• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

Complete low hour 318/Transmission take out

The Sweet Wbj1

Active member
SOLD All of this was removed from Snowzilla to make room for the "mystery motor". The Tucker was owned by a utility company and had ~500 hours on it. Engine ran perfectly before being carefully taken out.

-318 industrial
-New Process 5 speed transmission with the emergency brake apparatus
-Complete exhaust system. Will need a new clamp for y pipe to exhaust pipe
-Accelerator pedal assembly
-Ignition module
-Ballast resistor
-Voltage regulator
-Fuel pump
-Radiator and hoses (radiator has slight bulge on bottom but did not leak.
-Pulley for hydraulic pump

Basically a complete low hour setup from the radiator back to the emergency brake (minus the Vickers hydraulic pump)!! All palletized and ready to be picked up or shipped out. We can load for you. Located in Salt Lake City, UT. Buyer pays shipping.

$2,250 OBO
 

Attachments

  • IMG_8736.jpg
    IMG_8736.jpg
    130 KB · Views: 354
  • IMG_8737.jpg
    IMG_8737.jpg
    208 KB · Views: 362
Last edited by a moderator:

redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I will abstain from guess to to protect the sanctity of the balloting...
 

redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
All of this was removed from Snowzilla to make room for the "mystery motor".

I either saw thunder cat and or snowzilla in person. so thinking the amount of research and design that is being applied to the project. I would venture to guess the power plants to be of the same lineage...
 

Blackfoot Tucker

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Without divulging any "mystery motor" clues, I'll say the 318 power train package is being stored inside at Scott's shop. Scott has a few forklifts as well as multiple cranes (some inside the shop as well as a mobile 23-ton crane) so it's no problem at all to load the stuff on a trailer there, or we could take everything to a loading dock at a trucking company in SLC.

In terms of a "package" it's really everything one needs with the exception of the hydraulic pump. But even there the pulley is supplied, the pump brackets are supplied, the belts are supplied. When folks think about 318 engines, many make the mistake of ignoring the differences between the automotive and industrial engines. The industrial engines feature steel cranks and other heavy-duty parts. I'm not 100% sure, as this is from memory, but I believe the clutch system in this package is 13" in diameter and ones used in Dodge pickups of that vintage are 11".

For value comparison purposes I just now Googled "NP542 transmission". Here's the link: https://www.heavytruckparts.net/search.php?qsearch=TRUE&ManufMake=NEWPROCESS&Model=NP542&PartID=4000

Seven transmissions available; the cheapest of which is $1,450 plus a $250 core charge. How many miles are on those? Do they come with the E-brake setup? Others are available for $1,850, plus a $300 core charge. That's $2,150...
 

olympicorange

Active member
so... Blackfoot.. ''without '' giving away any clues... a complete pkg.... with drive pulley & brackets... sounds almost like a ''factory'' crate assy... i'm still ''rooting'' for a diesel power plant. hmmmm…..waiting for another CLUE.... seems not to be the ''butler'' , but definitely in the library.... lol
 

Blackfoot Tucker

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I guess I won’t sell anymore NP542 @$500.00 without cores from now on :unsure:


It's interesting...IF you have great sources, sometimes you can get quality used parts at reasonable prices. But it really is a "big IF". My perception is the NP542 was commonly used in medium-duty dump trucks, delivery trucks and school buses...decades ago, by Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge. I suspect there really isn't a big market for them today, and most of the used ones have a lot of miles on them.

Last week I was searching for some AT545 stuff and went to the Allison dealer in SLC to talk with the parts guy. I have zero interest in buying new parts from Allison as the pricing is beyond eye-watering. The parts guy knows I'm not a company with deep pockets, but rather some knucklehead with this weird attachment to snowcats. He suggested I call a fellow at Weller Truck Parts just down the road. (Weller is a nationwide company and they sell rebuilt Allison transmissions and a whole bunch of other stuff.) When I called, I mentioned the possibility of buying a core with the desired parts configuration. I was told they charge $2K for a "core"! (Huh? YGTBSM!) Needless to say, the conversation ended quickly (the guy was very nice, though)

The powertrain WJBuffetJr is selling came from Snowzilla, as we call it. That machine was originally owned by PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric), was subsequently acquired by Snotrans and I purchased it from the guy who bought it from Snotrans. When I got it, there were just under 500 hours of usage. Bill Cook, the former East Coast Tucker dealer, told me he considers one hour of snowcat use equivalent to 40 miles of automotive driving. Doing that quick math the powertrain would have the equivalent of 20,000 miles. That's pretty darn low, and one could be reasonably confident the transmission (for example) will provide years of service without needing major repair.

To me, a significant part of the value of this package is its completeness. The buyer can bolt it in and not spend hours and hours and hours tracking down various parts. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

My first Tucker was a 1543 bought from Snotrans. They had acquired it from the government, as it was a US Forest Service machine used at the Plumas National Forest in California. The engine was seized and Snotrans installed a rebuilt 318 engine. But when I got it home I noticed a lot of the alternator mounting hardware was incorrect, and the pulley and belt alignment was off. (The phrase "Mickey Mouse" comes to mind.) Rather than the correct Chrysler supplied brackets, spacers, washers, bolts, etc, it was somewhat jury rigged with an assortment of "stuff from who knows where". I like my vehicles to be "correct" and then sought out the right parts. No kidding, I went to 17 different salvage yards in Utah, Idaho and Montana before finding what I needed. The parts cost less than $20, but how many hours were spent trying to find them?

Could one acquire all the parts in this package for less money? I honestly doubt it - if you compare apples-to-apples in terms of usage, and get the same parts. But if you value your time at all, you'll be "underwater" quickly in trying to save what amounts to a few dollars. You'll also have the "pleasure" of multiple wild-goose chases as people, salvage yards, etc misrepresent both what they have and its condition.
 

Blackfoot Tucker

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
so... Blackfoot.. ''without '' giving away any clues... a complete pkg.... with drive pulley & brackets... sounds almost like a ''factory'' crate assy... i'm still ''rooting'' for a diesel power plant. hmmmm…..waiting for another CLUE.... seems not to be the ''butler'' , but definitely in the library.... lol

I won't say much, but I will say it's not a Diesel engine...

Prior to the engine swap in Thundercat, I did a lot of research on what I thought was the optimal engine choice for that project. That machine is configured as a 1644, and it has a factory 6-way blade. Weight of the engine was a significant factor in the decision process.

Snowzilla left the factory as a 1543 with a factory installed Warn winch in front. The original purchaser was PG&E, and they upgraded the track system to 1600 series tracks and carriers. In the process they also upgraded from track slides to damper wheels. Snowzilla is basically presold and WBuffetJr wanted a six-way blade installed. Having Thundercat's blade to study, we decided to replicate the basic Tucker design, though with some changes we think are improvements. Regardless though, it's a significant amount of additional weight and having the winch means it sits slightly further in front. When finished, Snowzilla will live in Colorado at an an elevation of 8,000 to 10,000 feet in an area that gets envious amounts of snow. Just as with Thundercat, weight was a primary consideration in the engine selection.

In our opinion Diesels offer some compelling advantages, but one major drawback is weight. My Diesel experience is somewhat limited, and with decidedly mixed results. I've had two Ford 7.3 PowerStroke Diesels that have been outstanding. But my other Diesel powered vehicle has been, and by a huge margin, the worst vehicle I've ever owned.


 

olympicorange

Active member
gotcha …. good job on not letting the cat out . lol. well , we don't have the same problems to consider here on the east coast , as you do in the Rockies. no 8000 footers, plus... or mega deep snow ,...wish we did ...ha ha . but I see what you're up against. we are fairly limited to ''hard packed'' trails....which are great. so weight isn't really a factor. just in towing ...lol. so , in my project , I was trying to stay relatively close in dimensions, weight , hp, ...but gain some on torque. an in-line engine produces more torque, especially an odd numbered cyl. engine. where as a v-8 produces more rpm's. the ''LH'' 318's weigh roughly in the 550 lb . area..if memory serves me right. the 2BBL. model is approx. 150 hp ..or so. I went with a diesel engine ...turbocharged/aftercooled (intercooled), rated at 135 hp, weighing in at 745lbs., and low end torque... the other side of the coin could be said ...that an in-line engine is somewhat easier to work on, where as a v-8 takes up more room...pros & cons I guess. being a diesel guy, Love that knocking & smoke... keep us suspended ….:thumbup:
 

Blackfoot Tucker

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
gotcha …. good job on not letting the cat out . lol. well , we don't have the same problems to consider here on the east coast , as you do in the Rockies. no 8000 footers, plus... or mega deep snow ,...wish we did ...ha ha . but I see what you're up against. we are fairly limited to ''hard packed'' trails....which are great. so weight isn't really a factor. just in towing ...lol. so , in my project , I was trying to stay relatively close in dimensions, weight , hp, ...but gain some on torque. an in-line engine produces more torque, especially an odd numbered cyl. engine. where as a v-8 produces more rpm's. the ''LH'' 318's weigh roughly in the 550 lb . area..if memory serves me right. the 2BBL. model is approx. 150 hp ..or so. I went with a diesel engine ...turbocharged/aftercooled (intercooled), rated at 135 hp, weighing in at 745lbs., and low end torque... the other side of the coin could be said ...that an in-line engine is somewhat easier to work on, where as a v-8 takes up more room...pros & cons I guess. being a diesel guy, Love that knocking & smoke... keep us suspended ….:thumbup:

With the Thundercat project (which uses a different engine than the "Mystery Motor" going into Snowzilla, BTW) I chose a Chevrolet 8.1 Vortec engine. It's really a Torque-O-Saurus, in that it makes a lot of torque, and the torque curve is pretty darn flat: more than 400 ft lbs of torque from about 1,000 RPM up to almost 4,500 RPM, with peak torque of 455 ft lbs @ 3,200 RPM and peak horsepower of 340 @ 4,200 RPM. To quote Hot Rod magazine: "They make more torque at 800 RPM than a factory LS1 produced at any point in its RPM range.

You might enjoy these videos showing the snow depths and elevation during the testing phase of that project. I posted them some time ago in this thread: http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=77639

The Mirror Lake Highway area we test in is part of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The highway itself, also known at State Route 150, is a very scenic drive. In the winter though, the whole area is darn close to snowmobile nirvana. I've had some absolutely incredible days snowmobiling there - making fresh tracks in multiple feet of fresh powder... literally all day long. In fact, on more than one spring day we ran into Polaris Industries doing photo shoots for their upcoming model year snowmobile advertising brochures. Contrary to their opinion, it's public property, and while I fully understand (and respect) their desire for privacy; they were really a**holes about it.

I don't think I'm a very confrontational guy, and neither were my snowmobiling buddies, but with a different group of riders their attitude could easily have devolved into a bad situation. As representatives of Polaris Industries, they certainly portrayed the company very poorly.
 

olympicorange

Active member
sounds awesome. thx for the video. I did see them awhile ago, but always worth watching again for sure. the grandiocity of corporate personnel. like they own the mountain or company. better you than me , ..lol thx again...
 
Top