4plus3vette
New member
Hello,
I am a relatively new owner to a 1970 Thiokol Spryte. It is a 1201B-41.
The cat had the very wide tracks on it (a total of 12 belts for both tracks) - I think they were each like 42" wide.
I use the vehicle in the summer and winter to get around a large piece of property I have. While traversing a hill, I noticed that the left track jumped the sprocket and all of the wheels. The track was still on, but would be falling off soon. So, I limped it up to a relatively flat part of the hill and the track fully fell off - in a pretty bad location.
This is the third time it has come off (never in the winter/snow though!). I decided to cut the tracks down to 8 total belts (2 inner and 2 outer for each track), thinking that the excessively wide track would not come off as much if it were not as wide (reducing torque, lateral pressure on the wheels, and such).
Well, I have had two more incidents (once for the left and once for the right track) with the track starting to jump the sprocket and fortunately I was able to drive it back on.
Here is some more background. I have the tracks tensioned all the way out. The tensioning bolt does not come out any further. When turning on grass, the track jumps the sprocket every once in a while, even while babying a turn.
Here are some questions that I have:
1. Should I not drive this beast if there is no snow on the ground? I worked at a ski hill where we had a 1969 Imp and used that all the time to help get the hill set up in the fall and to do mowing. It never had track skipping / falling off issues. It is, however, much, much lighter.
2. Is it possible that the shorter tracks actually dig into the grass/dirt more now than they did when they were wider?
3. Can I cut the belt shorter and remove a grouser to get more tension on the track? Is it possible that the belts have stretched out over the years?
4. Do the rubber sprockets wear down overtime and need to be replaced (if so, where can you buy replacement/rebuilds and how much do they cost?)?
Also, the right front guide tire is looking pretty worn out (both guide wheels are foam filled). I need to get a new monorail tire and have it foam filled. Where is the best place to get a tire and where to I find someone locally to foam fill them? I live in the Syracuse, NY area. While I am at it, if the price is reasonable, I was thinking about getting the other 8 tires foam filled too. Would a more solid tire help to keep the track from coming off?
Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jim
I am a relatively new owner to a 1970 Thiokol Spryte. It is a 1201B-41.
The cat had the very wide tracks on it (a total of 12 belts for both tracks) - I think they were each like 42" wide.
I use the vehicle in the summer and winter to get around a large piece of property I have. While traversing a hill, I noticed that the left track jumped the sprocket and all of the wheels. The track was still on, but would be falling off soon. So, I limped it up to a relatively flat part of the hill and the track fully fell off - in a pretty bad location.
This is the third time it has come off (never in the winter/snow though!). I decided to cut the tracks down to 8 total belts (2 inner and 2 outer for each track), thinking that the excessively wide track would not come off as much if it were not as wide (reducing torque, lateral pressure on the wheels, and such).
Well, I have had two more incidents (once for the left and once for the right track) with the track starting to jump the sprocket and fortunately I was able to drive it back on.
Here is some more background. I have the tracks tensioned all the way out. The tensioning bolt does not come out any further. When turning on grass, the track jumps the sprocket every once in a while, even while babying a turn.
Here are some questions that I have:
1. Should I not drive this beast if there is no snow on the ground? I worked at a ski hill where we had a 1969 Imp and used that all the time to help get the hill set up in the fall and to do mowing. It never had track skipping / falling off issues. It is, however, much, much lighter.
2. Is it possible that the shorter tracks actually dig into the grass/dirt more now than they did when they were wider?
3. Can I cut the belt shorter and remove a grouser to get more tension on the track? Is it possible that the belts have stretched out over the years?
4. Do the rubber sprockets wear down overtime and need to be replaced (if so, where can you buy replacement/rebuilds and how much do they cost?)?
Also, the right front guide tire is looking pretty worn out (both guide wheels are foam filled). I need to get a new monorail tire and have it foam filled. Where is the best place to get a tire and where to I find someone locally to foam fill them? I live in the Syracuse, NY area. While I am at it, if the price is reasonable, I was thinking about getting the other 8 tires foam filled too. Would a more solid tire help to keep the track from coming off?
Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jim