Kristi KT7 restoration pictures

[BigAl]

Mr. President,

The quantities don't appear correct. What will we be eating/drinking after day 2?

ah ... Member "Big Boom" ....Thats "Grand Pooba" in the KKK lodge chamber , . I do not ever want to be confused with that "guy" in the "white house" Now there is a real "Bumble" . Outside the lodge room it is ok to call me by my regular name "Sh#thead" .

After closely doing a retally of the needed supplies ,I do see my mistake and your concern is warranted .
Bob!!!... we need 2 jars of Beef Jerky !

 

[Melensdad]

Bob!!!... we need 2 jars of Beef Jerky !

Per day?

Hickory? Sweet Hawaiian? Terryaki? BBQ?

 

[BigAl]

Per day?

Hickory? Sweet Hawaiian? Terryaki? BBQ?

Beer comes in those flavors???? Cool !

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Greetings to the almighty and highly talented "Grand Pooba". May God shower many blessing on to you and your lovely wife. Oh Grand Pooba what beer does thou require for such talent to be spewed upon my Snow Master?

In other words what kind of beer do you want?

 

[BigAl]

Greetings to the almighty and highly talented "Grand Pooba". May God shower many blessing on to you and your lovely wife. Oh Grand Pooba what beer does thou require for such talent to be spewed upon my Snow Master?

In other words what kind of beer do you want?

Are you saying I may get lucky tonight with the little lady ??? cool


As far as beer , Yes , that will do nicely . Oh! you meant what kind ??? Yes, that will do nicely !!!

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Wait isnt that a picture of BigAl? That is BigAl! I didnt know you were a movie star Al.

 

[BigAl]

Nope ! That ain't me . My hair is blond and gray not white . Pretty close face resemblance though .His teeth are straighter than mine .

I took another picture of the frame "Hitch Setup" with the frame sitting outside . A little clearer now without all the black paint floating around the shop .

I also finished laying the last coat of fiberglassing on the interior side of the center cab section . Tomorrow I will start the finish sanding and filling the exterior side .

 

[bczoom]

My hair is blond and gray not white

Ahhh, another reason the Grand Pooba and I get along so well. We look alike.

Hey GP, sorry I couldn't come over this week. I just e-mailed you a new keg to hold you over until my next visit.

 

[BigAl]

Yes , you are a good lad !

Ok ,I ordered and received the wrong body filler today, so it looks like I am off to Auburn (26 miles) to get the right stuff . Also my engine sound deadener /heat insulation is lost in shipment ,so if anybodys sees a 4x48 roll of the stuff , I want it back ! About 10 days to get a new roll !

Wife told me last night to "kick it in gear" and get this thing done so I will spend less time here and more in the shop .She is a lovable Mean ole bat.

 

[BigAl]

It was a long day and my back is feeling the result of it ! I spent the entire day working over the center section cab .the interior is finished and painted ,New engine vent holes have been recut in the one side and two coats of filler have been applied to the exterior and then sanded down trying to eliminate the fake "vinyl top" look . Today should see more filling and 2 coats of epoxy sealer/primer. At that point ,I am hoping to be getting close to a smooth exterior finish . I will make the decision today , if I will use a spray on bedliner material,vinyl top material or try to make it prefectly smooth on the exterior .

I am using "Kitty Hair" short strand fiberglass body filler by Evercoat to attempt to smooth the exterior. I then rough sand with 80 grit sandpaper so the filler is only left in the indentations . It runs about $18 a quart ,but it is tougher than straight "Bondo" because of the fiberglass hairs that are mixed with it .
Should have pictures tonight .

 

[BigAl]

Evening All ,
Ok , the center section is sitting in the shop , epoxy primed and sealed . There is no comparison to what it was before . The top had a 1 ½" dip in the center from the balsa wood core delaminating and one side was completely shot .It took a while ,but I now believe it was worth it . There is still a little clean up to do before deciding what kind of finish I want to apply to the exterior . My 3 choices are:

1. “Spray On ” Bed Liner same as the lower section bottom is shot in.

2. A actual Vinyl top material to simulate the original design in a matching color .

3. A “Smooth finish” same as front and rear upper cab pieces .

I am leaning away from the “smooth finish” #3 option as the old side of the center section that was undamaged ,has some cosmetic waves in the original fiberglass finish and I think it would distract from the overall appearance .You can’t see them but I can feel them .I do not want to build up the low wavy areas with a bunch of bondo !!! I also do not want to shoot $137 a quart paint on it and then find it looks like crap ! High Gloss paint will only compound the issue and make it more noticeable . Comments are welcome and appreciated .

So where to now??? I’m waiting on “engine sound deadener insulation” before installing the frame and it is to wet with too much humidity to spray finish paint .

Guess I will drag in the track rails tomorrow and see what I can accomplish .
Here are 3 pictures a "before" and two "afters" .

Later Dudes and Dudetts!!!

 

[mtntopper]

I also do not want to shoot $137 a quart paint on it and then find it looks like crap ! High Gloss paint will only compound the issue and make it more noticeable .

Stay away from the high gloss if any imperfections are even close to noticeable. Been there and done that, never again.....

 

[bczoom]

My Grand Pooba,

May I suggest you consider your wording more carefully? Below are some recent statements you've made. Are we still talking about your snow machine?

Big Boom.

It was a long day and my back is feeling the result of it !

Ok , the center section is sitting in the shop

There is no comparison to what it was before

There is still a little clean up to do before deciding what kind of finish I want

At that point ,I am hoping to be getting close to a smooth exterior finish . I will make the decision today.

I also do not want to shoot $137 a quart

I am using "Kitty Hair"

Should have pictures tonight .

 

[BigAl]

OK !

I'm going to help you out a little bit . Please call Bob S. Then, both of you head to the local McDonalds and apply for jobs . Both of you have way to much time on your hands and need something to do . Use my name as a reference . McDonalds like Old People ,so you both may have a chance .
Now practice saying this " Welcome to McDonalds . May I take your order please?
Good Luck .
HEY what is going on I just realized that post #189 is showing todays time ???? I posted this yesterday

BOB S. Is messin with me again

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Nice work. What color will you be painting it?

 

[BigAl]

Nice work. What color will you be painting it?

Good Morning Mike ,

If I end up "painting" or using the "Spray on Bed Liner" it will be in 2006 T-5 Copper color which is the same as my Ford Truck . If I go with a actual "vinyl top" I am not sure if I will try to match the T-5 copper or go with the Metalic beige lower color to give it some contrast.
Right now I am leaning towards the spray on bed liner idea the Bogus Bob suggested . I knew I kept him around for some reason ...

 

[Melensdad]

I am leaning towards the spray on bed liner idea the Bogus Bob suggested . I knew I kept him around for some reason ...

Hey, I am not as stupid as I look, er um I mean as you look!

Even if it was my suggestion, I still think it is a good one. I'd vote for the epoxy bedliner in a matching color. If you want more contrast, then I'd go with the epoxy bedliner in a contrasting color. My concern for a vinyl top covering is that eventually it will be in contact with a branch and once that material snags, tears, or just gets a nice scuff in it, you have to replace the whole thing to do a good repair.

With the epoxy bedliner you just have to mix up a pint or so of your original mix and apply it over the area to get an exact duplication. (remember to write down the air pressure settings on your compressor because different pressures will yield different textures).

 

[BigAl]

Yea Bob ,
Looks like I will go with the bed liner finish . It just makes sense.

I brought in the right track assembly and got started on it . I removed all the boogie wheel hubs ,races ,bearings and wheel seals . What a mess!
There are two boogie wheels attached to each walking beam which is attached to the main frame track rail by a stub axle . These are held in place by 1" nuts . One of those nuts was frozen on and 3 hours later I finally got it to release . One Zert fitting was sheared off and has been ,since it left the factory in 1972 . Absolutely no grease in the bushing . The wrong type of grease was used on the other zerts . When one plays in wet conditions ,one should use a Boat axle grease .
About half the bearings and races are shot ,but I am replacing all of them .

So... I had planned on having both sides of the track rails torn down and ready for reassembly ,but it looks like a few days before that will happen .

I think the Bearings and Races are the same on a KT7 as on a KT3 . I am sure Caroth can correct me if I am in error . So here are the Parts numbers :

KRIST KT7

Wheel bearing information​

Inter Race =========== Timke # 15250
Inter Bearing==========Timke # 15118
Outer Race===========Timke # 09194
Outer Bearing========= Timke # 0907
Grease seal for hub====National # 6283

 

[BigAl]

Evening Folks ,
I spent the better part of the day cleaning parts and painting various pieces of track parts . Everything is cleaned and painted and ready for reassembly .
When cleaning one of the walking beams I discovered where the manufacture had missed a 3” weld . He welded along the side of the crack !
Tomorrow , I reassemble the track assembly with all new bearings and seals.
By the way , If anyone plans to replace all the bearing and seals on a Kristi KT3 ,KT4, or a KT7, plan on spending $450 just in bearings and seals . Here are 3 pictures at various stages of cleaning and paint .

 

[BigAl]

Sorry about the last posted pictures not coming through completely . Blame it on Bob S.

Ok ,the left side track rail is complete and ready to go back on the Kristi .

I did discover that a Napa Grease seal will not work on the hubs and you have to use a original style "National" grease seal .

I also drilled and tapped a 1/8" x 28 thread hole in the back side of each bogie wheel hub center and inserted a Zert gease fitting . No more having to disassemble hubs to repack bearings . I do not like using the "Bearing Buddy's" style hub cover cap as only the outer bearing really ever gets greased . This way grease goes to both bearing and leaves no air pockets for water build up .

Tomorrow I attack the other side !:14_6_12:

Here are a couple of pictures .

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Your shoe is coming untied! OK its an inside joke.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Very nice work BigAl. That Snowcat will last twice as long as it did before! Say 60 years?

 

[wilkinsn1]

Al, got to compliment you......great work. Wish you were available when we overhauled our Kristi KT3 back in 2000. Would have hired you then......especially at $0.37/hr Just kidding.......great job on your project.

Gary

 

[BigAl]

Hey all ,
I started the rebuild of the other track and found a new part number for the walking beam "carrier bearing ". It is a "Fafnir" bearing Part # 01107K and is made in the USA , Hopefully this is a good number and still in stock . Pretty sure it will fit KT3's too!
Engine sound/heat insulation is lost AGAIN and now they are sending it Special Delivery !
More tommorow !!!

 

[Snowcat Operations]

What is up with those people? How hard is it to ship you the product you ordered?

 

[BigAl]

Hey all ,
I started the rebuild of the other track and found a new part number for the walking beam "carrier bearing ". It is a "Fafnir" bearing Part # 01107K and is made in the USA , Hopefully this is a good number and still in stock . Pretty sure it will fit KT3's too!
quote]

You will also need a Fafnir "set screw" collar for the Fafnir bearing part #C270 .

 

[BigAl]

Mike ,
Yep! There are 3 - 4'x48' rolls of heat/sound insulation out there somewhere . This last roll will be sent special delivery . I have gone just about as far as I can without it now . After that I need to reinstall the frame and that just ain't going to happen until I have the insulation installed first . That will make it a much tighter and cleaner looking installation .

The other track is completely rebuilt and tomorrow I am rebuilding the Clam Shell gear drives . When I opened up the Clam Shells the roller chain wear bushings were laying in the bottom of the case ! That is not good !

I also have a drawing for the protective sheetmetal shields that goes around the shafts where they exit the interior of the body . These are the same on all Models and I will post a picture tomorrow , as a lot of Models have lost them .

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Both of my shields seem to be in place. The more I look at the Kristi the more I think they could be made into an amphibious vehile pretty easily. Either that or into a submarine. Anyway keep the pictures coming BigAl!

 

[Mith]

Snowcat, I think they become submarines if they dont work as aphibious vehicles. SPLASH!

 

[BigAl]

Evening Gents & Lady's ,

Today found me rebuilding the Clam Shell Gear drives that the sprocket connects to . The #50 roller chain was replaced with new . I found parts of an exploded roller chain in the bottom of the gear case . I finally realized that the cause was two chain gears that were not aligned causing the roller chain to rotate in binding action . Those two gears were a 1/8 " out of alignment at about 6'' center to center on the gears . That is way too much for such a short distance .

Later ,I was able to smack my thumb with a big old greasy Ball ping Hammer . So I been sucking on a Greasy thumb ever since . Why is that ??? It just feels better sucking on it ..... Hmmmmm. I wonder if that has some hidden meaning .......

Tomorrow , I will be finishing up the second Clam Shell and be just about as far as I can go until I reinstall the frame . I do have a little work on the right angle gear drive unit where some idiot has welded the u joints in place .

Here are a 4 pictures of the clam shell .