Doing a bit of work with the 977

spitzair · Aug 8, 2010

Hello everybody,
I've got a few weeks off and a couple of movie scouts are interested in doing a movie here... They're coming to do some preliminary stuff to see if they like the location so I'm making a trail for them to get to the spot. What a great excuse to exercise the 977H! I can't get enough of this machine, it's just GREAT! I'm not much of an operator but I think the trail turned out half decent... Here's some pictures of the fun! Did I mention I love this machine?

spitzair · Aug 8, 2010

Couple more...

amunderdog · Aug 8, 2010

4th picture: What is that hanging off the side?

Nice machine

Buckethead · Aug 8, 2010

amunderdog said:
4th picture: What is that hanging off the side?

Nice machine

Looks like the air cleaner. I never saw one exactly like that, but that's where they are on a 977H. Sptizair is that winch hydraulic?

spitzair · Aug 8, 2010

Dog, yes that is the air cleaner... It sticks out there a ways, on my older 977H it's vertical and doesn't stick out as far. Buckethead, yes that's a hydraulic Gearmatic winch. I haven't used it yet but it does work, I just recently ran a control cable to it's valve.

jughead · Sep 9, 2010

i cut my teeth on one of those things. it moved some rocks and picked up some that had it balanced on the front idlers. one had to ease the rock up and let the loader slowly settle back down to get it on the truck. this old man will never qualify as an operator but i have moved a lot of dirt and a few VERY LARGE boulders with a 977 in the last 20 plus years.

alan627b · Sep 9, 2010

Spitzair, would it be a fair guess that filter isn't OEM? Looks like somebody did some adapting to get rid of the original oil bath air cleaner, and convert to dry type. Looks a bit odd, but probably gets the job done!
Love the 977H, watching one as a kid had a lot to do with me wanting to be an operator for a living. I hope to own one myself some day!
Looks like a nice scenic trail to me, better make a clearing and install a picnic table when the filming is done!

Nice Cuda, Jughead, in case you didn't know it I'm quite the Mopar nut! Looks like a fun ride.
Alan

jughead · Sep 9, 2010

977

Nice Cuda, Jughead, in case you didn't know it I'm quite the Mopar nut! Looks like a fun ride.
Alan[/QUOTE]
thank u bought it new never been titled. 149 mi. it is a 440 6 pack car. hemi in it now just couldnt make the hemi run like it should. put my 63 max-wedge together in 92 and found out by accident what i was doing wrong with the hemi. 12 years of dragracing and made a lot of mistakes along the way

spitzair · Sep 16, 2010

Alan, yeah, not sure if it's an OEM air filter, just doesn't look like one! They sure did a nice job though if it is indeed an add-on!
So the movie crew decided to use our property for their shoot, so it was full steam ahead! Here's a bunch of pictures of the ol' girl in action! Only problem I had was that on Saturday I busted a track, so we spent Sunday changing tracks instead of loading gravel, but had it all back together by the end of the day! I just absolutely love this machine! The picture with the boulder is for you Jughead!

spitzair · Sep 16, 2010

Just a few more... Got to use the hydraulic winch too for the first time, man does that thing ever pull!!! Only drawback is the lack of freespool but it wasn't a problem, I just fed the line out while the other guy walked it out!

jughead · Sep 16, 2010

977

nice little rock. that size will do damage to a truck it not careful

spitzair · Nov 19, 2010

I'm back working on this project again, they keep finding more and more things for me to do

.

alan627b · Nov 20, 2010

Neat pics, Spitzair! I see you wearing headphones for sound deadening in the pictures...these old girls sure do speak in a loud voice, don't they? Used to be able to hear one from a mile or more away. (Used to!)
Listening to one in good tune is always good entertainment.
Glad to see you having fun with it. If memory serves...didn't you get two of these?

Alan

boone · Nov 20, 2010

Great pictures Spitzair. I like seeing the action shots. Would love to hear and see it work in person.

Deeretime · Nov 21, 2010

How does it work with plowing all of the snow that just fell :tong

The trail looks great i think u may be more of a skinner than !

spitzair · Nov 21, 2010

Thanks for the kind words guys! I was running the ol' girl all day today, every time I get on it it impresses me again! Today I moved this monster rock around. I love it!
No snow here Deeretime, just cold and very windy. Felt like -15 with the windchill. I guess I'm turning into a big sissy... But I can't wait to try it in a few feet of snow

Yup, I did get two Alan, the other one runs but has a miss and smokes a lot so it's sitting in the back waiting for whatever I come up with for it. It had a nearly new undercarriage on it which I've since started swapping over to this machine. I still have to swap the idlers and the left track tensioner leaks so I'll swap that too all at once when this job is finished and I find some time. Once I do that I might sell the other one or keep it around for parts, not sure yet.
Cheers!

rabbit · Nov 21, 2010

Oh boy, do I remember these. First 977 I ran was a 20A, we were in the building wrecking business in Oakland, CA. It had a Peterson demo bucket and extended arms to load high side demo trucks. The 977 was the cats meow for demo work 35 years ago. If the building was too high we'ed use the crane to knock it down to size. But the 977 was our main machine until the excavator took over.
:usa

sick&tired · Nov 21, 2010

Those 977s are brutes. How much fuel do they burn? I was looking at one recently for my property in idaho, the price was right- $8500 for a 977L in good condition, but i was told they can burn 7-10 gal an hour, and with the cost of diesel skyrocketing i was worried it would cost to much to operate so i passed.

rabbit · Nov 22, 2010

sick&tired said:
Those 977s are brutes. How much fuel do they burn? I was looking at one recently for my property in idaho, the price was right- $8500 for a 977L in good condition, but i was told they can burn 7-10 gal an hour, and with the cost of diesel skyrocketing i was worried it would cost to much to operate so i passed.

Working hard all day you better carry at least 100 gal.
:usa

That_Fulla · Nov 25, 2010

Nice phots. It looks like you are quite the bargin hunter with purchace of those two beasts! I cant even remember ever seeing a track loader of this size in NZ, There is a few smaller track loaders around mainly cats and komatsu but they are ageing.

Doing a bit of work with the 977

Senior Member

Attachments

Senior Member

Attachments

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Attachments

Senior Member

Attachments

Senior Member

Senior Member

Attachments

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Attachments

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Member