I found an M1 Cletrac crawler (plaque on crawler says "made for US Army") in a junkyard. It seems pretty complete. I have never seen one before, and I'm wondering if it is worth the price ($.15/lb.) to restore. I have checked my Cletrac books and can't find a photo. Any advice or info from others more knowledgeable would be greatly appreciated.
Joel.Originally they weighed 13,500 pounds.Thats about $2,000.Depending on its condition,it may be worth it.If you are not interested,I might be.Where are you located.Greg. 440-228-7651
I'm still trying to find out more about these M1 crawlers. Were very many made? I am located in Montana for those who asked.
I've never heard of an M1 High-Speed Tractor (although it doesn't mean there wasn't one). Assuming it is an M2 (Cletrac MG-1/MG-2), there were 8510 built according to the Standard Catalog of US Military Vehicles (1st ed) by Thomas Berndt (ISBN: 0-87341-223-0). This book has some good general information, as does "The American Arsenal" by Ian Hogg (ISBN: 1-85367-470-2).
You may be able to get these books through inter-library loan. I've posted Amazon links, below. There is a second edition of the Standard Catalog that was recently published by David Doyle that has some different information. Both catalogs give ballpark values for the machines depending on condition, with the second edition obviously being more up to date.
Douglas
American Arsenal: http://www.amazon.com/American-Arsenal- ... 229&sr=8-6 (http://www.amazon.com/American-Arsenal-Antiaircraft-Ammunition-Paperbacks/dp/1853674702/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202212229&sr=8-6)
Standard Catalog of US Military Vehicles (1st Edition): http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Catalog- ... 375&sr=1-2 (http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Catalog-Military-Vehicles-1940-1965/dp/0873412230/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202212375&sr=1-2)
Standard Catalog of US Military Vehicles (2nd Edition): http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Catalog- ... im_b_img_1 (http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Catalog-U-S-Military-Vehicles/dp/087349508X/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1)
Thanks so much for the excellent reply and the leads on information. It was a huge help, and I'm going to see what I can discover. I found this crawler (mostly complete) in a junkyard, and I'm still certain the tag said M1. I need to doublecheck before I buy it. Again, I appreciate the help. It was exactly what I was looking for.
What is an M1? Do you have a picture of it?
Thanks,
Blake
Quote from: "Joel"Thanks so much for the excellent reply and the leads on information. It was a huge help, and I'm going to see what I can discover. I found this crawler (mostly complete) in a junkyard, and I'm still certain the tag said M1. I need to doublecheck before I buy it. Again, I appreciate the help. It was exactly what I was looking for.
Let us know if there's anything else you need. Information on these machines is a little tougher to come by since they aren't really "mainstream" for the military guys and the civilian resources are focused elsewhere. I tend to be a little reluctant to scan and post the sections out of the books since they are still in print, but I could burn copies of the relevant pages and mail them to you, if you'd like. There's only 4-5 pages, so it's no big deal.
Manuals are available from a couple of sources, as you probably noticed from the Tech Manuals thread (//http://www.cletrac.org/newbb/viewtopic.php?t=1997) from November/December of last year.
There is also a book out there titled "High Speed Tractor: A Visual History of the U.S. Army's Tracked Artillery Prime Movers" by David Doyle, but I haven't read it/bought it yet, so I don't know how much information it contains on the M2. On the basis of Doyle's work on the 2nd Edition of the "Standard Catalog..." I'd assume it's a pretty good book for someone with an interest in these machines. I'll post a short review when I get my copy. I ordered it from Mission Models (//http://www.missionmodels.com/product.php?productid=17030&cat=331&bestseller).
I'll second Blake's request--especially if the data plate says it is an M1.
Douglas