I'm cutting this road on a steep slope. it is hot out and the ground is dry. Would it be safer with the ground more moist? I'm not sure how you can stay off the fill before finishing the cut. It makes me very uneasy watching the outer track on that fill! I'm cutting about as deep as I can. I need some pointers from those who know more. This is my first time on a steep slope and I'm just a hobby guy with an old dozer. I'm more than half way to the bottom of the creek and have about 150 feet of road to go and about 30 feet down. That outside turn was the scariest so far.
Now all I have left is a straight run but the side slope is about the steepest yet. I estimate it is at leas 1 to 1 and maybe a little more as I get to the creek bottom. May be nothing to an experienced operator but it is intimidating to me.
Looking like you are doing ok from the pics , no easy way when steep.
Just keep cutting the high side so you have plenty of material to work with.I see no grade stakes to intimidate you....lol....so you are at your own mercy.Look at my posts in "old iron" where I did the grading around a new school for the german nationals with a TD-18,there were some steep grades there too.Have fun.Ron G
Yair . . . chevy43 If that is to be a permanent access road you really need the whole running surface on cut. Even in a low rainfall area side cast fill is very likely to slip during any rain event. It is always better to have the tractor/road surface leaning into the hill and we always cut an intersection drain at the toe of the vertical slope to intersect the water flow and direct it to over the road concrete culverts or under the road pipes . . . woo-boys can help as a temporary measure, anything to shed and dissipate water. You look to be doing very well without the assistance of a ripper and I must say side hill cuts were my favourite dozer job. Cheers.
I'd hang with Scrub Puller, its central cal so you only get a bit of rain in winter but you still want to control it. Add another 50% width into the hill side, ditch on the uphill side and you could probably use 4" plastic as your culverts. Keep sending pics, looks like a great job!
The road is really just for a jeep etc to get to the lower part of the property. If it's raining I'm not going down there. The brush is so thick I had to crawl like a pig to get down there to even guess where to point the dozer. I have to stand on top of the dozer and memorize trees and bushes to know about where I wanted to go. I got a good tilt into the hill until I got to the right curve. Cutting a curve is hard especially with the big B&E push arm rubbing the side of the hill holding the blade away from the cut. I like IH's. The Scout Terra is my every day driver and service truck. I put a 5.9 Cummins in it.
You guys are right about drainage. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that yet. It takes a sledge hammer, High Low jack, block of wood, pry bar and 20 min of hard work to adjust the blade on the B&E so I may worry about contour with a mini excavator. Trying to explore where to put the road was a big chalange. I tried with the TD-18 but if I just poked around without cutting a road it slide sideways on top of the brush! Then I tried pushing in there with my 3,500 LB articulated Pasquli tractor and the brush lifted it almost off it's wheels and it slide down the hill too.
On my JD 350 I use a sledge and a rock to tilt the blade
I live in the Rockies and roads such as yours (and steeper) are quite common. When available an excavator is often used to rough in the road, then follow up with dozer. Otherwise the entire job is done by dozer. You will experience a considerable amount of cave in on the cutbank, resulting in a much narrower road in a couple years. This is especially true when not contouring the cutbank with an excavator. Don't worry too much about the fill side, it will hold crawlers quite well. In the spring, trucks will have to use caution the first few years, after that it will hold. I have had concrete trucks on mine and it's steeper and more gravelly than yours. If you have to do any switchbacks, do them where there is a finger ridge so you'll have room to make a wide turn. Next year a vegetation line will appear, showing exactly where the original contour was. It's best not to make any grade at the switchbacks or you will be climbing and turning at the same time while slowing down. Trees can be buried in the fill, just try not to have them directly under the road. We usually use an inclinometer and walk the proposed road with flag tape, remembering go a little low on the rockiest parts as you will end up pushing finer material from nearby to cover it to make it smooth. There are several ways to deal with rain washout. My preference is to cut the road with inslope and deal with the accumulation of water at the next switchback or wherever you can put a drainage cut.
A local contractor was famous for low bid work. He expanded a parking lot by hauling in fill. Taking chances he shouldn't have, he finished the job, and paved. Months later, the fill slid down the steep hill in one mass. It took six cars with it. There were law suits from the parking lot owner, and the neighboring property it all landed on. Log roads are just cut into the hill. Permanent roads should be more substantial. I like the suggestion of having the road on cut, not fill. If the earth the road sits on has been stable for centuries, it should be stable a while longer. The hill side is likely the angle of repose. Stable fill will have to be as deep at the bottom of the hill, as it is at top. It'd take a great deal of fill to do that. Willie
Here is the first swichback I had to do. I wish I could have planned it better but I couldn't see anything because of the brush and didn't know which direction I was going to go when I got there. I had to crawl on my knees and gues where to go next. The big manual B&E blade is too much work to adjust for the fine detail around the switchback. It is better I wait till I can get my middie excavator in there.
Looks good to my untrained eye. You can see why that country burns so hot when it catches fire, that brush is terrible!
An old logger told me a tilt blade is a waste of money. Just back up onto a rock before you push. I haven't tried it. Willie
I have. Carrying that rock around got pretty tiring, I went for the tilt blade.
:falldownlaugh
Yair . . . I dunno about a waste of money there Willie B I reckon hydraulic tilt was one of the biggest dozer innovations I experienced . . . even more significant than powershift. Given the choice I would take a direct drive with hydraulic tilt over a manual tilt powershift every time. I have never experienced a PAT blade but I don't think I would be comfortable with the apparent fragility of the system. In the days before integrated rippers backing up onto a log, rock, or scratched together dirt was the only way to tilt the tractor to get the corner of the blade into the ground and, consequently, there was a generation of operators who knew nothing but side cutting. As evidenced by the sometimes spirited discussions a few years back it has/is taking some time to alter. Cheers.
Just when you've got all figured out; Mr. Fish&Game shows up to rain on your party! Deverting too much water from a seasonal creek, some type of insect will go extinct..
Just a couple simple words of advice. Your road looks good. You will have the oppurtunity to cut it further into the bank after you get it roughed in if needed. If your dozer has a seat belt, use it. If not install one, it appears that you have a decent canopy to protect you. If you do start sliding down, keep some power on, and turn downhill. You chances of rolling will be substantually less. I agree with Scrub, I would rather have power tilt with direct drive over a manual tilt with power shift any day. I guess thats why I have power tilt on my old cable 9U-D6.
Yair . . . Gotcha old-iron-habit. A direct drive D7 with hydraulic rippers and a manual angle string blade with a front mounted winch and hydraulic foot operated tilt was the nicest tractor I ever ran. Cheers.
Where I come from every square foot of earth offers a suitable rock. I too have a tilt blade. If my blade were manual tilt, I'd try it. Willie
I make no pretense of knowing, the statement was made by an old logger trying to sell me a dozer with only one blade valve; up & down. I was unconvinced by the sales pitch. I do have a 6 way blade on a 14600 lb crawler. Small tractors don't push all that hard, so far so good. I think the first 3000 hours were grading lawns. Willie
Looks like your doing fine chevy43 . Pretty hard to go wrong using IH equipment Bro . TD 18 and a Scout , perfect combination :thumbsup
That Scout with the Cummins is great! Dad had a couple of Scouts, being in the midwest rotted the frames away pretty bad, yours looks like its in pretty good shape though!! Got any pictures of the engine compartment with the 5.9 in it?
Yair . . . I only got to do a few hours on a TD24 . . . that job of movindirt's that is to say side casting on a slope is where the two speed planetary would shine compared to clutch and brake. I suppose the same could be said of differential steering these days . . . much nicer for the operator but I don't know how much difference it makes at the end of the job. Cheers.
Some more work this afternoon. It was about 100 deg. out and the TD-18 got a little hot. Water leaving the head was 200 Deg. Not sure why it runs a little hot - Ive done everything to make it run cooler. My TD-9s run very cool. I took the advice to cut deaper on the steep. I makes for a bunch of material moved but it feels safer for sure. Hopefully Fish and Game won't show up!
I'll get you a picture.
My opinion to add to the safety side, yes use the seat belt, and if God forbid she starts to lose her footing, fer chrissake stay in the seat. I've read too many after accident reports where the operator tried to jump clear or was thrown out and the machine rolled over him.
I've known numerous loggers all my life. One large operator ran several 4 man crews. I'd guess he was once up to 20 JD 350s. National Forest timber sales are most active in winter. Crawlers placed in service before being caulked were sure to take a Chevy Chase sort of sleigh ride in Christmas Vacation. Small crawlers seem to tumble sliding down hill. These guys risked life so many ways, but were compulsive about safety belts. They talked of always needing new pants. Either ****, or battery acid would be all over them. They all survived. My mother's brother was less fortunate. His death certificate lists cause of death as crushed skull, crushed vertebrae. The crawler he was driving was older with no ROPS, or seat belt. Willie
I'm enjoying this thread; I have a much smaller job to do. much like yours. I check this everyday. to learn what I should be doing. As I really never had to do much steep work, except some logging.
Reminds me of the first solo job. Monday morning the boss told me to grab a grease gun and load a fuel tank in my truck. Gave me directions to the TD-15's location in Malibu Canyon and told me to cut a road to the top and clean off a good size pad. Similar terrain to yours there chevy43. I was too young and dumb to be scared. I thought I died and went to heaven!
Pics of my driveway. In the first pic you see a switchback which is too steep. An 18 wheeler can make it OK. I had a trailer jacknife there one year going downhill. In the second pic is a switchback mistakenly located where there was no finger ridge. An 18 wheeler other than a log truck can't make the turn. I'll have to bring an excavator in and tear another 400 yards out of the side of the mountain which will look awful. As it is, I have to clean it out with a loader every year to keep it open. The third pic is a switchback that's located on a finger ridge. The switchback itself is pretty level. An 18 wheeler can easily negotiate it.
I worry that Heaven might prove to be overregulated. You need a permit, feasibility study, public impact study, traffic impact study, and archaeology testing before planting a posey. Willie Oh, and don't forget to call Dig Safe 6 days before planting.
Wow!!
That's some driveway. Beautiful view. But what is a finger ridge? Graham
Pretty awesome landscape you guy's are working with , love to get out that way for a visit someday . Oh yeah , be safe on those slopes guys . Don't get in a situation where the crew at station 51 get dispatched . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CneHsNsceTw
I guess "finger ridge" is mountain man jargon for the small ridges that go down mountains. Any convex contour gives you an area to excavate without taking out as much material to make a small flat spot.
Thanks. I think I get it, basically a bulge out from the general down slope. Makes sense to use the natural contours rather than relying on just shifting more dirt to achieve the same effect. Graham
No seat belt and no ROP's - this a 1955 TD-18 and that is just a sun and limb canopy. I hope I can jump to the high side if I feel it coming! I actually gained confidence yesterday by cutting deeper and pushing the fill over and out of the way faster so I could cut better. I use little hook cuts and angle cuts. To control tilt I use every available opportunity. Sometimes I'm tilted into the hill too much so I'll let the track climb the bank a bit while backing to level the next cut. I make sure I have the clutch in my hand and not the steering lever as I approach the edge! Since the cutch has to be engaged to operate the blade I have to hold the right steering clutch with my right leg ( so the left leg can be on the steering brake ),right hand on the blade lever and left hand on the clutch when back away from the edge. This is when I have gone near the edge and I don't want to lift the blade until I back away and I need to steer back towards safety all at the same time. Often at the end of the cut the tractor slews towards the hill so I have to correct immediately as I back up since I'm on the edge.
Here is a picture showing the ROP's - "Rain Overhead Protection system".
The waste going over the side:
Another technique I'm using: when I get against something hard that stops the tractor I hold both brakes on with full pressure against to object, shift into neutral so I can raise the blade without spinning the tracks, then lift or loosen the object by lifting the blade.
There is the 5.9 in the Scout. It was prettier 14 years ago when I did it... It has a Ford Power Stroke intercooler and a 3.5 inch straight pipe under the right rocker panel with a turnout in front of the right wheel which turns black with soot after a while. It runs an elcetric fan, stock radiator and firewall is not moved. Gear boxes are: Ranger Torque Splitter, SM420, Dana300, axles have 2.72 gears giving 60 MPH at 1,300 RPM. High 20's for MPG. Driver has to be carefull with the power because the 5.9 can break stuff.....
I see what you mean thats its not a ROPS. A pair of diagonal braces front and back would do wonders for strength though. Good luck jumping to the high side. The last and only time I ever did that I was lucky to get out and still broke my neck. Good luck and stay safe.
Yair . . . chevy43. You are doing well mate, interesting job . . . have you tried pulling both steering clutches together to make your blade go "live"? On some machines a bit of oxy and bending was needed to get the levers closer together so you can get your left arm around them. Cheers.
Right on Scrub puller, chevy if you have to work on the fill cut it so your leaning into the bank and track roll the fill.
No, but great idea! So I hit obsticle and dozer boggs down, hit both steering brakes and pull both clutches back with left hand to keep blade up against rock or obsticle , then lift blade to see if it breaks loose - no shifting to neutral needed - that sound about right?
Old school cat skinning
Yair . . . chevy43. Sort of . . . it's been so long mate, I'm doing a bit of a rehearsal here in the office chair. When tractor bogs down, pull both steering clutches in one movement which takes drive from tracks and allows full power to be applied to hydraulics or winch . . . you may or may not need to hold tractor against obstacle with brakes. If not already done I always modified brake pedals so I could apply both with one foot leaving the other foot free for decelerator (which not all tractors have). If you are jammed up and can't shift obstacle or blade has slipped you then have your hydraulic or winch (right)hand free to hold steering clutches back and then disengage mater clutch as normal with left hand . . . reengage steering clutches shift into reverse and have another go. Steering clutches should either be completely disengaged or engaged in one smooth action . . . nothing in between. Not telling you how to suck eggs but I have seen folks try to slip them. One thing you should be aware of on side cutting work is "sling shotting" which can occur when you pull one clutch and the other track spins and the tractor loses forward motion . . . if this happens it is always best to decelerate or preferably throw the master before allowing the steering clutch to reengage. Cheers.
Yesterday's work: There was some hard rock to deal with and I wasn't getting anywhere trying to cut it with just the blade so I mounted my small Rodgers tooth. I wish I could point that tooth at an angle from the blade corner... I've been wanting to bolt teeth on the side of the blade too, but haven't gotten to it yet. New cutting edges would be nice too. How much of a difference does that make?
The grey looking rock is hard. Seems like I had a hard time getting the side cast to go over the side and I would get these ramps that would build at the end of the cut. Is that normal?
It was very steep so I cut a lot so I'd be safe. It was tough going for such an old dozer and it was 100 Deg F. I took quite a few breaks for the dozer to cool and for me to get water. I really needed more of a downward grade but that hard rock screwed me up and I just couldn't cut it deeper. So I guess my estimate of where to start cutting the wall was too high.
Getting there! I had a flag hung in a tree I was aiming for.
The end of most cuts was kind of scary. Most times I just wanted to back up right away so I didn't take a picture. But I did on this one near the end.
Well I made it most of the way! I stopped here last night because I realized I had been thinking so much about staying alive that I hadn't really planned well for what happens when I get to the creek bottom. I didn't want to push all that side cast into the creek. I'm thinking about culvert pipe now. That las part is going to be a steeper grade than I had wanted due to the hard cutting above and my grade being flatter up there. I'm alive and the TD-18 still runs - Thanks for all the advice so far! Now I need to go up the other side but it isn't as far... Not sure how cutting uphill is going to work out...
I'd imagine uphill is more of the same but a lot slower!! A couple culverts might win you some friends, More is sometimes better, guess the max flow of the creek and go from there.
Around here you would be looking at some serious fines and possibly jail time for getting anywhere near even a dry creekbed with a dozer, let alone putting culverts in without a dozen permits and an engineered environmental impact statement... I can't believe you can do that in California without approval from the governor.
It's just a fire break access road...... Get some boulders and skip the culvert?
Finish the road at the bottom with a mini - ex so there is no modification to the creek? I don't mind fording the creek. There is another spot on the property that fords a bigger creek and it works fine.
I really had no idea that I would be breaking any law just putting a farm access road down to a lower part of the property. I wouldn't have cut so much but I was just trying to keep the dozer stable.
That might work.....
Yair . . . Chevy43. Looking good, you're doing real well. Those "ramps" that build at the end and try to force you higher are a normal occurrence and a sign that you need more room on the bench so that you can back the azz of the tractor more towards the wall and sort of work "across" the bench to push them out. I realise you are trying to move the minimum amount of dirt though and understand the problem. Cutting uphill is a bear and, if possible you will find it better if you can climb the ridge with a full tank and cut down from the top. I once spent nine hours climbing a razor back in PNG in order to cut a couple of miles of down hill switch backs. I camped with the machine for weeks and had a team of native helpers to carry in my food, fuel and parts. The specification on that job was that in the dry season a short wheel base Landrover could negotiate the grades in two wheel drive and negotiate the switchbacks with out backing up. When that was achieved it was officially a "road" and was eventually handed to the local government for improvement and maintenance. Cheers.
Beat not to alter the creek. Fish & Game stopped our project 2010 for installing 4ea 48" diameter culverts cemented into place using natural rocks. After a couple meetings the guy finally agreed AS property owners we did have the right to improve access.
Great story Scrub Puller! Do you climb forward or back up? It seems it feels safer to have the blade down hill.....
Thanks StanRUS, I was thinking just one 24" culvert would work but now I'm thinking natural looking ford. Not sure why they don't like culvert. Seems like culvert keeps dirt out of the stream. I'm trying to call them to see what practice they like for farm - fire road creek crossings but I get the answering machine and I'm not leaving my name and # for them.
How do you define creek? Otter Creek one of the great trout streams drains 800 square miles of VT. That's too big for screwing around without permits. A little brook might go unnoticed. Willie
I might look at one 24" culvert arranged in a " low water crossing " setting . That way water can simply run over the top of the road if need be during times of high rain fall . Stabilize both sides of the road with Gabion baskets at the crossing & she won't go no where . https://www.gabionsupply.com/ Nice job chevy43 !
Yair . . . chevy43 Climbed blade forward, it was only a little Massey, about ninety horsepower maybe a 3366? I'm not much good at remembering model numbers. It was a sure footed little beast though and I had every confidence in where I could take it. I have some pictures of that job (pretty poor instamatics) and may be able to find them if folks are interested. Cheers.
Climbing, I think the manual says to climb blade first but I'm with you as to going up backwards I've climbed a hill forwards 1:1 grade with the JD 350 and it was damned uncomfortable!!
Scrub Puller, post some pictures of that job if you can. I'd like to see them. Did you lay out the switchbacks on that job or did a surveyor? Switchbacks are tricky. Do you have any advice on them? If the mountain doesn't supply a flatter area it looks like more than doubling the cut to put one in.
How difficult would this job have been with no blade angle?
I inclined to think it wold have worked fine with a straight blade. They are normally narrower and easier to turn while pushing. Work the inner edge and turn the material out the same as you are doing. We used a straight blade with no tilt on an old D4 when making logging roads as a young feller but nothing like you are dealing with. They were plenty big to roll down though.
With a small tractor, angling the blade changes the geometry while raising the blade. The corner of the blade is prone to snagging each root, and rock. I'd use my PAT blade square for that job. Your tractor is twice as heavy as mine, It might be less a problem. Pitch is a valuable feature, Angle less important, except plowing snow. Willie
Yair . . . Chevy43. There was no survey. we mostly followed footpaths that had been established for hundreds maybe thousands of years. The villages of maybe up to a couple of hundred people were only accessible by foot or muletrain. There are some interesting views there on the value of an angle blade for hillside cuts. I believe an angle blade to be essential. The ultimate would be a PAT of course as occasionally its handy to be able to move some dirt in a straight line. This was usually accomplished by working slots with the angle blade . . . the angling wasn't particularly easy on that tractor and there was no hydraulic tilt. As I mentioned all the road surface had to be on cut and, in order to achieve this, there were places where there was thirty or forty feet of unstable vertical wall and landslides covering the machine could be a threat . . . I had the locals watching constantly in the bad places as there was always a little tell tale dribble of stone and gravel before the whole thing slipped. Any sign of movement and I'd clatter back out of the cut and the boys would throw rocks at the face to bring the loose stuff down . . . it was strange to see loose water washed round gravel and seashells way up in the mountains. Cheers.
Any more update pictures? Great scenery!
Great job, so much satisfaction seeing older gear still doing the job! PS I got to drive an IH scout almost identical in California when I was over there in '94 but it had a 6 cylinder nissan transplant. Like to see more of the Dozer and the "crossing" the Gov here does't like dirt in creaks and water ways here either, can be hard when on steep country.
Awesome! I'm about to start a new driveway in similarly steep terrain with td15.
Well it cooled off and started to rain so the fire hazard is gone and I got back to work. I started up the other side of the canyon. Going up hill turned out to be safer since i had gravity pulling me back towards my cut and I didn't risk spinning a track on my skinny pile of fluffy fill. I had to stop a lot to move trees and cut branches.
Working in the rain is really nice. It keeps the dust down and I had better traction on slighty wet ground. At the end of the day last sunday it started to rain really hard though....
Just kept climbing and cutting - I know I'll get to the top eventually....
Happy days building this road!
Victory! I made it to the top without dying!
There is more work but nothing so steep - so I can relax!
First shot is looking back across the creek but you can't see how deep it is! Second is near the bottom where I came down and went up.
Great pics there, glad you're getting some rain.
Looks like a good first rough in. Did you install water checks for erosion control? You may actually get a good rain someday.
I realize that I have created a giant erosion problem that will never end. I have to go back and deal with the water problems. The blade needs to be moved the other way to make water bars. I try to do all I can without having to touch the blade adjustment. Luckily it's very rocky and most of my cut is tilted to the inside so the water is running on rock. I guess I need to dump it over the side every where it can build up to a flow. I'm not sure how I'll deal with it eroding the fill side yet.
The pictures are mostly as I was roughing just to get my line and get out of the bottom. I went back and made lots more passes and will do more. I might get the TD-9 up there with the pull scraper behind it.
The ideal way is to keep your water bars close to each other to prevent a huge flow to any of them. They can be small for easier traverse over them and also will do way less erosion on the downhill side. I have seen them as close as 35 to 50 ft apart in steep county.
If possible in areas where there is going to be long runs of unrestricted water flow, try installing rock check dams in the ditch to break up and slow the flow velocity. This is a recognized BMP in Erosion & Sediment Control Plans (ESCP)
What is a good way to dump it off the side of the road? The ground is so hard in the cut that it would be very difficult to put a pipe in.
well a wide gentle swale would likely work, add some riprap in the deep part
That's where your water checks come in. The water should drain down the uphill edge of your road and when it hits the checks it flows across the flat road and down the hill. Keeping then close prevents much water in any one spot. There should be a flat spot of a few feet on the uphill side of the check so the water spreads out as it flows across the road in a hard rain event. This has been the standard operating procedure in the mountains for many years. A pipe concentrates the water and will require some outlet protection to protect the slope.
The local farm dealer was an IH tractor dealer. They didn't sell vehicles, but I presume they got good prices on IH vehicles. All their trucks were IH. The youngest family member now 70 bought a Scout like that one. In VT autos rusted out in five years. I was a teenager then. I cut off the rusty body behind the driver's seat, plated the back, and moved the back window forward. I prettied it all up, and painted it in the white cab, red body. The newly created "pickup bed" was of angle frame painted black, with pressure treated wood floor, and sides. They were painted red. Actually it was quite sharp. He drove it many years. I owned one Scout briefly, but found them inferior to Jeeps in almost every way. Willie
Well I made it through the wettest winter in years and things went pretty well. I did a bunch more road building with the TD-18 ( now known as Victory ) I got my commercial drivers license and a '78 International for $2,500 and a Miller tilt deck trailer also for $2,500. Well, now used equipment just keeps coming my way...
I'm just going to post a string of pictures of some of the work on the road I built and the new one I did this spring. I'm just taking a clean up pass after the hard winter rains. There wasn't much to do. It is so rocky the water didn't do much. No wonder is was so hard to cut!
Tooth loaded onto the blade and ready for the long walk across the property and the creek to the other road building job Down here - on the way to the creek is where it got very muddy and my scout almost got stuck several times. I'm trying to clean it up just a bit with "Victory" ( the TD-18 ).. I'm not sure I didn't make it worse though. Heading down across the creek - Don't tell on me!
I decide I couldn't afford a sky crane to lift it over so...... Ready to start the road out the other side!
Lot's of trees down over the winter so the new chainsaw is always at hand. Up the mountain and planning the route
Some of it pretty steep and muddy.
The camera battery died so I didn't get any more shots of this cut but I got it done and it is nice now.
Started using the '45 MB jeep to get to the work since it didn't want to sink in and turn the grass to mud like the Scout.
This spring was my friend birthday so I made him this clock out of a surplus connecting rod.
Weather getting warmer!
Lots of rocks in this cut!
A happy place for old equipment!
Couple of shots from the truck show. Yep - that's a 4-71T in that little GMC!
Spent more time running the chainsaw in here than the Dozer! Can you see "Victory" in the middle of the picture?
Loaded up the air compressor, tools, oil drain pans etc. and did an oil change right here on this cut. "Victory" has worked hard over the last year and she deserved 7 gallons of fresh oil!
This last week I got a new tool to help me out with the road work! 1961 Austin western Grader with a 4-71 for $2500. It was a heavy load on the way home. The NTCC 350 Cummins was slow with this load. I'm glad I had hooked up the Jake brakes!
'Got a thing for vintage 4x4's. You guys down under know what this is. It's about half the weight of the MB jeep so it should really get around my road building job!
Gotta love an old scout though!!
Yair . . . chevy43. that Looks like a Suzuki or a Diahatsu. If its a Suzuki it could be a three cylinder two stroke. Cheers.
It is Suzuki. To me it looks to be smaller than any model ever boated to US. These very small Japanese 4x4s make real nice poor man's four wheelers. I say this as the owner since 1969 of a 1947 Jeep. I'm very loyal to the Jeep, but had a wonderful time with an Isuzu my brother in law gave to my son when it wouldn't pass safety inspection again. These things lack approach, departure, and belly angles, but seem happy to drag their entrails over anything. I'm very taken with the very wide range of speed the engine stays happy. In a gear without shifting I can crawl, or go 15 MPH. Willie
The jury is still out on the Detroit in the pickup. A wonderful choice of engine, I can't imagine the obstacles you overcame shoe horning that engine in! I want to see it move down the highway. From 80 HP 120 foot pounds to 350 HP 400 foot pounds must be incredible! I might hesitate because of the noise. Detroit is perfect for pull tractors, log skidders, and big trucks. Taking the Mrs. out on Sunday for a leisurely drive powered by Detroit might be too loud. Willie
That Detroit isn't mine. It sure is heavy for that truck, but it's just his rat-rod I guess. My Suzuki is an LJ20 2cyl 360cc water cooled model made in '72. There was an LJ10 air cooled version before this model. They were sold in the USA in '71-'72 era.