Hey Guys

My Dad was in the Construction business for a long time in Gilmanton WI (25 Miles So of Eau Claire WI), and over the years he came across a few older machines that he sold to a collector in Minnesota. I don't remember the collector's name, but he lived somewhere between the Twin Cities and Wabasha. I think he bought all three machines from Dad.

One was an old gas Sixty Cat that was purchased in the late sixties. It had a half moon canopy on it and was a bare machine. We had to start it with a bar on the flywheel. It was complete and ran just fine when Dad sold it. We still have pictures of that one.

Another was a D-2 that was a late model. Part of the Serial Number prefix was U, ( do remember that it was not a 3-J or a 5-J), It was in like new condition with the widest pads you could get from the factory, (Probably 14 or 16"), and a side tank with a PTO gear box mounted on the back with no blade or any other attachments. From a short distance this Cat looked like new! No bends in the sheet metal that I can recall. The pads still had the Cat stamp on them visable and the rails and grousers had very little wear on them. I remember it was one of the last ones made. We had bought it with a cracked transmission case and had changed it, so it would probably have two different serial numbers, although the one on the engine would be the correct one because we only changed the case and nothing else. I want to think that the Serial number was close to or possibly even over 10,000, but am not for sure about that. I do remember that it was a really high Serial Number when I had looked it up in a SN Book, the last year they were made. At the time we rebuilt the steering clutches and put in new brake bands, seals, and a new master clutch disc. Year model might have been 1954. Does that sound reasonable? He sold that Cat in the late 70s or early 80s I think.

The last machine he sold was a 4-T D-7 with a mechanical Hyster Towing Winch (Possibly a D-7D Winch) on back. No canopy, dry clutch, and part of the bellhousing was busted and it had a soft nose with two pegs sticking out of the side about at the bottom of the radiator to acomodate the old overhead cable frame. It had origionally had a LeTourneau overhead blade on it when Dad bought it, but he later removed the cable control and the overhead frame to converted it to the Hyster winch so we had a Cat to pull the newer stuff out when it got stuck because in later years we worked in a lot of swamps. This Cat had origionally been an Army Bulldozer during WWII. It had some green paint showing on the rear right side of the engine block where the yellow paint had peeled off under the oil filters. I believe it was made somewhere in the late 30's or early 40's I can't remember for sure but think Dad said it was a 1942 model. We had other Cats, (A couple of 3-T D-7s and a couple of 2-U D-8s), of that era, so I'm not completely sure of it's age, but I do know it was a Military Machine because of the 4-T Serial Number. and the OD Green Paint. He sold that one in the late 80s.

The best I can recall is that all three Cats sold to the same guy because he would stop in to see Dad every couple of years and eventually talked Dad into selling them to him. He was an older guy and I'm kind of thinking that he maybe had worked for the Cat dealer in the Twin Cities at one time and collected old Cat equipment for a hobbie. Does anyone know who I may be talking about or of any of these machines possibly? I'd apreciate knowing any information anyone can provide.

As long as I am at it, I may as well ask about a couple of other machines that I owned at one time. I had a D-2 one time with a Serial Number of 3-J 352. It was a 1938 Model narrow gague. It was a bare tractor. It had a home made canopy made out of steam pipe with expanded metal mesh on back and top on it with sweeps that sloped down to the top radiator mounts that had been added to. I had painted it with origional Cat Yellow paint and had painted the canopy black, so it looked really sharp. It had narrow pads with holes in the center and frost lugs welded on the pads for Wintertime traction in the woods. It was sold in the 80s at an auction in Eleva WI and might have gone to Northern or Central WI.

I also had a D-4 with a blade and a Hyster D-4D winch on it with a similar canopy. I can't remember the Serial Number, but it had one unusual feature which I added. The winch had a piece of grouser bar welded on the top left side that was hard faced and sharpened with a grinder to a running point to be used as a cable cutter. If the cable got frayed, you could lay it over the bar and hit it once or twice with a shop hammer and cut off the bad part so you could braid a new loop in it. That sold at an early Nitke Auction in Wausau. It had a couple of teeth missing off the bull gear in the right hand final drive. (Someone rented it from me and tried to move it after it froze down and broke the teeth because he didn't know what he was doing). The blade was a real rag, it leaked and drifted badly and was only good for pushing brush out of the way. It was an angle blade and was REALLY worn out.

If anyone has any info on any of these machines, or knows where they are, or what happened to them I would really apreciate knowing it.

Thanks

Chris B. Weilep
Gilmanton, WI

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715-946-3273

Gee, it's funny that there is no one who might remember this guy from Minnesota with all the Minnesota collectors out there. And the same for the several guys who are from central and northern WI.

Come on guys, somebody must have either seen at least one of these machines, or know who I am talking about from Minnesota. Dad said he had quite a big collection. It's funny that I haven't gotten at least a guess from someone.

I'm hoping someone will remember.

Thanks

Chris

Chris, contact me off list and I will give you the phone # of some one who might know who the collector is.
Terry