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1975 WTSWTS- SPRYTE WIDE TRACK - $26,500 (IDAHO SPRINGS, CO)

NailedElk

New member
1975 SPRYTE Snowcat. This unit has been maintained and well taken care of. It has only 132 hours and is very, very dependable. The engine is a gasoline Ford 300 cubic inch engine with 124 horse power. with dual batteries.
This unit has a complete owner/operators manual.
Unit has an automatic THREE (3) speed transmission, 42 gallon fuel tank full cab with an open bed.
Unit seats FIVE (5) passengers comfortably It runs exceptionally well and most importantly it has the deep wide tracks for more bite with hard rubber tires. ( the best that is available for longevity and dependability ) . Ready for work or family fun and entertainment to your mountain cabin if your frustrated about not getting to that special getaway in the mountains or being snowed out from that weekend getaway. This thing can and will go anywhere with you want it to with no issues.
 

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300 H and H

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Nice machine. :brows: 3 hours per year use on average, given it is 40 years old.

I could never own a machine like this and use it so little. In one or two seasons at the most I would have more hours on it!! I have to wonder if it is a former Government owned cat, rarely used.

Regards, Kirk
 

redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Or the hour meter, which is held in by nothing more than a couple 8/32 screws.......

was changed.

or went over 99999.9 hours

Just being that Guy!
 

TomPa

New member
GOLD Site Supporter
Looks like the same machine that was on the market just last year, the graphics look familar. Nice clean cat.
 

NailedElk

New member
It was, I purchased it and only used it twice. A neighbor purchased a plow truck and do not need the BIG GUY any more.
 

Taxrulz

New member
Bringing this Thiokol Spryte wide track back to Utah, just waiting for funds to clear and arranging shipping!
 

Blackfoot Tucker

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Congratulations on the purchase!

Finding a machine in that condition, and at a reasonable price is almost the equivalent of finding a unicorn. But this Thiokol also has the desirable "goodies" such as the Ford 300 I-6 engine, the C6 automatic and the OC-12 rear end, not to mention the wide tracks.

Very nice machine...VERY!
 

Backyardski

BackyardskiLima
GOLD Site Supporter
Isn’t that Frandee the same one that sold about the same time last year? It was posted on the thread that had a bunch of them listed by serial number. There was definitely a blue one on there. GMoose, do you remember which thread that was?
 

GMoose

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Yes, that is the same one that sold last year, from the same auction company. I am wondering if someone in-house bought it and then changed their mind, who knows. It was sold one year ago this same week for $2,800. This time it went for $5,500, once the internet premium (3%), buyers premium (10%), Utah state taxes (7.6%), and getting it home the buyer is going to be pushing $7K invested. I did bid on it yesterday to make sure that when I signed up everything worked, however my top price was $2000, that way if I won I would have about $2500 into it once I had it home (SLC is only $100 round trip for me). I think whoever purchased it still got a good deal, if I didn't already have a Frandee I would have actually gone down there and bid in person, and my top dollar would have been much higher. Just for information, the tracks look like they are in fairly good shape, when I built mine I had $10K invested in them alone, so I think the new owner did well.

I am sure it is a model D, the same as the one I have (S/N 37), so if whoever purchased it is on this forum contact me for information, I have tons on this machine.

The only sad thing is that the track cleats were replaced with steel, I am a fan of the original hickory cleats. High maintenance, yes, but I sure love them.

One more tit bit. They are claiming it is a 1953, the model D's were made in 1952 and 1953, this could be either. I know mine is a 1953 because the casting number on the differentials tie to that year. Also, they started making the model E in 1953. There is a model E with S/N 39 out there somewhere, so mine is either the last or second to last model D made, I believe. I also believe they numbered them sequentially (not starting over with the new model). But I have no proof of this, just my belief from my research.

I will stop rambling now and get back to work on the Tucker 542 Cab Forward.

My congratulations to the new owner of a very cool snowcat!
 

1boringguy

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
GMoose,

The info page is down now, but I recall they gave the serial number as 34 for the Fandee. I remember thinking it was only a few off from yours.

MNoutdoors,

Yeah the Camo went to Idaho too. We're gonna have those pesky snowmobilers out number here in Idaho pretty soon :wink:

Would you guys have any manuals for it? Possibly a lead on 60 inch 5-6 passenger cabin box?
 
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1boringguy

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
A pretty good day for Idaho Cat Relocation Team.
 

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1boringguy

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
GMoose,

I share this with permission of the new owners, and let them know of your offer to share Frandee knowledge. Pretty sure they will holler at you here.

Hope this is of interest as the unofficial curator of Frandee. ?
 

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GMoose

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Thanks, but now I am confused. That is stamped as a model E, I would think it is a model D based on the serial number. Did you notice if the idler wheels we 5 bolt on 8 bolt?

Do you know where the Frandee was going?
 

Nikson

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
is it just me or these Frandees just popped up like mushrooms... I know i've not been around cats for as long as some "ol'timers" been, but just recently everyone seems to find them all over the place.

Nice to see machines find a proper home!
 

GMoose

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
To the best of my knowledge the model D has 8 bolt front and rear drive axles, the idler axles are 5 bolt. On the model E they went to 8 bolt for the idlers also, I imagine so one size spare could be carried. I have to carry both a 5 bolt and an 8 bolts. I am sure there are also other upgrades they made, but not sure of them as of yet.

The thing I don't understand is the S/N 33 for this model E. Mine is S/N 37 which is a Model D and I have personally sat in S/N 36 which is also a model D. S/N 35 is also a model D, I will post pictures later. I read an article about a model C (I think it was S/N 12) a guy has, and the photo shows 5 bolt idlers and drivers. This was before they went to the 1 ton GM axle, the earlier smaller axles had failures, which they attributed to heat treatment (lack of) on the gears.

I am not sure what they were doing when they serialized this unit (S/N 33). I even looked really close at the tag to see if the 33 was actually a 38, but it sure looks like a 33 to me. So all my previous theories on how they numbered these Frandees is out the window.

Here is S/N 37:

102_0548.jpg

DSCN3706.jpg
 

GMoose

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Here is S/N 36, Model D:

Like I said earlier I have personally seen this unit but I don't have a photo of the name plate, but here are the wheels:


DSCN1188.jpg

hank07_resized600X400[1].jpg
 

GMoose

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Here is S/N 35 (Model D) name plate and the only photo I have that kind of shows the wheels. Looking close (may take a little imagination) I believe the idlers are the 5 bolt.

This unit appears to also have been repowered with a valve in head engine, flat head gone.

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GMoose

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Here is a one that appears to be a Model D, but I have no name tag information and this is the only picture of it I have. I does still have the Ford 254 flat head engine. If one looks close the idlers look like 5 bolt.



Frandee Model D.jpg
 

GMoose

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Here is Nikson's Model E, not sure what the S/N is. You can see it has 8 bolt idlers.

SnoTrans%20008.jpg
 
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