Please help me find a Snow Cat!!!

[BigAl]

Hi Everyone,
I am trying to locate a older model "Tucker" Snow Cat to buy.
It can be "Parts" , a "Basket Case" or "Complete Running Unit" . /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I have been to the other web sites,also Ebay, and thought I would try here .I am also"VERY" interested in buying a "Kristi" or a "SnowTrac" style snow cat in any condition !!!. Anyone know of a machine sitting in a field ,barn, shop,etc???
!!I will pay a finders fee on anything I buy !! Hey Christmas is coming and we can all use a little extra money !!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
There must be one sitting around unused and forgotten somewhere ?I am in California/Idaho. I don't mind having to travel to get one . Call me at 530-265-8079 ,email at hutson@localnet.com or reply here at TBN .
Thanks to all ,
Allen

 

[Code54]

I would check out the local want ads in the newspapers for the CO and surrounding states - they seem a bit more popular there. Also may want to check ski resorts and around them, they may sell off the old ones.
Good luck! I will look around here for you but WV is limited on that kind of stuff...

 

[BigAl]

Thanks ! I appreciate it very much . Yes I have looked over the newspapers for the western states . A lot of the stuff in the ski resorts is newer than I am looking for . I am looking for 1940- 1972 era snowcats . Thanks again
Allen

 

[JJT]

How big? How far are you willing to travel? Here's 1 just a few miles away from me:

snow cat - Bombardier, w/plow, needs work, $1550 B/O Amsterdam, NY (518) 842-0619 Eves

 

[BigAl]

Hi & Thanks ,
We looked at the Bombardier ,when we first started looking . I am 6-4 and a Bombi seemed to be a little tight . It was a bombi BR100 (I think ) .I know they make different models though . I need one that will carry 4-6 people .
Allen

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Al, take a look at SafetyOne. They are the largest Snow Cat dealer in the world and have used machines, parts and training. There is a page that is sort of hard to find on their site that even gives buying advice on what to look for when buying used equipment.

http://www.sotc.com/snow.sale.html

Snow Cats & Snow Dogs article: http://www.sotc.com/snowdogs.html

I found my 6 to 7 passenger Snow Trac on an English military surplus site that listed all sorts of military and non-military equipment. If SafetyOne can't help you out, you may want to do a web search of the military sites. I imported mine from England but there are some scattered around the US and Canada. Tahoe Basin seems to be a hot spot for Snow Tracs as they are popular on estates, easy to maintain, reliable and very capable. BTW, I don't recommend trying to import one, it took several months to make arrangements, get clearances, etc. and then another 6 weeks to transport it. I was lucky to have a seller willing to put up with the hassle of packing it up, transporting it to the dock, etc.

You may also want to consider the Studebaker Weasel, some were equiped for Snow and will hold the number of passengers you are looking to carry.

Volvo made some great articulated snow cats that you might want to consider, the British military switched from Snow Trac's to Volvos during the cold war.

 

[BigAl]

Hi Bob ,
Yes, I have already talked with Barb at SOTC . I do like the looks of the Snow Trac . I know all about importing into the U.S. I picked up a 1847 antique snow sleigh from Canada . Oh Boy ! What I nightmare ! It took two months ! I talked with a real nice fella who has a Snow Trac today and he told me he thought I would be better off with a Tucker because of the terrain I will be in . Tucker has been my first choice but then Mother saw a picture of a Snow Trac and now wants one . I do have a couple of leads on a couple here in the states for sale . I also just got off the phone on a Kristi KT2 and a KT4 . Sure wish it was a KT3 . I would already be hooked up to the trailer and on the road to pick it up . I also found a BV202 in Sweden that the owner is checking on the shipping cost as we speak . I told him he ships to my door or I am not interested !I went and looked at a Thiokol 601 in great shape on Friday . Boy ! Those things are huge ! Seats 12 people ! I here they will go anywhere ,but I know little about them . There is actually a Weasel that was listed on ebay today .I do love the Tucker Kitten but need more room than 2 passenger Kitten .
Thanks for the information.
Allen

 

[Bob_Skurka]

So???? What is the latest update? Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Can you get the Volvo shipped over from Sweden in reasonable time? Is your better half set on the Snow Trac because of looks? Any leads on a Tucker? Since Tucker is your first choice which model are you looking at and would you accept a short cab version and then be willing to fabricate a passenger cab behind it to suit your needs? I ask that only because I found a Tucker on the internet a while back, it was only a 2 seater.

When I did another search recently I found it is still for sale. Douglass Sales, Tucker Snow Cat

 

[BigAl]

Hi Bob ,
I bought a Kristi for myself to use last night . It is the KT4 in a soft top pickup design , The soft top is long gone ,but otherwise it is pretty much complete. They were used in tundra and swampy conditions as well as snow . The tracks can be extended verticle an addition 16" for deeper water fording . It uses a corvair motor which is frozen up so now I am looking for one ,if anyone out there has one .It will be a major restoration job!
I am also waiting to hear from a guy today who has a "prototype snowcat" made by a major snowcat company that was never put in production . It is complete and needs nothing and he uses it regularly . He has agreed to sell it to me and I am waiting to hear the price today . I won't even show a picture of it or tell you the brand until I get it in my possesion .Wish me luck !!!
And lastly ,I put a offer on a older Thiokol 601 that has been completely rebuilt and is ready to go that would be for the wife .This one will get a new "polished wood interior" like the old travel trailers in the 1940's had.
I am still looking for more snowcats so keep the messages coming .
Allen

 

[Bob_Skurka]

The Kristi's are cool machines, I'd have gotten one if I could have found one of those. I've not seen the soft top configuration so it would be nice if you posted some photos!!! As with the KT4, my Snow Trac is at home on gravel, sand, mud, muck and snow. So really they are all season vehicles. Good luck on the restoration. I'll be spraying in a RhinoLiner floor in mine very soon (possibly tonight if I get out to the shop to finish taping off everything that shouldn't get sprayed). I'm gathering you won't get the Kristi up and running before the snow gets deep since you don't have an engine. But I suspect a Corvair engine would be a fairly easy find.

I'm not familiar with the unit you're getting for your wife. Is that one of those square box type snow cats that sort of look like an old flat nose bus on tracks? If so, that could make for an interesting interior. Based on what you wrote, I'm thinking "airstream" camper interior.

 

[BigAl]

The convair motor now seems to be the hot ticket for custom built airplanes . Just my luck! And your right ,the KT4 is going to take quite awhile if I can get all the parts working and to put her back together .
I have been on the phone almost all day on the Prototype I am after . The seller is having second thoughts since it has been in the family from day one !
The thiokol is a proven solid machine that can go just about anywhere . Yes ,it is boxy and that is what I do not like about it . It will get a built in bar /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif( for Me) , stereo , GPS, Satelite phone and DVD . Jeez! Sounds better than my house /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif . The things one does to keep the grandkids entertained and Grandma happy ! It I had a lick of sense ,I would just buy it and forget about the Kristi .I talked with the Thiokol owner tonight and we are pretty close on a agreement . I am difinitely going to put in a new polished Birch wood interior to make it a little more cozy and not so plain looking , if i get it . I do love a challenge !
Al

 

[BigAl]

Bob ,
Here is a link to a picture of a KT4 . Mine is a open style but with a front window called a "pickup style"

http://www.kristisnowcat.com/images/kt4-1.jpg

 

[sark]

Hello, Try inlandtrack.com in Toronto, I am pretty sure they have a few snow cats there, the website isnt much, dont judge them by that, call them. Drop me a note if I can help, I live near there and have occasion to pop in from time to time for Bombi parts.
Bruce
sark@sympatico.ca

 

[BigAl]

Hey Thanks alot !
OK I just returned from Colorado picking up my new toy . Here is a link to it . http://www.sotc.com/specsheets/kristi.kt7.1.html

It is the actual one in the picture ,though much worst for wear . So now the restoration starts . I got it home ,replaced and checked fuilds ,new battery ,fixed the wiring problem that was grounding out the whole system ,added new fuel and it fired right off . It had been setting for about 4 years . I left it chained to the trailer when I started it and started figuring out the controls before releasing the chains and backing it off the trailer .
Tracks need to be replaced which was expected on a 40 year old machine . Fiberglass patch and repair to about two dozen holes drilled for various reasons through the years ,new paint inside and out , new updated interior, new weatherstripping ,new carpet and rubber floor mats and I might be ready to test it out .
It also came with a after market complete second hydrualic system for towing various snow grooming equipment . That will be removed so the rear seat can be reinstalled since this will be a "people hauler" and not used to groom snow trails .
The steering is set up just like a airplane cockpit complete with steering yoke and level flight indicator . The body hydrualic tilting mechanics work just fine and it is very strange to feel the body tilt from side to side or front to back . I have been told that only 4 were ever made and that they were all prototypes . The first one had a steel body and was a failure and just to heavy to be pactical . Mine is #004 . If anyone knows where the other two( #002 & #003) are located , I would sure like to know . The company owner was killed in a airplane crash and the company folded up shortly there after, stopping all future manufacturing .