The Pig Owner is Here for Knowledge...

[shopman]

Hello everyone - Unfortunately I did not find this forum until AFTER I purchased the Snowcat... But I am indeed the new owner of "The Pig" 1962 Trackmaster 4T10! It does indeed have many of the problems that Mainer and many others talked about and yet I am still thrilled to finally own a snowcat!! The basic parts and functions of the cat are pretty sound though and just think of it this way - I have unknowingly raised the value of many of your very nice Thiokols! I know I did everything wrong when buying this rig, but I have already had fun with it along with my dad who is very excited to work on and restore it eventually - so now I just hope I can gather some knowledge from many of you to make it purr and enjoy the fun of snowcatting. I have a cabin in the middle of nowhere Colorado at 10,000 feet with a lot of snow normally (soon I hope...) so I am just excited to play in the snow... with my very large toolkit and spare parts aboard More later about my maiden voyage up the mountain after Ivan burned rubber down the road after delivering it to me!

 

[Melensdad]

Welcome to the insanity party.

Pictures?

 

[shopman]

Sure - Here are a few pictures of maiden voyage...

 

[mtntopper]

Reps to you shopman for being a good soldier......

 

[mattfidaho]

welcome! make sure you provide us lots of pics during the restoration.
on the bad side I guess you took away one of our main topics... now we wont see the "pig" show up on the next auction. :

 

[shopman]

Thanks for the welcome... We have already repaired the shift linkage, bad fuel pump, bad gas in the tank, hole in body under one of the back seats, new battery and working on the carb at the moment. Trying to find out if engine is original or 300 like he said (putting in call to Peterson tomorrow) and also need to replace the spark plugs, etc (which were 3 different brands out of 6??) Then figure out where all the random wires go which are not hooked up to anything... Also, all the lights don't work - the fancy super, duper emergency light doesn't seem to work - what a surprise...

 

[mkntrakes]

Is the carb on the pass side of the motor or the driver side? most had a 223 for inline six witch looks a little like the 300 do you have any pics of the engine?

 

[shopman]

Is the carb on the pass side of the motor or the driver side? most had a 223 for inline six witch looks a little like the 300 do you have any pics of the engine?

Carb is on driver side... here are pics - with the ID plate.

 

[mkntrakes]

that is a 223 here is a pic of 300

 

[shopman]

Thanks mkntrakes - very good to know and I was just looking at more pictures and see that the ID plate matches the plate inside (which is hard to read). Now I can maybe find some parts... Thanks again!

 

[pixie]

Welcome and good luck with your project.

Many of us have started off with less machine and made it into something that worked well and got compliments

 

[snowbird]

I'm impressed with your sense of humor and your patience with the derogatory remarks about your new toy. It looks like you'll have fun with it after fixing a few items (as Pixie reports, a common effort by all of us tackling older, unrestored snowcats).
Welcome.

 

[BigAl]

Welcome Shopman !
Don't worry about what these other snowcatters say . They been bashing my Kristi for years too.

Its funny cause everytime they go on a run ,they want me to come along . Someone has to go back for repair parts when they break down !!!

 

[mattfidaho]

Welcome Shopman !
Don't worry about what these other snowcatters say . They been bashing my Kristi for years too.

Its funny cause everytime they go on a run ,they want me to come along . Someone has to go back for repair parts when they break down !!!

well that is easy when the krusty never gets to leave the parking lot! that makes it very close to the tools.

or.... with all the tools and spare parts you have to keep in the krusty to keep it running there should be enough for anyone else

 

[shopman]

Thanks for the welcome Pixie, Snowbird & Big Al - Just want have fun!!

BigAl - Hopefully someone can come along on my first expedition... but I will always have my snowshoes or skis.

The snow storm missed us again!

So, I'm off to see if my shop could find a rebuild kit for the carb...

 

[mattfidaho]

Thanks for the welcome Pixie, Snowbird & Big Al - Just want have fun!!

BigAl - Hopefully someone can come along on my first expedition... but I will always have my snowshoes or skis.

The snow storm missed us again!

So, I'm off to see if my shop could find a rebuild kit for the carb...

sounds like a fun day
I am sure if have figured it out by reading all the older posts, but keep in mind we jab back and forth alot, but when it comes down to it we will always stop and help each other when ever we can. I mean you never want to leave a krusty driver out in the cold all night.

 

[shopman]

Now I see how you guys work Thanks to everyone!

 

[BigAl]

well that is easy when the krusty never gets to leave the parking lot! that makes it very close to the tools.

Well, That was uncalled for !
That was just mean talk this morning !

Did someone get outta bed on the wrong side or are you broke down again ???

 

[mattfidaho]

Well, That was uncalled for !
That was just mean talk this morning !

Did someone get outta bed on the wrong side or are you broke down again ???

didnt get much sleep last night.................. pulling out krustys one after another makes for a long night..

well ok maybe not, now is a good time for krustys to be out and about....... there is no snow so they can make it almost anywhere

 

[BigAl]

didnt get much sleep last night.................. pulling out krustys one after another makes for a long night..

well ok maybe not, now is a good time for krustys to be out and about....... there is no snow so they can make it almost anywhere

You have been added to my hate list and your Snowcat model doll should arrive in a couple of days . Next time i do my VooDoo dance ,,,, I wish you luck .

 

[weatherby]

Welcome & congratulations to this Forum and the purchase of your Thiokol. If you think you paid to much, OR you bought an old snowcat with to many problems......Well you don't even come close to qualifying for that. What you did do however, is what most of us on this Fourm has done, and that was buy a old cat with a lot of problems with plans of fixing it up and having fun with it. The guys out there that buy these new hydrostatic powered cats for $150.000 plus....... NOW those are the guys that payed too much for there cat because as we all know as soon as that cat leaves the dealer it starts to go DOWN in value, UNLIKE our old cats that we buy, fix up and have fun with then sell for MORE than we have into them. And besides...if you wanna see somebody who bought a basket case and then put a TON of Benjamin s into it just check my Thread out (Thiokol 601 restore). When I bought my cat, we first had to DRAG it out of the bush, then push and drag it onto the trailer for the trip home. YEP....I think you got a GOOD deal for your money compared to what it will be worth after you get everything working correctly. I think "IF" there is a so called " pig" out there...It would be mine hands down. Anybody on this site will more than happy to help you with your restoration / repairs including my self

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Welcome to the nuthouse Shopman.......come to think of it, that name should have been reserved for a Krusti owner.

(since that's where they spend most of their time anyways while we're all out enjoying our snowcats)

 

[shopman]

Thanks groomerguy and the infamous Weatherby I am having a ball getting things figured out... Weatherby - of course I have read through your rebuild (a couple times!) and have it bookmarked for reference - what an amazing job transforming your find! Hopefully we can work towards a restore half as fine as yours... but first we will get it running gleefully through the forest and over the mountains as we go

No one we talked to anywhere has a rebuild kit for my carb - so my mechanic has a place that you send it and they rebuild it (they only work on very old carbs such as mine) Hopefully will get to talk to Peterson tomorrow for more info on everything - honeydo's completely got in the way today!

Thanks again everyone - good times...

 

[shopman]

Here is a picture of the power divider and on the left the plate was cut and welded back or?? Any ideas on why or what happened? Whatever happened it pushed the whole assembly up a little and the rollers on top were rubbing on the plywood cover (badly) - I cut out the plywood and the turning seemed better, easier (since they were not rubbing anymore) Big problems for the future?

 

[mtn cat]

For me, the real benifit of buying an older cat in need of some work was that I REALLY got to know the machine. (and the cheeper price) It comes in handy when something fails. Looks like you got a cat worth the effort!

 

[shopman]

Thanks Mtn Cat - yes, I've learned a lot about mine in short period of time - that will be a good thing up in the snow!

 

[cabinboy]

Wecome aboard Shopman !! You are in for a real learning experience with your new treasure , good luck and dont forget the pictures.

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

have fun my snow trac was a pos when i got it half the fun is building it ti suit your needs if i ever got something like yours i would look into putting in a 4b cummins or a little isuzu diesel at around 140 to 180 hp so have fun the work has just begun

 

[shopman]

Thanks Cabinboy & DDS - every day I'm learning more and here is another picture of the cat at the cabin with possibly the future motor parked next to it. The current motor seems to be strong though - I will know more when the carb gets back!

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

Welcome Shopman !
Don't worry about what these other snowcatters say . They been bashing my Kristi for years too.

Its funny cause everytime they go on a run ,they want me to come along . Someone has to go back for repair parts when they break down !!!

hey Al you ship your kristi up here you can run with me and wont have to worry about the other snow catters seeing it running and if it don't break down i will keep your secret.