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Snow Master Restoration ~ by Snowcat Operations

Re: Painting my Snow Master

Again Never use silicone ! Ever ! You should not even have a silicone tube in a body shop !

The 3M body automotive sealant will work fine(better) to join and seal pieces of body parts together no matter what . If it squeezes out a little ,no harm is done . If it is silicone ,it is just about impossible to get a good tight finished painted joint or seam . Believe me ,someone used it in my KT7 and I spent hours getting that crap removed .
 
Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

Here is a quick lesson on the removal of the windows and the gaskets. If you are going to take the time to repaint your Snow Master or Trac then take the 15 minutes it took me to remove all of the glass. This will make for a much nicer paint job. DO NOT MASK AROUND THE WINDOWS! It will take you longer to mask and do a nice job than it will to remove and reinstall the windows. BigAl told me how to do it on a PM and it was even easier than what he told me. 15 minutes later and I was done! This is my first time doing this. Pics to follow.
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

I'm guessing you just pulled the locking strip out of the rubber. Popped the windows. Then pulled the rubber. There are 2 basic types of rubber that lock the windows in. Some have a rubber locking strip, some have a folding lock. You can buy replacement stripping at many auto parts stores and catalogues.
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

Well photos will have to come later. Here is a quick how to. On the inside of the window is the widow gasket and inside that gasket is a rubber cord. Find the seem and with a flat tip screw driver (small) pry out one end of the cord. (where saftey glasses and dont try and pry it up so hard that if you slip the screw driver doesnt bury itself into you eye socket!) Now grasp the cord and pull it out. Now on all the outer edges simply push towards the center of the window. This will break the 30 plus year seal. now on the bottom push the gasket up and out of the metal window opening. This is the hardest part of the whole job (and its not hard). Work the whole bottom section out gently. No need to be the Hulk here. Now go outside and grab the bottom of the window and gasket and wiggle down. Do NOT pull so hard that when it leaves the opening you break your window because you smashed it down. All of this with simple easy movements will work fine. Mine were a bit harder since the gasket edge was painted in the past when they repainted the outside.
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

Yes Bob I will be replacing the gaskets and the windows. I will have those reinstalled by a professional. I was quated $80 to $120 bucks to have these removed! What a rip off. I may just buy a window installation kit (professional window installation tools). But since I will have to have the widows cut to fit I may just have the new ones installed. BUT I will watch them do it! After that I should be able to do it myself. BigAl may even know how to reinstall windows. I'm sure its simple to do. Just that this first one will be repainted and I dont want to scratch it. I will keep my windows stored for safe keeping and will also build templates from them to give to my Glass guy. (remember he will need the thickness too)
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

Glass installation is easy if you use the right tools and lubricants. One thing to remember is that the gasket itself doesn't always seal to the metal well, so you might have to caulk under the rubber. When reusing original glass, mark the opening that it came from and which side of the glass was to the outside, and place an arrow to indicate the UP direction. All these things will make the job easier. Also, if you purchase replacement glass, make sure that they polish the edges of the freshly cut glass. It will save you lots of cuts on your fingers if they do this one step. Also have a spare cut at the same time, for future damage..... Junk....
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

I had good luck using the old seals by cleaning them off with brake cleaner and lubing them up with silacone after. Also I found both types, the fold over and the one that use an insert piece, at automotive glass shops. A local glass shop that did alot of car restoration work charged me 300$ to replace all the glass, put in new seals, and add sliding wing windows for a 63 tucker 443 which had 8 pieces of glass.
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

Thanks. I pre marked everything from the inside. I just stacked all the glass with the original rubber in a plastc crate box. The exception is the two larger windows. Those are in my small work shop.
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

Great idea on having the edge polished. I will make sure they do this wether I install it or not. Should help the next time I repaint.
 
Re: Removing the windows out of my Snow Master

Polishing the edges is done by running the glass around a fixed belt sander that has water lubrication. It might take 2 or 3 minutes or less to do a 12" square piece of glass.
 
Steering column today

My goal today will be to pull the steering column as well as the dash and wire harness. My question is has anybody removed a column before? I am not sure how to do it so I just wanted some pointers. I will go through my manuals to see if there are some detailed pictures / diagrams that may give more of an insite. BUT first hand knowledge is always better.
 
Re: Steering column today

Once you get it unbolted from the Variator the only thing holding it in place is the 2 hole pipe clamp under the dash. You must remove the steering wheel in order to slide it out.
 
Re: Steering column today

Thanks Lyndon. Will do. It needs to be repainted as well as the whole interior. I'm just going to paint it another color or I would just leave it in.
 
Re: Steering column today

Heres another question. Do you know off hand what size that steering wheel nut is. If not no big deal. I just dont have anything big enough and was going to have my wife pick up a socket on her way home. Thanks.
 
Re: Steering column today

Mike

How about some step by step photos?




:nopics:
 
Re: Steering column today

Mike ,
You may need a "steering wheel puller" also if the wheel is swedged in place . I have one here if you do and we can pull it real quick .
Allen
 
Re: Steering column today

I just re-fixed my digital camera. So I will be able to take pictures. I didnt do anything today since I dont have the proper size socket yet. I Also have to build a fence Saturday so Sunday should see me doing quite a bit on the snow cat. I will post photos of all work. Also my kids wanted to play today at the park. So most of my day was there.
 
Re: Steering column today

I don't know what size it is but I know that it's metric. Put a puller on it and tap the center bolt of the puller and it will pop right off. It's tapered with a woodruf key. Somewhere around 26mm.
 
Re: Steering column today

The nut holding on the steering wheel is 27MM. I had pre soaked mine for a few days. Going out once or twice a day to re spray it. Held the steering wheel Loosened the nut wiggled the steering wheel straight back and off no problems.
 

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Pressure washed the engine compartment.

Today I pressure washed the engine compartment real good. This time I had a real pressure washer and was able to clean the last 30 years or greasy oily gunk that was pasted all along the variators and transmission. You couldnt even tell there was paint under all that grudge. Took me two hours to really clean it good. I used Citrol and Castro super clean to pre soak everything. I did this about three times. I then pressure washed between each soaking. Now it will be much nicer to pull the Variators and transaxle.
 

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Re: Pressure washed the engine compartment.

Next to come out is the Transaxle or Dash board. Havent decided yet. That will have to wait till after lunch and after I clean off all the grease that got sprayed one me.
 
Re: Pressure washed the engine compartment.

Taking it apart is the easy part...... getting it back together and working is the hard part. That is why "basket cases" come in two versions.... women, and mechanical things.....:yum: :yum: :yum:
 
Re: Pressure washed the engine compartment.

Take the Variator out. You may find that there is a bit more pressure washing to do. In order to take the dash out you will need to take the front part of the cab off. It's all 1/4 20. If you try to back the nuts off the large #3 phillips screws will usually strip out. the easy way is to Hold the phillips and overtighten the bolts until they break off. You'll need a 6point 7/16 socket, 3/8 drive, deep, works best. You only need to remove the Steel section of the cab, which is the windshield and wing window section. The 2 upper rear sections of the cab are alloy and don't usually need to be sand blasted. You simply clean them up, scruff them up and they are ready for paint. The Steel cab section is an entirely different beast. It really should be sandblasted or bead glassed. There are various places that have been spot welded that need to be sealed with something like POR 50 or equal. Braise up any unused holes too. Leaky cabs suck! People drill all sorts of holes to support antenna's and lights that later get abandon. Braising is easiest but someone with a small wire rig that's good at body work and sheet metal can dress them up that way too. Prime, Paint blah, blah, blah,....Now for the Dash. You've got to get all the electrical disconnected, pull out all the control cables for chocke and throttle, remove the speedo cable and any windshield wiper linkage THEN the dash will come off. It usually doesn't need to be sandblasted. Original paint was Hammerite Silver. It's available in spray cans and one can will do the whole job. Don't forget to tape off the all important "Don't turn machine..." Tag that is right above the steering columb.
 
Re: Pressure washed the engine compartment.

I don’t care what you and Lyndon say ,that thing still looks much more complicated then my KT7 . That viberator thingy has still got me buffaloed on how it works .:smileywac

NO !!! Don’t tell me . My brain is taking a break and I don’t want to think .:moon:

And whoever is walking on that hood by the front window had better not let me catch him doing it again !!! I am a body and paint man not a
miracle worker . I may have to warm up a few hides over that !!!:mad: :mad:
 
Re: Pressure washed the engine compartment.

Actually Big Al is totally correct, they ARE more complicated. When you think about it the engine, tranny, brakes, heat system and complicated steering assembly as well as some additional gearing in the form of sprockets and drive chains are all stuffed into a 3 Ft. by 3 Ft. by 2 Ft. area making the engine compartment a pretty busy place. Tucker's, Thiocol's, and Bombardier's are all simpler machines. Compound that with a VW aircooled that's in backwards and it's a wonder that most mechanics didn't arrainge for their buddy with the tow truck and car crusher to "Haul Off & Dispose of Properly" after the first time they ever opened the hood! I'm can't imagine how many mechanics that were pretty fimiliar with ford,chrysler, and GM products Cursed, Cussed, Kicked and thru up their hands in complete disgust at these marvelous beasts that only a true VW hippie could love. Like I always said: One has to be a real 'Glutton for punishment' to own a "Trac Rig'.
 
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