Cat 951-C in my sights

Congratulations Nitelite you now have a very nice machine there, this has been a very informative and entertaining thread mate
It's almost sad to see it finished I was enjoying the daily updates on the progress but it's nice to see it up and working

Nitelite , what about the poor D4 ?

Thanks for the comment purnong. I am glad the 951 is up and running. I need a break, that was a lot of work for an old man to tackle in one giant bite. That old machine is a sleeper now, for sure. I t has all hydraulic cylinders overhauled, including track adjusters. A fresh complete engine overhaul. New sprockets. New SALT track chains. All new track roller frame mounting bolts. It sits on a very good set of rollers and new track shoes. I also replaced one carrier roller, the PO replaced the other. All fluids and filters are new. Some new gages and disconnect switch and all return hoses. It has two new 4DHD batteries. New complete paint job, decals, and she is full of diesel.

I have a feeling that there will be other issues. I don't intend to forget HEF and I will post the work that I do with her in the future.

seatwarmer said:

Nitelite , what about the poor D4 ?

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Don't let that newly painted 951 sitting beside her fool you. That poor old looking D4E is a fine old machine. Mechanically, it needs absolutely nothing. It sits on a 100% undercarriage, has a fine running engine and will work its guts out when asked to do so. I do need to pull the winch off the back and find out why the PTO shaft is not turning the winch. I am either going to have to paint it too, or park them farther apart from now on. The new paint on the 951 does make her appear a little poor. If viewed by itself the paint actually is pretty fair.

You can see how tall the weeds have grown up around her but I got on it last Sunday and it fired right up. I reworked about 1/2 mile of roads with it. Going from the power shift track loader to the direct drive dozier puts me on my toes for a short while but it is like riding a bicycle and in a few minutes I can work the tractor, think of something else, and chew chewing gum all at the same time.

There is one consolation, If one of them fails to start or won't run just right, its not the computer!

Nitelite said:

Don't let that newly painted 951 sitting beside her fool you. That poor old looking D4E is a fine old machine. Mechanically, it needs absolutely nothing. It sits on a 100% undercarriage, has a fine running engine and will work its guts out when asked to do so. I do need to pull the winch off the back and find out why the PTO shaft is not turning the winch. I am either going to have to paint it too, or park them farther apart from now on. The new paint on the 951 does make her appear a little poor. If viewed by itself the paint actually is pretty fair.

You can see how tall the weeds have grown up around her but I got on it last Sunday and it fired right up. I reworked about 1/2 mile of roads with it. Going from the power shift track loader to the direct drive dozier puts me on my toes for a short while but it is like riding a bicycle and in a few minutes I can work the tractor, think of something else, and chew chewing gum all at the same time.

There is one consolation, If one of them fails to start or won't run just right, its not the computer!

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I'm just jealous

Looks great Nitelite! She's going to serve you very well for a very long time with all the love you've given her!

Fantastic work!! I have sure enjoyed watching the journey unfold on HEF!

Looks fantastic Nitelite! I've to hand it to you...you're a machine. I'm amazed at what you've been able to accomplish by yourself. It's sure been fun checking this thread for updates.

I just returned from a short vacation. We spent a few days on the naval base in Norfolk Va. Saw a lot of overwhelming and interesting things. We went to the air show and visited Kitty Hawk North Carolina, the site of the first powered flight by the Wright brothers. I kept up with the thread on my phone while I was away.

Boone, I will say again, I envy you having your entire family being involved in the adventures with your loader. My old machines give me a reason to get out of the recliner every day, something to do! With information and help from this forum, and a bit of will power, anyone could accomplish such a project.

Sounds like you had a good trip. My wife, our little toe heads and I just got back from a trip to Chattanooga. Lot's to do there. We took a train ride at the Tennessee Valley RR Musuem. The boys ate that up. We also got to ride in a WWII DUKW (Duck) down the river. The driver let me and the little one drive it for a bit. LOL! Always good to get away for a while.

Boone, the next time you visit Chattanooga take the kids to Lake Winnie. We took the grand kids last month. Check it out on the web. My wife, kids and myself rode the train to the the very first trip to the Musuem.

Today I decided to build a new home. I built my present home myself in 1976. I drove every nail and pulled every wire myself. It is a 4000 sf with full basement. I will have the new one built by a contractor. The Veterans Administration issued a grant for the new home. The VA Administrators were out here today and gave me the green light. I think that I will do the dirt work myself, dig the basement, put in the road etc. I haven't decided whether to go ahead and try to get it dried in before winter or just wait until spring. Wow, it sounds like some fun coming my way. I hope the old machines are up to it.

Nitelite said:

Today I decided to build a new home. I built my present home myself in 1976. I drove every nail and pulled every wire myself. It is a 4000 sf with full basement. I will have the new one built by a contractor. The Veterans Administration issued a grant for the new home. The VA Administrators were out here today and gave me the green light. I think that I will do the dirt work myself, dig the basement, put in the road etc. I haven't decided whether to go ahead and try to get it dried in before winter or just wait until spring. Wow, it sounds like some fun coming my way. I hope the old machines are up to it.

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Awesome!! Can't wait to see some pics of this!opcorn I'm sure your machines are just itchin' for a project!

The new house going to be on the same property? What are the plans for the 1976 house?

kshansen said:

The new house going to be on the same property? What are the plans for the 1976 house?

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Yes, The wife and I went for a Jeep ride around the 35 acres trying to decide where exactly to construct the new home. I need to take the dozier and cut a road through a hollow and up on the next ridge, there are some awesome building sites on top of that ridge, very private and no neighbors, just game preserve. Next choice would be overlooking the lake that I need to get started cleaning out.

I have a choice to spend the grant money on the 1976 home updating it to meet the VA's specifications for a handicap dwelling. Or a choice to build a new home built to VA handicap specs. My existing home really needs nothing done to it at all. I could choose not to use the grant at all, that is a no brainer! Or build the new home. My existing home will go to my daughter and her family. My new home will be built from a set of plans that my son likes and has, someday it will become his home anyway. My children were born on this place and grew up hunting, fishing and riding their atvs'. There is plenty of room for the grand kids to build someday if they choose.

I made my living working in my cabinet shop for more than twenty years. The entrance door to the cabinet shop is fifty seven steps from my recliner in the house. I know that because I had to walk to work and back every day.

Nitelite said:

I made my living working in my cabinet shop for more than twenty years. The entrance door to the cabinet shop is fifty seven steps from my recliner in the house. I know that because I had to walk to work and back every day.

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After I told Diane about your 35 acres with a good view and private lake she asked if you'r be interesting in adopting her!

Thats great, and having the room for everyone is awesome. I currently moved off our family farm a few years back to have our own home when i married my wife but hope to move back when I can afford to build a home that we hope we would retire in. As you mentioned, I've already told the wife I am doing the ground work as I want to dig basement. Sounds like a good reason to add an excavator and dump truck to the mix vs just b/c i want more to play on! On the cleaning pond side, how do you plan to accomplish that. I'm scared to get in to close to mine even though its way down b/c drought b/c it'll sink and I have nothing to pull it out if it bottoms out (another need for excavator!!).

kshansen said:

After I told Diane about your 35 acres with a good view and private lake she asked if you'r be interesting in adopting her!

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Please send pictures!

My lake has a solid rock bottom. I built it, rather had it built, forty years ago. I had it cleaned out back down to rock bottom thirty two years ago. It has a brass gate valve in the deep end so I can drain it. I will dig my way in and haul the silt out with the dump truck that I bought for that purpose. So long as I work on the rock and don't wade into the mud, I don't expect any problems. I have a D4-E Dozier with a winch in case of problems but I need to fix the winch before the clean out. A loaded dump truck stuck in the mud might even need that winch.

Nitelite said:

Boone, the next time you visit Chattanooga take the kids to Lake Winnie. We took the grand kids last month. Check it out on the web. My wife, kids and myself rode the train to the the very first trip to the Musuem.

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That's a great little park. We did Lake Winnie on the last day of our trip. We were all wore out, but had fun anyway. I think I rode the Woolie Worm at least 4 times in a row with the kids. We did the aquarium, discovery museum and few other things while there.

Nitelite said:

Today I decided to build a new home. I built my present home myself in 1976. I drove every nail and pulled every wire myself. It is a 4000 sf with full basement. I will have the new one built by a contractor. The Veterans Administration issued a grant for the new home. The VA Administrators were out here today and gave me the green light. I think that I will do the dirt work myself, dig the basement, put in the road etc. I haven't decided whether to go ahead and try to get it dried in before winter or just wait until spring. Wow, it sounds like some fun coming my way. I hope the old machines are up to it.

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Congrats on the new home. Sounds like you're going to be covered up in projects. The way you work, I think you and machines will all be up to the challenge. Looking forward to following your progress!

I seem to have over did it! Hee Hee

I used the loader to bury my twelve year old dog. She just got too old and died. The Cat 951 made short work of the chore.

I had an appointment with my cardiologist at the VA hospital last Friday. He asked, "what is the most strenuous type of physical activity that you have done since our last visit"? I replied, "I don't really know Doc". My wife then spoke up and said, "he buried the dog". The doctor's face brightened up and he began to write on my chart. He asked, "was it a deep grave or a shallow grave"? I answered that it was indeed a deep grave. He wrote some more in my chart. Next he asked, "how deep"? I answered, "about four feet deep". He wrote some more in the chart. Next he asked, " how long did it take you to dig that hole, and were you not short of breath or exhausted after digging such a deep grave"? I answered, " no, I used my Caterpillar track loader to dig the hole and it only took me a few minutes". Doc. said," I thought I told you not to be operating that machine"! I said, no doc, you said to stay off of my bull dozier! While giving me a dirty look, Doc. scribbled over what he had written on my chart and asked, "you have not been working on your dozier again have you"? I said "nope". He didn't ask if I had been working on the track loader and I didn't volunteer anything either.

Walking the 951 back to the barn after doing burial duty.