Reviewing my photos of the show at Tulare, California, which took place several years ago when Caterpillar was the featured tractor, I found some photos that I though I'd put up here. I have a diesel conversion 60 that is currently and actively undergoing restoration by Jim Zimmerman at Orchard, Iowa. I wanted to find photos of other similar tractors for his guidance. And look what I found! BTW, Doug is (I think) a cousin of Ed Akin's, for whom I just posted a tribute to his service of 6 years to the club. Hope you enjoy these photos. GWH

Some more photos

Here a 60 with a Atlas

Cat 60 Atlas

Wow, Quad! What an engine! Looks almost too big for the tractor frame. Who did the conversion? GWH

GWH,
Do I understand you right as you are having a different motor put in a 60? What model is this one above? catskinner

Catskinner, I bought a diesel conversion 60 several years ago. It is now under restoration. At one time, it was a gasoline-powered 60, but in the mid thirties, the owner took it to a Cat dealer and had it converted to diesel power by removal of the gas engine and replaced with a Cat diesel 8800 engine. I bought it. The diesel 8800 engine was completely worn out. I secured one just like it, and it is in excellent condition. It will be installed in place of the 8800 engine currently in the tractor. GWH

GWH

From the artixel:

The Cat is the only surviver of tree Sixtys that were fitted with Atlas diesel engines in 1928 by the famous American industrialist and millionaire schipbuilder Henry J Kaiser- the man behind the Hoover Dam and the San Francisco Bay Bridge projects.

During the 1920s and 1930s Kaiser build most of America’s highways using Caterpillar and Le Tourneau equipment.

The story goes that Kaiser having had his requests for a diesel crawler ingnored by Caterpillar, told Cats president, RG Force, that he would build his own.

He subsequetly purchased three Sixtys and converted them to diesel during 1928 by installing four cylinder Atlas Imperial engines.

According to the records, this was the first of the three Caterpillar to have an Atlas diesel installed and was the actual first Sixty chassis off thr line in 1927.

Kaiser always claimed that it was the prototype for the Caterpillar diesel and used to greet Cat acquaintances with Caterpillar “Oh yes I put you into diesels”


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The D8800 engine was what the D7 tractors used with some changes & improvements over the years until the 17A D7 came out & then it had the D339 engine in it but still was a 4 cyl. engine. Those old 8800s had a sound of it,s own when running.They both were more or less a basic 4 cyl. version of the D8 6 cyl. engines, the early D13000 & the later D342 but had some differences.

Quad, Henry Kaiser was quite a fellow. The Caterpillar diesel story has been published without any mention of Henry's role. Cat claimed that it took them some time to develop a diesel engine that was appropriate for a non-stationary application. Looks like Henry beat them to the punch, years before Cat was ready. GWH