Posted by Sherman in Idaho [72.47.153.61] on Sunday, March 08, 2015 at 19:25:20 :
In Reply to: Re: Gordon McMillan - Thiokol Snow Cat posted by robert [208.101.237.87] on Sunday, March 08, 2015 at 16:01:06 :
The oldest Tucker I've seen (formerly of Timberline Lodge) had that little Ford V8 (?) with the distributor stuck on the front of the engine. Most of the '50s Tuckers used the Chrysler 230 with the crashbox tranny (not sure of the number). The '60s machines had 318s. The axles, front and rear, are Dodge corporate half-floating 8-3/4 rear axles. So, the whole drivetrain is as reliable as any of that stuff.
The main issue with any tracked vehicle is the tracks. They require a lot more maintenance and wear out a lot faster than rubber tires, and there's no way around it. The pontoons (which the tracks ride on) wear out, and can't really be repaired easily. You have something like 240 track rollers to grease every year. Hitting rocks makes the tracks and pontoons very unhappy. But they claw their way through snow where nothing else will go. A wide-track Thiokol like that would just slide right off of my road.