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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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 Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:25 pm Post subject: Snow Trac - the VW with tracks instead of tires. |
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I'm new to posting here so be gentle 
I started a thread in OTHER VW VEHICLES but then realized it might be better suited to the OFF ROAD forum? Since it is already in that forum, here is a link:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=207030
There are several photos in the thread in the link above, but here is what the heck I am talking about:
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My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live! |
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Tim10
Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2004
Posts: 1433
Location: Minneapolis
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| Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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Saw one at a show years back.. very cool.. do you ever drive it?
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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Tim10 wrote: |
| do you ever drive it? |
Yup. We drive it all the time in the winter. Occasionally on the grass in the summer.
_________________
My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live! |
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greg mgm
Samba Member
Joined: October 07, 2004
Posts: 573
Location: Pine Cove/ IdyllwildCA
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| Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Awesome! I want one.......or just a ride! |
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subybaja
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2005
Posts: 1026
Location: Anchorage
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| Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 3:45 am Post subject: |
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Very cool!
I see quite a few of those up here...at $10K, I don't have one, though.
I've always thought you could do some fun hi-po stuff with one- 091 and type IV? Maybe a TDI?
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bajaherbie
Samba Sooner
Joined: November 27, 2003
Posts: 2985
Location: altus, oklahoma
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| Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 6:38 am Post subject: |
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| subybaja wrote: |
Very cool!
I see quite a few of those up here...at $10K, I don't have one, though.
I've always thought you could do some fun hi-po stuff with one- 091 and type IV? Maybe a TDI? |
don't forget the long travel suspension conversion. 
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SDJunkMan
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Joined: November 02, 2006
Posts: 68
Location: Black Hills of South Dakota
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panzerfuska
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Joined: September 13, 2005
Posts: 142
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| Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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| how does it steer? do you brake one track or does it have some sort of special differential? |
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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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I'm actually the moderator of the Snowcat area at the ForumsForums website. There is a Swedish site that has some good information and is in English. A brand new Norwegian site, but it is not in English. There is also an Icelandic site that is in both English and Icelandic. There are links to those sites at the ForumsForums.
The Snow Trac really is a great little snowcat. It is far more user friendly than many of the other brands, and the high % of VW parts makes if very easy to maintain.
The Kristi is another VW powered snowcat. Technically a very interesting snowcat with tracks that can be raised and lowered. It is unfortunately very rare, information is pretty much lost, and they are more of a curiosity. Most that I have seen are in disrepair and that is a shame.
| panzerfuska wrote: |
| how does it steer? do you brake one track or does it have some sort of special differential? |
The steering is by a thing called a Variator. In simple terms here is a belt running between two large pulleys, when you turn the steering wheel to the right the pulley on right expands and that allows more power to be transferred to the left track, driving the vehicle to the right.
Below is a photo of the engine compartment (before I started my restoration) at the rear of the compartment you can see the top of the two Variator pulleys and a thick black belt that connects them.
_________________
My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live!
Last edited by melensdad on Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:01 am; edited 1 time in total |
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volksaddict
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Joined: August 19, 2003
Posts: 1727
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| Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Snow trac looks like a fun ride! Much advanced compared to the kristi. There's one of those I know of around here that I'd like to know more about. Has a 36hp in it. Where can I get more info on the old kristi? |
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Glenn 
Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001
Posts: 77949
Location: Sneaking up behind you
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subybaja
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2005
Posts: 1026
Location: Anchorage
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| Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| don't forget the long travel suspension conversion. |
| Quote: |
| tracks that can be raised and lowered. |
Ask and ye shall receive!
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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| volksaddict wrote: |
| Snow trac looks like a fun ride! Much advanced compared to the kristi. There's one of those I know of around here that I'd like to know more about. Has a 36hp in it. Where can I get more info on the old kristi? |
There are only two places on the internet I know of that have any information on the Kristi snowcats. One is essentially a dead website but it does have information posts. www.kristisnowcat.com
Here is a photo of a Kristi from my files, it shows the rear of the unit elevated which would be the position used when ascending hills. But in this case the operator doesn't know how to use the controls.
The other is a general snowcat discussion forum, it has a lot of the same information as the Kristi site, but is an active site. The problem is the Kristi information is buried in with all the other brands and you have to sift through searches to get the Kristi information. There is actually a lot more technical information on this site, with restoration projects, etc. http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
glenn The image you posted is a much older Snow Trac. You will notice the tracks are different with small bogey wheels running up the front of the track. That Snow Trac is probably mid-1960's or earlier. The later designs had 2 large wheels, one in the rear (like the early designs) and one toward the front with small bogey wheels between them. Both used a front drive sprocket at the top front.[/img]
_________________
My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live! |
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panzerfuska
Samba Member
Joined: September 13, 2005
Posts: 142
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| Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| melensdad, great info. i wonder if you can hotrod one of these machines. . . big ol' engine. i saw a picture of a halftrack vw bug using the running gear of a kettenkrad. but with a snowcat, why go halftrack when you have the whole shebang? |
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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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| panzerfuska wrote: |
| melensdad, great info. i wonder if you can hotrod one of these machines. . . big ol' engine. |
No it is NOT possible.
Nobody would ever do that
Why screw up a perfectly good 40hp engine and increase the performance? 
I'm in the process of a total upgrade on my Snow Trac, but still keeping much of the original look. I found New Old Stock Hella switches for the dashboard and hooked them up to very modern PIAA lights that are now mounted on the roofline facing forward, the first picture above also shows a set of side mounted Hella rubberized lights. Another set of Hella rubberized lights are mounted on the rear. All three sets of new lights work off the NOS switches. I also upgraded the interior of the headlamps because the original reflectors were badly pitted and corroded.
The photos below show the process of converting them to modern Halogen H4 Hi-Low headlamps.
I'm also modifying and upgrading several other systems. The original battery has been upgraded to a dual battery set up that uses Optima coil batteries and a 1000amp switch that allows me to choose battery 1, battery 2, both, or neither battery. A new 95amp alternator was added too.
Oh, and my interior has been reupholstered with Hawaiian fabric that has palm trees and flamingos 
A Magellan Color Meridian GPS unit is being installed on the center of the dash. A new old stock chrome fan has been hung from the ceiling to direct air onto the windows to cut down on fogging issues. There is also an auxiliary ceramic heater that is added to suppliment the massive heat that the little air-cooled engine puts out
Basically the upgrades will be making it safer to use and somewhat more comfortable too.
_________________
My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live! |
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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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Here are some other photos of the things I just talked about.
The old style bakelite Hella Switches that will control the new lights.
New Mirrors, PIAA lights and Hella side lights.
The chrome fan for the interior:
The dashboard. . . you will notice the steering wheel is from a Schwimmwagen!
_________________
My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live! |
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wyobuggy
Samba Member
Joined: October 11, 2005
Posts: 68
Location: Hawk Springs , Wyoming
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| Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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Who knew I owned a rare snowcat??
I had a Kristi in the late 80s in Leadville Co. Ran great , tracks were dying fast. Biggest problem I had besides the tracks was that the exhaust pipes kept cracking at the heads. Got poor and sold it to a rancher in Wyoming whose name I seem to have lost. 
Vails ski museum used to have a Kristi on display. But that was 15-20 yrs ago.
Mine was the long body model. Wish I still had it!!! |
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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:23 am Post subject: |
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| wyobuggy wrote: |
| Who knew I owned a rare snowcat?? |
Based on the numbers I have seen for production, there were only about 375 of those KT3 snowcats built. That was Kristi's most popular model and they do show up for sale every once in a while.
But if money was the reason you sold it, then you sold it in time because those tracks that were going bad could have easily cost over $2000 to repair. The belting is not cheap!!! Kristis, if properly belted, had 4 belts on each side, the two center belts of each side were taught, the remaining two belts were left loose and only were attached to every-other cleat. This allowed the belts to better shape themselves to the ground conditions. I'm not sure it it worked or was a gimmick, but supposedly it helped on side slope conditions. Many other snowcats, like my Snow Trac ST4, had cleats (called grousers) that were shaped to have edges running both parallel and perpendicular to the direction of travel. The Kristi used thick wooden cleats/grousers that only ran perpendicular and thus they needed some other way to prevent side slipping. The hydrauliclly adjustable tracks, and the floppy belts were supposed to provide superior side slope abilities.
In actual use, did you adjust the hydraulics on the tracks when you were ascending, decending or crossing slopes? Did it really help? Did you notice a real benefit? 
_________________
My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live! |
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melensdad
Samba Member
Joined: January 02, 2006
Posts: 28
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:04 am Post subject: |
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By the way, for you sand rail junkies, the Snow Trac was also well suited for sand travels!
The photo above was published by the Swedish magazine Classic Motor Magasin, December 1999 and shows a Snow Trac, rebadged as a Sand Trac, in use in Africa. They were also used in the Texas oilfields to haul people & gear.
I'm surprised the windows and the roof hatch are closed! I know mine heats up like a greenhouse in the summertime sun. I wonder if there was some sort of airconditioner that was installed in this unit?
_________________
My Antique Snowcat pages are at http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/forumdisplay.php?f=65
I need information on Snow Trac, Kristi, Thiokol and old Tuckers.
If you like antique snowcats visit my discussions where they still live! |
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caroth
Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2004
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:15 pm Post subject: Actual Kristi info |
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Just wanted to correct the Kristi production numbers. There were only 110 Kristi KT-3 snow vehicles built. First one built was in 1960 and last one built was 1968. Details on the specific models are found at http://www.KristiSnowCat.com.
Information found in this post is copyrighted from ©KristiSnowCat.com.
Last edited by caroth on Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:30 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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