help me identify

craig 300u

New User
Looking at buying a track loader a guy has. i havn't been able to go and look at it yet. I do know that it was made by american tractor corp. goin to try and upload some phots here and see if anyone can help me find a little info this loader
a87318.jpg

a87319.jpg

a87320.jpg

a87321.jpg
 
i can see model number on that tag but cant make out the last part...its either 7L??? or TL???
i'd check that machine out in person with someone that KNOWS undercarriage...i can see a major cash hemmorrage in that alone...i'd give less than scrap unless it runs good.
 
If those are the pictures of it, if I was you, I would let her set right where she is and let the grass grow up around it. If it runs at all the first thing it will need is a set of tracks and they aren't cheap. I could be wrong but it looks like the rails are about shot.
 
The Farmer is right. Let it set. If you don't have a lot of work for one just lease a tractor and let them do all repairs. If you really have a lot of use to own one buy a decent tractor and you will be $$$$$ ahead.
 
American Tractor was started by a DP from Europe after WWII. Terratrac was the brand name of the tractors that the company made.

American Tractor company merged with JI Case and the DP became the President of JI Case. The DP was a dishonest manipulator, as was his wife who was a stockbroker.

When Case introduced their new line of tractors, the DP had the dealer meeting in a bull fighting arena in Mexico, with bottles of Tequila everywhere in the arena bleachers. Case personnel circulated among the intoxicated dealers with order pads.

As the orders were turned in, Case stock soared - and the DP's wife was selling their personal blocks of stock at inflated prices. When the dealers sobered up a couple days later, they cancelled orders right and left - and Case stock fell and eventually forced Case into filing bankruptcy. But before the company filed bankrupcty, the DP & his wife had fled the country for some island where they couldn't be touched.

I wouldn't buy anything Terratrac just on general principle, plus I don't know if Case has any parts for them.
 
My best advice is to look for something better. The machine in your pictures would take THOUSANDS to get into half decent operating condition.
 
Craig, if it appeals to you, go get it! It is definitely a curious looking machine. I can't help you identify it more than to Google it and see what surfaces, but I think you might luck out on this one, and drive it onto the trailer! It hasn't been sitting there all that long, 2 or 3 years I'd guess. Plus, it has a tight muffler with a can on top. If it needs an undercarriage, so what? You don't have to do everything at once, including replacing undercarriage components. Do me a favor, will ya? If you don't take it, give me the guy's number?
 
Thanks for the help everyone. He is asking 1500 for it, says it drives and the loader works, says that the right side track likes to walk off when on hills. I still plan on going down to kentucky and looking at the machine when i get a chance. He is asking $1500 for it. will see what i can get him down to on price.
 
I have 3 of these that run + 1 for parts. 1 diesel 2 gas. Diesel has bucket. 1 gas has 4 way hyd tilt blade. 1 has manual angle straight blade. All have good undercarrige. Will sell all for $6000 or 2500 each.
 
Coming from a man that has drug home what appeared to be junk, I say find out the weight plus the local scrap price and that is all it will be worth. Add in hauling cost of coarse.
Parts will be scarce at best, it is not a popular collector model, it is way past worn out.
Spend more up front and get something that is going to do a little work.
 
You'd have to be able to start it for it to drive and the loader work. Let him show you it runs. I bet it's the old, it ran when it was parked deal. $1500 is way too much! It will cost you thousands to get it in useable codition and parts will be hard to find with no guarantee. Seriously, it is too far gone to be worth looking at. A bobcat would work circles around that machine.
 
(quoted from post at 16:17:03 10/26/12) American Tractor was started by a DP from Europe after WWII. Terratrac was the brand name of the tractors that the company made.

American Tractor company merged with JI Case and the DP became the President of JI Case. The DP was a dishonest manipulator, as was his wife who was a stockbroker.

When Case introduced their new line of tractors, the DP had the dealer meeting in a bull fighting arena in Mexico, with bottles of Tequila everywhere in the arena bleachers. Case personnel circulated among the intoxicated dealers with order pads.

As the orders were turned in, Case stock soared - and the DP's wife was selling their personal blocks of stock at inflated prices. When the dealers sobered up a couple days later, they cancelled orders right and left - and Case stock fell and eventually forced Case into filing bankruptcy. But before the company filed bankrupcty, the DP & his wife had fled the country for some island where they couldn't be touched.

I wouldn't buy anything Terratrac just on general principle, plus I don't know if Case has any parts for them.

Dick, are you making this up? What was the name of the DP? I have never seen this info before and it is interesting even if you made it up.
 
What do you intend to do with it? If you're looking for a restoration project to preserve a piece of history then maybe, MAYBE it's worth pursuing.
If you're looking for something to use, don't walk, RUN away from that thing. I agree with the others. It's way past worn out and it will cost a fortune to get in workable condition. Even if the guy gave it to you, the cost to rebuild it will outweigh what it will be worth. You'd be money ahead to buy something in better condition.
My Dad had an excavating business in the 50's. He bought a NEW Terratrac. He said it was the most trouble prone piece of equipment he ever saw. One of the many problems it had was the tracks would walk off......and it was new!
 
And still, the hits just keep on coming. I don't understand what's wrong with you guys. Why is everyone so concerned about what he's going to do with it? If he were going to replace a Cat 931, then your comments would have some usability, but this worthless blabber is just trying to dispirit the guy. What's wrong with a 1500.00 price tag? It appears to me about the same size as a TD-9, which weighs 9700 without a blade. With a loader frame and bucket, at 200/ton, that price is pretty close. Too hard to get parts for it? What are you guys even doing here at Yesterday's Tractors? 90% of what we do we can't f------ get parts for!! All he wanted was a little information. A guy comes to this forum all excited about saving a machine, and you kick him in the head. Nice work.
 
(quoted from post at 00:41:50 11/01/12) And still, the hits just keep on coming. I don't understand what's wrong with you guys. Why is everyone so concerned about what he's going to do with it? If he were going to replace a Cat 931, then your comments would have some usability, but this worthless blabber is just trying to dispirit the guy. What's wrong with a 1500.00 price tag? It appears to me about the same size as a TD-9, which weighs 9700 without a blade. With a loader frame and bucket, at 200/ton, that price is pretty close. Too hard to get parts for it? What are you guys even doing here at Yesterday's Tractors? 90% of what we do we can't f------ get parts for!! All he wanted was a little information. A guy comes to this forum all excited about saving a machine, and you kick him in the head. Nice work.
It depends on what his expectations are. We're just trying to warn the guy about what he might be getting himself into. I don't think anyone on here is against saving or using vintage equipment. That thing is best left as yard art or part it out to help someone save better machines. Just being realistic.
 

Craig,

When you get enough of the noise on here,
come over to the case terratrac group on
yahoo. Many owners of the GT's there. The
model and ser # is on the top flange of the
frame rail by the starter, the tag you have a
picture of is the loader #.

I don't have the small terratracs,but I have
the big ones and they have been as good as any
of the competition.

george
 
Rick. HOW DO YOU KNOW THE REPAIR CONDITIONS WOULD COST THOUSANDS?????Horse hockey. Most repairs can be made with a little mechanical ability. That alone NEGATES your claim to thousands to repair. We did our own from frame up to complete repairs. Never was Thousands involved. That we can prove.
In todays Machinery, Replacement parts made in Japan,China are cheaper to buy,even are used in new name brand Machines.Only difference is whether you buy them from a dealer(at a considerable mark up) or off the internet thru a cheaper distributor.
LOU
 
I don't think anyone is purposely trying to come down on the poster. I think we would rather see him keep his money and look for something a little better than find out it will cost thousands to put in working condition or isn't worth fixing. Maybe it would bring $1500 in scrap. Is that before or after he puts more money in it? How much for trucking to pick it up, take it home and then decide it needs to go to the scrap yard. Spending say $500 to get your $1500 back results in a $500 loss.

OK Lou, since YOU brought it up, prove it. Every nickle and not some crazy amount to change the subject. Initial cost plus everything to restore it and number of hours spent.
 
Will be glad to give you the receiepts when you come to my home to look at em. Other wise take my word for it.The machine is valued at $8500.00 according to my insurance adjuster,cost 1100.00 to buy the dozer, 75.00 to have it delivered 1 mileaway from my home. bills totalling parts which includes bull gear, seals,pins, bushings, track plates,$40.00 for pump seals, $65.00 for oil,$30.00 for paint,$7.00 welding rod.All total $1500.00.Now are you satisfied???
LOU
 
Forgot the amount of time, Free time,that means any spare time I had, since I'm retired.

Oh and by the way why give advice on something that was not ask for by the original poster? Does that make you feel important??? What appears to me seems as though an older member of your family wouldn't be worth putting money and time to be made usable again.
Where did he say he's making a special trip out there, he might have relatives he's visiting. Seems you make alot of "ASSUMPTIONS" which I don't have to tell you about what they say about assuming?
Now the prices I gave you were rounded up to the nearest dollar.
LOU

P.S. When can I expect you out to look at the reciepts??
 
(quoted from post at 23:34:55 10/31/12) Will be glad to give you the receiepts when you come to my home to look at em. Other wise take my word for it.The machine is valued at $8500.00 according to my insurance adjuster,cost 1100.00 to buy the dozer, 75.00 to have it delivered 1 mileaway from my home. bills totalling parts which includes bull gear, seals,pins, bushings, track plates,$40.00 for pump seals, $65.00 for oil,$30.00 for paint,$7.00 welding rod.All total $1500.00.Now are you satisfied???
LOU

Lou, didn't you do a pictorial of all the work you did on that thing? I seem to remember you buying a lot of steel and doing a lot of cutting and welding.

As far as this machine goes, I see nothing wring in warning a guy that crawlers are very often money pits. I'll never get my investment back out of my JD 1010. I've got about $4K tied up in a machine that might bring $3500.00 and the tracks are still shot and the hoses still need replacing. I think all people are doing is saying- be careful.
 
Well i went down to kentucky the other day and looked at it. It was only a little over an hour away so cost me less then $100 in diesel both ways. I did end up buying it. after we cleaned the mud out from the rails almost everything looked in real good condition yet. It needs a bearing in the front idler roller on one side. Need to replace 2 track pads and clean it up and repaint it, But the machine fired up right away drove nice and the hydraulics worked like a charm. I found the right data plate and it is a G500. I wont be over using the machine. just really needed something cheap with a bucket on it to work round the land cleaning up trees and moving rock around and doing a little digging here and there. Can"t afford to go buy a new tractor to do everything i need to do. I already had a international 300 u for all my 3 point work so this machine will help me with anything i need to do with a bucket. Thanks for everyones input though on the machine. It was greatly appreciated
 
George,

Hi, I did also join your group on yahoo also, Just that i do most of my posting here at work and i work for the government so there computers block yahoo groups so cant really get on that site till i get home.
 
Well, that proves that you can't judge a book by it's cover! Just looking at it, I would have never thought that it would fire up that easily. Heck, were I looking for something like that, I would have bought it too. What really interests me though,is the car in the background!
 
It's good to hear that you appreciated ALL the advice, and weren't put off by the fact that some people didn't answer your exact question exactly the way you wanted.

Even better to hear the machine is much better condition than it looks in the pictures... Usually it's the opposite.
 
Bret"Kept a running photo (disk)layout for our benefit. Now What steel that you think We bought to make needed repairs? The only steel we bought was for the Tow bar, and most of that we had out back in the shed, bought to repair the I.H.706.Small pieces we had underneath the work bench. I seen where the gentleman bought the unit and when he looked at it, wasn't near as bad (need for his usage) and will be brought back again. GOOD FOR HIM.I'M still waiting for the fellow to come look at our receipts. Lots of dis=believers on here.If he shows up, that would make him a nosy nib chit.lol. I will State again for the record, hadn't it been for Jde Marris, we would have been up the creek for valued information. Jde has the expert advice plus he backs up with information he supplies. on questions he answers. Any way folks, I'm happy for the fellow who ignored the RUN DON'T WALK AWAY SYNDROME.MHO.inclosed LOU.
 
(quoted from post at 11:59:28 11/01/12) Well i went down to kentucky the other day and looked at it. It was only a little over an hour away so cost me less then $100 in diesel both ways. I did end up buying it. after we cleaned the mud out from the rails almost everything looked in real good condition yet. It needs a bearing in the front idler roller on one side. Need to replace 2 track pads and clean it up and repaint it, But the machine fired up right away drove nice and the hydraulics worked like a charm. I found the right data plate and it is a G500. I wont be over using the machine. just really needed something cheap with a bucket on it to work round the land cleaning up trees and moving rock around and doing a little digging here and there. Can"t afford to go buy a new tractor to do everything i need to do. I already had a international 300 u for all my 3 point work so this machine will help me with anything i need to do with a bucket. Thanks for everyones input though on the machine. It was greatly appreciated
Craig, I hope the Terratrac serves you well.
Pops
 
No. Back when you did the work you were very reluctant to say how much you spent and all of a sudden you say only $1500. I thought you spent over $300 just replacing hydraulic hoses. I don't think anyone would believe you only spent $1500.
 
Your talking about the SSteel lines on the I.H.706.Ruber hoses were usable on crawler. The suction hose on the crawler 1-1/4 was usable. Still if you are in doubt. come on over and gander at the receipts. Like I said, I'll be happy to show you all the expenses on the crawler, and then everyone will know you are a giant Nib chit of unproportionate size. what i say, I can back up. You keep forgetting the 706 venture where we did spend some money on repair parts. Get it right before you stumble over your man unit. LOU.
 
Why the double name of old loader,when in fact you are stick welder,Dave??? Ashamed of posting your real handle,so everyone knows who you are?? Still trying to get in the back door to find out what we paid?? Also No we aren't still buying the tracks off of CH like you so vehemently tryed to get us to do. Stick with welding, it takes all your left over brain cells to compete against the other women employees in your workplace. NOW EVERYONE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE DAVE.
LOU
 
"Still trying to get in the back door to find out what we paid??"

Still ashamed to say how much it actually cost? I never said you should buy CH's tracks, it was just an option that you didn't even want to look at. Everyone knows who you are too, a stubborn guy who doesn't like to admit a project was way more than he expected and when questioned about it, gets on the defensive and tries to change the subject. Try being honest and you'll get more respect. The only way your Oliver could have an $8500 value would be if you showed the insurance adjuster a stack of receipts totaling a lot more than $1500. If you, or anyone else, could spend only $1500 to have a restored crawler and sell it for a $7000 profit, I'd think you'd be buying up every old crawler in the land cause you'd make a fortune. Why the insults? I actually tried to help you with some aspects of your restoration. Telling others to go ahead and not stating true costs and/or hours of labor isn't helping anyone.
 
I must be on to something to be getting all the insults! Just typing it on here doesn't back anything up. I stand by what I said earlier. I'd rather have someone keep their money than buy an old crawler and find out it needs a a lot more than they ever expected. In most cases an old crawler is a money pit. Ask anyone.
 
Dave, It's really no concern of "YOURS" of what it really cost us, it didn't come out of your pocket.Your the one who's ashamed, can't even admit your own name so people can tell who's full of it.Guy's who are buying crawlers and who are paying for it is not my concern.I'm not as inquisitive (to say politely) as you are. Are you writing a book on costs of old crawler repairs?
Every dozer is different (no two have the same abuse or problems. Look at yours, you bought a big one and it required new tracks pins and bushings. If you are such an expert on these dozers and crawlers, how come you bought a lemon?? Requiring all this work.
Now that we really know it's you, HERE IS THE TRUE PRICE AS I STATED BEFORE $248,000,00 with out taxes.Oh and by the way I rescind my offer for "YOU" to come to my place and look at the receipts, any one else is welcome.Now maybe you can get some sleep,now that you know what it cost to repair my dozer,I know it kept you up nights just worrying about my finances. You can treat ignorance, but you can't fix stupid.That saying fits you to a t.

The original poster never stated anything about costs of repairing his dozer,maybe you should go back to high school and take remedial reading and comprehension classes,cause you sure can't do either one.

As for rebuilding older crawlers, Why?? We only use one and we got the best of the bunch for Only $248,000,00 with out taxes.We do have other things that we have uses for OUR money,instead of trying to haggle with every buying customer on reselling dozers, thats what dealers are for.We're just a proud owner, that will never disclose to "YOU" on what it cost,no matter with how many False names you try to sneak in.
GET A LIFE DAVEY BOY, and grow up.
LOU
 
(quoted from post at 12:11:45 11/01/12) Bret"Kept a running photo (disk)layout for our benefit. Now What steel that you think We bought to make needed repairs? The only steel we bought was for the Tow bar, and most of that we had out back in the shed, bought to repair the I.H.706.Small pieces we had underneath the work bench. I seen where the gentleman bought the unit and when he looked at it, wasn't near as bad (need for his usage) and will be brought back again. GOOD FOR HIM.I'M still waiting for the fellow to come look at our receipts. Lots of dis=believers on here.If he shows up, that would make him a nosy nib chit.lol. I will State again for the record, hadn't it been for Jde Marris, we would have been up the creek for valued information. Jde has the expert advice plus he backs up with information he supplies. on questions he answers. Any way folks, I'm happy for the fellow who ignored the RUN DON'T WALK AWAY SYNDROME.MHO.inclosed LOU.

Lou, as I recall you bought new pads and cut them down to fit, you also had to weld up a lot of stuff, didn't you have to do a lot of work to your rails, like rebuild them with weld? I'll see if I can find the posts. I know I thought it was very interesting.
 
I'm not sure where you get your information but Marc Rojtman was president and the head of American Tractor which was inventually sold to Case,he was around the company for a few years after that,and actually introduced several new products,one being a Case intro in Arizona.He did raise Case's debt alot before he was replaced
 
Bret" You are correct about the pads, and loader arm welding plus the welding up of rail nuts that hold em together.Yep every pad was cut and welded the holes closed, then we templated the old shoe and traced the pattern to te new shoe,drilled new holes feathered out for the bolts so the bolts could rest flat against the shoe.Otherwise no additional welding was requires. Lots of hours in dis-assembling, cleaning washing and painting and re- adssembling.All this information (pix)and all is on the Archives. What got to me was the stupidity of Dave asking what we had in cost to repair . He states that if I disclosed what we paid out in parts that would help someone else decide whether to undertake such a venture,and see if it would be worth their while. He doesn't get the fact that ALL Equiptment has different problems and no two are identical in nature, PLUS THe fact It's none of his business what we spent.The archives are available to see what we done to rebuild the O.C.46 which by the way was WELLORTH THE TIME SPENT AS WELL AS THE FUNDS > LOU.
 
Nah, he's not being stupid Lou. It's just that people get an idea in their heads and ignore the downsides quite often. And when you add in the typical human trait of not being at all open to any criticism of their idea whatsoever, people get their noses bent. You and I both get bent noses pretty easy. Fortunately bent noses are normally temporary. Some people here have permanently bent noses though!
 
TerraTrac G500 - (gasoline, 1954-1955)

According to the reference guide "Antique American Tractor and Crawler Value Guide" by: Terry Dean & Larry L. Swenson (ISBN 0-7603-0976-0) & published in 2001 by MBI Publishing Co., 729 Prospect Ave., PO Box 1 , Osceola, WI 54020-0001 USA - a G500 in "Restorable" condition: $1300. / in "Good" condition: $3225. - I hope this helps you .
 
I have a g500 that I'am restoring. The one I have has a three speed manual transmission but was told they came out with fluid drive originally. What is in yours?
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top