That's all real interesting GWH & Quad----I had always "heard" that Cat was somewhat forced into the diesel business by competition.

(after all----competition is what keeps the world moving forward; in conjunction with the old saying: "necessity is the mother of invention")

Your converted 60 should be a real prize winner GWH.

Delta Dirt

thansk guys, learning something new everyday with this computer.

thansk

This last Saturday I was banging and clanging away on some old banger, (machine that is, ) on the floor next to me was a great chunk of Iron that I kept looking at and trying to guess what it was off, now I have fiddled with Cat Sixtys, a bit so I know all about those holes around the Flywheel for the starter bar, this chunk of Iron had those same holes ,??? I poked about with this chunk a bit more to find that the Flywheel was fitted with a drive divider gear set, Later I asked the owner about it , he said yes its' off an old Cat 60 that was converted to run the 8800 four hole motor, he then said those Atlas motors were not a lot of Cop, I suppose it all depends on if your glass is half full, or half empty,???
sort of amazed tctractors

Maybe Dave Smith will see this and post a copy of the Atlas conversion picture hanging on his shop wall, looks like it might be one of those Kaiser conversions.

The earlier Cat conversions of the Sixties used the D7700 engine. There were about 45 or 50 of these made.

Subsequent conversions of the Sixties used the D8800 engine, of which 55 were made.

These conversions were in "kit" form, and could be done either at the dealership, or by the owner.

Interestingly, in Jim Zimmerman's experience, the earlier D7700 seem to be more numerous than the D8800. They were probably all confined to the West Coast of the U.S. (California).

Anyone with more information is welcome to post it.

GWH

Did they not also offer the D9900 as a conversion kit also?
Ken

In England we have a great Cat Sixty that is powered via' the Big Atlas, this tractor was one of two Sixtys' (the other gas powered) owned by Peter Thomas, he sold the gas (propane) powered tractor by Auction at the Welland Steam Rally to John Foster who takes this Cat for a run about at every show /event he can, I have driven this tractor ,also started it a few times, this is a process that you can only get better at the more times you try, Peter Thomas used the cash £££ from the sale of the one Sixty ,to enable a restoration of the Atlas tractor to go ahead, ( or did he spend it on a Race Horse, I forget??) anyhow the Atlas is a realy correct looking tractor , it is wearing the old style tracks (grouser at the back) extended header tank on the rad, also it looks as though the engine could rip itself out of the main framework without any effort, as it looks " BIG " The Atlas was at a few shows last year and is hopefully going to be making some dust this coming year,it is EX Joe Hiedrick , we do have some good toys in England!!!!!!.

tctractors

I'd just add to tc's earlier post by noting that Peter is a member of Chapter 2.

The story I read about the Atlas Imperial Diesel-powered Kaiser Sixtys, was that they were not a success, because the Atlas engine was too heavy, had too much torque, and tore the Sixtys apart, making them far less reliable than the genuine article.

The Atlas was designed purely as a marine engine .. and weight, torque and vibration were not major concerns in that application.
Air start was a feature of the Atlas that was less than desirable as a tractor starting system, in Caterpillar engineers eyes .. and lack of a decent intake air cleaning system was another factor that was regarded as highly undesirable in a tractor diesel.

A 1933 Cat Diesel brochure I have, describes the factors that Cat considered paramount, for the design of a crawler tractor diesel engine .. these factors were ..

1. Ability to maintain load for long periods of time, without without a drop in power, or smoky exhaust ..
2. An ability to idle smoothly, without irregular running or missing ..
3. An ability to handle variable loads with accurate governing, and quick responsiveness, under frequent load changes ..
4. An ability to run smoothly without pounding or roughness in operation ..
5. It must be able to handle a wide variety of diesel-type, low cost fuels (as there were no set standards or benchmarks for diesel fuel, as is the case today) ..
6. It must be free from the necessity of frequent delicate checks and adjustments, and free from operating annoyances ..
7. It must have a simple, reliable and positive means of starting, easily operated, and capable of functioning continuously for whatever period was necessary (note, that air start was NOT regarded as a reliable system by Cat!) ..
8. The Cat diesels maintenance costs had to be low, to meet the expectations of Caterpillar owners .. as low operating costs were a major advantage in owning a Cat.

Needless to say, light weight was also a major consideration in the Cat diesel design .. as all other diesels up to that point, were all considered to be too heavy for crawler tractor use.

The end result was that 4 other manufacturers diesels were purchased, and their operating systems studied, and their weaknesses found (for tractor operation) .. and every type of diesel fuel injection, and combustion system, examined .. before low pressure mechanical injection, and precombustion chamber design, was decided on, as the perfect requirement ..

At that point, Cat did many thousands of hours of research into diesel fuel flame propagation and combustion .. and even designed testing equipment that did not previously exist, to examine the actual combustion process at speeds of hundredths of a second .. a pioneering feat in that era ..

The Cat diesel was one of the most expensive and thorough design developments, to be undertaken at the height of the Great Depression .. and is testament to Cat management, that they saw the project to highly successful completion, at a time when many other manufacturers were dropping like flies ..

ohe.cat.com/cda/layout?m=85361&x=7

OzDozer, I found the material in the link very interesting. Thank you for posting.

By the way, I have received additional information to the effect that the conversion kits for Sixties were as follows:

45 kits were produced for the D7700;

55 kits were produced for the D8800.

GWH