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NC Wayne made some good points, some of the real old ones are hard to find correct parts for and make original, but the 1st thing you need to do is get the serial number from it, if it is an old say mid 20's to mid 30's it should have a brass data/patent plate attached somewhere. Next it you should evaluate it, is the motor stuck, how much if anything is missing from it, probably take some asking to get the undercarriage specifications on it, and determine how much it is worn. I'll post links to the 2 websites that support the antique Caterpillars. See if you can get the tractor serial number and take some photos of it, post them here or on either of the 2 websites I'll post links to. That will help indentify what it is, this will help determine any collector value. You never know what you may find, though the majority of them are of regular production runs, there was a guy in Vermont who found one of 40 something made, an early D-5 specially built and ordered by a government agency, only a few are known to exist, that is one example of a rarity that I know of, but it's always good to I.D. them so something that may be of value does not go to scrap. An early Holt or Best, or early variant of either when Caterpillar took over is worth keeping, or say it's a Caterpillar Twenty or Twenty-Two, ( one of those a lot of were made ) compared to say one like the early D-5 or some of the other series, mentioned above or those were low production runs. If it is a smaller model, and has a decent set of tracks and the motor is not stuck, might be easier to get running, but say the motor is stuck, steering clutches froze up or other things just from sitting, you may get into a complete tear down, figure out what you may be capable or interested in doing in either scenario, if it's really bad, but you can get it for nothing, have a place you can work on it, some funds to spend here and there, you can get alot of help from the guys on either of the discussion boards on the websites I post links to. Some components require some special tools, parts are out there, even Cat ( some dealers are better than others on handling the old tractor parts ) will suprise you with what they still have for these. A lot of people have literally dragged these things out of the weeds and made them operational again. If the engine is stuck, or if in a cold climate check of freeze cracks, use a pry bar to see if the sprocket is loose on the axle, see if the track components are worn out, check inside the finaldrive cases, can put a magnet in there and see if bits of metal are on the bottom, look at the lubricant in there, it'll have water at the bottom from condensation over the years, see how the steering clutch levers work, give it a good inspection, these were durable machines, depends on how it was used and why it was parked, how long it sat, as to what it will take to make it operational. Let us know what you find
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