My Trackster Build

[brushcutter]

Ordered the parts yesterday, UPS is bringing them, will probably order the tracks next week, I had estimated the parts total at $5500, I missed it by a whopping $9.70. I plan to go with the McLaren, the others are way more expensive, and I like their tread pattern better. There is a TON more work to tearing one of these down than to a 6X6, could have torn down a dozen hustlers in the same time. But hey, I'll have the only one anywhere around here. ... Which ...could be ...bad.

[brushcutter]

Neat machine, just wondering about heat from the hydraulics? Does it get hot inside the machine?

Sorry I missed your question there Noel, don't know how that happened, I apologize profusely. To give you a (very) delayed answer, (sorry again) the transmission is separated from the engine by a firewall so the engine heat is mostly exhausted out vents in the front cover.There is a cooling fan built onto the driveshaft that forces air through a radiator, to cool the transmission fluid. There is a valve that allows you to bypass the fluid around this radiator, for quick warm-up during extremely cold weather. I'm not sure if this was an optional thing, but my machine doesn't have this, and since extremely cold weather is rarely a problem down here, I don't think I'll be needing it anyway.

I failed to mention in earlier posts, some of the things I REALLY like about this machine. You guys may not believe this and If I hadn't done it myself I wouldn't either, but this machine can be pushed VERY easily. When Jim delivered it the Trackster was sitting perpendicular on the trailer. I asked "how do we turn it to get it off?" as I started into the shop to retrieve my come-along. His answer " Me and Dave just picked up the back end and turned it by hand" ...he wasn't lying. My 14 y/o boys and I were able to lift and turn it easily. We pushed it into the shop with no more effort than the 950, Evan says it rolled easier than the 950 ever did...well, maybe. Another thing, no chains to maintain...not even one. No tires to pop off the rim, or go flat. No flanged bearings to replace every couple of years. No axles to bend/break and there is more...

But on the down side... read the yellow above. No tires means no options, no chains equals 1 speed. I guess no matter what machine you buy or how much you pay, there is no "perfect all around machine". But there is a lot of fun to be had while hunting for it. Happy trails Guys and Girls...

[brushcutter]

Got parts

Let me begin by saying that I am very pleased and impressed with the service I got from Craig McCullough, owner of Mac's Trax in helping me weed through my parts order. I got my parts in on Wednesday but didn't get to do an inbound until yesterday evening due to a welding job I had. Get this: I ordered a total of 220 parts + a body bolt kit and upon double checking myself I discovered that I had received every single item I ordered. He was always willing to answer any question I had and rather than just guess and send me the wrong part, he called to be sure we were on the same page. That is outstanding! I'm one very happy Mac's Trax customer.

I ordered the tracks from McLaren on Wed and got a call from Fedex first thing this morning, and the tracks will be delivered today. Wow! I wished I could assemble all of it that fast! Anyway, I thought I would post a pic of a pile of parts (that's a tongue tangler) for ya'll to see and edit this post later to add the track pics. Enjoy...

Just met the fedex guy and the tracks are here.

[marshgunner]

How is your build going. I can't wait to see it back in one piece!

[rednine11]

WOW !!
That thing is awesome !!

[brushcutter]

Hey guys, thanks for asking. Things have been going slow on the build, At the time of my last post I was unemployed, having been laid off on the 12 of April. So, I was doing the job search thing, and although the company I was employed by gave me a decent severance package, I was in conserve mode with the finances. We parted on good terms and it was through them that I was introduced to the organization with which I am now employed.

During the last few weeks I've built a tool for supporting the bearing housings while the bearings are pressed out trackster5 007.jpgtrackster5 008.jpg

discovered a couple of broken leaf springs trackster5 004.jpg already have their replacements.

scraped off the sealing putty from the area where the top and bottom were joined, which requires a heat gun, then washed the remainder away with paint brush cleaner.
trackster5 001.jpgtrackster5 003.jpg

and cutting the remaining rusted bolts away from the tub. I bought a pressure washer to clean away all the gunk and grime, and got everything all cleaned. I am a long way from the build yet, though. Mostly due to doing yard work, home maintenance and just overall slacking around. LOL! I get the occasional spurt of motivation and do a little actual work on the thing. Seem to get bogged down mulling over things like paint vs rhino liner. How to go about fixing the upper tub so it is easily removed yet watertight, you know... things like that. But I have set a goal to have it up and running in time for duck season this fall, so I guess I had best get busy.

[brushcutter]

Hammerite Paint

After talking to several friends who either weld or work in the oilfield, I decided to use Hammerite paint to coat all the iron parts on the Trackster. Here's a couple of shots of parts that have been painted with it.

{Pardon the file name, one of the cats went and nutted out over his tail and had a fight with it. Might have to post that vid somewhere.}

tiger chases tail 002.jpg Bogie bearings in their housings with newly installed grease fittings to allow keeping a barrier of grease between the bearing seal and the outer seal. In the center are 3 of the front suspension supports, in the back are a couple of leaf springs and various plates and fasteners, to the right are the drive sprockets.

tiger chases tail 003.jpg A closer shot of the drive sprockets

Anyway, back to the paint. I was told by several welding buddies that Hammerite was the best paint made for metal applications. Then one of my neighbors who works in the oil and gas drilling industry told me the company he works for uses nothing else and they paint all of their rig equipment with it. He went on to say that if it doesn't get scratched through or chipped then it just will not rust again. So I went with it. I'm still undecided what color to go with on the tub and float ring but have plenty to do before then while I think it over. I'm thinking about rattle can bedliner on the inside of the tub, the can says it can be painted. ... any thoughts?

[spookum]

Supper cool build! I just ran across a guy that puts geo metro moters in the old tracksters... PM and ill ask him if it is ok if i give you his name and number. You may not want it now, but he says it is "best thing ever"

[Noel Woods]

Wow, those drive sprockets look unusual, never seen anything like it before. Looks rugged. Brushcutter, thanks for posting the info on the build, very informative. Makes me think I need to learn more about these machines. Keep the info coming.

[brushcutter]

Noel, I'll have to get a close up of the insides of the tracks, so you can see how the sprockets engage the drive cogs on them. They are cast steel and quite heavy.

Spookum I'll pm ya soon.
Back to tha shop...

[Dirty Harry]

I bought Duplicolor roll-on/paint-on bed liner from my local box store and it works pretty good, provided you properly (and thoroughly!) prep the areas you'll be coating with it. I think they offer it in spray-on cans, too. Looks decent for home applied, especially if you use multiple coats. If you've got a local body shop that offers Scorpion liner (what my shop put on the bottom & inside of my fiberglass CJ-7 body tub) or Rhino-Liner, check into their prices. If you have everything apart and it's all prepped for them, it shouldn't be too awful expensive, and will likely perform better and outlast any home stuff. Well, with the possible exception of POR-15, perhaps. That's the stuff to get if you can. It's grenade-proof. Cannot say enough good things about POR-15 products.

Anyhow, good luck with your continuing build! I've always admired the Tracksters because they are so unlike all of the other buggies produced during that era. Plus, they are tuff sonsaguns, too. I see that someone out there still makes something very much like them (Ridgerunner, I believe). Keep us updated on your progress and keep those pics comin' !!! :-D

[brushcutter]

DH, that's pretty much what another member told me, the O-T-C stuff looks good for a short time, but starts to ugly down after a year or so, and considering how big an area I'll be coating my guess is that if I do all the prep work, the cost probably won't be much more for the Rhino liner, and it will last a lot longer!

The new version of the Trackster called "Range Runner" is still available from Terra Track, a division of Mac's Traxx. They are geared more toward the commercial side of things, prices start at about $31,900, and there is no longer a Marsh Model offered. So even though I'm piling some major cash into this build, it will still be a LOT cheaper than a new one, and mine will float. Oh, and the really cool thing is that I can buy EVERY part for it new, and some of them reconditioned to save cash. (except of course the float ring and 2-stroke engine) Craig is the greatest guy I've ever dealt with - check this out - automatic 10% discounts on most of the stuff I ordered!!! How cool is that?

[brushcutter]

Solutions...

These are some shots of a potential for bearing failure and the way I was told to cure it. The first 2 pics are of the seal and and bearing housing. The open inner areas could hold muck and lead to failure if the bearing seal itself also failed. The 3rd is a shot of how to prevent that; the bearing has a groove around its center circumference, holes are drilled and threaded and grease fittings installed so the fitting is centered over this groove. In this pic you can see the grease to the left as it comes out of a very shallow groove I cut into the housing for this purpose. Once the seals are installed I will be able to completely fill this void with grease and in the future keep a barrier of it between the outer seal and bearing seal.
002.jpg 001.jpg 003.jpg


005.jpg 004.jpg
These 2 are the ram I built for the press and the 1/8" X 8" plate I bent to replace the rusted out pieces like the one in the second pic. I think it worked pretty well. Back to the shop...

[ashland]

brushcutter, I've been following your thread on your marsh model. A buddy of mine helped me rebuild one of these years ago. It was a ton of work but it is a hell of a machine. I bought the new tracks and everything through Craig and he is a great guy to deal with. Mine has an original hull and I put mossy oak shadow grass on it. The engine is now a 20 hp Honda with the faster transmission. I'll try to post pictures of it later. Good luck with your build.

[brushcutter]

Thanks for the encouraging words Ashland. Where are you located? Would love to see pics.

I Got all ready to install the transmission axle seals last weekend and pulled the seal retainers and found this: 003.jpg 004.jpg Both sides rusty and pitted. I started thinking tear down & remove axles, undercut damaged area, weld to rebuild, cut back to size or new axles. Spent Monday at work mulling over options & even considered trying to make my own sleeve. So I called Craig to see what he would recommend, explained the problem and he immediately said "what you need is a speedy sleeve, hold on and I'll get the skf part # for you!"

So... it looks like it's time for a couple of speedy sleeves.