Sell Me Your Snowcat!

Haha, well, new guy thread, too!

Hi! My name is Chris. I am from Seattle. Yes, it rains a lot here (94 degrees yesterday/July 1st record) so don't even think of moving here. (please!) The traffic is bad enough without you. Fourth worse in the Nation now. Thanks a bunch to those that didn't listen.

Great site! I figured today was a great day to come out of hiding and introduce myself. I have been on other forums and seriously thought that I would never go into another. Life is a lot more interesting outside not looking at this screen, but you always meet great people.

I first found this place originally because I am considering a raw land investment in Eastern Washington that usually has decent snowfall amounts throughout winter months and I thought it might also be a good idea to have a snow cat on the property for when I am there, giving better access, in and out, when snowed in.

I started looking around the Internet and found various other models, but wanted something that seemed a bit more intimate with not so much of the behemoth snow resort appeal. Then I stumbled on the Kristi KT3. My interest was piqued, so I kept searching, picture upon picture, and found that I really liked it, especially with its seemingly personable and simple attributes, also its leveling feature, VW engine, etc.

Although, unless left in a field for rats and/or to rust, finding a reconditioned KT3 certainly would make the consideration headache free, those units are somewhat rare and strictly coveted.

The knowledge here for all 'cats' is immense (and other topics, too. A lot of cool heads here, btw), so reading and absorbing without saying anything could take me a lifetime, but interactions and reaching out is sometimes a little more fun.

Here at FF, aside from the select handful, there does seem to be not a lot of love for the Kristi KT2, 3 or 4. More love for ... well, everything else.

So, sell me on your Snowcat!
Kristi or not ... which one is best?
Why is it the best? Why is it the best for you?
Do you have a Kristi? Why is it better over all the other choices and why does it continue to be?

Hello to all! Happy Independence Day. Have a safe Fourth of July!

And yes, I love chocolate!

I think the jabs and jibes about the Kristi snow cats are all in good natured humor, but finding restored examples are tough because so few were produced. They are very capable machines and mechanically interesting. Fairly simple too, except when you look at the controls.

Snow Tracs and Thiokols are far more plentiful and therefor have much larger groups of supporters.

I was at crystal the other day and the snorting elk cafe is planning on selling the pistion bully canyon they own. don't know the asking price. it hasn't been listed yet.

Youtube - Pistonbully Canyon

Thanks, Jim. That's a pretty cool cat there!

Big Al has the one kt-3 I have seen running lately I think he is considering selling it. it won't go cheap but his restoration has been one of the most complete I have seen.

Welcome to the FF group . I do have a KT3 that is going through a complete rebuild but it will not go cheap . To get me to part with it would be $9500 . But it has been completely gone through and the restoration is documented .
It will have the new interior installed this fall and the top half painted .
There is another Running KT3 that a friend here in town owns . It has new tracks and a new paint job . Owner is asking $6000 .

Allen used hdpe for his grousers so you can't burn them to stay warm. just had to poke a bit Allen

BigAl said:

Welcome to the FF group . I do have a KT3 that is going through a complete rebuild but it will not go cheap . To get me to part with it would be $9500 . But it has been completely gone through and the restoration is documented .
It will have the new interior installed this fall and the top half painted .
There is another Running KT3 that a friend here in town owns . It has new tracks and a new paint job . Owner is asking $6000 .

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Hi Allen, Hmm, Thanks for the welcome. $9500.00, eh? You know, I did see it in the FS section and also the video clip, maybe I missed it, did you have extensive pictures on your rehab?

In a pinch, how is the KT3 for climbing out of a hole? Is it better on light fluff and you typically steer away from waist deep powder?

Snowtrac Nome said:

Allen used hdpe for his grousers so you can't burn them to stay warm. just had to poke a bit Allen

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Hey Don! So .. the pokingin Allen's ribs on the KT3, is it all for fun? I really don't know one cat from another other than what I like visually.

Oh yeah, and thanks for the headsup.

Welcome to FF Chris.

Big Al's Kristi is the one to have if you just had to have some thing different they are rare. I use mine commercially and parts availability are an issue there are no shortage of snow tracs in this area and of course else where. the same with the Thiokol's. for an access rig I couldn't think of a better rig especially if you are the kind of guy who wants something different.

Snowtrac Nome said:

Allen used hdpe for his grousers so you can't burn them to stay warm. just had to poke a bit Allen

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Did a quick search as I didn't know what this was. Isn't this the same material seems pretty plentiful? http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23869

This is used instead of wood? Why the HDPE as a choice. longevity?

Spock said:

Welcome to FF Chris.

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Thanks, Spock. Great place. Good core of people.

I found this on Samba from a Melensdad's post. Is this the St4? Something special about the forward leaning wind-screen, if I remember reading. I might have to put Porsche on mine, too. ...love this shot.

the ant arctic snow tracs were shipped to Australia with no tops and no engine. the Porsche dealer than fitted them with 356 motors, and a custom top with the frost free windshield. this is gospel ,as through the miracles of ham radio I met a person who preformed the modifications for the he dealer.

Hey Don, I am wondering about the capacities of these two - KT3 to ST4. Like track width, length, engine torque, capable speeds, etc. That first link I posted of the PistonBully that JimVT told me about showed that it was very capable.

I suppose I could go digging again. Is there a link you know of that shows good comparison of the two. and also maybe others, too? I saw a video of a KT3 getting stuck, I suppose anything can get stuck if the driver puts himself in such a way to get stuck.

one of our members Bobcat keeps threatening to come up here to race me to the top of anvil mountain with his krusty the snow trac only lays down .6 psi ground pressure with a 15 inch wide track the Kristi track is quite a bit wider. snow tracs have 4 speeds and with the 1600 I only use 2 ,3rd and 4th. unless I have a need to crawl weight wise and size wise I think they are about the same the leveling suspension I believe is a novelty I personally don't see much use for it. I have never had it either. we with steel grousers poke fun at kristies for their hickory grousers, I believe for low speed operations it's actually a good idea as wood grips ice good. some out there are old enough to remember saw dust snow tires .the Kristi has an 8 speed transmission and brakes one track to steer the snow trac uses a varriator that will vary the speeds of the inside track and outside track to effect a turn while still providing power to both tracks.

Good info. Thank you.

Although, if personal use is more constant rather than commercial the leveling feature might ring the comfort bells a little more, don't you think. Do you have both St4 and KT3? And if the wood ices better, why did Allen switch over to the HDPE? Probably a better Q for him.

Soni Honegger's 00093 Kristi

I own a Thiokol 2100 and an st-4 both are so wide roll over would be impossible I don't have a Kristi mostly because they are rare. as I said before the leveling feature has a cool factor and my wife might have liked something like that on the st-4 a time or two in the past. the traction gained from wood is superior to any thing out there Allen used hdpe because it doesn't rot or chip away. he used steel cleats made from channel on top for traction. if I just had to have one and that is your choice each cat has it's plusses I like snot trac steering better and the vw power train . the krusty has lots of different gears and the cool self leveling system in the end if you were to buy a rebuilt snow cat any thing Allen has put time into is well worth it except maybe for that wet bar he has in the kt-7 I don't drink so I have no use for it.

I don't know, I'm thinking a wet bar might be a good idea right now.

Wow, you are a walking encyclopedia on these babies. Obsessive compulsive! hehe. But like anything, once we get into whatever it is, we tend to go full strength and not give an inch. Obviously, time well served. I wonder, if the timing my be right if Allen .. or you can steer me toward more pictures of his KT3's build pics. It sounds like his restoration process is right in there with this OCD description, yeah? And that's a good thing for the lucky one on his "Krusty".

if you want the wet bar he could have his kt-7 pried from his hands too than he would keep the kt-3. the kt-7 has a v-4 ford motor with hydrostatic drive steering with that one is more like a snow trac in that there is still power applied to both tracks. the wet bar will cost you though.

I worked with a engineer to come up with a good alternate to the wood . it wears well and is very strong . I think it was one of the better changes I made .
Yes the Restoration of the KT3 was done here on FF . I'll find the link and post it for you . At 1/2 pound per foot the KT3 will go anywhere I have the guts to take it . It damn near floats across powder snow as the tracks are 24" wide .
Its a proven rig but not many are being used even though there are about 125 known to still exist . I changed mine over to a bigger motor . About 1700 cc with a 8 speed transmission .

Now if your looking for bling and easy entry than my KT 7 is the ticket . It lacks for nothing and is the only one left in the world . It will set you back 50K firm to put your name on it .

You need this and its built into the KT7!LOL

BigAl said:

I worked with a engineer to come up with a good alternate to the wood . it wears well and is very strong . I think it was one of the better changes I made .
Yes the Restoration of the KT3 was done here on FF . I'll find the link and post it for you . At 1/2 pound per foot the KT3 will go anywhere I have the guts to take it . It damn near floats across powder snow as the tracks are 24" wide .
Its a proven rig but not many are being used even though there are about 125 known to still exist . I changed mine over to a bigger motor . About 1700 cc with a 8 speed transmission .

Now if your looking for bling and easy entry than my KT 7 is the ticket . It lacks for nothing and is the only one left in the world . It will set you back 50K firm to put your name on it .

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Wow, now all of that is good news. It has to be a load of fun ripping through that powder with that thing.

It is funny how when you like what you see and it works great, too, you get the best of both worlds. 9.5K sounds like a bargain compared to 50K. I'm pretty sure I could buzz around in the KT-3 having half-emptied the bar and make KT-7 noises to myself and have it work pretty good.

I'll look for the link, Allen. Then maybe I can venture out into other forums. Thanks for the kind welcome here guys! I'll have questions about the controls, but I can get to those when I see more pics. I'm sure with good instruction, it should be easy to catch on to.

BigAl said:

You need this and its built into the KT7!LOL

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That bar looks mobile. And missing a short supply.

Here you go .

BigAls Kristi #113 KT3 thread

BigAl said:

Here you go .

BigAls Kristi #113 KT3 thread

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I am sorry, I forgot to say thank you. Very nice. You certainly spare no attention to detail. No pictures past page two, were you able to finally finish?

All that is left to do is install the new glass , Paint the top and reattach it to the lower half of the body . The mechanics run and work fine . If you were seriously interested and wanted anything added , it could be done as it is finished . Some folks want spot lites , Gps , Radios , special interiors etc . Now would be the time to do this "IF" this turned out to be something that might work for your needs .
It does come with its own completely rebuilt Kristi made tilt trailer . That I know of this is the only one around

Gee Allen did the trailer come with the Kristi so the owners of the machines could claim their machines moved

It just made sense to sale the trailer with the Kristi KT3 . It is made for that trailer . I have only seen one in a movie that Kristi made back in the early 60's.Being a real Kristi made item , I would think it would add to the value and make the package a little more rare .
The KT3 was sent back to Kristi when they moved to Washington and was rebuilt . A second front door was added .It is the only one I have ever seen done this way .