• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

1968 Tucker 442 New to Me

Track Addict

Track Addict

Bronze Member
I am new to the forum and the lucky proud owner of a tucker 442. I will get some pics up soon.

The tucker is in great shape. Runs and drives nice no leaks or issues other than cosmetic that I can see. The tracks are in excellent shape and I just lubed all the rollers. The pontoon shoes still have some adjustment left.

It has a 283 small block chevy in it three speed manual.

One pontoon has been reinforced in the back where the axel goes through. Also on this one the outside tucker cap is differnt. Actually says sno cat 443 and does not have a grease fitting. Others have tucker on them with greas fittings. Also seems to be some gap shere the axel goes into these. Looking at pics on line they all seem to have some free play here. Is this normal?

What is the proper track tension?
ARe there any new shoes/skids available for he bottom?
Can a rookie do some basic fiberglass patches?
Where can I get some door hinges?

Thanks in advance. Looking forward to workin with you all on getting this back to mint.
 
Wow I'm green with env.. no just kidding, good on you !
Yes please photos :w00t2:
What location and how did you find it ?
 
It has been sitting in warren nh since the 90's. Been trying to buy it since guy wouldn't sell. Last week he decided to. It worked As a trail groomer for the white mountain snowmobile club prior to him in Lincoln nh.

Now it sits in my heated garage in Haverhill mass
Fixing it up for winter use in some farmland I have access to.
 
Sounds like the machine that was on Craiglist earlier this summer.
Was it next to a barn / shed ? If so that is the one I posted up
here before asking about it. We were all debating wether the tracks were all frozen up or not.
Anyhow the one I mention was advertized as a 1970 for 4K.

On edit : you may want to contact Davenet here on the forum. He is in NH and I believe he
got one of the four cats of the group I'm now pretty sure yours comes from !
He has all the history on them, etc. BTW don't leave it outside unattended,
he'll tell you why !

Godd luck and post up your progress !
 
Last edited:
Dont think it was the same one . No barn $2500. I reached out to him. His came from the next town over from me. There may be two still there. Sent a pm waiting to hear back.
 
Think I got it right this time. Let me know what you think.
 

Attachments

  • photo.jpg
    photo.jpg
    85.6 KB · Views: 3,344
  • photo2.jpg
    photo2.jpg
    75.5 KB · Views: 3,539
  • photo3.jpg
    photo3.jpg
    65.9 KB · Views: 3,311
  • photo4.jpg
    photo4.jpg
    85.7 KB · Views: 3,322
  • photo5.jpg
    photo5.jpg
    75.9 KB · Views: 3,326
Runs and drives very well. Every roller took grease. Have a whole bucket of extra track pieces. Fuel tank is being dropped off today to test repair. Some new floor, seats, backk deck, tool box, tune up and I am in business.
 
Right on !

Now I can live vicariously through your project !

The slack comes from worn section pivots.
I would suggest contacting Davnet here in NH
as mentioned before. The guy is a resident expert on
Tucker steel tracks.

Let me know about the other sno-cats when you hear back.

Hugh
 
Did some research today. 1967 283 Chevy and it turns out to be mated to a New Process 435 4 speed manual. Casting number says it is a GM transmission made in 1966. Although these are period correct definately this was added in later.

Upgraded to a crane cams electronic ignition and fireball coil. Starts better and idles nice. It had a 6 volt and bypassed resistor for some reason.

Hoping to adjust the tracks and go for a cruise around the yard tomorrow.

What do you reccomend for axel fluid? Do you suck it out or remove the cover? Are these stock gaskets available at the auto parts store?
 
Thought I would update my progress.

Changed all fluids, plugs, wires, added electronic ignition, tune up, drain plugs for axels. All glass and doors removed for access.

Removed hydraulic control for rear. Don't need it for my application so I can add a bench seat to seat 3 instead.

Two steering hoses needed replacement. Welding a few holes here and there tonight. Dediced to go with tractor supply ac orange. Patching a few drill holes in the body and roof.

Diamond plate floor going in. Added some floor support. Power washed for ever and it will need one more before slapping paint on.
 

Attachments

  • Interior1.jpg
    Interior1.jpg
    71.1 KB · Views: 3,177
  • Interior2.jpg
    Interior2.jpg
    90.9 KB · Views: 3,142
Looks like most of the channel iron is in good shape. A good cleaning and some paint will put you in good position for new floor. If all you have do is mostly cosmetic stuff you are lucky.
 
Looks to be a good, solid machine. Hopefully you won't find any surprises and make short work of it into a really nice machine! :clap:
 
Get that puppy fixed up and come out for the snow cat Jamboree in Washington state this Jan !
 
Reached out to Tucker and they are forwarding me the build sheet and hopefully some other good info. I will let you know what I end up with.
 
B4B,

I've found Tucker to be a great resource. Some of their parts are pretty reasonably priced while others, well... the word "expensive" doesn't go far enough. (I will say though their shipping charges have always been reasonable, and they have shipped parts fast.)

However I've found several folks there that are really knowledgeable, helpful and generous with their time. Dan Dressler (in sales) has kindly shared some of his experience and wisdom, Jeff Godard (now in sales, was the Parts and Service manager) has been extremely helpful. He's offered advice and made recommendations many times, etc. Finally Joe Baron, (Jeff's replacement in Parts and Service) is also a great contact for information.

A significant number of parts in an older Tucker were bought off-the-shelf from other companies. Over the years suppliers change and new products become available. However without some of that knowledge you're pretty much lost.

Here's an example: I had a 1979 Tucker and the brake caliper was not working properly. It was partially frozen and it leaked. Jeff told me it was a four piston caliper from a 1966 Thunderbird. (I don't recall if it was left or right.) They are actually fairly hard to find, but he referred me to a company in Portland, OR (Ott's Friction Supply, IIRC) that had rebuilt ones available.

(BTW, I think Jeff told me they changed from the four piston caliper to one from a Chevy pickup.)
 
Blackfin4Bluefin said:
Will they sell direct or send you to a dealer?
Click to expand...

I've bought a fair number of parts direct from Tucker....

However my understanding is there are no Tucker dealers in the west. I know Track, Inc in Minnesota is the midwest Tucker dealer and Cook's Equipment in Newport, VT takes care of the northeast.
 
Attached is the PDF build sheet for my Tucker. Excellent news to find out the Chevy small block and New Process 435 Transmission were factory. Looks like it started life in Ludlow, VT.

Who would have thought it would end up a MassHole years later.

Hopefully there is some useful info on here for others.

Thanks Ed Gil Corporation!! (First Owner) Let me know if anyone knows this things history in VT.
 

Attachments

B$B,

Congratulations on getting the build sheet, and the Chevrolet power from the factory.

The later built sheets are a bit more detailed, but still it's nice to know exactly how the machine started out.

Ed Gil was actually not a person, Ed-Gil Distributors was a company in Ludlow, Vermont that were distributors of various products produced by different firms. They had taken over as the east coast Tucker distributor when Eastern Distributors out of Concord, NH went bankrupt.

Getsno Equipment in Newport, Vermont is the current Tucker distributor. They bought Cook's Equipment from Bill Cook a year or two ago. I don't know if Ed-Gil sold their distributorship to Cook's or if there were other distributors in between.

I've talked with Bill Cook several times. Very nice man who is very knowledgeable about Tuckers...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top