latest rag

Paul.
Can't wait to see the mag.
A. K.

[quote="Andrew"]Paul.
Can't wait to see the mag.
A. K.[/quote]

mate its a good read

I known Mark the writer and owner,builder of the V8 D8 and I don't think you could meet anyone a more down to earth Aussie. Marks writing is a story well told and written. Mark should be proud to get his story in the magazine and it is great to see his photos and the details of how he did the job. To pick on any of the words he has used is just un fair in any part of the world. A good read and good job Mark.

Thanks for the wrap Andrew, I'm certainly not going to change career anytime soon. Haven't received the mag yet so I can't see if any Liberty was taken at the editorial stage. I did offer the editors the right to adjust the article to fit their format but also asked if I could have a read before they printed. I wrote the article nearly a year ago now and haven't had any correspondence since, thought it wasn't up to scratch.
I look forward to having a read soon,
Hutchy

Hi, Hutchy.
Myself, I thought it was great stuff. Thanks for the story and the photos. I saw it running and pulling at Warracknabeal at Easter, 2015, and I liked it. Yours is the second one I have seen, but I was a lot closer to the first one, Paul McNae's, as it is based less than 20 minutes drive from me and I was in and out of their yard quite a bit at the time. It came about in similar circumstances, a running D17000 from a gen set with a crook generator and a D8 8R with a dead motor.

I will try to dig out some photos of it in the next few days. Here are a couple of videos of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W7-13PI4sY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH4RFCatWaU

Enjoy.

Just my 0.02.

here is what is in the magazine (the text anyway, sorry for the layout but thats how it appeared after cut and pasting the text.)
i am on the editing committee and the only thing suggested was photo captions.

What do you do with a
1946, D17000 V8 engine
that you have restored and is
slowly glazing up and dying?
This question was one that
was fiercely debated around
the fridge in the workshop
for many months before the
group decision was made to
graft it into a crawler.
It was decided that the donor
tractor would need to be
period and, of course, Caterpillar.

The D8 8R was made available
to us and seemed to be
the perfect choice. A 1942
model, running with a slight
miss, already had an engine
change (to a 1H) and was in
need of a good tidy-up. Many
visits with the tape measure
and the straight edge, pen
and paper and it was decided
that, yes, this was possible
and reasonably straight forward,
though not a project for
the faint hearted!
The first job was to remove
the engine from the tractor,
very straight forward and
achieved with minimal fuss. A
quick measure of the flywheel
and conformation with the
D17000 and we had a plan
for the clutch. A new set of
threaded holes for the drive
pins and bolt straight on.
After much measuring and
discussion it was decided to
widen the chassis and construct
a new cross member
and equalizer bar.
Once in the workshop and
dismantled it was clear that
more work would be required
in the transmission as the
cover on the end of the counter
shaft was damaged. On
further inspection, we found
the bolts retaining the end
plate had come out and damaged
the shaft. As with many
of these scenarios, what
starts out as ‘minor repairs’
ends in total strip-down and
rebuild.
After disassembling the
transmission and inspecting
the bevel gear shaft and
steering clutches, the decision
was made to take her
down all the way to the pinion
flanges. Everything was
removed and cleaned; only a
few seals and bearings and
the odd-sized linkage and adjuster
were replaced and the
project was back on track.
The chassis rails were unbolted
from the transmission
housing and the dowels removed,
templates were made
and some 2” spacers were cut
and drilled. With longer dowels
and bolts the rails were reinstalled
making the chassis
4” wider, allowing the timing
gear housing of the D17000 a
neat fit. With the chassis rails
in place, the new rear engine
mounts could be designed
and the engine placed in the
rails.
With the tractor starting to
take shape, the enthusiasm
went up a notch and in no
time we had the cross member
and equalizer bar constructed
and installed and the
front engine mount and radiator
support close behind.
The pressure really came
on when our local rally committee
announced that it
would be featuring Caterpillar
at its upcoming rally, only six
months away! With the deadline
set, it was all systems go
and in no time we had the radiator
sitting on and the coolant
lines in place. While work started to increase
for us, we still found
time to keep the project rolling
and with a few helping
hands we managed to have
her ready for a test drive with
a month to go.
The big V8 didn’t take all
that much firing up but the
pilot engine on the other
hand was being “typical”! After
swearing at it a few times
(seems to be the best way I
have found), it fired up and
away we went. All forward and
reverse gears were good and
steering was better than new!
After a few cold ales and
some pats on the back, the
age old paint debate reared
its head: 2 Pac vs Enamel. 2
Pac won because of its wearing
ability and ease of cleaning
and the strip down for
painting began.
With most of the groundwork
and undercoating completed
during the build, preparation
was not too difficult;
the problem was in getting
the weather conditions right
for painting. With time running
low we managed to get a
few good hours and she was
all yellow. What a sight!
Upholstery and sign writing
was completed on the eve
of the rally and was still only
touch dry as she went on the
lowboy, much to the disgust of
the sign writer.
With her first show a success
and many keen supporters,
we managed to ship her
around to a few shows, a highlight
being our National Rally,
held every two years with this
one being hosted in Tasmania,
the southern-most state
here in Oz,which required a voyage across Bass Strait.
This was the first time we had
ever required a ship to exhibit
at a rally.
With a few shows under
her belt now, we are very comfortable
with the conversion,.
The 8R seems to handle the
big V8 with no hesitation, and
is able to turn heads wherever
she goes. A double drum
LeTourneau PCU is currently
being rebuilt and will be installed
in the near future, allowing
a pan or the like to be
coupled up making for quite a
show.
As with all these projects
there were many contributors,
far too many to mention here
but they all know who they
are and should all be proud
of what’s been achieved. We
hope you have enjoyed our
story, and if you’re ever down
our way don’t hesitate to call
in and catch up. We’re always
looking for an excuse to talk
tractors.

mrsmackpaul,

I second Pete's thoughts on an article detailing the differences in terminology used worldwide for our particular interests here. I enjoy seeing and hearing the differences expressed by posts here or getting a perspective of how things are done in other parts of the world. As a kid, I learned what a "boot" was and also a "lorrie" from having a playmate who had recently come over to the states from Ireland. I went to your country at one point and learned that "sheilas" were put together pretty much the same as over here.😊 Right here on this forum I now know what a "pilot motor" is as well as a "float". I think that is good. I am NOT a globalist and like you, feel some things are best left unchanged including localisms and traditions as found in various parts of the world.

I enjoyed the article as submitted and hats off to the crew who pulled off stuffing this large engine into an old Cat tractor!

JanM