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Bombi engine/trans. upgrade?

R

ropeld

New member
"Wide Eyed Newbie" 79 Bombi owner. My recent purchase came with a 1.6L ford with manual transmission. Does anyone know if this can be converted to auto transmission?
I noticed a BR 100 with a 2.3 and an LSG-423 auto transmission.
It seems as though both machines are similar, would this be an easy swap.
 
The cost of the upgrade to the bigger engine and auto trans will be hard to ever recover in the resale of the machine. Botched and possibly botched engine and trans swaps scare knowledgeable buyers away when you want to resell. I think your best bet is to sell what you have and buy a newer unit with the engine and trans you prefer. There are quite a few BR100,s and similar machines being sold that may take some of the sting out of the upgrade cost. Just my .02 as I see it.
 
Thanks for the advice. Just asking if someone thinks it would work or not.
I've been looking for a Bombi with atv tracks, so this was my choice at the time. Don't plan on selling her, but I never say never. Just looking to improve her and have some fun.
 
I tend to think that most of us don't get a snowcat for an investment, so from the fun standpoint, I'd say any upgrade is a good upgrade. "mtntopper" has turned his hobby into a part-time money maker, and so he and I tend to look at snowcats from a different perspective. On the other hand, I just like playing with these things and my wife says I'm an idiot (something I rarely can prover her wrong about). I think being from different parts of the country he and I also look at things a bit differently because he has deep light high elevation snow and I have icy/heavy/crusty snow where I live so I've seriously considered converting my tracks to some sort of an ATV type track.

Now I'll also admit to no working knowledge of a Bombi, so I don't know how hard an engine swap would be, but anything to add to the fun factor is a good mod in my book. FWIW, 'mtntopper' takes a more practical approach to these things than I do.
 
My bombi with the 5 man cab was really snappy. It had the original 1.6 Ford. Initially I had problems with it. Coolant had jelled probably from leaving the crankcase heater plugged in all year. Also the carb needed cleaning. Snow Cat's sit alot and the fuel systems get gunked up. Pull the carb, clean it, maybe even rebuild it, put in new plugs, then take the whole machine to someone with an engine gas analyzer and have them tune it. Advance the spark just a degree or 2 from the factory setting to compensate for the altitude and it will start right. This having the "Fuel Air Ratio" being set by a pro with an engine gas analyzer really makes a difference. The engine will run cooler and you'll find that you don't need a new or larger engine. My guy charges 50 bucks and does it as part of a regular 'tune up'. I did this for all of my cats, and persuaded my associates to do the same with very positive results.
 
When I owned a Bombi I too wanted to convert to an auto trans. It would be an easy mod but the trick is to stick with Ford industrial parts. That is the biggest problem for guys who try and use Pinto or other Ford auto parts in a snowcat. They are different and you will get different results. Ford industrial 2.3L engines with auto transmissions were used in a lot of airport service equipment like tugs and conveyor trucks. BR100 also had stick and BR100+ had autos.
 
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