wabco/letourneau scrapers (pans) ?????????

[planetshapers]

i have one good running wabco letournea scraper that only needs something simple to operate its electrical component. maybe an erectifier? is that how u say it? and it has a modifed ejector in the bowl that is hydraulic.

and i have another parts machine that runs and operates...but the detroit engine has a hole in the piston.

and another machine just for parts...no engine.

what do i do with these machine? we work in the mountains and there are no jobs left for a scraper.

but these are kinda cool economical dirt movers. not much to wear out because the scraper uses electic motors and cables. detroit engine and straight shift.

i know someone collects these...ive seen them in antique earthmoving books.

i dont know where to sell them.... or what to do with them. one of them is in pretty good shape...so i dont wanna cut it up for the scrap yard. and i dont wanna cut up the parts machines for scrap cause they can be used for the good machine!

any help?
thanks!

located in north georgia area

[alan627b]

The best idea I have....post it here. http://www.tournanet.com/
Gotta be somebody there who'd rather give them a home instead of putting it on the slow boat to China, just so they can sell it back to us!
I think these things used relays for their steering and bowl functions, I've heard of the thrills when they either fused or wouldn't work at all. Guy near here used to have a fleet of C pulls, moved a lot of dirt with them.
Best of luck to you, have you got any pictures of them?
alan627b@hotmail.com

[planetshapers]

yeah. i cant take some pics. but they are tightly jammed in our yard between other junk.

also...ive got a koehring 466 that had a nearly new motor when parked....15 years ago. and we crank it every few years....just put in a battery. and everything worked...except a snap ring broke off the track on one side and was never fixed back. but basically...the bottom is worn out.

who would wanna give us something for it? where do i get rid of it. it would run with a little tinkering. good for a farmer somewhere.

but thanks for the info man! i have looked up that site before. i never get an email response from the owner of that site. hmmmmm....what can i do.

we used to move lots of dirt with these old pans.....

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Planetshapers,
Firstly, welcome to the forum.

I know the man who runs the Tournanet site. It was updated about 6 - 8 months ago and may now respond if you haven't visited it in that time. If you have visited since then, I guess nothing has changed. If you try it again and still get no response, let me know and I will contact the site owner personally to see if he has any contacts who may be interested in your scrapers. As you said, it would be a waste to cut them up.

It is an Australian-based site and the owner lives in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I understnd that he also runs a publishing business through which he has published a series of 3 books about Letourneau, his story and his machines. I have all 3 books and they are an interesting read. That R. G. was one hyperactive kid.

I had some fun on a Koehring 466 on a gas pipeline job in Sydney, Australia, in 1979. What a beast. It had tons of grunt and NO slew brake. You had to reverse slew to stop or to hold it if your pad wasn't DEAD flat. It could sure shift dirt though.

[Buckethead]

Try the Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA.net) It's a club of people who love old machines. Also even though it's not Cat you could try acmoc.org I believe their discussion board has a non-cat section as well. Good luck! Also try antiquecaterpillar.net

[John C.]

Many years ago I worked for a company that had a fleet of them and a small wherehouse of parts. After I left they cut up the units for scrap and sold off the parts.

They were basically unsafe to operate. The brake systems were crap even when new. They used selenium rectifiers which were extremely expensive and prone to burn out often. The generator sets were 380 volt so they would not power up anything else. They had Detroit 6-71s which were very noisy and underpowered. They used a clutch and 5 speed manual transmission and operators burned out the clutches constantly. The hoist and ejector on the bowl were wire rope operated with limit switches to keep from going past their travel. Unfortunately the limit switches frequently failed and the ropes would be snapped like string.

I hope you can move the monster but I'm afraid it will have to be to a museum or someone with deep pockets. It's dirt moving days are long past.

[planetshapers]

yes...what u described about these pans is true.
only reason we had success with them is because we didnt let anyone operate them except for a select few who understood them.

these things were cheap earthmovers when they were working. not alot of moving parts to wear....except the bowl. it was mostly electric problems and cables snapping.


maybe i will just sell them for really cheap on ebay. if someone buys the good pan...and doesnt want the parts machines..then i will just cut them up and part them out.

i think maybe a farmer would use one for something that doesnt require speed or importance. or even make a water tanker out of one. or maybe for a museum. or heck...someone may want the tires...axle...and engine. and i am sure the electric motots fit something else someone would need?