow Masters with water cooled engine upgrades posted here. Larry at Roughwoods Inn runs a Toyota powered Snow Master and Villi in Iceland posted some photos of a Subaru powered Snow Trac. In each case the engines were mated, just like this one, directly to the VW transmission and utilized the Variator assembly.

The nice advantage to running a water cooled engine is that the engines actually produce a good amount of heat and with an automotive heater core you can get the comfort of a nice warm cabin, something that is lacking with the air cooled engines.
 

couchloafer

Member
SUPER Site Supporter
Just kidding........ I say if it runs good and the tracks arent in too bad of shape, (needing replacement) it would be worth between $7000.00 and $$9,000.00 US. It would be worth more to me if it were original but if it runs good it can look funny I suppose
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I haven't seen a rear cab door like that one before....
Yup that is an interesting configuration I've not seen it before either. It would sure make loading bulky items a lot easier.
 

couchloafer

Member
SUPER Site Supporter
More photos are necessary to feed our addiction........ I would love to see the rear door open and a better picture of the engine compartment.......is that the hydrolic reservoir?


Yup that is an interesting configuration I've not seen it before either. It would sure make loading bulky items a lot easier.
 

mtmogs

New member
Thanks. It's a pretty interesting adaptation. The machine should have plenty of torque, but I imagine the speed would be slow, barring any modifications to sprocket size or transmission, given the lower revs of the diesel comapared to the original VW engine.
 

kgracey

New member
The advertisement asks for 49,000 Norway Kroner. Here's the translation to USD:

Live rates at 2008.02.23 21:42:30 UTC
49,000.00 NOK = 9,235.18 USD
Norway Kroner United States Dollars
1 NOK = 0.188473 USD 1 USD = 5.30580 NOK

So, the seller wants somewhere around $9200. These guys are not tied to the Euro, but I'm sure that our currency is still in the crapper compared to the Norway Kroner.
 
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