old wheel dozer, unsure of make Found this machine setting in a bone yard for mainly cranes altough there were some other equipment there. This particular one has me puzzled to the exact model. I believe I caw catipillar on the valve cover, but i could be wrong.
I'm guessing LeTorneau, by the blade lift mechanism. Also looks like a Detroit engine from what I can see. Possibly old Euc or Terex by the green paint though???
That's definitely a LeTourneau Tournadozer, no question about it. I'll be dammed if I could tell you which model or variant it is though. Brian
ok, now that I know where to start looking... I'd agree that its letourneau rather than cat. And since the other equipment around it is d7h or 8h and 955 loaders, the tournadozer cant be a model "a" they were 750hp. B's were 300, C's were 160 ish at at one time had a cummings hrb-600 motor. They were also the most common. And there was also a 143hp D variant. Anyone else have more info to add? Btw, I'm not that well up on letourneau's stuff but I can figgure out a search engine.... http://www.constructionequipment.com/article/CA624077.html
Next good question Has anyone here ever ran a Tournadozer? If so, care to tell us about the experience?
Take any pics of the other good stuff there? alan627b
I wonder if Deas plant and roll over pete have ever been in one of those beasts...
Your inference being???????????????? Hello, Stumpjumper83. And just what might you be inferring with that question? That ROP and I are approaching ancient even? LOL. I have just been right through the LeTourneau Archive by Phil Gowenlock and could not find a photo of any beast like it. Having said that, in spite of there being a LOT of photos of LeTourneau machines in that book, I doubt if it covered every model they ever made. And I have to agree that the blade lift arrangement looks more LeTourneau than any other make I can think of. Ditto the cab layout and controls. At a guess, I'd say it has a Tournamatic transmission in it, going by the trans control lever. With all of that, there is still something about the main frame and wheel arches that puzzles me. I have 2 other LeTourneau books here. Given time, I will take a wander through them to see what comes up.
That is a LeTourneau Westinghouse model C Tournadozer. They're not too bad to operate once you get used to the feel of them and they're very powerful. Very little downpressure on the blade but its heavy ! Good for pushing scrapers, good in the sand especially as they were hard to bog down. :my2c
According to my LaTourneau book it is a model C Tournadozer. A 160 hp Buda was the standard engine and Detroit and Cat were options. Jerry
how does that thing steer???
like a really big skid steer i believe.... Deas, I figgured that with all your experience, you at least had a chance. You probably have more time in the seat than I have time on earth... If you look at the pic of the rear of the machine you can see a piece of angle iron weldeded to the frame. Could the fenders be fabricated? Or from a wheel loader or something?
Tournadozer That is a Model'C' Dozer with a 671GMC Motor/ Blade is 11'3'' wide/Operating wieght about 28000 lb. Someone has made the fenders. It looks to have been a Army unit at one time. They had 100's of these machines. I would guess it to be 1951 to 1954 vintage. I own two of these dozers,One is a 1948 with a Buda engine and Air winch for the Blade control. The other one is a 1953 Model with the 671 GMC and it is all electric control for the Blade lift/ Power down on the Blade and Tilt. It also has the PCU Units mounted on each side instead of togather on the rear to balance the machine out alittle better for high speed travel. From what history I can find on this machine there were only 50 built like it for the Army to test. Even thru I own two of them I have never operated one as I have been gathering parts to restore them. Tires are a little hard to come by,2100x25's haven't been made for awhile. Just picked up a Buda that was on a sawmill in PA and got it running so hoping to have the 48 Model up and running next year. dpull
I used to drive past a farm in manitoba all the time and there was one of them beasts siting beside his barn. I was always going to stop and talk to the old guy about it, but never got the time. as far as I could tell, it hasent moved for years and is still there. thanks for solving the question of what it was.
Here is our old spare. 1986 Michigan 280 C Cummins power Chip Dozer/Wheel Dozer
Kinda big screen used for air filter on that Detroit, dont ya think? tc
When I was a kid(now 55) my Dad had three Tournadozer's aand spent alot of time back in the 1960's riding on them with him.He told me alot aabout them. He had three of 'em. 1946,48 and '51. He said the Buda had the most power. The 51 had a jimmy in it. I can still hear it run like it was yesterday. Dad was one of the lucky ones that could have the patients to work on those as they broke down alot. He also could run one very well and from 1949 thru 1965 he did alot of work with them. I have 8mm movie pictures of him running them and pics of me on them along with 2 manuals. They were way ahead of thier time. Dad liked the all electric control panel. Wish he was alive today,he had a fond memory of running them. Hey guys how many are left out there? I'll bet they would be a nightmare to find parts for. Get a hold of me if you have one.
Tournadozer, the original skidsteer There's 2 of them where my coupe is parked, must take a pic when they're fired up & in action. There's also a wabco ? crane in a shed nearby too.
The Buda and Cummins were quiet running compared to the Detoit which you could hear running miles away. Dad had a V snow plow and would put about 1 ton of fluid in each tire for extra weight for traction in the winter. He liked to take the cab off in the summer. These machines gave off alot of heat. The electric motor that raised the dozer was 50hp and made alot of noise when working. Tournadozers would humble alot of guys to run them. Dad put alot of terraces in and cleared alot of trees with them. Parts back then were very expensive when they broke down. The seats on the 51's and up were a pretty cool bucket type seat. If you could run one the correct way back then they would outwork a D8 anyday.
Also if you have a Buda they were bought by Allis Chalmers and that engine had alot of room for more power and found it's way into HD21's putting out some serious hp down the road.
Hi Lance, Good to hear that there are some others out there that know about the Tournadozers. I have a 1948 with the Buda 844 in it and a 1953 with the 671. Both of mine need work but I keep pecking away at them when I can. Have you ever thought about getting your 8mm movies copyed on a DVD? That would be pretty cool to see your movies sometime. I also have a 'D' Tournapull that I took up to the HCEA Show. Roy and Ben Letourneau were there and I got to spend some time with them. Nice as people as you would ever want to be around. Any chance you kept any of your Dads LET stuff? dpull
I remember the local county highway dept. had a Tournadozer that they put a Vee plow on in the winter. They used to use it mostly for pushing back instead of a grader with a wing on it. What a monster for snow. They always followed it with a truck with a one way on it to clean up. Oh ya, you could hear that GM 2 cycle coming from a mile away.
dpull,I'm not very good at putting things on the computer so I would have to copy all the photo's and send them to you. I have the 8mm on vidieo and need to put them on DVD. I had an english teacher in junior high that did'nt know I knew who RG LeTouneau was one day he was telling our class about the most interesting man he ever meet. From then on he told me many stories about him and how awe inspiring he was. I have the original news article from the AP in the paper when LeTourneau died. If you have any pics you could send email of your dozers that would be great. I'll work on making copies of what I have. Thanks Lance Tyner
Lance, Like you I'am not to up on the computer stuff, I still have dial up and use a 35mm camera. Really would like to get updated sometime soon. Maybe we could get togather on a P/M and exchange addresses. I have a couple of pictures here of the Dozers. I have a friend who has his 'C' completely restored like new and he also has a front engine 'D' that he has redone. My GrandDad used the 1948 Dozer quite abit back in the 1950 thru the early 1960's. Mostly to push load the 'D' Pulls that he had. Many times I heard him talk about how good it was as a push tractor. I have built some Letourneau toys and enjoy doing it in the winter when I have no dirt work or snow to plow. There not perfect but not too bad for a dirt guy who never built any toys. The Letourneau Brothers really liked them when I showed them at the HCEA Show last year. dpull
I had a friend describe a wheel dozer nearby to me and I told him it was a Letourneau. We went right then and sadly saw the burnt remains of it. A towing company bought it to take the sheaves off it for a wrecker. They hacked it ripped the motor out of it and set it onfire. THe owner was gone at the time and told me he almost cried. I dont know if its still there or no my be some parts the tires were still there. He said they cleared for the forest companies with a rake and a regualr blade. He said it would run circles around his brothers D7. He like the roadability of it to. He had another one that they had converted it over to hydraulics from an old Michigan wheel dozer that was being parted out.
I have 4 x Australian LW16's on our farm in south Qld, Australia. They do not have the side blade bars, instead they have a frame pivoting under the machine to give massive powered tilt on the blade. They have 471GM's with 3 speed auto. 2 will go again but currently under repair. One is forward control while the other is normal rear control. My father and I have put around 10,000 hours + on the rear control machine over the last 40 years. It has cleared scrub, sunk dams, leveled house pads, and most recently pushed fire breaks in a major bush fire which burnt out around somewhere near 100,000 acres near our property. Awesome machines when operated properly!
love to see any pics you have.The Tourodozers were awesome from what I have heard, though I never saw one in real, thanks
USA nade LW16 6/71Dd the LW$-14 was made in Austraila,Sygney witha4/71 DD
Let Tournatractor model C.
The Australian Army had LW16 Tournadozers in the 1950's and 1960's, and I even have a licence to say I can drive one! 4-71 GM diesel, 5 speed crash gearbox and foot clutch, and the finest in A/C cabs! Biggest mongrel of a thing to try and do a level push with, that you could ever sit on. They bounce like a trampoline, and no matter how experienced an operator you are, it's nearly impossible to do a level cut unless you have a full blade. They were good scraper pushers and they could push fast. That, and the fact that the original air-operated, multi-plate disc brakes, would stop you faster than any brake ever made before or since - are about their only redeeming features!! I'm pretty sure the later model WABCO-built LeTourneau's threw out the LeTourneau disc brakes, and replaced them with crap WABCO drum brakes! http://i46.tinypic.com/mmwt3a.jpg Here's another one that worked in a gypsum mine on Kangaroo Island, off the coast from Adelaide, South Australia, in the early 1970's. The young fella in the seat is now around 50 years of age, I believe. The gypsum mine closed in 1982. http://i47.tinypic.com/2hcm2pi.jpg
there is a company around Buffalo that was one or two of these they plow snow with!
I was in the Army from 60 to 63, did my time in France, we had a fleet of these Tractors, we knew the as T Ds, Most didnt have Blades we had 3 or 4 the had Blades but the rest Had Bush Blocks om the front, we were pulling Pans wjth them, I think they were 18 Yd pan, we worked most of my time over there Building a Rail Road from the main French Line ti a American Ammo dumo about 15 miles way, as on said about the seats, They had the Best Bucket seat that i have ever seen, no moving parts, these machines bounce a lot, but with the seat you didnt feel it, They broke down a Lot, Most of the problems were Air, trouble, every this workede off of air, Brakes, & Shift, another thing the ones with blades were geard just a little slower in all gears, The winches that ran the pans were elect. on hill land with a loaded Pan they could be tricky to Operate, being the pan was so far behind the center of the tires if you were going down hill & in a curve if you pulled the wrong Clutch you could jackknife quick, they were fun to operate, but Very Nosy, the one we had looked just like the one above, they all had 671 Jimmys,
If you want another LW 16. There is one for sale at Lawgie. Dawes. Between Biloela and Monto. Contact Jennifer Pool. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/796032411597555/
Seems with the right operator they could run a blade pretty well unlike modern skid steer loaders. There was a huge 8 wheel dozer made by Melroe. Melroe Multi-Wheel Rubber Tire Dozer - Bing video
Cat also had some D6 conversions with 4 large wheels.
The unit I was with in the NZ Army's had 2 LW16s. They had WABCO air operated brakes and steering clutches. 4-71 power 3speed Allison powershift transmission. Each had it's own package of ancillary equipment, CCU, rippers and conventional winch. The steering on them was pathetic to say the least, you had to be thinking a mile ahead in order to make a turn. The other thing they would do when roading them was to flick the FNR lever into reverse when they hit a bump. That would knock any complacency out of you and get the adrenalin flowing at 100mph. Other than those things they were perfectly matched for push loading D Pulls. PS, a mate found out they can float in rivers.