Found an Amphicat

[ndcommander]

My buddy found an old Amphicat in a shed of his now past away uncle. The motor is loose and it isnt all rusted. It it worth fixing up and will they handle tracks. It appears to be in fair shape.

[1975 Argo 8x8 2-Stroker]

Well, the 3/4 inch axels and Roller 40 chain are pretty weak, but if you can get a set of 6x6 Argo Standard 13" wide plastic tracks, it should handle them no problem, as long as you have the proper sized tires on it (they'd have to be 20-11-8) so the tracks don't rub on the body, but again, they are build pretty light, and the old ABS bodys are usually REALY weak, but the all depends on it's condition now. Nice find though!

[amphibious drew]

My buddy found an old Amphicat in a shed of his now past away uncle. The motor is loose and it isnt all rusted. It it worth fixing up and will they handle tracks. It appears to be in fair shape.

Fixing up any AATV can be more costly than buying a runner. It just depends on how original you make it, what mods you do, and how extreme your build gets. I know people that have turned junk into runners for nothing and I know guys that spent good money on a buying a machine and then went crazy with mods and upgrades. If you an get the engine to run for very little money, or can find a bargain replacement, and your tranny is all good, you could spend $20-$30 on Acetone to clean and restore the body, and make a little abs goo with it to fix any cracks, and you can have a nice little toy. BTW, ABS isn't all that bad for a machine. It will crack if you drive into a tree at full speed, bash a corner on a rock, or drive into a piece of pipe sticking out of the ground, but you can fix it yourself easily with some patience. As far as tracks go, the amphicats actually came with tracks as an option. They were not like the argo tracks at all though. They were actually made out of strips of conveyor belt. The belts were cut width wide into strips with tapered edges that would come most of the way down the sidewall of the tire. They connected the strips on the inside and outside of the tires with chain. In my opinion it would be very easy to make an original style track.

I would say try to get the engine running for a few bucks, then test the tranny, and if all is good rebuild it. If the engine can't be fixed, the tranny can't be tested properly, sell it to someone that needs parts. Keep in mind, if it needs new shoes all around, 6 tires will add up real quick.

[1975 Argo 8x8 2-Stroker]

Hey Drew, Have you ever experminted trying to make an Amphicat style track? I've got an old argo that you can't put spacers on, so no rubber tracks for me, but I was wondering, how does the Amphicat "soft track" style track work? They any good in mud? I'd look at making a set of these for my argo.

[amphibious drew]

I have not played.with the Amphicat tracksmyself. i have only seen them on one of amphiman1's machines. if you can find conveyor belt cheap, they are probably worth making. your psi will be lower on the ground, but there is no tread on the tracks