Nuttster, Did the taller idler wheels give you more speed?
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Thiokol Imp's
- Thread starter Bulldog1401
- Start date
I meant that if you paint that fine Ford engine Chevy orange, It will start acting like a Chevy!!
No, I am a Ford/Polaris type of guy. I like things that dont have to come with road/trail side assistance.
Sounds to me someone secretly is a Ford man. AHHHhhh the subconcious works wonders.
nutsster
Member
The larger Idler wheels help smooth out the ride over the grousers and bumps a lot. The drive sproket was unchanged so the speed remained the same too.
I placed the forward torsion axle backwards to help maintain track tension a little better when compressed. If you look at nearly all the newer cats that run torsion axles you will see that it's done 90% of the time. The slower speeds of snowcats make little difference which direction the axle faces.
I don't have any of the dimensions recorded any longer. What you can do is go to a really good trailer shop/manufacturer/sales and see if they can order torsion axles to your specs. The axles can be made at any width or angle. You must also look at the static compression, max deflection limit, and load ratings. If you go too soft it will be bouncy and rock fore and aft. Too hard and you won't gain much over the leaf springs.
Something I would like to try on an IMP is get rid of the forward idler and add a torsion axle to the front like a LMC 1500.
I would rather do this to a super IMP that has the OC12 rearend to handle it better. I would set it wider and run four foot tracks in aluminum. Big bucks, but way cool! 
I placed the forward torsion axle backwards to help maintain track tension a little better when compressed. If you look at nearly all the newer cats that run torsion axles you will see that it's done 90% of the time. The slower speeds of snowcats make little difference which direction the axle faces.
I don't have any of the dimensions recorded any longer. What you can do is go to a really good trailer shop/manufacturer/sales and see if they can order torsion axles to your specs. The axles can be made at any width or angle. You must also look at the static compression, max deflection limit, and load ratings. If you go too soft it will be bouncy and rock fore and aft. Too hard and you won't gain much over the leaf springs.
Something I would like to try on an IMP is get rid of the forward idler and add a torsion axle to the front like a LMC 1500.
I would rather do this to a super IMP that has the OC12 rearend to handle it better. I would set it wider and run four foot tracks in aluminum. Big bucks, but way cool!
And very capable!
Teeoster
New member
Ok Bull dog, so your 2/3 cool, you have an IMP and a Polaris
I am really considering installing a torsion front axle like Nutsster suggests, would probably be best to run it just like a sprite, where the centerline is approximatly the same as the other boogies. I have some schematics nuttster sent me a while back. This would enable running a larger front wheel. I really dislike the small 12" stock idler, especially with the dropcenter tracks! In effect it turns into something like a 8" radius the track runs over.
I'll probably put allot more thought into it once I get my power train complete. If we all worked together on it we could come up with a common kit. We have 8 lasers in the shop at my company, they would be sweet to cut several sets of the bracketry on once the engineering was done.
I am really considering installing a torsion front axle like Nutsster suggests, would probably be best to run it just like a sprite, where the centerline is approximatly the same as the other boogies. I have some schematics nuttster sent me a while back. This would enable running a larger front wheel. I really dislike the small 12" stock idler, especially with the dropcenter tracks! In effect it turns into something like a 8" radius the track runs over.
I'll probably put allot more thought into it once I get my power train complete. If we all worked together on it we could come up with a common kit. We have 8 lasers in the shop at my company, they would be sweet to cut several sets of the bracketry on once the engineering was done.
It would be good to figure out how to have a little "give" on the front idler wheels without throwing the tracks every time you hit a bump.
Bulldog , I would think the larger idler wheel would help you achive this like teeoster said ...more radius in the wheel guides. Also a torsion axle like the 1200"s have , will give a little in the bump and hold the tracks tighter on the rebound.
Where is your project at this time? Dont tell me you have stopped because of spring!!!!
Come on guys(and gals) the stats from the owners poll show that ther are nearly as many thiokol owners as there are snow cat owners. Lets hear from you!!!!
PrecisionMarine
New member
2007 is the last post? Maybe I can revive the thread (along with my 1402 Imp..)
New to the board, so a quick hi from MI! We finally got enough snow here to rekindle my interest in a project that sat too long (another story for another time).
In 1989 I found my Imp in a scrapyard, hours away from being crushed. $200 bought it and a spare OC4 rear from the Spryte they'd started to cut up
Rebuilt the Wisconsin 4-banger (retrospect tells me that was a bad move), along with new rubber for the idlers and rebuilds on the hyd. brakes (last of the kits in NAPA's national inventory at that time) to get it going.. and then it sat.. too many years of very little snow here. This year's blizzard rekindled my interest, so the lil' Imp will be getting a new coat of yellow paint after I finish the track rubber. I don't want to modify the original enclosed cab too much, but may add a quick-detach hardtop over the pickup-style bed.
Interestingly, my Imp seems to have been designed to be amphibious- no doors, complete sealed underbody (with rubber 'skirt' seals to allow the OC4 rear to pivot. Anyone seen another like this?
I'll close by adding a few photos, and promise to update if the rear enclosure progresses in the next few months.
Tom
New to the board, so a quick hi from MI! We finally got enough snow here to rekindle my interest in a project that sat too long (another story for another time).
In 1989 I found my Imp in a scrapyard, hours away from being crushed. $200 bought it and a spare OC4 rear from the Spryte they'd started to cut up
Rebuilt the Wisconsin 4-banger (retrospect tells me that was a bad move), along with new rubber for the idlers and rebuilds on the hyd. brakes (last of the kits in NAPA's national inventory at that time) to get it going.. and then it sat.. too many years of very little snow here. This year's blizzard rekindled my interest, so the lil' Imp will be getting a new coat of yellow paint after I finish the track rubber. I don't want to modify the original enclosed cab too much, but may add a quick-detach hardtop over the pickup-style bed.
Interestingly, my Imp seems to have been designed to be amphibious- no doors, complete sealed underbody (with rubber 'skirt' seals to allow the OC4 rear to pivot. Anyone seen another like this?
I'll close by adding a few photos, and promise to update if the rear enclosure progresses in the next few months.
Tom
Attachments
Welcome to this forum, PrecisionMarine !
That Imp is an oldy ! It would be cool if you'd start your own thread about it and tell us more about your adventures !
One of the members, Nutster has an Imp that's the same body style that he's modified quite a bit ( several times ! ) but I don't recall seeing an amphibious one !!!
Hope to hear more from you
That Imp is an oldy ! It would be cool if you'd start your own thread about it and tell us more about your adventures !
One of the members, Nutster has an Imp that's the same body style that he's modified quite a bit ( several times ! ) but I don't recall seeing an amphibious one !!!
Hope to hear more from you
Please keep us in touch (especially with pictures).
I think this could be a rare one....The air cooled motor would be lighter than the V4 Ford industrial all I have seen have had.... Important if it were ment to be amphibious....But I have not seen that many either. Maybe a factory variation or proto type? Very interesting machine, and I wonder if any more are around like this one....Thanks for posting! Look forward to more...
Regards, Kirk
Regards, Kirk