I will need a small crawler to aid in clearing out slash, stump remains, and grading. I will then be putting in loblolly and white pine. I want to keep many of my hardwood trees. I will also be planting some hardwood after clearing the slash. I want a small crawler I can buy non-running, and either repower it or get it running. I've identified two candidates and I am soliciting opinions. Before I get the standard advice to buy one running and spend more money, I am burned out on spending more money only to have to correct other jackleg's mistakes. I also work for myself so I have time, I also have a small machine shop's worth of state of the art equipment(if it were 1966). Here are the two candidates: 1) Oliver Built Cletrac- 4 cylinder continental(maybe Hercules) gas, w/ front end loader. Non-running currently, would prefer to repower with an Isuzu diesel engine I own. Tracks and undercarriage look in unusually good condition for the machine's age. Transaxle fluids and condition looks good. Nothing stuck or obviously screwed up. $1000 is as low as he'd go on the price. 2) John Deere 440c- no loader. no blade. Non-running Johnny Popper Diesel engine. Engine appears cracked on a water jacket, fluids are not missing. I have some cast iron rod, if I can find an engine block oven, I can heat it up, drill out the ends of the crack, and then weld it up. Finish machine it, rebuild. Johnny P engines are not my favorite, if I could find a 3 cylinder Mitsubishi or Isuzu or Kubota engine, I'd replace it. This was used as a dozer, it was used by someone who did not respect it's size- in other words it is not a D7 but they treated it like one. I know they ran it too hot. The undercarriage will need some service, but not enough to cost more than a grand. The tracks look ok, seen better. Price $1500, after negotiation, low as he'll go. I live in an isolated area where things like this are hard to come by, and getting harder to come by every day as more get hauled off for scrap. Pros, cons, thoughts ? Accusations or Outright Threats and Promises Anyone ? Thank you for your time. Thank you for reading.
Can you get other parts for either, cause they sound old and will need other essentials along the way?
Geardoc, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'd vote to buy a slightly newer running machine, can you do everything you want to do to these machines, yes, but no matter how cheap you can do it, it still costs money, why not spend it on something that's new enough to still have get parts for, don't get me wrong you don't need the latest and greatest, but if you'd go with something still made, like case, cat, or a far newer deere, there are salvage yards that would have some parts and some might be available from a dealer as well. Even though the undercarriage is looking fine, if rollers go bad, which they will, you might have problems with the cletrax to get much for, drive sprockets are another concern, as are ring and pinion gears, clutches and some of thiose things. As for finding used machines and not having to contend with someone else's problems, the only way to avoid that is to buy new, everything used is someone else's cobbling and headaches, the older you go the worse it is.
Well said 88, been there, trying to save Gear some unseen trouble.
Go for it I would go for the Oliver CLetrac.It sounds like an OC3. The way they are built it would be easy to re power with that Nissan engine you have. With crawler tractors it is all in undercarriage. Even if you never finish or give up on the job you could part it out and make money on it. The JD sounds like junk. The OC 3 is kind of small nonetheless handy for getting in between trees and all. I had a HG with a blade, it was very handy. I wish I had never sold it. If you later find you need a bigger Cat, I would keep an eye out for a D2, D4, TD6-9, or HD5-6. Look for good undercarriage and you can't go too far wrong. Keep the OC 3 it will be handy too.
It's nice to see someone else who values their time at next to nothing. I thought we were a dying breed. Old age...the antidote to good sense. Most times I've gone the poor-boy route I later wished I had upgraded my entry level point to include the 'opportunity costs' of recreating the wheel only to find out 'free down time' was anything but. If I was in your position I would be looking for a machine where my creative skills as a mechanic and machinist were put into a machine that would hold its' resale value for the day I wanted to move up or divest myself of the equipment. Buying an older machine with questionable market value means all those improvements will be highly discounted if you ever want to sell it for more than scrap value. Basically what I'm alluding to is to look at the purchase as an investment with some kind of residual value that can be extracted once you get past the 'newbie' (for lack of a better term) stage, or just want to bail due to new horizons.
I always used to say that I had more time than money, everybody gets to a point where they realize that there time gets to be more valuable than money. Looking at all the time I have spent on rebuilding machines to try and save a few dollars was maybe not worth it. On the other hand, the pure enjoyment of taking a old piece of iron and completely rebuilding it and making it like new again is priceless. I think if your needing a machine to make a living with then you should buy the newest running machine that you can afford. If your needing this machine for something to just play with in the dirt then have a great time. Lets face it we all love playing in the dirt, we just got older and our toys got bigger.