1956 Tucker 443 - “The Gobbler”

[RRose]

I’m starting a thread to kinda document the history and preservation of my 1956 Tucker Sno-Cat 443, affectionately known as “The Gobbler”. I hope to use this thread as a spring board moving forward, knowing that at least one person in this group will have seen it, experienced it or heard of a solution for all the issues I assume I’ll find in the process. It’s gonna be a long term project, but I’m plugging away at it a piece at a time.

I started looking for a Tucker about 3 years ago. Found this forum (which I really enjoy), asked a ton of annoying newbie questions, figured out what I was looking for and started the search. Ironically, about the first Tucker I saw that I was interested in was this green 443 that Tucker had on their lot for sale. I took a road trip up to the factory to take a look at it. It was the first one I had looked at and a little more than I wanted to spend so I decided to keep looking. In my search I kept coming back to this little green 443. Something about it kept drawing me back.

I did a little bit of research into its history (which, for me, is why you buy a Tucker) and I was able to find the original operator that ran it all through the 70’s in Aspen. After multiple emails and a couple long phone calls he had relayed to me basically the whole saga of The Gobbler! I was pretty much in love now.

About 6 moths after having visited Tucker they had decided to get the ‘56 up and running, make a couple repairs and do a little promo video to advertise It:
https://youtu.be/ioywkPSMBKI
And they had dropped the price! The hook was set - I called Clyde up that day and told him I’d take it!

 

[RRose]

The History:

Built in 1955 - possibly the last 55 built

Originally sold to Department of the Interior - for use by the National Park Service - Yellowstone National Park - Jan. 4, 1956.
They are the ones that painted it green
Plated as a 1956

It was sent to a auction house in Boulder, Colorado in 1969

It was purchased by Peter Gach from the auction house in Boulder, Colorado in 1969

Peter Gach originally took it to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He then took it to Irwin, Colorado in hopes of using it to take powder skiers into the mountains. That didn’t pan out, so he brought it back to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Peter Gach had a friend named Steve Crockett that asked him if he could use the Sno-Cat and Peter let him run the cat through the majority of the 70’s. Steve Crockett took it to Aspen, Colorado and used it to take Powder Skiers up the hill. Steve Crockett was also associated with the Aspen Volunteer Fire Department and the cat was used for Search & Rescue with them.

When Peter Gach got the Tucker back from Steve Crockett, he brought it to his home in Evergreen, Colorado. It got very limited use, occasionally traveling up and down his driveway to get the mail.

Steve Crockett is the one that completely outfitted the Tucker for Powder Skiing.

He installed:
The overhead spotlight
Dual battery mount
The dome light
Turkey stickers on the doors
Cut a hole in the rear floorboard to drop crushed beer cans into a milk crate bolted to the bottom of the cat.

2016-17, Peter’s wife got tired of looking at the Tucker and told him to get rid of it. He had a friend that talked him into kinda donating the Tucker to the volunteer fire department in St. Mary’s Glacier, Colorado.

2018 - St. Mary’s Glacier Volunteer Fire Department contacted the Tucker factory and arranged to sell it to Tucker. Tucker arranged to pick it up while they were in Colorado dropping off a newly purchased 1956 Tucker 443 History

Tucker Had it for about a year. They cleaned the fuel cell out and got it running. Replace the broken rear passenger window and advertised it for sale.

I purchased it about 2/11/19 and picked it up on 4/1/19. I was able to take it for my first Sno-cat experience the next day before I brought it home. Loved every second of it!

Here’s a couple pics from the 70’s:

 

[RRose]

Fun picture taken while it was out shooting the video

 

[RRose]

A couple pictures from my first time with it in the snow

 

[RRose]

Luckily I hadn’t taken it apart yet when Vintage Snow Cats had announced their gathering in Joseph, Oregon at the beginning of the year. I really wanted an opportunity to drive it and play with it before dissembling it. So I loaded it up and headed north again. The drive was absolutely miserable - but completely worth it! I had an absolute blast and met some awesome people. I couldn’t have asked for more from my first cat gathering. I can’t wait to get back to Joseph to see everyone again.

 

[RRose]

Took it to a car show to honor a fallen friend

 

[RRose]

And now I’m headed down the rabbit hole........

 

[RRose]

Found a set of Dodge Dakota wheels and tires to put on and now she’s able to just squeeze through my 7’ tall garage. Much easier to work on in the garage!

 

[RRose]

Spent the last 2 months in Roller Hell! My new Dewalt 20v grease gun was the best investment ever!

 

[RRose]

Cut the pintle hitch plate off the rear step and welded up a random hole someone torched into the rear step and capped the end of the 1x2 frame section

 

[olympicorange]

……… nice unit,.... the back history of these old units is what makes them fun to revive,... getting the kids involved is a great experience builder,... they will remember this 443 for ever,... and you'll have a hard time selling it down the road,.... keep the pics coming ,...

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Fabulous write up on "Gobbler" great pictures.

Being able to get all the history is really great.

If our machines could talk they could share so much more than most of us will ever know....

Enjoy your time with the cat and the kids.....it's priceless

 

[DAVENET]

LOL, always sub out the 'fun' jobs

 

[RRose]

Story behind the nickname:

The guy that ran it through the 70’s in Aspen was a hardcore powder skier and they very specifically used the cat for running skiers up the mountain in the back country. He told me about all the stuff they did to it to set it up for that use. When I asked about the Turkey stickers, he said that they used to refer to the Weekend Warrior skiers as “Turkeys” and that was why they put the stickers on the doors. Fast forward 40 years, when the guys from Tucker picked it up in Colorado and brought it back to Oregon it was in the yard with at least 2 other 55-57 443’s, so they just started referring to it as “The Gobbler” as a way of identifying which one it was.

They stickers were in really bad condition when I got it and I decided to remove them. I was hoping I’d find the original writing on the doors from Yellowstone underneath - but not such luck. You can tell whatever was written on the doors was sprayed over and I just can’t identify what it says.

Some form of turkey sticker will come back to it eventually. I added a pic of what I’m thinking of for future use.

 

[RRose]

Found another small piece of the puzzle on eBay - the other half of the CB ball mount

 

[RRose]

When I bought this cat I was thinking I was going to do a full restoration on it. Everyone that sees it says, “you gotta keep this original patina”, I totally agree. I love the way it looks. So my goal is a “preservation” project now. Unfortunately the pontoons are gonna have to be fully restored, but I’ll laser match the green and paint them to match.

Here’s a topic I’m looking for some input on - I’m thinking of restoring the headlights and painting them semi-gloss black. Several of the restored 55-57’s look really good with their black exhausts, Tucker graphics on the hood and black lights. I like that contrast. It’s already got the black graphics on the hood and it will be getting a new black exhaust really soon (the original is completely rusted out). The original lights are rusted pretty bad - but once I blast that patina off, it’s gone forever. I just can’t decide! Opinions?
Attached pics of both lights and a pic of a black light (I bought to put on the back) just sitting in the front mounting hole to get an idea of what it would look like.

 

[olympicorange]

….. totally agree on keeping the ''patina'' ,... I Love the Omaha orange,... but the different colors of history are what it's all about . i'm very envious of your helpers !! that's great. I have so many people that want to ''jump'' in , buddies, kids, Brother Greg,...etc... funny thing is they rarely show up. hell , I've been trying to get them to just show up & operate the Cat ( now Cats) , … so I can stand around and answer questions,... lol.... but I;m a chicken ''running'' …. well it's great to have as many people get involved, as possible. all the gatherings, socializing , etc... wish we had more events & snow,... it's getting bigger every year..!!!!

 

[1boringguy]

RRose,

Your gobbler decal just needs some snowshoes on it

 

[RRose]

RRose,

Your gobbler decal just needs some snowshoes on it

That’s a great idea - he’s gonna have a orange scarf around his neck too

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Keep the patina....

Use some RUST MORT on the lights so they don't rot out completely

All that patina tells a valuable story....
So if you were to restore the machine to it's original color it will take away from the many chapters of it's history.

Fix the mechanical things and try to leave the history for others to see.

Definitely need the big bird on the doors

The snow shoe idea would be sweet.

Most important though....Live the dream and savor every moment......

 

[RRose]

Gonna start blasting grousers tomorrow - I’m concerned about getting some of them apart.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

If you can soak them in OFF ROAD diesel fuel

If you can immerse them in a tray and let soak......


Good luck

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

GREAT Thread!

Just as an FYI, some years ago I bought a larger blasting cabinet for media blasting parts. It has been a great investment as it makes short work of removing rust/paint/scale/corrosion, etc.

https://www.tptools.com/Skat-Blast-Sandblasting-Cabinets.html

I had started with a small Harbor Freight unit and it was very marginal (better than nothing, but not by much). The larger one was substantially more expensive, but has absolutely been worth it. As the saying goes "good tools are an investment, not a purchase".

 

[RRose]

Luckily I’ve got access to this big cabinet - it’s knocking things out pretty quickly - but it’s still gonna be a long run! More fun than rollers though........

GREAT Thread!

Just as an FYI, some years ago I bought a larger blasting cabinet for media blasting parts. It has been a great investment as it makes short work of removing rust/paint/scale/corrosion, etc.

https://www.tptools.com/Skat-Blast-Sandblasting-Cabinets.html

I had started with a small Harbor Freight unit and it was very marginal (better than nothing, but not by much). The larger one was substantially more expensive, but has absolutely been worth it. As the saying goes "good tools are an investment, not a purchase".

 

[1boringguy]

RRose, or anyone,

Guess I've never read or thought about it really, since I don't have a pontoon machine, but whats the best treatment for those after sandblasting? Powerboat, epoxy, POR, oil, bare steel?

 

[RRose]

RRose, or anyone,

Guess I've never read or thought about it really, since I don't have a pontoon machine, but whats the best treatment for those after sandblasting? Powerboat, epoxy, POR, oil, bare steel?

I think you’re gonna get multiple answers to this question - I am using a product called Steel-It on my grousers and rollers. It’s big in the off road community, really tough and can be welded right over. Seemed like a good choice.

 

[GMoose]

Here is my big blast cabinet, it is a walk in, respirator and full protective gear required. In this "cabinet" I use a pressure tank blaster, it works great. I recycle the grit several times before it gets to fine, always run it through a screen before each reuse.

I also have a large cabinet style, don't know how you would restore a snowcat without one. If you get one make sure you get a good gun/nozzle for it, the one mine came with was a piece, did not realize how bad it was until a got a good one. Also, I found that in my syphon cabinet that using the heavy iron grit caused a lot of slow and troublesome grit flow. I would use something lighter. I now use the stuff harbor freight sells, seems to work good.

 

[Rgp]

Prepping the tracks for my ‘58 442 and 443 Projects, I started by having the AIMS machine shop in Reno dip them fully assembled, rollers and all. Then I did the full disassembly. Used the POR system with degreaser, metal prep, and finally black paint. Ron.

 

[RRose]

Tracks headed out for repairs. Lots of cracked pins.

 

[RRose]

Prepping the tracks for my ‘58 442 and 443 Projects, I started by having the AIMS machine shop in Reno dip them fully assembled, rollers and all. Then I did the full disassembly. Used the POR system with degreaser, metal prep, and finally black paint. Ron.

What is a AIMS machine? Do you have before and after pics? And what did it cost?