Help me decide: Koering Bantam C266 Yes or No?

[rustybottoms88]

I have decided a excavator is what I need. Now there is what I believe to be a Koering Bantam C266 with a 4-71 Detroit for sale a few hours from me. The asking price is $10500.00 The ad says its a c256 but I can not find where any such machine exists so I will assume a mistake by the seller and say its a C266. The front glass is gone out of it as well as the window to the right of the operators seat. The rest of the glass is foggy. According to the pics it appears to be in good shape other wise. I have put off the idea of buying it because I assume it was difficult to find parts for but I keep coming back to it. Help me decide. I am looking for a machine to us on the farm to clear some land for use as pasture. The land has been logged recently so there are several stumps. I would want a mechanical thumb on whatever machine I end up with and the Bantam does not have one. I assume 2-3K dollarsto get a thumb on it? Pic of said machine below.

 

[movindirt]

Here is a place for a manual thumb, not sure what the weight on this machine is but if you know you can just look and see what one for that weight range will cost you. https://gentecequipment.com/

 

[rustybottoms88]

Here is a place for a manual thumb, not sure what the weight on this machine is but if you know you can just look and see what one for that weight range will cost you. https://gentecequipment.com/

Thank you.

 

[RonG]

I ran a C-366 and it was a good machine.I think the standard equipment for windows in those machines was plexiglass and by the time I got to run ours you could not see through the windows much the same as the one you are looking at.The window to the right of the operators seat is in the sliding door.I don't think that you will regret buying it.We had to break ours down to move it to get under the wires but you may not with the smaller machine.That will not be an issue once you get it on the farm.Ron G

 

[fixou812]

The last 266 I messed with had a leaking rotary manifold.
I never ended up pulling it out because the owner didn't want to put the time and money in it.
It's still sitting there. Don't know if the seals are available.

 

[maddog]

I'd be worried about parts unless you know someone or place that can fabricate. There are some used parts out there but then again "used" is what you'd be buying. These old machines can be tough as nails but a lot of them have seen their fair share of abuse. I bought a Hein Werner ex years back, fun machine to run BUT once the engine blew and I checked into fixing that along with a few other things the price was in the 30K's. Luckily I only paid scrap metal price for it and when it died I got my money back by turning it in for scrap. It was a neat machine but IMO not worth the time I wasted messing with it. Also remember if your down in the back 40 and that puppy dies you'll need to either fix it on the spot or find a bigger machine to get it out of there. Are you mechanically inclined, or at least know a friend that knows excavators to check it over real good? These track machine fixes can quickly run into a 2nd mortgage when trying to keep them in good running condition. How many hours are on the machine? What engine is it running? How are the fluids? Do the pumps work good? How are the hoses? Are the pins tight? How are the rollers sprockets and idlers? What shape is the track in? These are just a few things that you'll need to check out and ask.

 

[rustybottoms88]

I ran a C-366 and it was a good machine.I think the standard equipment for windows in those machines was plexiglass and by the time I got to run ours you could not see through the windows much the same as the one you are looking at.The window to the right of the operators seat is in the sliding door.I don't think that you will regret buying it.We had to break ours down to move it to get under the wires but you may not with the smaller machine.That will not be an issue once you get it on the farm.Ron G

Thank you for the response. I misspoke the window to the left is gone. The Windows being plexiglass should be easy enough to replace.

 

[rustybottoms88]

I went by the local parts supplier. He thought I would probably be better off with something newer.

 

[Delmer]

Parts for something like that is usually, 1:can a machinist fix what broke 2: can a more common part substitute 3:is there one sitting in a parts yard 4:is there a NOS part somewhere 5:is it worth keeping around to pull parts off or 6:is scrap high right now or wait a couple years

One game changer is parts searches through machinery trader etc. You can search for dismantled machines, and part numbers and know immediately what's out there. I'd look into that before deciding yes or no on the purchase. I have no idea if Koering used common components or not, that makes a huge difference in finding parts for some machines that seem like complete oddball orphans. Another way to look at it, is if it performs right now, how long does it have to last to pay for itself compared to a $20 or $30k machine, which will have it's own problems also.

 

[rustybottoms88]

Thank you all for the responses. I really appreciate it. I believe I am going to pass on this machine for now.

 

[Willie B]

For example I want a winch for a Dresser TD7G. I can buy new parts, the cost would exceed the value of the tractor. The tractor isn't rare, but all the machines being parted out lack the winch. I could buy dozens of winches for a John Deere crawler within 100 miles.

A rare orphaned machine like that runs the risk of becoming a bee nest if an essential part fails. Engine parts won't be a problem. Others might.