-
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/
Arctic Expedition Oil Survey Weasel SnowCat 1957 Ad
- Thread starter Melensdad
- Start date
thatis a stupid baker weasel there using but whats special about it is that one is equiped with the amphibous assult kit tomake it float better has pontoons front and rear and a winch on the front to help it climb out of the water up on to a sharp bank.
1) "You couldn't pay me to ride in one of those!"
A Quote from 2 GI's that recanted a story of having one of these de-track while being shot at, possibly in Korea.
They made 20, or 30,000 of these things? Is there a single member of the Forumsforum that has an operational one? I mean really, they only made 2000 Snow Trac's (2315 not including the Irish,..Oh,.. I mean Scottish ones) and a significant portion of them still run, maybe 600 to 800 Kristi's and at least one or two of them run, 20,000 to 30,000 Weasels and none run? Not a very encouraging track record!
When offered to go Hunting in his uncles Weasel, my apprentice said: "No Thanks, I'd rather walk and HUNT, than spend my time re-tracking that thing"
A Quote from 2 GI's that recanted a story of having one of these de-track while being shot at, possibly in Korea.
They made 20, or 30,000 of these things? Is there a single member of the Forumsforum that has an operational one? I mean really, they only made 2000 Snow Trac's (2315 not including the Irish,..Oh,.. I mean Scottish ones) and a significant portion of them still run, maybe 600 to 800 Kristi's and at least one or two of them run, 20,000 to 30,000 Weasels and none run? Not a very encouraging track record!
When offered to go Hunting in his uncles Weasel, my apprentice said: "No Thanks, I'd rather walk and HUNT, than spend my time re-tracking that thing"
i have one in anchorage that still runs just needs new tracks i picked it up for $200 thought i got a deal while working to rebuild the track i had an old timer tell me you never drive one of those any further than you want to walk never did finnish the tracks those darn rivits were so hard i had to grind each one
They couldn't stay in their tracks to save your life. Almost all the ones I saw in Alaska that were operated by someone private, had pulled the track system off and gotten the "Otter" tracks and split them and put rubbered tired wheels in their place. The Otter ran two wheels on each swing arm and when they cut the tracks down the middle, they make perfect setups. When I had my Otter, the tracks were hard to get because all those "Weasels" had stolen the Otter tracks....
By the way, the Otter could do about 9 MPH in water with the prop that was built into the system, the Weasel just wallowed with it's tracks providing the "Locomotion" of about 1 MPH which meant that if a Seagull landed on the thing while underway, it could spin you around, so being in anything other than a dead calm pond was a waste of time.
By the way, the Otter could do about 9 MPH in water with the prop that was built into the system, the Weasel just wallowed with it's tracks providing the "Locomotion" of about 1 MPH which meant that if a Seagull landed on the thing while underway, it could spin you around, so being in anything other than a dead calm pond was a waste of time.
i'm going to have access to a free otter this summer any suggestions on re belting the tracks or should i just let it sit also i noticed a steering wheel does it have a cross drive transaxle like modern armor or is it brake steering only.
The one I had was a 1954 model and it had what is best discribed as a bycicle set of handle bars. The stock transmission was hydrostatic, run off a 140 (or 120 HP, can't remember now) Conteninetal aircraft engine standing on end between the driver and co driver.
Using old converor belting that is already streched is a good deal, there is only an offset cam on the rear wheel that adjusts the entire track, if it streaches longer, you haver to unbolt the cleats and move the belting up a set of holes.
Having said that, it was about the best riding track rig I had ever driven. It kinda floated, top speed was about 25 MPH. When I sold it to a guy in Anchorage in the early 80's, he put it out by his store "GI Joes" on Fireweed Ave, and used it for advertizing. I had painted it Camo Green and looked pretty cool. It was sold to a guy in Anchor Point and I saw it there still about ten years ago in pretty sad shape. It was a pretty good landmark for a bunch of years.
There were a couple of them in Nome I was looking at buying back in the Early 80's but the deal didn't go though, they may still be there.
Hard to get parts for, but well worth the effort if you get one to play with, props are hard to find for them too, but they are around.
there is 2 here one is painted safety one red and is cherry and the other one is a parts hulk the 3rd i know of is on a claim i filed on wich by state law makes it mine now so i don.t know what i want to do with it but i didnt know that it was hydro static thats kind of cool might have to look a little harder and see if a rear diesel conversion is worthwile
i have a spare 6.2l diesel they arn't a power house but it will rev high enough and are reliable effecient just a thaught will look in to it more it might be better suited for summer time than the snow trac
I think somewhere on the forum we've been thru this before but: They came in several runs of production, some with drive in the rear, some with drive in the front. They had GOOD Studebaker engines, a hefty 6 cyl. The Pontoon kits are rare. There was a guy in Anchorage that probably converted 10 to 20 of these to "Scat-Tracks" and large wheels off another military vehicle. The tracks on the conversion were quite similar to J5 bombardiere tracks, the wheels were a cast aluminum wheel like on armored personel carriers. I've seen at least a dozen of his conversions, mostly at the restraunt/camp (Caribou Inn, Glenallen) during hunting season. The one time president of the MVPA (Military Vehicle Preservation Association), Chuck something, in Toole Ut, had one that looked like it had been used for target practice in his yard along side rows of tracked armor, Tanks, Half Tracks,... he didn't consider it a respectable enough track rig to restore it. He was not the first person to claim that they were meant to be used only one time and disposed of. His mail box was an old Japanese "Pill Box" that he brought all the way back from the Aleutian Islands.
I have actually seen 2 operational Army Weasels with the original tracks, but one of those broke a track within a few hundred feet of being unloaded off the trailer. Too small of bogy wheels, and very poor track design.
I have actually seen 2 operational Army Weasels with the original tracks, but one of those broke a track within a few hundred feet of being unloaded off the trailer. Too small of bogy wheels, and very poor track design.
kristy owners take not here is a tracked vehicl that is getting more bashing than you guys get .
nice info on the otter =)
on the weasel braking down all the time its not reely true .
the problem is offcors the wires in the track rusting inside the rubber and bracking .
but if its god rubber its no worrys .
i have driven my m29c rather long distens with standard track without problem.
but my hart is still with snow trak its fast to reper a track if it ever chod brake on a snow trac
hears a friend of me with a ford v8 .
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx0zhoqF4iQ"]YouTube- min weasel m29[/ame]
btw this m29 is jan korvik old one .
standard track ..
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RSUF5U4OAU"]YouTube- Weasel M29C[/ame]
another nice m29
on the weasel braking down all the time its not reely true .
the problem is offcors the wires in the track rusting inside the rubber and bracking .
but if its god rubber its no worrys .
i have driven my m29c rather long distens with standard track without problem.
but my hart is still with snow trak its fast to reper a track if it ever chod brake on a snow trac
hears a friend of me with a ford v8 .
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx0zhoqF4iQ"]YouTube- min weasel m29[/ame]
btw this m29 is jan korvik old one .
standard track ..
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RSUF5U4OAU"]YouTube- Weasel M29C[/ame]
another nice m29
bill w
Member
one of the members on here from valdez had one a while back...we had a couple when i was growing up in the matanuska valley.they had the otter tracks and were very much improved over stock.i was given three non-running ones a couple years ago...ended up just giving them away to someone else...bill w
the 2 band st-4 tack the track is relitively light and i've done some stupid stuff and cant get it to walk out of a track
weve been bashing weasel's like krusties on this thread but if (if being the magic word) you can find a set of good tracks and you drive the thing like it wsa designed ti be driven they are relitively reliable the studibaker six was a good engine and would run all day on a tank of fuel but like any military equipment if you dont drive it right you will have problems and they are not very forgiving just try to steer on a side hill or in a deep bog and you will even be putting a good track back on it was hunters that gave these rigs a bad name because they failed to under stand the limitations of the vehicle the weasel was never intended for bog or snow they were intended to run in the desert in sand and were addapted to run in snow. because they worked beter than any thing of its time and there were lots of them after the war.
Well took the Imp into the Wilderness all the time and never had any issues other than I had a tach short out and killed the machine's "Points" system. Took a few min's to troubleshoot the issue and was back up running.
The tracks never were an issue, and went though some deep snow with it.
the most common thing with a m29 detracking is that the front axel is bent .
the front axel is a thick wal pipe that is rather soft and will bent if you hit somthing hard that is hier then the center of the front weel .
if i vill go deep upp in the montins i take the trac master not the m29 .
btw today i traded my old trac master sorry to say for another rely old trac master i vill get pics .
i tryd to bye it but he wanted my trac master insted of monny and i hate to sell a snow trac or master ....
the front axel is a thick wal pipe that is rather soft and will bent if you hit somthing hard that is hier then the center of the front weel .
if i vill go deep upp in the montins i take the trac master not the m29 .
btw today i traded my old trac master sorry to say for another rely old trac master i vill get pics .
i tryd to bye it but he wanted my trac master insted of monny and i hate to sell a snow trac or master ....
If anyone is interested a copy of this add is currently available on Ebay...
http://global.ebay.com/Arctic_Expedition_Oil_Survey_Weasel_SnowCat_1957_Ad/370301468799/item
http://global.ebay.com/Arctic_Expedition_Oil_Survey_Weasel_SnowCat_1957_Ad/370301468799/item
Arctic Oil Exploration Seismic Survey Weasel SnowCat 1957 Advertisement
note: (Thank You to Georges, 4X French Antarctic explorer who corrected us on the snocat, it is actually a Weasel.)
"Glaciologists of the United States National Committee recommended the "all purpose" seismic system's, developed by Houston Technical Laboratories, as the best suited to exploit seismograph techniques in glaciological study during the IGY program. For this important program, operational versatility, accurate performance, and rugged dependability were the governing criteria in equipment selection. The 7000B "all purpose" system offers three seismographs in one - a frequency range of 5-500 cps with a flip of switches. The VLF or Refraction Seismograph included in the 7000B will be used primarily to determine the velocity variations of the seismic waves in the ice sheet. The HR High resolution Reflection Seismograph will provide accurate data on the stratigraphy and structure of the glacier and near-surface formations, while the Conventional Reflection Seismograph will supply useful deep information from the sub-glacial floor. All three methods will utilize the many filtering variations available in the 7000B to obtain the optimum signal-to-noise ratio of the desired impulses. Since the seismic traverse party will operate as a self-sufficient unit, the low maintenance reputation of the 7000B Seismograph was also an important factor in its selection. And needless to say, these seismic system's will be subjected to extremely exacting operating conditions in the Antarctic - conditions that will ask the most of equipment and men. Houston Technical Laboratories is proud that under circumstances where quality counts most, the USNC glaciologists selected 7000B Seismographs."
Houston Technical Laboratories
note: (Thank You to Georges, 4X French Antarctic explorer who corrected us on the snocat, it is actually a Weasel.)
"Glaciologists of the United States National Committee recommended the "all purpose" seismic system's, developed by Houston Technical Laboratories, as the best suited to exploit seismograph techniques in glaciological study during the IGY program. For this important program, operational versatility, accurate performance, and rugged dependability were the governing criteria in equipment selection. The 7000B "all purpose" system offers three seismographs in one - a frequency range of 5-500 cps with a flip of switches. The VLF or Refraction Seismograph included in the 7000B will be used primarily to determine the velocity variations of the seismic waves in the ice sheet. The HR High resolution Reflection Seismograph will provide accurate data on the stratigraphy and structure of the glacier and near-surface formations, while the Conventional Reflection Seismograph will supply useful deep information from the sub-glacial floor. All three methods will utilize the many filtering variations available in the 7000B to obtain the optimum signal-to-noise ratio of the desired impulses. Since the seismic traverse party will operate as a self-sufficient unit, the low maintenance reputation of the 7000B Seismograph was also an important factor in its selection. And needless to say, these seismic system's will be subjected to extremely exacting operating conditions in the Antarctic - conditions that will ask the most of equipment and men. Houston Technical Laboratories is proud that under circumstances where quality counts most, the USNC glaciologists selected 7000B Seismographs."
Houston Technical Laboratories
This group of 1957 advertisements come from a half years worth of publications and are the best ads from all those. We are listing the bulk of them at this time.
Left edge shows some of the binding edge, this is left to allow maximum margin edge for framing. Printed on regular weight publication paper. Mild paper tanning due to age.
It has become harder to locate these old items. It is likely that many of these will not come our way again as they were published only once.
1957 Oil & Gas Publication Advertisement
Approximate Dimensions 7 3/4" X 11"
It has become harder to locate these old items. It is likely that many of these will not come our way again as they were published only once.
1957 Oil & Gas Publication Advertisement
Approximate Dimensions 7 3/4" X 11"
Attachments
wesley
Member
I have to speak up for the weasel too. I've owned 5 over the last 20 years and never threw a track. They were built for snow and during the winter of 1944 many wounded soldiers owed their life to the weasels. They were mainly used to carry supplys to the front lines and bring wounded back. I've spoken to a few Battle of the Buldge veterans that said they were glad to have them. I bought almost all my weasels from owners that drove the crap out of them and did no maintenance. When they finnaly died or broke a track they left them where they lay. I'd buy them for a song and rebuild them. The Studebaker strait 6 champion engine is awsome. In low range I could handle almost any snow depth or conditions. The tracks are a bitch to rebuild but once done the rest is easy. My biggest complaint was that the cockpit is made for a 150 lb 18 year old, not a 250lb 45 year old, and the passenger compartment was not to comfortable either. The hard top model was ok, but the original canvas tops sucked. Now I will admit I only operated it in snow but I wouldn't take my 601 in a muddy swamp either. Do I like my 601 better? hell yes. But I think the weasels are getting a bad rap.
One of the other aspects was the tracks, the original had cables laced into the rubber to give it strength and keep them from stretching out, the rubber ones that were aftermarket made, tended to stretch out and come off as well. Building a track from used belting helped stop/keep the stretching to a min.
I have one here that I am looking at buying, but needs new tracks and don't know if I want to deal with that as of yet.