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Bombardier SW54 Project

As I dig deeper into the left hand side that I have apart, the more I realize that there’s been some damage and repairs in the past. The front Wheel pivot arm Had been broken and welded at some point, and the ears that attach to the spring in can link bar appear to be homemade as the profiles don’t match that well. One of the link bars had also been cut off and a new hole drilled in it. Between that and the twisted walking beam I decided to take apart the other side to hopefully have some good original parts to compare to.
 
I removed to other track and luckly everything on that side Appears to not have been Damaged and messed with. Walking beam is straight, front pivot arm is good, and the link bars are the original length. I think the spring in can has been redone at something but everything else looks straight. Only worn part appears to be the walking beam pivot shaft like the other side so it looks like I’ll be attempting to remove that shaft ?.
BA4E2224-109D-426B-9535-9A5FB14E2255.jpeg
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I’ve also cut apart the left side spring in can. I have a piece of 5” spouting that will work perfect. Not sure if I’ll try to salvage the end caps or make new ones. I thought I read somewhere on this site that the spring should be slightly preloaded in the can. Mine didn’t appear that way. My spring is also a couple inches shorter than the can itself. Does anyone have the original dimensions? Ill cut the other side apart to compare and at the very least make them both the same with the number I have.
C183F4DB-CC0C-48A5-98EF-1F59CF980BA1.jpeg

In this pic you can also see the weld toward the shaft end of my front wheel pivot arm. The bearing housing of that is also worn through and had a patch welded on it, which I removed. Worse case I’ll machine a new bearing housing, but I might be able to patch it up.
 
Not too much to report. I cut the welds on the one half of the walking beam that is twisted and started to straighten it out but not done yet. The other walking beam assembly is all cleaned up and ready for paint. I also cut the other spring can apart and the spring by a quick comparison looks to be the same length as the other side. I’ll confirm this and make both new cans the same.
 
A quick question regarding the spring in cans. Both had a piece of tubing floating on the rods inside the spring. We’re these originally welded to the end cap with the hole in it to act as a guide for the rod? Or were they attached to the plate on the end of the spring that the rod attaches to? Mine are both so worn that it’s hard to tell. I’ll probably make new ends for the can anyways, but I’ll attach the tube where it should be in the process.

Thanks in advance!
 
Yes.
Drilling the belting is a pain.

Use a "Brad point" type bit and it will cut it right through.....(Just don't hit metal with the bit)
One of these bits will gitterdone quickly......Makes a very clean cut
 

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Snowy Rivers said:
Yes.
Drilling the belting is a pain.

Use a "Brad point" type bit and it will cut it right through.....(Just don't hit metal with the bit)
One of these bits will gitterdone quickly......Makes a very clean cut
Click to expand...
Ya I have used those bits before but never on rubber this thick. Perhaps I’ll try drilling a couple holes with one of these and compare with the hollow drill.
 
J5 Bombardier said:
The pipe (stop) is welded to the end plate of the can, where the rod hole is . Keep the pics coming.:hammer:
J5 Bombardier
Click to expand...
10 4! Thanks. I have made new stops up and I’ll be sure to weld them to the end caps. I have new cans cut and the stops, just need to make new ends and then I can assemble the new assemblies. I’ll get some pics coming too as I know you guys like pics ?
 
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Links cleaned up. I pressed out the bushings and am trying to decide what I’m going to make the new bushings out of. Some of the inner bushings were so seized in there that the arbor press wouldn’t do so I had to use the big hydraulic press at work. No wonder the bolts were so worn.

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Some progress. I have a bunch of parts prepped and will hopefully have some fresh assembled spring in cans and new link mounts on the one front control arm.

Question, does anyone else have a grease nipple on their cans? My old cans have one on the front end, but that’s kind of in no mans land and You’d have to put at lease two tubes of grease in before any gets to the spring. My plan is to liberally coat the springs and can before assembly, but not sure if that’s the correct location for a nipple.
CD93DE56-3E73-44D1-8F9B-B9CF6C2F352C.jpeg
 
It would be ideal to get a nipple with a line routed into the stop pipe somehow, so any excess grease either comes out or goes into the can, but I will likely end up putting the nipple around half way up the can so the grease ends up on the spring.
 
77_crew said:
It would be ideal to get a nipple with a line routed into the stop pipe somehow, so any excess grease either comes out or goes into the can, but I will likely end up putting the nipple around half way up the can so the grease ends up on the spring.
Click to expand...
Never saw one with that, but you may be on to something. A small drain hole, in the bottom is what I usually have and pump some grease in, when in for a service.
J5 Bombardier
 
77_crew said:
Hi everyone, I've been watching this site for quite a while now, reading lots of great threads on the various track machines you guys are playing with, so I've decided to introduce myself and share my project with you guys. There is a lot of great information on this site and the available information on the Web seems to be hard to come by or on this site!

A little history:
I have always wanted a track machine and am a bit of a military history buff. Over the years I've been searching for a Bren Gun Carrier (Universal Carrier) or something similar to restore with no luck. Up here in Canada it seems that a lot of the old carriers got sold as surplus after the war and guys used them to get in and out of hunting camps etc. I've heard several stories form the local "Old Boys" about ones that use to be around here, and even recall a story about one sitting in the woods somewhere but I can't seem to dig up anymore info on it. Its likely been scrapped. I have also toyed around with the idea of building a track machine from scratch. I am a Millwright and have lots of Fab experience and most of the tools to get the job done at my disposal. I also have done a couple of vehicle restorations so I understand the nature of such a project. I've gone as far as researching/collecting parts and made a couple of CAD drawings, but I have too many other projects on the list at the moment.

It seemed to be a "someday" project, then I had the opportunity to buy an old Bombardier Track Machine. I didn't know anything about the old Bombardiers, but it was a bit of a "S%#$ or get off the pot" deal so I jumped on it. I also have a couple old yellow belly Skidoo Olympics, so having this Bombardier kinda suited my collection.

It appears that it is an old SW54. There are no ID tags that i can find, but its narrower than a J5 and wider than a SW48, so it must be a SW54. It has the flat head chrysler 251 and a three speed gearbox. The nose and engine compartment are original Bombardier, but the rest of the cab and structure is homemade from 1 1/2" tubing and plywood.

My plan is to build a rig that i can play around with at the hunting camp, skid some logs for firewood the odd time, and plow my driveway if we get a large snowfall. As of right now i plan on getting it serviceable, mounting a big hydraulic winch and keeping the cab the way it is, but i might build a new one in the future.

Now i'll see if i can get some pictures posted for you guys.
Click to expand...
Hi there,
A friend of mine has modified an SW54 and is using as a skidder for his forrestry operations. He needs some new tires for his rig and I wonder where we could possibly could get those tires. If someone knows something, can you please let me know? Thank you guys!
 
Sailor Paul said:
Hi there,
A friend of mine has modified an SW54 and is using as a skidder for his forrestry operations. He needs some new tires for his rig and I wonder where we could possibly could get those tires. If someone knows something, can you please let me know? Thank you guys!
Click to expand...
Hello sailer P. Might be best to make a wanted add in the classified area. Its near the bottom of the snowcat section. This string of messages (thread) is from 2021. I found it because i was bored and simply reading.
Mario levarier (sp?) Has a lot of bombardier parts. He is in canada. He will see your post in the wanted/ forsale area.
 
redsqwrl said:
Hello sailer P. Might be best to make a wanted add in the classified area. Its near the bottom of the snowcat section. This string of messages (thread) is from 2021. I found it because i was bored and simply reading.
Mario levarier (sp?) Has a lot of bombardier parts. He is in canada. He will see your post in the wanted/ forsale area.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much! I'll now have to find the wanted for sale area of this website :)
 
Scroll all the way to the top of this string of messages.
Hit the very top title :
Snowcat Restoration & Modification Projects Forum.
Click that.
Then do it again.
Snowcats & Outdoor Fun Forums


Its like climbing a tree and that will be the trunk of the tree

no scroll up or down Looking for the branch that says for sale.

Each one of those groups of messages (branches) have a bunch of info.
 
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