What if you pulled the tracks and put on a set of 44"s. Looks like it has maybe 60"s for the axles ? and shortened the bed. No fenders to trim. I have never see one in person so I'm not sure how the susp works. Then if it snows alot you can put the tracks back on.:D

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=599600493

nothing better in snow would go vertical if there was no gravity talked once with a guy who built them came in many body styles like flat bed, truck style bed, ambulance body, crew transport, or speciality bed for oil type drill rigs.

i would guess it would be more expensive to build that thing than anything else, and it would be a headache you could never register or insure or drive on the street. no flex from the suspension (since the builders figured snow would be the suspension), probably no beef in the drive train. and definately not enough power to spin 44's.

but in the snow, that thing would rock stock. i say start with something a little closer to what you want to finish with. if you just want the body, figure out how to get it on a one ton truck, keeping the drivetrain.

I'm not buying it , I just saw it and had the idea. It says v8 powered and the axles look big. So you should be able to get gears for it. As far as susp. ? And the title says, trial rig. If you have somewere to drive it with the tracks on you could use it all year with the 44's and run the tracks in deeeep snow.

C:\Program Files\Morpheus\My Shared Folder\i-5_B.jpg
Looks like its got Dana 60s or 70s under it!! Somebody needs to buy it.

Heck keep it as it is and drive over everything on the trail after you trade those snow tracks for rubber road tracks! It will just be like a tank!! make the sluice look like a flat road..ruts ha no problem!!...I ran a rubber tracked 4 passenger snow track for 5 years off road in Mendocino NF during my high school yrs. before I had a real 4wd...flex..not much but never got stuck..ran with a 6 cyl. diesel and an auto tranny...have no idea what the set up was...got it for $200 and made it my hunting wheeler....always holds a spot for me since no-one has done that before.:D

Or?.....

If you took those tracks and put em on yer rig for the winter!!!!

Originally posted by 5spd
Heck keep it as it is and drive over everything on the trail after you trade those snow tracks for rubber road tracks! It will just be like a tank!! make the sluice look like a flat road..ruts ha no problem!!...I ran a rubber tracked 4 passenger snow track for 5 years off road in Mendocino NF during my high school yrs. before I had a real 4wd...flex..not much but never got stuck..ran with a 6 cyl. diesel and an auto tranny...have no idea what the set up was...got it for $200 and made it my hunting wheeler....always holds a spot for me since no-one has done that before.:D

exactly what I was thinking... rubber tracks... and throwing some waggy springs on it would not be too hard anyway.

GO FOR IT...

wow unstopable you could rule the con.

I used to drive one of those at a ski resort 20 years ago, it was a classic.
The one I drove was from the late 50s or early 60s and it had a factory warning lable on the dash...
" This sno-cat was designed for travel over snow covered ground. Reduce speed to a crawl over rough terrain. Wreck this sno-cat on the rocks and the boss will put you back on muscledraulics."

LOL ...I'll never forget that

not enough power or beef in the drivetrain? i'm sure they designed it to work for a long time in the rough stuff, can you imagine it breaking out in the boonies? some rescue/utility vehicle if it breaks down! 44s are nothing compared to how much those tracks weigh:rolleyes: looks bad ass to me!:flipoff2:

that thing would kick ass in the snow :D

Originally posted by Rockbuggy
that thing would kick ass in the snow :D
Ummm.....That is what it was designed to do.

I was looking through some do it yourself type of 4x4 book, and they had a track option for the front of a chevy fullsize. I'm sure it would adapt to most solid axles though. And it came in rubber for dirt and rocks. Not sure how it turned though, since it was on a regular truck.

i think it would be pretty sweet. it does look like big axles. d60's or 70's. i would also bet that the gearing in them is pretty low. get it, convert it to run regular wheels, remove the doors and cab, and tube out the back and you would have a sweet rig. heck it even already has a winch. i just wonder if it is locked up? :D

Originally posted by sfazr2
I was looking through some do it yourself type of 4x4 book, and they had a track option for the front of a chevy fullsize. I'm sure it would adapt to most solid axles though. And it came in rubber for dirt and rocks. Not sure how it turned though, since it was on a regular truck.

would this be what you are talking about? www.mattracks.com

Originally posted by macgyver


would this be what you are talking about? www.mattracks.com


ahhhh those mattracks have been on my mind for some time... I like the idea. I think it cost about 3 grand to get a pair ! That makes it a 6 grand package but they are removable with a lug wrench so u can just throw ur tires back on.

Alot of the new ones have D70's. :D

If you could get it cheap enough it would be sweet. Add a coilover suspension, some 44's and rework the drivelines. Some of them came with Chrysler gas motors. 318's. Some had Cummins and Detroit's with Allison transmissions.