Thiokol 602 Rangemaster on eBay

[Mainer]

Beauty on eBay... Thiokol 602 Rangemaster

Of course this is the Canadian version of the standard 602... hence 'Rangemaster'. Note the 4th door... which is not standard on all 602's but is also not unique to Rangemasters. Just another configuration...usually a spare tire on that side w/o the fourth door.

This baby is sure a beauty... hopefully will go to a good home!

 

[tomelroy]

the owner lives over the hill from me...shipping cost are gonna be low on this one!

 

[Mainer]

the owner lives over the hill from me...shipping cost are gonna be low on this one!

Well I don't see that as a genuine benefit vs. trade-off for others. The opportunity to buy a beautiful gem of a machine like this vs. the marginal cost of shipment (roughly $750-$1000 for most of the West states there)?

People won't see a proper restore like this available for another 10 years unless DLM sells one of his gems which simply ain't gonna happen and if it did...it would be $40k easy.

Most 'reasonable' shape 602's sell for $12-15K... let alone one that's had the differential refurbed at Peterson's, engine totally rebuilt and frame off restoration.... IMHO.

Wait a minute... I'm almost talking myself into it when my stable is already full!

 

[tomelroy]

Less miles, less salt, less rock chips. Wouldn't be right to mess up a nice restore like this!

 

[meanjean]

Last I checked, he had a bid or two. Looking for $15 K...

 

[Mainer]

One thing for any potential buyer to confirm: Which differential is in this puppy. Some won't care at all... 'as long as it goes through the snow I am fine' but others may care.

The description states:

"Rebuilt OC-12 Rear End (Rear End was Rebuilt by Peterson Manufacturing in Logan, Utah. The original builders of Thiokol Snow Cats)."

So, as we all know by now, the OC-15 was used in the 6-series (including 'Rangemaster'). This description states an OC-12 which of course is the less rhobust of the differentials and used in the Spryte and the Super Imps. The operating conditions of the OC-15 and OC-12 are slightly different based on machine differences (ie, top speed, etc.) however the OC-12 should still work fine in a 6-series. The housing is clearly for an OC-15 however an OC-12 could be fitted. I think it's a misunderstanding more than anything... but a buyer should confirm this because they are *very* different $$$ to replace given the OC-15 is used in machines weighing up to 40,000 lbs (so, yes, it's over designed for the 6 but still know what you are buying).

 

[Mainer]

Reposting here given topic.

>Originally Posted by the old trucker
>Mainer would you by the machine for 15K now, sight unseen ??


Absolutely! Here's my reasoning and some other thoughts: Anyone buying has so much to see from the restoration photos that the value of the machine coupled with the photos... easily justifies $15K with acceptable risk for the money. If someone has the option to wire cash into pocket and end it now ... take it! Sometimes these things fluctuation but depending... you have some folks with alot of passion and also some commercial folks that will put some heavier cash behind the bidding. Boggie or Snotrans would each logically buy it for $15K and flip it and/or keep it and/or flip another machine of lesser condition and keep it. You see a couple machines just recently came on the market where owners are freeing up cash to buy this thing by flipping other machines. Then there are the lurkers that simply 'want' and may have $20K ready to go. From the looks here there are only two things that didn't get done that would have been nice: Track re-build and panel replacement/body work. Track rubber and body may not have been redone because they are 'fine' but if not then it wouldn't make it into the 'Weatherby' or 'DLM' restoration category. The sprockets aren't 6-series but they look like either Spryte or 3700's or maybe they were just remolded to the right ratio. I didn't think the 3700/Spryte sprockets were swappable but I don't know or did they actually rebuild the tracks with different spacing to suit a more readily available sprocket? The tooth shape of those sprockets is slightly different than the 6-series which was designed to slip from time-to-time (being more rounded on a 6) if needed but if used in snow then I don't believe it would make a difference because the slippage design should have been for high-friction surfaces given the 6-series was design for more than just snow/ice. Anyway, it's just a point but not really an important one but just something I noticed based on the pointy tooth style and a person may want to bring it back to proper 6 sprocks to make it more period (granted it's been 'improved' in many ways anyway so who knows if 'period' even matters here).

Main thing is... that cat easily justifies $15K and if someone can 'buy it locally' or 'wired' they should do it, sight unseen. If people need data, reasonable condition 602's have sold in the last couple years for $15+K at auction. To compare out of interest, if a person found a 601 and a 602 in exact same condition/history (let's say both in quite good condition...not as good as this 602 but yet 'original and well-maintained with low-hours'), then the 602 would probably go $15-18K and the 601 for $5K-10K over that depending on the buyer/bidding profiles. The only reason this machine may not sell for more (btw, I hope the auction is nice and active so the seller gets the value he deserves given the work he's done) than $18K is because of the state economy. It's one reason I posted it here because this guy has done a great job and deserves as much as he can get.

Per Ty's previously posted interest... and given he's selling another machine of similar value... and that Ty is local... but the seller may want to see the auction out given Ty would have probably tried to buy it before it went public ... but based on the condition of this machine... if it were me and I wanted it, I'd call the guy and offer him $17.5-18K this morning and try to call it done...but he may not see that as enough 'juice' to end it...I don't know. For a serious buyer/enthusiast, pinching pennies to ride the auction out to get it for 'maybe just $16K or 17K) is NOT worth it.... a person should 'buy the opportunity' to get a rare find like this, IMHO. I'm not suggesting anything other than the usual 'for sale locally' as we all know machnens typically are...and 'wired cash' counts...besides he'd certainly take a portion wired then the rest on pickup. He's got $3500 into work on the diff... that's usually almost enough buy a whole OC-12 so given that this is a proper OC-15 with new seals, etc... it puts the machine slightly above the numbers I've been mentioning but buyers often look to disregard that as 'savings' but it should be a vote for buying unseen with more 'milk' for the kitty.

 

[Mainer]

Glad to see the seller knows the value. I was a bit worried he wanted fast coin.

"Q: how far of is the asking price from where it is now ? Dec-05-11
A: The Reserve is set at 19,000"

 

[tomelroy]

seller wants to see the auction out...I have not seen the cat in person and the condition of the grouser is my main concern...they are not making them anymore and you can spend some serious time/money trying to replace them. According to the seller about half have been rewelded and repaired and the other half still need some attention....Plus I want to see how the paint looks after 5 year. Always best to see them in person rather than rolling the dice. (at least in these economic times).

 

[Mainer]

Another perspective on the tracks below from eBay discussion .... and it comes with extra grousers which is pretty rare. I would also add that given the sprockets look to be spryte-lineage some folks have also switched tracks to Spryte tracks which improve performance in powder conditions. Doesn't sound at all necessary in this instance...especially given what sounds like good track rubber and backing plate replacement as well, etc... and extra sprockets to boot. Each grouser is worth between $90-130 depending... and each sprocket worth about $750-$1000 depending ...on condition and type... maybe they're six-series sprockets. I could be wrong...but my gut is telling me this won't hit reserve, some phone calls will transpire...and it'll become a Boggie collectible.

"Could you tell me more about the condition of the tracks & grousers? Thanks ! Dec-05-11
A: The Tracks and grousers were and still are in great shape. That was one of the deciding factors when we bought this Cat. The belting does not appear to be the original belting as it is heavier duty than belting we have seen on other 600's and spryte's. Original or not original, the belting is in great shape. Any grousers that had cracks or were starting to split have been pulled off, welded, painted (complete submersion in a dip tank my partner made just for this project) and the backing plates repaired or replaced if needed. After doing the grousers that needed fixing we started on the rest of them. At this point 1/3 to 1/2 of them have been done, those that haven't been done are still in good to excellant shape. We also have 15 to 20 extra grousers that will go with the cat, along with the 2 extra sprockets."

 

[bradm]

Mainer, hello from Utah. I'm Brad, the seller of this fine Cat. My partner and I really appreciate your input and respect your opinion. We've not been frequent followers of the forum (Neither of us are really computer guys) but we have been on in the past and you actually provided us some info during the rebuild or should I say 'rebirth' process, as that is closer to what we did. The pictures don't really capture all the little details that were done. We'd like to think that it is actually better than it was new. We think that 19,000 is a fair price as we're not asking for the moon, but we also are not willing to give it away. We have over 3,000 in the trailer alone.

I wanted to provide some more info on the sprockets. When we purchased the cat there were 2 additional sprockets in the rear, along with the extra grousers. The spare grousers do indeed have more rounded off teeth, and we just assumed they were wore out. Both the sprockets that are currently mounted and the spares have 10 teeth, same pattern and the same inner diameter. The only differance appears to be that one set is red with sharper teeth and the spare set is black with rounded off teeth. Before we bought the cat originally we test drove it in a muddy hay field with no snow, and the sprockets did indeed slip when making sharp turns. At first this concerned us but we were assured that they were designed to do that.

The spare grousers (28) are in various states from poor to very good. All are reapairable.
We are now thinking maybe we should hope it doesn't sell, go ahead and sell the spare parts and put the roof rack and extra lighting on that we,ve always talked of doing (Hence the higher output alternator we put on it). We're gonna ride the auction out and see what happens.

Anyway thanks again for your input

 

[Mainer]

Glad to see you posting about the cat! Beautiful machine and it's clear that you've put a very healthy dose of 'owner luv' into it and when that happens then there's all those little things that can't be seen online that have been done.

As I mentioned, I posted it on here because it's worth what you're asking even in a down economy so I actually hate to see you sell it now but at least it's winter and prime cat selling season.

I've had experiences where folks hang onto the owner's manual and then they sell them after the cat sale. So, all those 'throw-ins' are worth something. If it does sell and if it is shipped through a vendor then I would HIGHLY recommend locking all the parts in a metal box... and I mean really locked. I've had truckers jimmy locks, etc... and pretend it was the wind and I lost good parts in a few cases. Hopefully your buyer would show up in person so it's a non-issue.

Here's a photo of a 'New Old Stock' 6-series sprocket and also various sprocket styles on the 4T/6-series ...so you can compare how worn your spares are vs. brand new so you can gauge how 'used' they are ...in some instances the 'worn' ones are practically new but with the standard scruff marks of grouser contact.

Best of luck with the auction! This should be an interesting one... the commercial places definitely have the coin to sink into it and look to flip it but with shipping, etc... how much more would they get? Probably not enough to warrant the purchase... except for those who also have personal collections. which would qualify as a 'good home'. Otherwise it will be a private buyer that simply has wanted a 6 for a while and if they know what's good for them they'd buy this thing for the reserve/more. I've found there are lurkers out there on the forum with deep pockets and it could get snapped up on the auction...who knows. Almost worth a betting pool!

These machines only appreciate and particularly so when work is done proper and you've documented progress like this.

Good luck!

 

[bradm]

The photo of your 'New Old Stock' 600 series sprocket could easily be a photo of the spares we have, other than a little cosmetic rust around the bolt holes. Seems they weren't as worn out as we thought.

 

[Mainer]

Woohoo! 19K by some lucky buyer!

 

[bradm]

That is what you call taking right to the end!!!!

Bittersweet!!!!!