My grandpa left me this D8 cat and i don't know much about. I was hoping that someone might be able to share any information that they might know. Thanks in advance!
.Wow, what a beastie! Do you know how to start it? operate it? Do you have a blade that comes with it. Plenty of people will point you in the right direction for anything you need to know.
I don't think this tractor has ever had a blade on it, can't see any sheeves on the front or trunions on the track frame. It has to be a keeper.
Probably used for farming...but you can get all kinds of help at www.acmoc.org , besides the helpful guys here.
It's got a cable control unit in the back so it must have spent it's life pulling a can.
I could very well be wrong but it looks like a D7-7M 30ish.
What do you say Ozdozer?
OzDozer is still typing.
The tractor is a 1H or 8R D8 from the late 1930's or early to mid 1940's. In nice complete shape, she's fitted with a LeTourneau cable control unit (power control unit as LeT called them), and I'd guess she's been pulling a pan as there's no sign of any blade trunnions. It's well worth saving. The 1H D8 was a massive 107 belt HP in the late 1930's, but got a boost to 131 FHP with a higher full load engine speed of 950 RPM in 1940! These D8's and the D7 3T were the mainstay of the massive earthmoving effort during WW2. Cat produced 9999 1H tractors before they switched over to the 8R prefix in 1941, and another 9999 8R's were built before Cat switched again to the 2U prefix in 1945. Caterpillar didn't manufacture with 5 digit serial numbers in this era, so when they got to tractor number 9999, they switched the prefix to a new one. The tractor serial number tag will be on the left upper rear of the engine block behind the pony engine, and there should also be a S/No tag on the upper vertical rear face of the steering clutch case. Sometimes the CCU hides this tag, or it has been knocked off. I can't find a precise location diagram for the rear S/No tag, for the 1H tractor, but the location diagram for the 2U tractor shows the tag as being just above the recess for the LH diagonal trackframe brace.
Found this photo.
That's a nice, twin-stack high-output D8, a 2U or 13A series.
The site where I got that photo is calling it a 8R.
Nope, that site got it wrong. There never were any high-output, twin-stack, 8R tractors - the HO D8 did not appear until the early 1950's, several years after the 8R series ended.
The serial number on my 1H is up near the front of the engine under the water pump area. It was set up with twin stacks at one time although not a high output.
As well as the HO D8, Cat also produced (in late 1953) the D8 Pusher tractor (13A), which was a D8 with a heavier frame, a heavily modified engine with more HP, higher full load RPM (1200 RPM), a counterweight, and a modified transmission with lower forward gears and higher reverse gears, specifically built for pushing pans. The Interstate Highways development program was starting to ramp up in this era, and Cat were looking to keep in front with D8's that were capable of moving a lot of dirt, pushing and pulling pans, on the sizeable amount of Interstate Highway construction work that was happening in those years. I don't know how many D8 Pushers were built, or how many have survived. They just came off the production line as 13A series D8's, same as the standard D8's, and there was nothing initially to make them stand apart - until you got into the Pusher specifications, and engineering changes. They were around 3 tons heavier than a standard factory 13A D8 of the time.
I only see one lever on the OP's photo. All the machines that I worked on that were scraper machines had two levers and two winches side by side on the back of the machine. There was a 13A at one of the places I worked. There was no Johnson bar, forward/reverse shifter. You had to shift the single transmission lever into each gear which was a pain if the clutch brake wasn't adjusted properly and the PTO didn't work unless the clutch was engaged. I would be really interesting to see more photos of the subject machine. The gear levers, the winch or winches and the right side of the complete machine. Judging from the rust and the depth that the machine appears to have sunk into the ground, it would take a great amount of money to make it run or be moved.
I was thinking it hadn't sat there long because it would be deeper if it was there through a spring thaw. Hard to judge soil and water table through a picture though. No promises how much it takes to get running.
All I have to say is don't scrap it. I think way too many old machines have been. I be wanting to get it in a covered area out of the elements.
https://heritagemachines.com/nostalgia/the-caterpillar-d8-crawler/
It's already spent more than most of our lives outside. Get it up on a rock pile, fog both engines, put some SCA in the antifreeze or rinse it out if it's empty, keep the exhaust covered, that's enough work if you can't or don't have the time to get it working now.
Thank you everyone for all of the input! Any places I should post this for someone who might be interested in buying/saving it? I would like it to go to someone who values it.
Antique Caterpillar Enthusiast-Face Book.
Thanks for the info!
It is a 8R. Bad Bob
Well darn me if it isn't an 8R, too. My eyes aren't what they used to be. It's been "hotted up" with twin stacks and disc idlers, whereas the original idlers were spoked. But the radiator tanks show it's an earlier model, the 2U and 13A had the rounded "hardnose" for mounting cable control or hydraulics. Here's Mike McWiilliams genuine Hi-Output D8 at work. I remember when he first found this tractor in the early 2000's, he was on the old ACMOC forum regularly, back then. California seems to be full of great antique Cats.
If you can stand up on the fender and take a picture of the transmission levers. Bad Bob
A farmer out by my property has an old cable D8 that runs decent but the tracks are completely shot so he can't use it. Can't remember if he said it was an R or a D. What do you do when the undercarriage is shot on an otherwise good running old dozer? It's not worth putting new UC on it.
Dave, the value of an old tractor is in the undercarriage condition. Worn-out undercarriage means the tractor is scrap, unless you want to over-invest in it with new undercarriage. I can remember someone on the ACMOC forum digging up a set of long-buried tracks for a Caterpillar Sixty. They were still quite useable when cleaned up. Sometimes it's possible to acquire a set of useable tracks from a parted-out tractor, but it's relatively rare. I picked up an RD-4 about 2009 to prevent the scrappers getting it, it had been abandoned out in a field for at least 35 years and utilised as a parts source. It only had one track left, and that track had rails like knives, and every roller was about 150% worn, I've never seen any undercarriage so bad. The cylinder head, injection pump, pony engine, and entire dash was gone, the cylinders were full of water, and the crankshaft was snapped in the middle! The big end bearings had .050" clearance! The radiator was scrap, the bevel gear and transmission pinion were chewed right out, and the clutch was a ball of rust! The top was off the transmission, and most of the shafts were beyond saving. I did manage to save the steering clutches and final drives, and another collector bought the flywheel housing. I found the fender fuel tank in a shed, being used as fuel storage! But overall, that poor old RD-4 is typical of old tractors, they have normally been abused into the ground, they've oftentimes done 20,000-30,000 hrs, and endured many rebuilds and reconditioning. A lot of the time you find old worn-out tractors have been rebuilt, using 2 or 3 tractors, to make 1!
I think if someone had the time and the bushings weren't too bad, the rails, rollers and idlers could be built up and possibly new sprocket rims adapted. Way too much work for most people though.
Where in MN is this located, just going from one side of the state to the other could cost more than it's worth, not even considering going corner to corner. Lots of people would want one, but lots of them already have one or more, so not that desperate to go a long ways to get another.
It’s located an hour from Grand Rapids Mn
It can sometimes be hard to identify specific older models because of modifications and updates made since it left the factory. Very common to see machines listed as being way newer than they are with newer decals slapped on them. I think some/a lot of used equipment dealers purposely try to deceive unsuspecting customers. Then they try to play dumb when confronted about it.
A small number of unscrupulous contractors in my neck of the woods would hoodwink farmer clients by applying incorrect decals to their Cats. They'd decal a D7 as a D8, or a D8 as a D9. 99% of their clients had no idea of what size tractor they were hiring, and simply paid more accordingly. I don't know that any of them were ever charged with fraud, as they should've been. The problem is that tractors always continually changed in size and horsepower, and we've even seen Cat re-badge more than one size tractor to another size. I used to give my tractors a cosmetic overhaul about every 3 years - knock out the dents, repaint them all over, and apply new decals. More than one farmer, upon sighting the cosmetic overhaul would say to me, "Oh, so you've bought a new Cat?" They were mightily surprised when I informed them it was the same Cat as last year, it had just had the "birthday" treatment.
Here is a little better view of it.
It's always a shame when old stuff gets junked though the people complaining about it usually don't have the means to buy it, let alone get it back into operating condition. Chidog, you might be the exception, I don't know your situation. There's a thread on here about a bunch of logging equipment left in the Alaskan bush that got scrapped. It's sucks it's gone though it wasn't worth it to put it back to work, there isn't a line of collectors waving $100 bills to buy it, and the forest circus wanted it gone. This tractor really cool though unfortunately it's become a lot out dated. If it had a blade someone might buy it with hopes of pushing some dirt around the homestead. There's always the restoration crowd though many of them already have one. A collector or farmer needing a parts machine might pop up. I'm wondering if a riche bros rebuild (5 gallons of cat yellow) might make it a nice piece of yard art in the fort yard of an excavating company or an old operator's house. It's winter, some excavating company might need a project to keep one of their guys busy in the shop instead of laying them off. I'd throw it on facebook and craigs list and see if anyone actually shows up after 200 messages wasting your time. A slightly side tracked story, I tried to give some power tools away on facebook last month, after way too many messages, a couple no shows, and some guy having a barely understandable melt down about the world being mean to him after I didn't respond to his message in 3 minutes I threw them in the trash can.
There were good machines buried up North because it was too much work to get them out of where they were.
Maybe call the King of Obsolete ? http://kingofobsolete.ca Joe H
He has not posted since December 9th very unusual hope all is well with Him.
I meant updated his website
Joey Barnes, King of Obsolete is posting a daily video on YouTube. His videos are interesting, educational and fun. I look forward to them every day. This is his new job now and he takes it seriously along with his many books on Amazon.
The old D8 will only appeal to a wealthy collector who desires one, and doesn't have one in his collection. They're a heavy chunk of iron to haul around, so you need to hire or own a lowbed. That's the main reason why D2's and D4's are so popular amongst so many people, they can be hauled around more easily.