d7 3t

They were simple to maintain and operate, reasonably economical on fuel, gave VERY little trouble and did a good job with little fuss. They were quite a stable and comfortable machine for their time too. The fact that were not exactly over-powered was one of the big pluses that they had going for them.

I don't know if you remember the International TD18's which were the D7's main competitor back in those days. If you do remember them, you may also remember that they were somewhat prone to 'spitting' final drives, especially in the earlier series. The D7's were renowned for NOT doing that.

The TD18's were also known for cracking cylinder heads if they were not idled down before shut-down. D7's didn't have that problem either.

On an aesthetical note, the sound of those big, old, 'slow-banger' D7 engines was music to a lot of (now nearly deaf) ears back then and still must be today because there are a lot people collecting and running them.

Come to think of it, if I had some place to keep it and work it, I wouldn't mind one myself.

You have a wonderful day
Best wishes.
Deas Plant.

That however, is a matter of opinion, and with the exception of the dry clutch, this model and overall particular era of Caterpillar tractors were well engineered and built. Having heard opinions like I mentioned above, and owning 2 of these 7's I can understand someone arriving at a conclusion like that, but every machine has it's limitations, it's up to the operator to stay within those limits, so if you operate it with that in mind, it is what it is, an old reliable chugger! Anyone who has a parcel of property with roads to maintain, fields to mend, snow to push or what have you, a tractor like the D7 is a great asset to have, pulls out stuck ag tractors like nothing, and has plenty of other uses. The D-8800 sure is a pleasure to hear run and while not over abundant with power, still does the job quite well, and with the numbers of these that were built, they must have been very popular in their day, that and the D8 2U with the D13000 of which I've yet to hear one of those run, must be similar to the bark of the D8800, just 2 more cylinders. The 8U & 9U D-6's were also very popular as well. It's been awhile since I've ran mine but they were balanced well and I had never ran a cable blade prior to owning these, except the scant few times I ran the 1st one we had here as a kid. I had no problem adpating either, did some repair in one of the fields for my 1st project, I liked how it graded, when you grab a lever on one of these, it ain't no little plastic joystick either, these are levers ! I remember that skull cracker of a LeTourneau PCU blade control lever releasing itself after sitting awhile, once when firing the old girl up. I was trying to work it and the brake pad was stuck to the drum, it came free all right, enough to put a big dent in ones noggin ! I'm glad it did not catch me in the side of the head, that thing could kill someone, no wonder the sea-bees kept their helmets on when running these ! Well, once it freed up it's managable but holding your arm up all day to run the blade..... .. not easy.....these guys really put a days work in, to run one of these. Come to think of it, much of this world was developed rapidly with these kind of machines, especially roads and highways like the ALCAN highway, all the infrastructure required in WW-II, and a fair amount of our interstate system in the U.S., and with so many of them left over, and still around, one can believe how well built they really were.

I think you have some years on me Deas, and in this area, there were not a lot of International crawlers, some A-C's though, CAT, had a long established dealership here, so most of what was around was CAT from what I have seen. Both you and OzDozer have mentioned this repeatedly as far as the finals, the heads, and other weak areas on those machines. Even then, a fair amount of IH & A-C have survived suprisingly, and still have a following which is good to see as people are preserving these as well. CAT must have really had the competitive edge providing durable quality over what the other manufacturers offered back then. We all have our preferences, but the interesting thing is to hear other peoples experiences with various manufacturers, especailly when really working them hard.

You ought to get yourself one of these or similar Deas, we're only here once ( as I always say LOL ! ) I know in your neck of the woods the old iron is not too abundant, and pricey but like me, someone who used to operate full time, but moved on to other areas in the business, running work etc. having something to work on/operate really is enjoyable in the off hours especially if you miss running a piece of equipment. Once you have something that is in operable condtion, I think is the most enjoyable, I'm still amazed at some of the re-builds that have been posted on the BB's over the years, which is no doubt a lot of hard work, so it's not all a bed of roses but....still a unique hobby with rewards at the end when putting the final coat of paint and decals on.

At this stage in my life, I don't REALLY need a D7 to play with as I get to play with a mixture of toys, 5 1/2 days a week. The other 1 1/2 days, I like peace and quiet. Mostly D5B, 941 or 943's, with an occasional 953B or C or an 'other' make excavator thrown in for good measure. I would like to get my backside back on a sideboom, a dragline, a face shovel or some such occasionally ---- or maybe a scraper -- for about 2 loads.

If I had the spare cash, time and space, what I'd really like would be a late D9G with 9S hydraulic-tilt blade and 4-barrel, multi-shank ripper. Now THAT was a tractor.

The early D8s had a similar 'bark' to them as you suggest, but less 'chug' with an extra bang per revolution. I ran a couple of 2U's for brief periods at different times. With one of them, the very first job I did with it was grading the sand topdressing on a trotting (harness racing) training track. The horses don't like washboard-finish tracks and there was no grader. A challenge that, fortunately, I was up to.

You could do a lot of the 'D8-sized' jobs with the D7's. You just had to be prepared to take a fair bit more time and to remember that you were missing 1/3 of the cylinders and 1/3 of the weight. Rock though was a whole nuther story. And the advent of oil clutches made a big difference even there. Wet steering compartments were another BIG step forward.

I've made a sort of a hobby out of working machines in tight spaces, doing small jobs with bigger machines. One of the earliest was a 245 cu. yard farm dam with a D8H. 50 feet square on top, 13 feet square on the bottom, 6 feet deep, a dam in miniature, you might say. The silly part about it is that, where it was, in the Western Australian wheat-belt area, the evaporation rate would have taken all that water every year, even if the stock never took a drink out of it.

I only ever ran one A-C machine, a stick-shift HD16 with an angle dozer and a LeTourneau cable control. It was a nice machine to operate, except when you missed a gear change. Then it did some rather 'rude' things to your right hand.

That HD16 was probably one of the best machines I have run for pushing uphill. It still lost production over pushing on the flat, but not near as much as the old D7's did. It was pretty well balanced too. Unfortunately, the bigger A-C machines also had the same final drive failings that the Internationals had, and it cost them both market share, big-time.

One of the worst of these was the IH TD24 which disappeared, not only from the market but pretty much from general use, in 13 short years from its introduction in 1947. I started operating full-time in 1960 and never got to run a TD24. I worked on one for about a week in 1961 repairing it, but never got to run it. Then IH went and topped that with the TD30 which was supposed to be a D9-killer and turned out to be an expensive paperweight. I think it lasted about 4 years and I never heard of anybody buying a second one.

Give credit where credit is due though. IH did do a lot better with the TD15's, TD20's and TD25's. While still not Cat's equals anywhere, they at least didn't spit finals at the sight of a mound of dirt. The older IH's could apparently handle plowing all day long but not the shocks of dozer work.

I think one of the most amazing rescues I have heard of is KansasCat's rescue of the four Cat Sixty's and getting 3 of them running for the show last year.

You can contact me by e-mail through YT's contact form if you want. Just click on the header here.

You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes.
Deas Plant.

That dam must have been fun, the dimensions you gave seem bizzare, wide at the top and or narrow at the bottom ? Some of the foreman I've worked under years past, used have me do some tight work with the 8K's where they should have used a smaller one, like hogging out topsoil an clay in the areas where we would prepare compacted pads for concrete slabs for residential homes.

I still rent equipment and do jobs on occasion, one of our former competitors in the Ag. equipment business is now carrying the Agco Challenger line, and also a nice Cat rental line, I get some really affordable rates for nice late model equipment, I just completed a small week long job with a Cat 420D IT rubber tired backhoe, in tight quarters to build additional off street parking for a friends business, seeing my daytime job faded out from a business move to downsize last year, these skills still can and do provide a means to earn a paycheck in the interim.

Interesting about the A-C's and Internationals, sometimes you see a nice one of either come up for sale, but like I said earlier, hearing about how they performed and seeing they have a following to keep some preserved is a good thing.

I saw the photos Kansas Cat posted, I agree, that was a great story, looks like they had to hustle in their off hours, contend with rain, and otherwise make use of time any way the could, these had been sitting for some time if I remember correctly. I'll bet the show was fun though. Well worth the work I'm sure.

We'll see you out on the message boards with the rest of the crew I'm sure, take it easy and as you always say, "Have a Wonderful Day" !