I’m 68 years old. When I was a young boy, my Dad bought an old D7 and rebuilt the engine. The blade was cable driven. She was old, but very strong. Dad cleared a lot of our land with it and built several small ponds. Good memories! Thanks for sharing.
I am just a few years younger, 64 and have a similar story. I love the old D7.. a classic simple rugged machine which is relatively easy to maintain and will operate reliably for years. It is a shame that machines like this are no longer made. Now all the heavy equipment I see is chocked full of electronics that only makes them more complicated and usually more expensive.
Hi ray, i remember myfather also salvaging a used cat in the mid sixties and subbing a chrysler gas engine in it and riding in it with him to clear roads through land butnot much else about it. I watch this and it's almost hypnotic,
@@johnpalmer5131 That’s true John, But, they can do a-helluva lot more and, are far far more, Powerful. I know. I’ve did the homework in comparing model. At the end of the day, I do believe it boils down to what we like. I much prefer new equipment. New pickups. New cars. Old cars have never done anything for me. No I don’t do the old restored car shows. You can have it. And I’m 64. I know my dad always said this. “Lots of folks talk about the good old days. I lived them. Many things about them, flat-out-stunk. Riding in the back, in a rumble seat all bundled up. Still freezing to death. I’ll take this shiny new Ford F-150 4x4 my boys bought me any day. And when the cold Montana wind blew we froze if we got away from the wood cooking stove or away from the firewood burning iron beast in the living room or the one in each bedroom. And we made the ones we had. Ones today are 100% more efficient folks! Chinking the walls when the wind blew through on my families old log house.” And he said a-lot more. So many things back then did not, I repeat, Did not last long. Like so many people today flat out lie. And say they did. They didn’t. And farm equipment back then, and like this was far more DANGEROUS TO OPERATE. If you went to our old grange hall here in NW Montana on dance night, back in the 60s / 70s up through the 80s, you could and would have seen so many, old timers missing fingers, hands etc because of equipment. “Back-In-The-Day.”
I have been watching Andrew for several years now. Someone posted a link that we should check him out and I did. He was just doing small things back then. boy has he moved up in a few short years. Thanks Andrew for sharing you life with us over the years. Keep it going and I can't wait to see you repairing that cat. I laughed so hard when the car rolled down the hill and the dog ran over!! The look on its face was just priceless.
That drone footage of you dozing the hillside is seriously next level. Nobody else on youtube does it like you, Andrew. Really high quality stuff, as always.
@@lutomson3496 I don't even understand how all that works with the drones but it's pretty damn cool they can do all that because it adds so much to his and others videos.
@@Military-Museum-LP I'm not sure there's anything he's not good or great at.pretty amazing guy and if he's not a genius he rewriting the meaning of it.
I love how the equipment keeps getting bigger. I look forward to the 10yr progression when the video pops up in my feed of “I bought a used Bagger 293, lets use it to level this mountain in 10mins” Lol, I love this channel, always good entertainment, and fun content
I love the fact that Andrew loves to save older equipment! The old stuff just works whenever you need it to! People have pushed dirt and rocks for years and never needed a computer to do it. This new 💩 they sell gets used for a week and some sensor gets tripped and only the selling company can fix it! What a racket!
Absolutely. One of his vids, he paid like $1400 for a controller for a skid steer, where the computer was all potted so you couldn't work on it. I can guarantee there's plenty of people who could build a similar controller using an Arduino and some relays and sensors.
Andrew, The piece that fell off is the one that supports in-place the cushions of the idler wheel. There are four cylindrical (4 inches ) rubbers that have a spring inside. That goes inside the idler fork. Hope it helps, greetings from Bolivia. You can find any parts that you need at CTP parts store. Oh and another thing you don’t need to open the track chain to replace that Grease track tensioner seal. 👍🏻👍🏻
I love how he just rolls the car off the side of the hill then just says “well, guess I need to make a guardrail here” classic Andrew Camatra right there….. lol great video
The piece you found goes under the Idler yoke, the 2 round pieces push the springs up. You are missing an air cleaner cover I front of your right foot is a decompression lever, When cranking you should have oil and fuel pressure before you turn the compression on. Turn the pony motor off by shutting off the gas, the gas drains down to the crankcase, change the oil to save pony. Youcan flip the cutting edge and lower the end bits Its a good machine it will move alot of dirt Good Luck Bill V
On the older cats the air cleaner looks like it’s missing a cover but the filter has a rubber lip that seals on the inside of the filter housing. So the filter is it’s self the cover. Jpaydirt has a good explanation of the filter typed here at 36:40 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-774g0_piBzk.html
Andrew, just a heads up, there is a de accelerator pedal by your right foot. So when you pull the throttle lever back, leave it there, full throttle. Then use your de accelerator pedal to control, your throttle. That way when you are pushing dirt it’s always full throttle. Love what you do
like a jake brake sorta ran d-7 d-8 us army d-7 had the rops (roll bar) with 1/2 perforated metal scabbed onto it to keep debris like tree limbs from hitting you went we were clearing woods definitely i nice find not ever cheap to fix but looks like it's ready to go to work as is
Im 57 and i got my mom who is 90 watching your videos Andrew for the past 3 years!!...mom loves Cody and watching you and thinks your a handsome young man!! We always look forward to your videos👍👍just thought i would share this as i dont leave comments very often have a great day!!
Try letting the pony motor spin the diesel for several minutes with the throttle closed. Doing this will create heat in the combustion chamber and bring up oil pressure (prelube) on the main engine. Then open the throttle to give the main engine fuel and it should start alot easier.
If the pony motor uses the same coolant as the engine, run the pony for 20 minutes before trying to crank the diesel. It will warm up the block. There should be a compression release to hold to crank the diesel to get oil pressure then release it to let the diesel start. It should be in the manual.
It’s amazing what was accomplished with the D-7’s. I think if you look at old footage of the Alaskan pipeline you’d see many 7’s in operation. They’d hook 2-3 together and shove stuff nearly vertical off the side of mountains Then pull them back and do it again. Those operators must have had nuts of steel.
Andrew, once the pressure and heat from the pup/pony engine is "good to go", shut off the gas and let the pup/pony run dry. If you leave gas in the carb bowl, the float and needle will open and close, from being bounced around thus, getting gas to leak in the cylinder and end-up in the small engine sump (Oil dilution). I hope it helps.
Nice find Andrew. I used to run one of those way back when. I believe there is a lever on the bottom right of the dash that operates the compression release for the big engine. Switching that over to the right will release the compression. As you already know, pulling the lever on the left will engage the pony motor and allow you a little time to bring oil and fuel pressure up. Then, cracking the throttle and kicking the compression lever over to the left will bring the big engine to life! Good luck with the old girl!
yea it runs but that's about all i can say for it look's like it was raised from the dead from some scrap pile i want Andrew to get rich and buy one of those fancy new dozer what are they I'm guessing about $143.000 ? this antique needs a funeral in the steel mill
I was an operating engineer local 12 for 30 years only ran one dozen with a pony motor and actually saw a drop cable doze that hauled around to job sites for a Tax write off it never was used
@@stevenherrold5955 Andrew has plenty of money, thus his growing collection of antique iron, but he has stated many times that he hates electronics and refuses to buy anything that has them.
The piece of metal that was found is the idler slider pad. In order to reseal the track adjuster cylinder, the dozer frame and the track need to be removed. The idler can then be removed which will allow access to the adjuster cylinder. I can't wait to see how you are going to push out the track pin to break the track.
Love your content Andrew, as far as your winch goes, the filter you saw on the top is the suction screen filter for the system, the winch is mechanically driven by the pto but is controlled using a small low pressure hydraulic system(only around 220psi to run the foreword and reverse clutches). So on the right side of the winch should be your oil reservoir, hyster recommends either 10wt hydraulic oil or atf. There should be a small gear pump on the converter housing behind the engine that the suction hose and pressure hose goes to, hopefully this helps you start to get winch working. These old hyster winches are the best, hyster was bought out by allied winches and some parts are still available for some, that’s where I have picked up some parts for mine. Also there should be a pressure line filter under one of the covers on the left side of winch good luck 🍀👍🏻
Right on. Oil spec has updated to oil that uses a friction modifier that works better. And the winch is always running when the tractor is on so no oil probably didn’t help the winch. Good call Cumminschevy
Andrew, thank you for this one. brings back memory's when they were building I-84 from exits 6 down to 1 State line and thru Brewster,Ny. My dad use to drive us over too the cliffs and watch them blow up the mountains and dig out the debris then bring in those dozers and steam shovels. Amazing what Cats, capability's were for that time.. I 84 and I684 only been built since 1958 to 1963 from Danbury thru Newburgh. A lot of blowing up went on. They took the dirt from most of the farm fields in and around Danbury and Brewster to use as the base.
I am perpetually amazed at the power and usability of these dozers. Andrew grading that rocky hill with ease, would have taken 30 men 6 months to complete just 100 years ago.
It’s even more impressive when you consider that the first D7 came out way back in 1939. We moved pretty fast from shovels and picks to heavy equipment.
100 years ago, it would all be cheap slave/prison labor, like the kind that say, “hot-tars the roof of the plate factory for a bucket of suds for a guy and his co-workers” ;) (I wonder if anyone gets the reference nod)
Its amazing what some TLC does for a neglected machine. I love how you dive in to sort out anything you buy. When you have finished it wil be a fine work horse to add to the AC stable. Some of the comments about starting the main engine seem like they know what they are talking about.
My dad was a logger on the West Coast and had a D7E and a D7F, both great logging cats. The D7E should be a turbocharged 4 cylinder, then they switched to a normally aspirated 6 cylinder in the F model. Great to see one of the old girls still alive and working.
It’s great to see Andrew buying stuff he needs for work around his place! It’s refreshing to see someone creating content that is meaningful and useful. Keep up the great work Andrew.
Andrew you are the best channel available by far! I can’t wait until you perform the service on the D 7. Great addition to your equipment family! Awesome video!!!
This was a great old-school style video. I particularly enjoy your own personal camera work and time lapse style of editing. So relaxing and satisfying to see the roadway take shape and get smoothed out. These kinds of videos are why I subscribed. To see you living the dream now tops it all off. Come on Cody, let's go roll the car off the cliff again!
I love how the 3rd Gen has just gotten more and more beat up as time has gone on. And it’s not even normal wear and tear. The whole underbody of the cap is bent up. And then rolling the yota to top it off. Great video as always Andrew. Been a fan forever!
My Dad worked heavy maintenance for a road construction crew for years. He could pull these apart and put them back together with his eyes closed. Every time Andrew pulls out the HUGE wrenches it reminds me of him.
Pony motors have to have the fuel shut off then run out of gasoline once the main engine is started or the vibrations will overflow the pony carb and dilute the pony engine oil and destroy the splash lubed bearings costing you a boat load of money to rebuild the pony motor with almost impossible to find parts. They dont hold a lot of engine oil. A few seconds will save you thousands and months of downtime.
Watching this guy feels like playing a simulation game. Starting with a shovel, buying better and better equipment but always run everything yourself. And meanwhile as a bonus build a better house. :) We need to see some quests. :) Great to watch.
"fixing things" ... or not! (29:19) Maybe a guard rail along here... oh well, the left headlight needed replacing, anyway. It'll be easier with the bumper "removed"! 😜
Great to see how the pony motors have developed over the years - I go back to D4 of the 1950 vintage - that pony motor was a rope pull (no electrics) to start it - start the pony motor - let it run to warm itself up and also the radiator fluid ( the tractor had one cooling system for both the main deisel and pony motors) and manually engage it to the main motor ( which had its decompresion lever activated), have the pony motor turn over the deisel until oil pressure was built, close the deisel compression system, let the deisel turn over under compression until the compression and rad fluid had warmed up, open deisel throttle and keep the pony motor running until deisel fires which then throws the pony motor away from the deisel, turn the pony motor fuel off and let it starve to a stop. The new version seems so much simpler. Love the vid
Good description. I'd never seen a CAT started until this past September when an old farmer brought one on a trailer to the Sandwich, Illinois fair. Was part of the Old Engine Collectors. Took him a while to get the pony started, but did get the big engine going. I guess it was on a trailer because there was like a 10 KW generator attached to the machine for powering stuff.
Awesome , That ole D7 runs strong , expect nothing else from the old school genuine virgin iron of Old America . Super cool , Good buy . I love Dozers , They seem so Docile but powerful in every way , Reshape the earth with these Monsters .
The guardrail test was epic and totally unexpected! Way to go! Loved it! From what I understand, the D7 is basically bullet proof and I bet you will have thar winch working in no time!
Chalk up another new toy for Andrew. He’ll have it working better than new in no time. Amazing at the deals he finds and gets them to work well. Andrew is certainly an individual not afraid of work and willing to tackle repairing machines he has no experience working on, yet makes them better in the end. A very talented fellow. But we got to hand it to Cody for being the true boss. Just don’t let Andrew drive any Toyota vehicles. Otherwise they will end up at the bottom of a hill.😱
As old as this Cat is, it’s a workhorse and watching you test al the parts before you start tearing it down, great job and videos as usual! On to the next job if approved by Cody.👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The whispered "oh my god," had me dying lol. I had the same exact response when seeing the milky milk... Love seeing your fixer upper content with these old machines.
Taking a small path and turning it into an interstate Hwy the AC way ! Great to have a D7 dozer at each place . Happy for you , look forward to seeing the improvements at your other property too in 2022 !
Great video, you know if these machines were alive they would feel like an animal being adopted by a good home. Fresh fluids and some maintenance make for a happy machine.
I can’t tell you how happy I am with you stepping up and buying all these CAT products Andrew. You’ve always been a natural on dozers. I’ve seen you do things with your small dozer that are epic!
@@jeffg3042 wouldn’t you love to see a review of his stable of equipment, everything I reckon even Andrew would be surprised at what his got Doesn’t often sell much
The old old Cat not best the newer electronic ones $$$$$$$to fix.. I am selling off my new 2016 308e alot of issues DPF regen and CAT will not sell me scanner which can read new stuff. Only CAT ET which is limited. Komatsu and Case give owner all tech needed. CAT and Deere bad now. $975 just for CAT to come plug into and scan machine minimum. I went to CAT to get bushings for my 289 CTL " made in china"!!!! 🤔x
Andrew you are like the Columbo. Perry Mason, Sherlock Holmes and Nero Wolf (all great detectives and lawyers) put together with these old machines! You sleuth it out, solve the problem and make it good as new! The highest compliment I can pay you! You are the best! Thank you for quality educational and entertaining content. Oh and I thought your show of love and devotion to Levi was precious truly the heart of a kind man!
@@kennyirish5021 while that is true it would be nice to see an update video as there are pieces of equipment I saw in this video that don’t have there own video yet, unless videos for them in the works already lol. In any case this is another quality video from an awesome video creator. Keep up the great videos Andrew
Hysterical watching the white truck come down the new widened road. Even more funny what happens to the car. He may be a year older, but he is still the same Andrew we know and love.
"i guess i could use better guard rails though" This man is really just throwing cars off his own cliffs directly at machinery in his own lot.... Legend
That winch drives off a pto shaft that comes form inside the rear-end case, You have to pull it off the machine to see it. The controls for it are operated by hyd oil you must have oil flow to the valve under the cover you had off to put the winch into gear and operate the brake. You are correct by saying it seems to have endless power, it will pull that cable apart in a blind of an eye. Also you will get a smoother shift if you use the pedal on the right foot rest to slow the engine down when changing gears. May keep ya from being ejected onto the hood someday.
I think I know why you're dozing that hill down and out further. I'm pretty excited to see what you do with that building, also looking forward to the small castle build at the mountain property. Keep em coming! #TeamAC
The old pony motor machines are something else. My dad had a D6 of a similar vintage, absolute beast of a machine. Pony motor was a little weak compared to yours, it would just barely turn the diesel over, but once either motor was started, it was a sound everyone appreciated for miles, whether they wanted to or not.
It would be nice to see the D7 fully restored and repainted and in full working order, it would make a great project and video too, I love Andrews fully hands on approach to owning and maintaining his equipment. keep those great videos coming at us young fella, and have a great day
pretty sure the fan blades will flip around on that model,. Flip them and you will get some heat during the winter. There should be an access hole in the side of the radiator cowl, just push the blades inwards and turn them. A 1" socket with a slit in it, mounted on a 1/2" extension works well
Andrew you’re a natural behind the controls of the D7. Running an older machine in that hard rock isn’t easy but you make it look like you’ve been doing it for 20 years
We had that same model on our ranch in SW Texas for about 30 years. Great dependable machine. The track tensioner shouldn't be to difficult to replace since you have the skills and other equipment to help you out. All we had was a old MF tractor with loader and a few come alongs. We did it in about a week working in the evenings.
@@AndrewCamarata will there be a "digging a hillside" video ? From up close, i only see freshly exposed rock, but i cant really tell how much material you have removed over last year with all your new toys, but im curious 😁👍
That D7 has power! It's nice that you've got a couple of them now for your business. I look forward to watching you do the repairs on the newly acquired dozer. She'd look really great with new paint, too! 👍
True yet I think that the chainsaw stereo install in the truck was one of the most memorable moments. Someone should make a video of the best and funniest moments of AC with his consent and permission of course. It would probably be a long video if not a series. Remember when he had to jump out of the crane when he lost his brakes on the hill? His friend Jesse Muller bought that from him. He also has a great channel and does lots of interesting cool builds and repairs. Check it out.
Terracing the mountain off to make much more useable area for you is rather clever indeed . Now we can make out the Camarata Bluffs better too . Now that you have a track haul vehicle , a cat heavy haul truck and a quarry front end loader you can really terrace off your mountain and build a nice road into your other property , Camp Camarata . Looking forward to your 2022 upcoming videos AC .
Well, several surprises from to day's video. When I saw the dozer coming in, at first I thought he was bringing it down off the mountain. But I realized that's a different dozer. I don't even remember what the other was like to know it was different, but it wasn't the same. Much like Andy on Farming, Fixing & Fabricating who tried to get us to believe his new Dodge was his old one with all the chrome blacked out! He too is from Upstate NY. I know of a mechanic that would be happy to help you out and I've seen videos of him tearing into "BAD's" a lot. (Big Ass Dozers). Warren from Western Truck and Tractor Repair has done quite a few dozer repairs, even a winch or two. Wasn't that guardrail test a little risky? A man gets a million subscribers and he sends vehicles into oblivion...hilarious!! Great video, Andrew!!
Andrew. I remember well the first time I saw the site of the castle. Amazed by the cliff and view. Now, more cliff. The colours, texture and scale of it. You are living a dream. And that big machine, she is handling the rock pretty well.
This old cat's dozer's are tough machines, my brother owned a 76 D6, i miss seeing that thing moving dirt. by The way great vídeo as always, greetings from brazil.
Andrew, The piece you found goes under the Idler yoke, the 2 round pieces push the springs up. You are missing an air cleaner cover and in front of your right foot is a decompression lever, When cranking you should have oil and fuel pressure before you turn the compression on. Turn the pony motor off by shutting off the gas, the gas drains down to the crankcase, change the oil to save the pony. You can flip the cutting edge and lower the end bits.
I worked in the machine shop at Hyster in Portland OR. During my time there i worked in the gear hobb department and machine the teeth on the big spur gears for those winches. I like to see that old equipment kept running.
Great video! I owned two D7D's and a D7F and now have a D4C, D6D and a JD 450D LC. They are really good machines. Splitting the track to take out the master link, is some hard work, and then reassembled might not fit properly. I had the dealer reseal the track adjuster, they charged about $2,000 to do it. What I did next time, was cut a track link in half to split the track, took it to the dealership and had them install a splittable master link. The four bolts that hold on the track pad hold it on hold it together. I have never had one come loose. Many years later I rebuilt the track adjuster cylinder. It was about $50 for seals and only took a few hours to do the whole job. Definitely worth the price having the splittable links put on.