Hello everybody, I've got a few weeks off and a couple of movie scouts are interested in doing a movie here... They're coming to do some preliminary stuff to see if they like the location so I'm making a trail for them to get to the spot. What a great excuse to exercise the 977H! I can't get enough of this machine, it's just GREAT! I'm not much of an operator but I think the trail turned out half decent... Here's some pictures of the fun! Did I mention I love this machine?
Couple more...
4th picture: What is that hanging off the side? Nice machine
Looks like the air cleaner. I never saw one exactly like that, but that's where they are on a 977H. Sptizair is that winch hydraulic?
Dog, yes that is the air cleaner... It sticks out there a ways, on my older 977H it's vertical and doesn't stick out as far. Buckethead, yes that's a hydraulic Gearmatic winch. I haven't used it yet but it does work, I just recently ran a control cable to it's valve.
i cut my teeth on one of those things. it moved some rocks and picked up some that had it balanced on the front idlers. one had to ease the rock up and let the loader slowly settle back down to get it on the truck. this old man will never qualify as an operator but i have moved a lot of dirt and a few VERY LARGE boulders with a 977 in the last 20 plus years.
Spitzair, would it be a fair guess that filter isn't OEM? Looks like somebody did some adapting to get rid of the original oil bath air cleaner, and convert to dry type. Looks a bit odd, but probably gets the job done! Love the 977H, watching one as a kid had a lot to do with me wanting to be an operator for a living. I hope to own one myself some day! Looks like a nice scenic trail to me, better make a clearing and install a picnic table when the filming is done! Nice Cuda, Jughead, in case you didn't know it I'm quite the Mopar nut! Looks like a fun ride. Alan
977 Nice Cuda, Jughead, in case you didn't know it I'm quite the Mopar nut! Looks like a fun ride. Alan[/QUOTE] thank u bought it new never been titled. 149 mi. it is a 440 6 pack car. hemi in it now just couldnt make the hemi run like it should. put my 63 max-wedge together in 92 and found out by accident what i was doing wrong with the hemi. 12 years of dragracing and made a lot of mistakes along the way
Alan, yeah, not sure if it's an OEM air filter, just doesn't look like one! They sure did a nice job though if it is indeed an add-on! So the movie crew decided to use our property for their shoot, so it was full steam ahead! Here's a bunch of pictures of the ol' girl in action! Only problem I had was that on Saturday I busted a track, so we spent Sunday changing tracks instead of loading gravel, but had it all back together by the end of the day! I just absolutely love this machine! The picture with the boulder is for you Jughead!
Just a few more... Got to use the hydraulic winch too for the first time, man does that thing ever pull!!! Only drawback is the lack of freespool but it wasn't a problem, I just fed the line out while the other guy walked it out!
977 nice little rock. that size will do damage to a truck it not careful
I'm back working on this project again, they keep finding more and more things for me to do .
Neat pics, Spitzair! I see you wearing headphones for sound deadening in the pictures...these old girls sure do speak in a loud voice, don't they? Used to be able to hear one from a mile or more away. (Used to!) Listening to one in good tune is always good entertainment. Glad to see you having fun with it. If memory serves...didn't you get two of these? Alan
Great pictures Spitzair. I like seeing the action shots. Would love to hear and see it work in person.
How does it work with plowing all of the snow that just fell :tong The trail looks great i think u may be more of a skinner than !
Thanks for the kind words guys! I was running the ol' girl all day today, every time I get on it it impresses me again! Today I moved this monster rock around. I love it! No snow here Deeretime, just cold and very windy. Felt like -15 with the windchill. I guess I'm turning into a big sissy... But I can't wait to try it in a few feet of snow Yup, I did get two Alan, the other one runs but has a miss and smokes a lot so it's sitting in the back waiting for whatever I come up with for it. It had a nearly new undercarriage on it which I've since started swapping over to this machine. I still have to swap the idlers and the left track tensioner leaks so I'll swap that too all at once when this job is finished and I find some time. Once I do that I might sell the other one or keep it around for parts, not sure yet. Cheers!
Oh boy, do I remember these. First 977 I ran was a 20A, we were in the building wrecking business in Oakland, CA. It had a Peterson demo bucket and extended arms to load high side demo trucks. The 977 was the cats meow for demo work 35 years ago. If the building was too high we'ed use the crane to knock it down to size. But the 977 was our main machine until the excavator took over. :usa
Those 977s are brutes. How much fuel do they burn? I was looking at one recently for my property in idaho, the price was right- $8500 for a 977L in good condition, but i was told they can burn 7-10 gal an hour, and with the cost of diesel skyrocketing i was worried it would cost to much to operate so i passed.
Working hard all day you better carry at least 100 gal. :usa
Nice phots. It looks like you are quite the bargin hunter with purchace of those two beasts! I cant even remember ever seeing a track loader of this size in NZ, There is a few smaller track loaders around mainly cats and komatsu but they are ageing.
spitzair this old man has loaded a few rocks that size with a 977. a couple i remember balanced the loader on the front idlers. ease it up about a foot and the loader would level back. do it again until it was high enough to ease it in the truck. pucker time for sure with those.
977h spitzair, would you happen to know of more 977H's, I'm looking for one with a decent undercarriage, sound final drives/st.clutches and hydraulics.....
There are a few for sale on Machinerytrader.com right now.. http://www.machinerytrader.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&Manu=CATERPILLAR&Mdltxt=977H&mdlx=exact Hope that helps.. Alan
Hope that helps... Thanks for your input, alan.
Glad to help! I hope to have an excuse to own one of these myself one day. if you get one I'll be sooo jealous.. If you do, be sure to post pics... Anybody notice that 2 of the listings appear to be the same machine? I'll take the low price, please... Alan
Glad to help Go ahead, Alan, take your pick. They do actually look alike, to me too. The undercarriage doesn't look good to me....
Hello Fred, I don't know of any off hand but I'm thinking about maybe selling one of mine, don't need 2... PM me if you're interested...
Doing a bit of work with the 977 Thank you for the reply, spitzair. I've been looking for a 77 with decent undercarriage, good final drives/st.clutches/hydraulics. If I can't find anything in this direction I might come back to you. Also, I thought you said your other machine has steering levers, instead of pedals (which I prefer); must be an early 60 model,then.. By the way, where is your second 77 located at?
Fred, Yes, it's a lever steer, 1963 model... It's located at my parent's place in Squamish... If I see anything that looks decent I'll let you know.
Thanks again, spitzair, appreciate it.
Fred, Would you be interested in an Allis Chalmers HD12G? The one that was at the place where I bought these machines has found it's way to the scrap yard because of a feud between the owner of it and a fellow he owed lots of money. The scrap yard has it and is trying to sell it whole. There was nothing wrong with it, it had just been serviced with all new fluids and filters and it ran like a dream. It's sitting at Triton Steel in Squamish (604) 892-5951 is their number. I'd hate to see them cut it up...
which buildings did you wreck in oakland, rabbit? was it any big stuff or slum clearance. they tried to save some of the old victorians, but most of them are so far gone they should all be torn down. yeah, the 977 is an awesome wrecking machine. which demo contractor were you with in oakland? they are still doing a lot of demo there, and the place is still a giant slum. LOL.
Allis Chalmers HD 12G Hi spitzair, Thank you for your lines. I'm sorry, I'm not interested in anything else but a 977H. It was always my dream to own one, but somehow never got a chance to be in that position. Where I used to work were just 955k-s, and I kind of settled for them. They are certainly a nice machine, but nothing like a 77H. It's the sound of the engine, mainly, that always intrigued me as a kid already. Also, I got to know the D333/D330 engines quite a bit, since I overhauled a few of them. So, you see, I'm not about to settle for something else..... Fred
Hi Fred, No worries, I can't blame you, I wouldn't part with my 977H either, I love it to death! I just wasn't sure if you wanted something else. The 977H does have a great sound, especially with the straight pipe! When I first started it in the shed I found it in I fell in love with it right away, it just sounded so different and much cooler than the D6 9U I had, almost intimidating in fact, but great! If I find another I'll definitely let you know! Toby
977h Again, thanks Toby.... Fred