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New Member here Seeking Advise on Snow Trac

N

NorCal

New member
Hey All, My name is Chris, I live in Northern California and am looking to buy a 1970 ST4 Snow Trac.
Being a Vintage VW mechanic and Vintage snowmobile guy I happen to stumble upon this little old Snow Trac in a backyrd on my hometown and thought this would be the perfect toy for me and my boys to enjoy. The owner said it "ran when parked" with no isssues about five years ago. beside peeling paint inside and out the body is in great shape. It appears to be all stock, could not find any "red flags" as I looked it over. The only bad is he wants $7000 for it. Been looking on the net and do not see many for sale so hard to compare prices. Any help and problems to look for would be helpful. Cheers Chris
 
Welcome to the asylum, Chris. Where you at in NorCal?

There's plenty of guys with STs that can probably give you some specific spots to look at beyond obvious track/belt condition, tires and suspension - the obvious things. I still haven't figured out what a variator is - but I'm guessing its like a cross between an oscillation overthruster and a flux capacitor. $7K seems a little pricey for a rig that hasn't run for 5 years and has grass growing through the tracks, but if a battery and fresh gas brings it to life and the rats haven't let the smoke out of the wires, and it'll actually move under its own power, then you might have a find. Kind of tough to bite on $7k for a rig that's needing a good bit of cosmetic assistance if it won't move on its own. OTOH, it could be a cool project at the right price. Good Luck!

DiNCA
 
take at the one melensdad has it had a recent restoration, an engine that has been ran recently ,and only $1000.00 more than this ca rig. yours is lacking some good photos of the track and interior and also the engine compartment. I think 7k is a little steep as it's not beautiful and has been sitting around a while. when all is said and done if you are in to it over 10 k after making all repairs you may have paid two much I would be hard pressed to give much more than 3 k for it but than i'm a tight asse
 
being a snow trac owner I have to admit there is nothing like the snow trac they are simple to control and inexpensive to maintain. of course they look quite a bit better than them bath tubs on tracks known as kristies aka krustys. the seamless steering and the fact they generally run in a straight line make them a dream to drive on long straight runs like I have to d up here where I live. deep snow and steep hills will leave you wanting more horse power. even with the up grade to 1776 long hill climbs in the soft sticky snow can bring the engine up in temp real fast how ever the thing will preform better in reverse than forward gears so I have never been stuck because I can always back out of any thing I drive into. in the wet sticky goo I was in this weekend I climbed several miles in reverse just to get to the top of the hill
 
knowing now, what I wished I knew then: I paid ttoooo much and it ran and moved under own power(i paid just over the asking price of yours). Price in at least $3-4K of improvements and/or beer/cider/whiskey (stay away from RUM) to get it nice. If you know air cooled VW you're ahead of the game. I just got mine in January, and I'm still on the steep slope of the learning curve.

The help here is fab, so if you want a project, make an offer of what you can afford. The end result can be a great rig, but it's not something you can just take to the shop when it breaks down.

Know that if you do take it on, the group expects pictures.

Tom owner of #2116 aka sno-whit
 
To repaint it will cost you at least $3K to do it right. That said if it runs $7K is realistic but not a really good deal either.

My guess is that the track belting will need redone soon, so add another $2K....So a more realistic offer should be in the $5K range IMHO, but $6k would not be all that bad either....

Good luck and tell him what a good home it will be going to. Treat it right and it will treat you right as well. Good luck...

Regards, Kirk
 
Cidertom said:
knowing now, what I wished I knew then: I paid ttoooo much and it ran and moved under own power(i paid just over the asking price of yours). Price in at least $3-4K of improvements and/or beer/cider/whiskey (stay away from RUM) to get it nice. If you know air cooled VW you're ahead of the game. I just got mine in January, and I'm still on the steep slope of the learning curve.

The help here is fab, so if you want a project, make an offer of what you can afford. The end result can be a great rig, but it's not something you can just take to the shop when it breaks down.

Know that if you do take it on, the group expects pictures.

Tom owner of #2116 aka sno-whit
Click to expand...
do stay away from rum look at Big Al. he got in to rum and that krusty looked so good he had to bring it home now he has been the subject of numerous jokes ever since .
 
dds said:
take at the one melensdad has it had a recent restoration, an engine that has been ran recently ,and only $1000.00 more than this ca rig. yours is lacking some good photos of the track and interior and also the engine compartment. I think 7k is a little steep as it's not beautiful and has been sitting around a while. when all is said and done if you are in to it over 10 k after making all repairs you may have paid two much I would be hard pressed to give much more than 3 k for it but than i'm a tight asse
Click to expand...

I think that, DON is right. You dont have to play, and spent money and time of course with something that you dont know what it needs. (Track belts- wheels- variator belt,VW motor, electric plug, colour e.tc.) You dont know exactly the condition of this ST4. I think Melensdad"s Snow Track is the right one, IF Melensdad still want to sell it.

Nikos
 
Chris take a look at Melensdad Snow Trac
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qfbMG8BkBo"]Snow Trac ST4 in the fields of northern Indiana - YouTube[/ame]
 
It all want you want and like. If it looks good to you and runs and close to home with parts.. I would think 7 is fair.
Melonsdad snow trac is a three bander.
 
Hey Guys thanks for the comments, Dan I'm from Lake Almanor (near Mt Lassen). Yeah, I think the 7k is pretty steep, I was kinda thinking about 4,500 is fair but being local I was going to offer him 5k which also hurts but being this thing is just so cool. What really intrigues me about the ST4 is the size/weight/vw power/mileage/looks all together. Been looking at a couple old Tuckers while they look so bad a$$ they are just huge and would require a huge truck/trailer just to move. Is the Melendad's Snow Trac for sale? That would be nice, but I'm not afraid to tackle a project, got two young boys that love getting their hands dirty! So we'll see how it goes, would love to be part of this sno cat asylum...... If you got some pics or stories post them up, It will keep me motivated!!
Cheers Chris
 
the early model snow trac's like mine had a 3 boggie assemblys and two belts with open windows under the road wheel's these were referd to as two band models for snow tracs, and 4 band models for snow master or trackmaster models. after 1970 when aktiv took over production . a big wheel like the tensioning wheel was added in the front ,to accommodate this change the driver sprockets had to be widened so a third belt was added down the center and the drive windows were now on the out side of the road wheels . these were refered to as 3 band models or big wheel models, and the snow masters were 5 band tracks
 
So this one must be a two bander? Is three better? The look on this guys face is just begging me too take her home!

 
it's tough to tell by the pictures I believe it's a 3 band model however I have seen some in the transition years with a big wheel and 2 band track. we have one member with a mcclarity rig that has a 2 band track with a big wheel I caught a glimps of the sprockets and they looked like 3 band sprockets. the 2 band track is more desirable, and less likely to walk out of a track in severe conditions but the front bogie carrier is the weak spot on the old 2 band models I cut all the crap out of mine and installed torsion trailer axles and 450x12 tires and it works great that way I also own a 3 band model not yet here yet the 3 band models also had a weaker grouser
 
Yea don, you run the crap out of yours. Mine is the same year as yours and the front boggies are still fine. although I never had survival gear ,camping gear and towed an atv with a 700lb moose on top. all at the same time .
lyndon said melonsdad is a 3 ban.
 
the 70 models are usually a 3 band track, how ever as Lyndon has stated the transition years are l funny .that one I believe is the same as MD' 3 bander which for general snow use should do him just fine, as long as he isn't trying to climb over dead falls or running through deep ruts at an angle. those conditions can twist the tracks at a great angle and cause it to peel off the drive sprockets. my biggest beef with the 3 band track has to do with wet snow packing up in between the track guides
 
Almanor, eh? I spend most of my snow time on the other side of the Middle Fork - Feather from Quincy, still in Plumas County. ~2 hrs. to Westwood. I'll meet you in Quincy for a cold one. :-D
 
Norcal, it's going to be hard to resist that one. Finding one close by is a bonus. If you are handy with the VW's you'll enjoy this thing. I picked one up last Nov. and been having a blast with it. Lots of tinkering but no big buckets of money thrown at it...yet. As far as paint, mine is like that one and I actually am ok with it. I am putting skis, sleds etc on the fenders and I think I'd have to be too careful if it were painted nice. That said, I'd buy Melensdad if you had a inexpensive way to ship it. I've put over 200 miles on it this winter and so far I've made it back to the trailer every time. You're right on the weight, and width, easy to trailer and to me that's huge. Has to be easy. They also fit in some of the more narrow trails around here pretty good. No regrets on buying mine. Post up some more pics if you have them.
 
Snowsurfer I have been reading your threads looks like a great time. Where did you pick up yours at? Still working on this guy, we will see how it goes. I want this thing so bad it's killin me.....Does anyone know if there are any Snow-Tracs in California besides this one?
 
yes I just sent out some grousers to a member in Berkley on the plus side the one krusty owner was run out on a rail and settled in idaho
 
NorCal said:
Snowsurfer I have been reading your threads looks like a great time. Where did you pick up yours at? Still working on this guy, we will see how it goes. I want this thing so bad it's killin me.....Does anyone know if there are any Snow-Tracs in California besides this one?
Click to expand...
One in oregon in the classifieds . It looks like it was a groomer at one time.
 
Norcal, when the bug bit me, I looked everywhere. Seemed most were in AK. I was thrilled when I found this one a 5 hour drive away. I found it at Steven Pass on Craigslist. It was used for cabin access. It needed (s) quite a bit of tinkering but overall, it's pretty sound. I'd say there's value in finding it so close. Good luck with it, hope you get it. :smile:
 
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