the cab on my 1987 early model 426 is in sad shape, door bottoms are see-through, shame on CAT bigtime! I see some retro/upgrade tractor cabs but none of the sources I found do a cat-426, has anybody seen any?
My doors on my 1989 are pretty rusty. You say shame on them but this is a 30 years old machine....
I also have an old iH-B275, nothing's rusted on it, my father-in-law stll has his iH-300, same story, no cabins, never garaged. There are a good number of things on this 426 that are extremely poor design (access to the engine bay being another) and there isn't a thing in the world that'll change my mind about that. For a while I looked for used rusfree cabins, or at least affordable doors, problem is that just like for cars they'd come from arizona but then arizonans didn't buy these machines with cabins, only a roof
Here is burnt out cabin for sale. It says less doors.Maybe he sold them or is selling them separately. https://www.vanderhaags.com/detailview.php?part=24397712 and more being dismantled -----https:// www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/dismantled-machines/list/manufacturer/caterpillar/model/426
Thanks, i emailed them for some basic details but the trucking cost will likely be prohibitive, and also without the doors it's not that great a deal. The doors are in the worst shape on mine as you can guess.
They can get a lot more for the doors by selling them separate from the cab because the doors are in high demand for replacement. When I saw the doors on the cab in their photo I kind of thought that was the add said without the doors. I have found that by giving a commercial address to the shipper the trucking costs are quite a bit less than a residential address. I use a BP gas station for a commercial address and advise the trucking company to call when the driver gets close to the drop off. If you already know this or have a commercial address my info is worthless.
I have a usable surrogate address, the problem is distance and the x-border fact, mostly the distance. I've noticed meanwhile that the cabs were upgraded around '96 or '97 to what seems like a marguard greenhouse. I presume these don't rust as much and are maybe in less demand used but might still surface from time to time off wrecks. They might share the older mount-points. I have all winter to spot something, when I wrote the OP I was thinking maybe an existing kit to do he same but all I find are for the more popular GP tractors.
@fitterski did you get a price for the fire damaged cabin?
No reply yet, they were asking 500us which is too high even with door frames since trucking will at least triple that. I'm in eastern Quebec, way out in the sticks and transport to here is a perpetual nixer. But I asked them if that price was FOB because I've been surprised before by vendors coming back and saying that the price did not include removal )) I'm tending more to upgrade than to replace. There ARE a few salvage units from time to time with not too rusted doors but paying money for those would just get me a delay to be right back here again later. I have a friend in plastics who'll cut and bend me one-piece marguard doors but I have to come up with a drawing (that stuff is like $50cdn a foot if not 70!) and I don't even know what thicknesses they use on the new ones.
I need doors unless I want to repair mine, which I may do. I really could use the floor and fenders section of the cabin. Mine is pretty rusty and I need to fix the seat mounting. If I can get a new floor pan for $1000 or under I might just go that route. Paint the cabin with POR-15 and top coat with CAT yellow. It won't really rust if you do that.
Here is a 1988 in Ontario with decent looking doors. https://www.machinerytrader.com/lis...ent/dismantled-machines/33470311/1988-cat-426
Edgephoto ; Here is a decent looking cab in North Carolina. https://www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/dismantled-machines/31658235/cat-426
What does a floor pan consist of? Isn't that part of "the cabin"? My floor is a goner too. Years ago I replaced the removable panels with stainless but the front sides and the entire structure I guess are so far gone that the axle lock pedal is jacking itself through the rust about 1"