Dodge tracked vehicle

[sports850]

I've got to join in on this one , The mini in my avatar is the Mini-Trac , built in Australia and trialed in Antarctica . It was mostly succesful except for the steering brakes (single leading shoe morris 850 brakes) freezing up . I started looking for info on it after finding a black and white photo online , found someone who recognised the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) logo on the front and then went hunting former ANARE members . I finally found someone (after talking to one person , who put me in touch with someone else , who put me in touch with someone else etc) who remembered seeing it in a Melbourne workshop before it went to Antarctica , after sending letters requesting information to everyone the region of Melbourne with the same last name I found Terry O'Hare who built the Mini-Trac and he was happy to chat about it and sent me a heap of photo's which I later got published in an Australian mini magazine . Also during this I was sent an email with the video file that's linked below by someone who'd heard on the grapevine that I was looking into the Mini-Trac , it was taken from super 8 film that he took in Antarctica and as far as I know is the only footage of it anywhere . You can see the steering brakes being used by the two levers in front of the driver . I also got a lot of help with the research from another forum (forumsforums , are you the same junkman as over there Christian ?) as I had no idea about snow vehicles prior to starting researching this (I live on the NSW mid north coast , near Coffs Harbour and only 600 meters from the beach so no snow ) . Anyway , here's the video and the article ,

I am planning on doing a scale build of this but have been hampered so far by being unable to find the correct tracks for it (taken from the Swedish Snow-Trac) , has anyone got any close up shot's of the Polar Lights lost in space vehicle please ? Anybody know if anyone is making sno-cat style tracks in scale ?

Edited February 13, 2012 by sports850

[Casey]

has anyone got any close up shot's of the Polar Lights lost in space vehicle please ? Anybody know if anyone is making sno-cat style tracks in scale ?

Here's a huge image of the Chariot:

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae72/DaleStringer/Lost%20in%20Space/chariot2-1.jpg

and some decent shots of another built up here:

http://cs.finescale.com/FSMCS/forums/p/104962/1033651.aspx

It appears to have typical '60s car steel wheels, and maybe even tires for whatever the idler wheels are called.

[sports850]

Thank's , that's great . It's close to what I'm after but not quite right still Still , it's a ###### site closer than tank tracks .

[Casey]

You may want to look into using LEGO tracks, or tracks from a toy, too.

[Junkman]

Here's a huge image of the Chariot:

http://i959.photobuc.../chariot2-1.jpg

and some decent shots of another built up here:

http://cs.finescale....62/1033651.aspx

It appears to have typical '60s car steel wheels, and maybe even tires for whatever the idler wheels are called.

The LIS Chariot was fully operational. It was built on the chassis of a Thiokol Snowcat Spryte (sic):

It has a typical snow track chassis with pneumatic tyres on steel wheels and tracks made from rubber bands joined by extruded aluminium profiles.This is standard snow track technology and could be easily adapted to replicate a number or them.

The Thiokol Snowcat also had an inline six cylinder Ford engine, apparently a popular choice for North American snow tracks back then.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Junkman

[sports850]

It has a typical snow track chassis with pneumatic tyres on steel wheels and tracks made from rubber bands joined by extruded aluminium profiles.This is standard snow track technology and could be easily adapted to replicate a number or them.

Yes , the Mini-Trac used Snow-Trac tracks which were two bands of rubber conveyor belting style laminated rubber sheet with metal grousers on the outside and metal tyre guides inside . The closest I have come up with so far for it is two strips of vynil with big staples every 3 or so mm so there's a flat side outside and a raised tyre guide on the inner side . Still looking for suitable , unpatterned vynil though .

[wagonmaster]

Those Dodge cabbed Flextrack-Nodwell are cool. I can see a hot rodded one with a blown big block. Kinda like the farmer IIRC Rupert Hogg in the CARtoons who have hot rodded farm equipment.

Tim

[Fabrux]

A potential source of 1:24 scale tracks that may be able to be modified to suit a snow-cat type build would be Rommel's Rod; usually cheaper than the Lost In Space chariot...

[Junkman]

Yes , the Mini-Trac used Snow-Trac tracks which were two bands of rubber conveyor belting style laminated rubber sheet with metal grousers on the outside and metal tyre guides inside . The closest I have come up with so far for it is two strips of vynil with big staples every 3 or so mm so there's a flat side outside and a raised tyre guide on the inner side . Still looking for suitable , unpatterned vynil though .

There you mentined the Snow-Trac. Can't believe it only made it to this thread as a side note so far, how could we forget it?

The Aktiv Snow-Trac was built by the Swedish company Westeråsmaskiner AB and is by far the most popular tracked snow vehicle and with 2300 built between 1957 and 1981 the most numerous.

Many of them are still in use today.

It has been immortalized by Lesney Matchbox:

The real world Snow-Trac is only about the size of a small car and powered by an air-cooled VW industrial boxer engine, not dissimilar to the one used in the Beetle.

An Aktiv Snow-Trac can be seen being disabled by Jack Nicholson's character in teh movie 'The Shining'.

Here are some pics:

This one was on grooming duty at the Sapporo Winter Olympics:

The engine:

Despite its small size, a Snow-Trac can seat seven:

Contrary to most tracked vehicles, it is steered with a steering wheel and the steering works via a hydraulic differential, not the brakes. It is hence easier to drive, faster, and more agile than most other snow vehicles. It is also easier on the brakes.

Aurora made a small model kit in its Snap-A-Roos series:

Edited February 14, 2012 by Junkman

[Draggon]

Although its not tracked, this has always stirred my imagination!

[Junkman]

The Le Tourneau LCC-1 land-train.

I can't believe they just leave it there to rot. This piece of American history belongs into a museum!

It was supposed to pull a train made up from wagons like this one:

I have no idea why the concept was ultimately abandoned. Can you fill me in?

Edited February 15, 2012 by Junkman

[diymirage]

The Le Tourneau LCC-1 land-train.

I can't believe they just leave it there to rot. This piece of American history belongs into a museum!

It was supposed to pull a train made up from wagons like this one:

I have no idea why the concept was ultimately abandoned. Can you fill me in?

isn't it obvious?

its got a FLAT TIRE

[Junkman]

At least one set of wheels/tyres from the train was used for the original Bigfoot btw.

[Sam Cates]

Final specifications were completed in 1960, and construction took most of 1961. After preliminary testing, it was handed to the Army in February 1962, and shipped to the Yuma Proving Ground, in Yuma, Arizona. In testing under the "Project OTTER", for "Overland Train Terrain Evaluation Research", the vehicle performed well. But in the end the Army gave up on the idea as newer heavy-lift helicopters like the S-64 Skycrane made the train concept outdated. The vehicle remained unused for a time, and was then put up for sale for $1.4 million in 1969.All that remains of the Mark II is the control cab which remains at Yuma, the rest was sold off to a local scrap dealer. The lead car was restored some years ago and described as shown in the picture.

Unfortunately, the trailers were scrapped in 1971. Additionally, another unit was located in a scrapyard in Alaska.

Bob Chandler purchased a set of tires from one of the trailers at some point and rebuilt Bigfoot 5 to be permanently fitted with these 10 foot tall tires.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Sam Cates

[SuperStockAndy]

Bob Chandler purchased a set of tires from one of the trailers at some point and rebuilt Bigfoot 5 to be permanently fitted with these 10 foot tall tires.

That's pretty cool, I'll have to tell my dad that, he drove for Chandler back in the 90s.

[Fabrux]

now i don't even think it's even a Ford truck anymore

Its as much a Ford truck as the Grave Digger is a Chevy panel...

[Agent G]

The original Bigfoot was built by what's now Midwest 4wd in Hazelwood MO. They would test drive that sucker almost every night on Lindbergh Blvd. out by the airport.

Many nights sitting at the airport viewing area "watching the planes" we'd see Bigfoot getting pulled over by the cops.

G

[Fabrux]

Apparently, when it was first completed, Bigfoot 18 wore a Silverado body shell, had Chevy power and was painted in MLB graphics. On the Bigfoot website, however, Bigfoot 18 has a Ford engine and a body shell that looks like the SVT Raptor and has Summit graphics.

[Jon Cole]

I don't know if this link has been posted or not, it has more info on the Tucker Sno Cat

http://www.gwim2.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/743cstat.htm

[Jon Cole]

These next two photos... iirc I found them just a few months ago, probably on Jalopnik:

Labeled as a Tucker Sno Cat for sale somewhere in NJ:

[Junkman]

I don't know if this link has been posted or not, it has more info on the Tucker Sno Cat

http://www.gwim2.pwp...uk/743cstat.htm

Not sure whether people take notice, but those Sno-Cats were Chrysler Hemi powered.

[dptydawg]

I missed the start of this thread. Someone was looking for pictures of the Moebius Lost in Space chariot. Here are some pics of one that I modified into an off road bucket truck. I think that the track/bellypan would be a great starting point for any snow groomer project.

If I had known about the Dodge cab vehicals I think that I would have tried to build one of them instead of the oone I did

Thanks

Carl

[Joe Handley]

Apparently, when it was first completed, Bigfoot 18 wore a Silverado body shell, had Chevy power and was painted in MLB graphics. On the Bigfoot website, however, Bigfoot 18 has a Ford engine and a body shell that looks like the SVT Raptor and has Summit graphics.

I beleive the MLB Chevy Bigfoot was a one time only promotional thing, although I think Chandler is a Ford man through and through. How many other guys would have switched brands after having what what Ford did to them sponsorship wise several years ago.

[Fabrux]

From what I can tell on the Bigfoot website, Ford still isn't a sponsor, yet all the trucks are Fords once again.

[Casey]

I just noticed this 1/32 scale ex-Renwal Teracruzer among Revell's March releases. Seems to me this would work well for building a trans-Arctic vehicle:

Edited March 3, 2012 by Casey