Doubt I can get this old Cletrac running...

[mopardude318]

So here lies an old Cletrac that belonged to my girlfriend's dad. It WAS running 20 some odd years ago, but he parked it right here and that was it, I don't know what could be wrong with it. He sadly passed away a few years ago.

After bringing his old Oliver 550 back to life that sat for just as long, maybe I can get this thing running again. It's in rough shape, guess I can start by checking if the engine isn't seized. Any advice? This one will be a little more difficult than the Ollie. LOL

I might have to pull the radiator/front nose area to see if I can get to a crank bolt pulley or something. I don't know. I'll really need some help from you guys on this one.. LOL

The 2 brother in laws think I'm nuts, but I would get a kick out of it if the family saw this old thing run again.

 

[dfkrug]

Definitely go for it since it interests you.

Looks like late 30's 6-cyl gasoline-powered. 2-way front blade makes it a usable machine. Just don't assume you can sell it for any real money after you get it going.

 

[fried1765]

Definitely go for it since it interests you.

Looks like late 30's 6-cyl gasoline-powered. 2-way front blade makes it a usable machine. Just don't assume you can sell it for any real money after you get it going.

In the early 70's I bought a used OC-46-3G
3 cylinder gas powered Oliver 5/8 yd. crawler loader.
Good little machine, but too small for what I needed.

For the OP: Look the under carriage over very carefully, before you even begin to try to get it running.

If the under carriage is nearly new,..... then....MAYBE it is a worthwhile/fun project.
If not.....sell it for junk steel!
It weighs a lot!
Scrap steel prices are rising every day.

 

[MossRoad]

See if you can get the spark plugs out easily. If so, put some mystery oil in there for several days and when you do try and turn it with a wrench, leave the plugs out. It's an easy test.

 

[Stimw]

I would jump on that project and NEVER let a scrapper near it!
They aren't making Old Iron anymore.
I would pull out the plugs and check for rust then oil in the cylinders.
Hook up a battery and bump the starter if there is no rust.
I rescued an 8N and 9N from the woods 15 years ago and got both of them running and useable.
Sold them and broke even but don't regret it.
Funny how they controlled the blade with the brackets and cylinders.
In the ARMY I drove an old D-9 with 12' blade for 2 weeks and it had the blade cable controlled with a lever for cable up/down.
I thought that was primitive but it worked!

 

[mopardude318]

Well I'm gonna give it a shot. It's just sittin there and my tools aren't far away.

Today I pulled the plugs, which came out easy, and poured some Marvel Mystery oil down the cylinders. Some of that oil made its way past the rings and was dripping out of the carburetor.

I checked the oil, it was low but it had some!

I took the Carb off, I'll take it apart and do a rebuild. The shift lever isn't stuck, I can shift into every gear with ease. Clutch pedal was movin nicely. Its got a front mounted hydraulic pump, so I don't think I'll be able to turn the engine over that way, I'll have to use the starter. These are probably positive ground machines? Not all the wiring is there, I'll have to figure out where to hook wires up to so I can bump the starter.

I can spin the PTO shaft out back by hand.

I took the seat off so I can gain access to this trans cover plate.

Not sure what this little lever does, PTO engagement?

 

[mopardude318]

Wow my pictures are massive.

 

[/pine]

The MMO may have just ran out of an open intake valve...if the machine was running when it was parked there is no reason for it not to run now with a little catch up maintenance...

if it turns over and has fire...give it a shot of fuel and kick it over...
buy a case of grease and a box of new jerk fittings...may need to heat a few things up...

will be an interesting thread...good luck

BTW...try Irfanview to size down your pics...simple to use and far and away the best free image software ever...!

 

[dfkrug]

Well, I hope you get it running. Lots of Cletrack stuff in our area, including a collector/restorer here in the mtns.

Several years ago I was attempting to help a friend restore this old 1930 Cat 20. The carb was a beautiful bronze Ensign unit with brass fitting. What a work of art. I restored it (photo), but never got to see it working.

Sadly, the friend died and this unit got taken to the scrap yard.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It just amazes me how totally functional such tools used to be. IF you are really interested, I would say go for it. But it will be thing, after thing, after thing that has to be addressed. If it were me, I would try and sell it to a dedicated collector and hopefully visit it, running some day. There would be joy in that for me. I don't need to own it for that.