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bombi insight

T

timandkim

New member
hello everyone i have a bunch of bombi questions that i would like to put out there for the members . im going to look at one and would like to go well informed as possible .
..does anyone know what a windshield costs for a bombi
..is there any way to tell how much life is left in the steering bands
..did they ever come from the factory with hydraulics
..how do you check the idler bearings
..short of draining the diff is there any way of checking the diff for water
..does anyone know what other application the 4 cyl 1600 ford was used in and is there a auto trans that fits it
..and finally are there common week spots that one should check
thanks in advance for any insight anyone can offer i appreiciate it ........
Tim
 
thought of another question can anyone explain to me the difference between the br 100 plus and the bombi , what does the plus stand for ? thanks
Tim
 
The Bombi and BR100 share the same 3 seater platform and drivetrain. The BR60 and BR110 are based on the SW48 chassis. The Br60, is a two seater and the BR110 a single seat cab. The Br+ models are an automatic trans and turbo on the perkins diesel(+20hp) over the std trans without turbo!! There may be more differences. Two very different cats. Check out the specs at safety one!!
 
hey northeastheavy on ebay there is a machine advertised as a bombi br100 , the spec sheet is for a br 100 plus and the pic is a regular bombi . correct me if im wrong but isn that 3 different machines .........looks like a nice unit it only has 33 original hours , what do you think ..
Tim
 
the br 100's had the larger 2.3 ford motor with automatic transmissions as far as the bombi if i was to get one the first thing i would do is step up to a 2.3 a simple swap i have driven both and the bombi needs the extra power and torque of the 2.3 also parts are easyer to come by as the 2.3 was an americain engine and the 1.6 was a europeon engine
 
I found it and I think you are right. That unit is a regular bombi. Just sold one last year like it. !978 is still a bombi, not sure when they became the BR100. The Br100+ came after that or as an optional package? I think!! Doesn't look bad for such a low hour machine!!!
 
The Bombi differs from the BR100 in the track length and track/boggie width, also the cab on the BR100 has bigger windows and a small hood you lift to get to the gas tank. They both have the same 1.6L engine and 4 speed trans. The BR100+ is the same as the BR100 except it has the bigger 2.3L engine and the auto trans.

I replaced the windshield several times on my Bombi and the local glass store charged around $75 to cut the piece of laminated safety glass. That was over 10 years ago so the price will probably be more but it is not a special windshield and I installed them myself with the inexpensive tools I bought from the glass guy.

The steering bands on mine had cross hatches cut in them and I figured they were good until those were worn down. Basically if you are getting close that 1/8 of an inch from the rivets I would replace them as it will start tearing up the drums.

I have brochures showing the BR100 and BR100+ available with a front blade and rear X country groomer attachment so with those hydraulics were available from the factory for sure and the parts manual for the Bombi has a picture of the factory hydraulics which I used to install my own system years ago. It used basic tractor hydraulic parts.

I recommend cleaning and packing the bearings yearly and greasing regular through out the winter. The only for sure way to inspect them is to remove and clean them.

You can drain a small amount of fluid from the diff and see if there is any water as it settles to the bottom.

I would think it would be better to find an engine/tranny already mated up together and swap out both. I always thought the 4cyl Izusu deisel would have been a good way to go.

Like any piece of equipment look at everything! Little things like hoses, belts, wiring can add up quick in cost and hrs of labor. Cracks in the frame are fairly easy to fix but there maybe a lot of disassembly to make the proper repair. The trailing arms on the axels as well as the rubber torsion axels tend to wear if the machine was abused and maybe hard to find new ones. If the machine has not been repaired and maintained properly then I personally tear it down and build it back up as a lot of little problems usually lead to a big problem, walking home!
 
thanks very much northeastheavy and alaska snow cat ...so am i correct in saying if it was swaped out with a 2.3 and a auto trans one could follow factory specs and put hydraulic system on ?
so there is no way to gage the steering bands without pulling them out of the diff..also the bombi on ebay has sold for 10655 , seems like good deal for a machine with 33 hours on it , i guess that sets the bar on fair market value ...
do you guys know what automotive application the 2.3 was used in i would like to hunt around and price out a replacement motor ......thanks Tim
 
I know the bombi engines were industrial versions of ford auto motors. not sure of the differences in torque and hp. Bet Alaska snow cat knows that one!!
Wonder if you can upgrade to the perkins diesel / auto trans easily, as in the Br60 and Br110?????
 
you got a good idea there northeast heavy the perkins would make a great set up , as long as the body could take the torque and the wieght . i was thinking about a inline six with a auto trans , and move the rad to the top of the motor and use a electric fan . this would give the extra length needed to fit a 300 inline six .. or better yet put all the guts out of a older versitile hydrostatic swather and replace the diff with the drive motors .......
Tim
 
Lots of good ideas!!! The inline ford 6cyl and c-6 auto may be a good fit. They may have even come that way!! Not positive on that. Someone here will know. I know they came in the SW48 and BR60 ,Br110 bodies.
 
i guess as long as a guy stays under the wieght limit anything would work ..any ideas as to where the id tag is on a bombi and wht numbers are the date it was made ,,,,im thinking fourth and fifth number but thats a guess ...thanks dds for the info do you know where in europe that 1.6 was made ...thanks
Tim
 
The 6 cyl with an auto would be too much for the little Bombi to handle. I am sure it could be done but the increase in weight would ruin it's performance in deep snow. I never found the 1.6L lacking in powder but like every thing else once you go bigger it is hard to go back. I groomed the steep hill sides above Anchorage with mine and freighted tons of supplies up and over hills for many years and it may have lacked traction from time to time but never power.

You can put hydraulics on just about any engine as it is a pump with a pulley driven off the engine. You then need a small reservoir, filter, hoses and the control valve.

The 1.6 industrial was made in England and you can find dealers on Google.

I am not that familiar with the auto applications of the 1.6 or 2.3 but Pintos/Capris and maybe the early Ford Rangers. I have seen the 2.3 industrial with the auto trans in airport equipment like the self propelled conveyor that drive up to the aircraft and load luggage. I do know a lot of people run into problems when they try to put the auto parts on the industrial engines but then others swear they bolt right up.

I bought my first Bombi for $7500 in 1990 and another that was completly dissasembled for $4000 a few years later. I used the one for about 6 years and then took all the best pieces from both and completely rebuilt/refurbished them into one nice one and sold it for $15,000. I then sold the remaining parts for another $2000. I would rather spend more for a good BR100+ than less for a Bombi that I then transplant an engine/trans into.

Have you bought a Bombi yet?

As I remember the data tag was riveted to the fiberglass cab but I don't know which number corresponded to the year.
 
thanks alaska snow cat , no we havn bought one yet , and you have a very good point it maybe alot cheaper to buy a 100+ than try to build a bombie into one .. did any of your bombi have a blade and if so how did it handle the blade .....thanks
Tim
 
I cut down a regular snowplow and put one one and copied the mounts from the BR100 brochure. It definitely affected the performance and I very rarely used it. I had a Spryte with the factory blade and currently use Pisten Bullys with 14' wide blades and use them constantly when I groom and wouldn't leave the yard without them, but the Bombi is so short and tends to pitch up and down and the blade just made it worse. The idea with a blade on a snowcat is to have it down and rolled back so it cuts the snow but doesn't dig in too much. Then the blade actually stabilizes the cat as it increases the length. You have to have a flat bottom on the blade and the ability to roll it back and forth to make that work. My Bombi and Spryte blade were basically snowplows with no flat bottom and they were a real challenge to operate at trail speeds.

Have you thought about the ASV Track Trucks? They do a decent job, are just as reliable as a Bombi and you can find the Diesel version in good shape for the same price as I see Bombis going for. Also if you can handle a little wider cat the BR60, Skidozer 250/252 or Spryte are a far better cat than the Bombi IMO.
 
I think the id tags for a Bombi are inside the cab, on the left side inside the door post where your left leg would go, on the side, sitting in the left side seat.
 
thanks northeastheavy when i get to look at it ill search there for the tags.
alaska snow cat you bring up good point about stability with blade on a short machine , nothing is more irritating than playing hippity hop on a cat that is not balanced .
our muskeg had a blade on it and without 500 gallons of water on the back to hold it down it was a night mare to run the blade . i have had the pleasure of opperating big groomers like the piston bully , bombardier and old prinoth all with 12 way blades . the piston bully is a dream machine and i would almost run one for free . the problem with the big groomers is there to big for private use fuel and fixing woud break a peasant like me .. one year i ran a catipiller D8T all summer and a piston bully once winter came ,, they used basicaly same amount of fuel on a 12 hour day ...
we are looking at a sv300 that a snowmobile club is thinking about selling im just waiting for them to finish wrecking it . its one of those outfits that have a different operator everyday and the machine takes a lickin from operators that think its a snowmobile for ripping around and the ones that think its a bull dozer that can push anything over ..however it is a pretty big machine for to use for funning around . up here we can use trails in the bush but are not allowed to widen them without permits ..
im not at all familiar with the spryte i have never even seen one other than pics what are they like to operate and maintain....
Tim
 
The Spryte is the same basic machine as the Skidozer 252. Very simple ford inline six, newer versions have the C-6 auto trans and the older ones have a 4 speed, bullet proof OC-12 controlled differential. Same basic design as the bombi only bigger and more versatile. 8' wide and 10' wide. It sounds like you maybe somewhat remote like we are in Alaska and selection of local snowcats are limited?
 
ya i guess we are considered remote copared to some , there is a fare few sno cats around but mostly the common bombardiers , who makes the spryte ....
 
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