1973 Tucker Sno Cat 1443 New to Me

[Track Addict]

Got the build sheet from the nice people at Tucker today.

4.56:1 ratio. Dodge 1/2 ton rear end with tapered axles. Will post the sheet tomorrow .

 

[Track Addict]

Build Sheet

 

[Track Addict]

Broken leg feeling real good. Practicing for my McCall comeback tour!

The medicinal benefits of Tucker sno cat nip I think is not fully understood. Thankful for my therapy cats.

 

[Track Addict]

Love New England. Up here in the NH mountains and have to drive south to Massachusetts to find the sno!

Tucker trials tomorrow! Factory subwoofer installed

 

[nikos]

Track Addict
Broken leg feeling real good. Practicing for my McCall comeback tour!

The medicinal benefits of Tucker sno cat nip I think is not fully understood. Thankful for my therapy cats.

 

[loggah]

We still got about 1' of snow here on this side of the notch. A couple years ago i saved aside a slant 6 with transmission and emergency brake assembly at the scrapyard,i think it might be a 5 speed pretty big box. Just in case you need any parts.

 

[Pontoon Princess]

$7335.00 times 2 and get the current value???

think the smiles per mile are priceless...

 

[Track Addict]

Put on about 4 miles today. So far loving the rig while missing my 442 at the same time. Rougher ride in low sno conditions and definitely not the power of the small block but I am liking this little Chrysler motor. This cat will cruise a bit faster than the steel tracks. Another plus is less snow stored in track for garage melting/flooding!

Everything is nice and tight on this machine.

Fixed the temp sender. The Stewart gauges need their senders. Fuel gauge reads intermittent . Have the new sender hoping fixes it.

Put a CB antenna in to fill the hole and after all it is a radio cat. Installed the missing rear door bumpers and mock installed the sub woofer and sound bar. For a clean nice sounding plug and play system the stealth 10 and stealth 6 sub is tough to beat.

Door on driver's side kept popping open. It was warn to the point the flat catch was tapered and would open. Quick weld and grind fixed. Will clean this up later.


Next comes the problems questions post ?

 

[Track Addict]

Question and answer time .

1. There is a draw the kills the battery over a few days. Everything is stock looking at the wiring. Nothing is keyed other than the ignition module from the looks of it. What could it be? I don't have the new stereo installed and haven't changed anything .
2. Three toggle switches lines up in a row. Heat/defrost/wipers have their own. One is headlight/dashlight left toggle.No high low beam from what I can tell. Middle toggle is mystery switch. Right is rear light. Dome wired direct and on a button on the light. Haven't traced middle switch but figured someone may know?
3. Wiper knob/switch has three positions one is park and stops the wipers at the same location low on the windshield. Other position is on. The third seems to
Stop the wipers at any location your turn it to this position but if you move the actual wiper arm manual and start the motion it does one swipe. Odd
4. When it is cold it cranks a bunch with choke then fires and stalls. Choke off it then fires and idles but if you give or throttle it stalls. Once up to temp starts and runs like new. Unfamiliar with the slant six but maybe a carb rebuild and new points/condenser ? Hope the pros can guide me here

 

[Cidertom]

Check the alternator, a bad diode can do this. If it is shorted, it will show fast, but a bad leaking diode can drain the battery over days.

 

[loggah]

Thats just a typical cold blooded dodge,i have to leave my choke partway out for at least 10 minutes before they get warmed up,on both machines. With the slant 6 you have real long runners on the intake manifold,takes a while for the manifold and carb. to get up to operating temp.And i agree with the bad diode theory ,unhitch the hot lead from the alternator for a few days and see if the battery still goes flat.

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

I cant speek100 percent about your carb problems,the slant six had the same problem the v-8's had with the efe passeges plugging up with carbon. the efe passage runs heat under the intake manifold to help prevent the wetted walls logga was talking about,also sounds like some one added an aftermarket mechanical choke. the bimetallic automatic choke not working is another indication of this as that port also warms the choke stove. the solution is to pull the intake manifold and chip all the carbon out and maybe haveit dipped in cold tank solution.

 

[Track Addict]

Great tips. I am following Loggah's advice and seeing if I get a draw with the wire unhooked.

Alternator is a round back 2095191. Bearing sounds a little loud. Local shop in Lawrence can rebuild and test the voltage regulator. Thinking this is the move.

 

[Track Addict]

Took the alternator and voltage regulator off. Dropping off for rebuild tomorrow. Battery voltage holding strong will continue monitor but think this was the problem.

Found the defrost hose torn so that answers the fogging question. Looks like the middle mystery switch powers up a accessory power block under the drivers side dash.

The gas pedal rubber broke at the floor hinge point. Need to find another. Two
Bolts through the rubber on floor and the metal throttle linkage sides in a rubber groove. Any idea what this was off of?

 

[Track Addict]

This is the pedal I am looking for :

 

[Track Addict]

Wipers all fixed and adjusted. Found a new issue to resolve . The wiper assembly hangs from the tin above the hood at the windshield upright intersection and the vibration, weight, and motion of the motors has cracked the upper aluminum. Going to make a 1/2"x6" backer to put in top of this situation and that should fix it. Lousy design. The wiper braket is real thin underneath and has many right angle bends that ultimately bolt up to the Bosch motor. Hoping having the linkage true and straight as well as the wipers staying on the glass helps the stress here.

Sorted out the switch situation. One is headlight which I knew, then the middle goes to this power block which is currently spare. The right is the rear light. The block also gets continuous power for the dome which is switched on the light.

Alternator was the draw volts holding strong. Alternator and voltage limiter is at the shop.

 

[Track Addict]

Dodge sweptlne is what the gas pedal is off. Now to find one?

 

[Track Addict]

So those pedals are not reproduced and a NOS or used one is crazy money. Through the magic of the internet and others before me we have found a solution off an airline baggage tow tractor and also this was used on some fords back in the day. Should be close enough to work. Tug Part# T6-1009-103

http://floridaforkliftsupply.com/in...tractor-accelerator-pedal-pn-t6-1009-103.html

 

[Track Addict]

So the diodes definitely leaking and regulator was bad so the battery also was not charging.

All rebuilt like brand new with new regulator 100$.

 

[Track Addict]

Hunted down the trail groomer in Bartlett to check the snowmobile trail conditions after the big melt down/rain we just had. He was headed out tonight to see if they could loosen some sno!

Was close to my old cat so I snuck in undercover to check a rear light not working. Decided to try getting back on the board in preparation for McCall! Been about 8 weeks since the cat attack and we have come a long way!

Little video of the therapy session today: https://youtu.be/RBDXeA05beI

 

[Track Addict]

This pedal is a great solution and shouldn't wear out at the hinge point like the original.

20$ great cost effective functional solution. Just need to drill one new hole in the pedal bracket to reuse the factory holes .

 

[Track Addict]

Alternator and new regulator all hooked up. Had to extend then ground which moved to the top on the new regulator.

Ammeter working now and we get a charge.

Drilled out the new gas pedal works great using factory holes. Two new bolts and back in action.

 

[Track Addict]

Have to add a fuse block for stereo and future power needs. Can get the 6 gauge power and ground through the existing firewall grommet.

Need to add one grommet through the top of the passenger side dash near the windshield frame and then decide driver of passenger side for new block.

Thinking passenger so I have room for the future wires?

 

[Track Addict]

Was reviewing the manual and looking at other machines and noticed the tracks are on backwards compared to what the manual says. Must be the same guy who Tucked up the ice breakers.

Take a look at the photos and let me know. How does swapping the tracks around go? Seems pretty easy can just drive off and back on?

Came with a nice track jack tool.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Unbuckle one track and lay it out on the floor/level surface and lay a chunk of 2x12 out for the bogies to roll onto and then move the machine off the track.

Swap the track and for end and line it up, then roll the machine back onto the track.

Flop the end up over the sprocket and buckle it back up. Adjust tension then do the next one.

There is a good reason for the install direction.

I have seen tracks swapped all over with a mix and match approach, but for normal use being in the forward direction it places the least stress on the belting and helps keep from ripping the fasteners out of the belt.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Track Addict]

Pulled out the fuel sender which doesn't work. Fuel gauge tested good. This is the last piece of the gauges to be back to 100% lights and all.

The orig sender has no markings other than patent number. Took a stab and got the wrong one.

Correct Stewart warner sender for green line gauge is 391D-D and is a right hand flange mount. Thought you could rotate but the flange holes are offset to only fit one way.

Got the left hand sender which is wrong. Good news is tank is beautiful inside!

 

[Track Addict]

Wired up the new fuse block and wired the stereo components to that. Used a 30 amp terminal fuse at the battery and 6 gauge wires to the block. Was able to use an existing firewall grommet. Had to add a cable grommet in the dash for a pass thru chase for the sound bar. Few finishing wire ties and should be done. Need to make up the new ground and starter cables also.

Plenty of room for future power needs now but at some point this 30 amp alternator becomes to small if the load increases much more. To go to a bigger alternator would also require beefing up the factory charging wiring which I'm not looking to do.

Vacuumed the front carpet and dash. It's in really nice shape for 40 plus years. Sound system cranks. I just sit in it and pretend to be driving on snow. Not looking real wintery here in Massachusetts .

Please send some sno!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS. Rode the other cats up north yesterday on a trail system maintained by fellow Forum members and in close proximity to some Tucker sympathizers. Thanks to all the groomer operators and club volunteers everywhere. I know it's a thankless job laying down that beautiful ribbon for long hours at night. Many dont realize all the effort, time, and resources to make snowmobile trails happen but it does not go unappreciated here. Thanks again!

 

[Track Addict]

Found a NOS muffler courtesy of Get Sno. Mine is okay. A functional but not correct repair was done. You can see the angle and the muffler mount is off in the pictures.

Need to try and find a header pipe before I have one made. Orig part number was 105M which was exhaust pipe and muffler. Half way there!

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

Please send some sno!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could. After several below normal years, Mother Nature is trying to make up for it... in a hurry.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=149&sid=134181&title=utah-snowpack

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=42978502&nid=148

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

so far another below normal year here but Seward Alaska got 3 feet of mixed rain and snow last night