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snowcatting in February

N

nikadog

1959 Thiokol 4VL
Site Supporter
It was a beautiful day for snowcatting in california. We were at 4.000 feet on a south slope. We stopped for lunch and took these pictures.
 

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Nice pictures and what a nice day but we want to see more pictures of that Thiokol, it is a real piece of history
 
Neat - where in California. Looks like you were south of Tahoe, perhaps north of Yosemite. . .maybe even near Truckee.
 
Tell us much, much more about the 4VL!!!! Please we need to know. How is maintenance? The wood/metal cleats? More pictures too please! We're a demanding bunch when we see something with a juicy history and is so rare. It also touches on the topic of usability and reliability of an older cat... a 1959 or so? Costs to keep it running, etc?

THANKS!
 
nikadog said:
It was a beautiful day for snowcatting in california. We were at 4.000 feet on a south slope. We stopped for lunch and took these pictures.
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Looks really nicely maintained. Not to mention that you had a really great day!
 
Great pics!!! I am glad you are able to get another great Thiokol machine out in the snow and actually put it to the use test. More pics would be appreciated as they do say a 1,000 words......:thumb:
 
Thanks for the encouraging posts. To Kgracey, we have property 10 miles from the nearest plowed road, at 5.000 feet. Our place is in CA, between highway 88 and and highway 4. I found this forum a few months ago. I wish I had known sooner this great resource. It would not have taken seven years to get it running. Rebuilding the tracks were straight forward but exspensive for me to do on a tight budget. Two boys in college now. The maintenance? I not sure yet. The cat is a simply design but very functional. The weak link in the design is probably the dual shaft rearend. It looks in get shape but after reading postings in the ff I should be very careful with it and not abuse it. Ten miles is not far for some but far me and my family to snowshoe out. I have taken caution in bringing supplies and equipment for the eventual break down. My guess it will be at the worst possible time and place with the worst weather coming. I have enjoyed all the postings from you guys and gals. I'll send more pictures when I can. I have a video of the 4vl but need to learn how to post it on the ff. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Mark.
 
Mark---thanks for the background! We're all looking forward to photos and the possibility of videos is mouth watering! Yea, it seems the tracks are often a pretty pricey chunk of the project...that and a diff or the twin rear-end...the heart of the kitty. ;)
But I wouldn't get too worried about that dual-shaft system... I have two of them and they've run like champs without fail. In fact, one of them was used for a short period as a log-skidder hauling a heck of a load very actively for close to a year. Went through the whole thing after that and replaced bearings, etc...but the dual shaft system was rock solid. Still runs like a clock. Maybe I've just been lucky. But, mtntopper and I both agree that being easy on a system is by far the best way because other treatment is just asking for trouble!

Looking forward to your photos when you have time. I have a good source for parts if you need.
 
Thanks Mainer, If and when I need to rebuild the rear end, do you know where I can have the work done? Can you Post or PM me with your part supplier? I think Big Al or Bob Shurka had a thread for part suppliers. I'm still looking for it. thanks Mark.
 
Looks like you had a great day!!:thumb:

It is always great to see a family snow cat outing like that!!
 
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