I saw you first video of this. I wish they would have put them into production. I have 3 445s among many other molines. I saw you with moline Dan on his last video. It reminded me of this. Awesome machine and history behind it.
Absolutely beautiful little crawler. Amazing job on the restoration man. Always a treat to see it. Knowing the uphill battle to get it to this point makes it that much more impressive
Nice to see X253 run and crawl on a beautiful Fall day. Paint looks great and you did a fantastic job on restoration and the explanation of how it came to be and its shortfalls being a prototype. Thanks Toby.
Hey Squatch long time viewer first time commenter! I believe the first video I ever saw from you was that first walkaround of this crawler. I know you have touched on it some throughout the years on other videos, but I would love to hear about the restoration of X253. How hard was it to put back together and find all the original pieces after you saved it from the scrap yard? Also what life did it live from the time it was built to the point you acquired it? Thank you for all of the content you create! Your videos are always one of the highlights of my day! Hope you and Senior are having a great week!
Hi, guess it was what would now be called "a proof of concept". Predates a prototype in some ways if it was only for display. Well done for preserving this bit of tracked tractor history Toby. I watched the series about it when the algorithm introduced your channel and I've stayed ever since. It's not only the machinery, it is the way you and Dad go about life, it is uplifting.
Hey Squatch, she is a stunning stunning piece of American history, beautifully restored both mechanically and aesthetically. She looks beautiful in the autumn colours (fall in north america) .
It was a LeSueur swap meet video that first got me to click on your channel. But it was this crawler and x231 that officially got me hooked. Now I find myself looking at every old Caterpillar I come across! Excited to hear you will have it at Jordan next year so I can get my eyes on it up close.
Like looking at a diesel locomotive verse a steam The steam just has the romance in its design The intricate parts and individual elegance of these classic pieces of old iron . Never grows old !! Beautiful crawler !
The viscous drag for the belt pulley/PTO is just a minnie mo thing. I think 85% of our (that don't utilize a hand clutch) spin the PTO. It's great to see the X253 out for a stroll!!! This crawler and the prototype Z/445 are why i initially subscribed.
Great little machine with such character - must be pretty rare being a prototype, so this is where the 253 number in your channel name comes from I guess! Yes, winter is coming upon us again, but the beautiful colours of autumn (we in the UK call it that instead of fall for some reason!) make it worth while, almost! Thank you for sharing.
It was this thing that made me start following ages ago. I've always been interested in Moline iron, and the X253 stuff got me hooked and interesting in all the other stuff!
Would it really bad sacrilege to shorten that gear lever so that it doesn't hit anything? 🤔 The dashbord looks really futuristic for that era, making it work would be a 101% restoration, better than from factory...😉 Thx for showing, good idea with raising the container from the ground, thinking of condensation was my fist idea as soon you showed it, we have them at work too, they are a mess in changing conditions... 💧💧💧
The way the tin is fashioned it looks like a racing machine you should be very proud of that restoration! It was also really cool when you were driving and it went from shady to sunshine a few times it almost looked like it went from yellow to orange very smart what you said about the seacan you guys don’t do anything half@ss, looks like that container was painted inside and outside! Very Boys!
What a neat old crawler. Hopefully your pulling the batteries out as well, just in case. You don’t want a priceless smoker. Thanks for sharing the one of a kind piece of history.
Good to see old X253 out and about. Man it sure was a treat getting to take it for a spin at Nowthen. I'm slowly catching up on your videos. Been a LONG couple weeks of work..
What is called... a signature Squatch253 film shot, driving over the camera showing ground clearance. For so reason, I love those experimental MM units. The designs line are so soft.
Great looking crawler! I’d like to see a full machinery tour of all the old machines you got on the property. You do an excellent job fixing up/restoring these old crawlers. Keep it up!
@Jambo 40 min to vid script highlights edit possibly voice over too! 🤦♂️ 🤔 never made a watchable vid eh? 😂😂 … 🤷♂️ just saying … talking a dozen or so pieces of machinery & equipment
Always liked that X235. Quit an interesting history. Thanks for the great advice on lifting the conex off the ground.😁👍 Thanks again for your time and the video.
SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) was forced to watch this and has become hooked. She is however a museum professional so I did get a bit of a jump start.
I just went back to the x231 videos, hard to believe that we left off on it 3 years ago, not saying it’s bad or anything, just amazing how fast and how large the channels grown since then.
Now I need to go back and watch the restoration videos from the start. I didn’t discover the channel until the start of the 5J1113 restoration. Guess we won’t be seeing the cab go on anytime soon, but that’s OK. Still one of the best channels on this site!
Looks like Autumn is about a month ahead of us in MD. It’s a beautiful time of year but one that represents considerable work preparing for Winter. That is a really cool looking crawler. One wonders how a production model would be different.
I had never seen before!!!!! Nice nice machine!!!! X231 is why I started watching your channel!!!! I figure some day you will start in on it again!!! But the D2 was really cool 😎
Toby, I love the look of that MM crawler. Love the paint colors. U of Mn colors. Watching from rural Tracy, Mn. Hope to see you at the Le Seur, Mn swap meet some day. I think I have talked to you there but that was before I watched your videos !
Excellent! This project started my Squatch addiction. I took the bait and you set the hook. I hope this was the first annual Leaf Crawl. Next time, let us hear the engine run for 10-20 seconds without any narration. It sounds so good.
I am completely amazed that you were able to keep the original quirks and not fix them. I know it's part of the machine and it's character. I would still be tempted by the "what if" factor.
First thing I'd do is bend that shifting lever, so it's out of the way. And then, weld some extensions on top of the brake pedals, so I can extend my feet.
Seat issue: I'm a tall guy too, all legs and arms! I had an Allis HD-5, built a simple 2x6 frame to put under and elevate the bottom seat cushion; easy in and out, not permanently affixed. Made all of the difference in comfort and working long hours. I pushed a 13' brush rake mounted on the ag loader kit for a couple years with it. Wish I still had it. Have a door day!
I know that some are particular to the M or other horses in your stable, but for me... this little gem is still the best. To quote a Top Gear line: "it really is as pretty as the sun setting over Charlize Theron."
I love that Minneapolis Moline crawler you had the first time I saw it on your channel I thought it was the most homeless looking thing but it's looks really did grow on me and if you look at it from the side it looks like it's going a million miles an hour
So I am in construction and the first thing I thought of is how much condensation we get in those containers. Then you go on and explain what you do to stop it. I learned something, thanks! If I have another one placed on a job we will put it up on something.
Interesting that you can keep the container up and have it stay dry inside. My in-laws have had one for years, it's a foot off the ground. Lost a lot of 100++ year old family heirlooms to moisture. We have one, it's a foot+ off the ground, but has a dehumidifier in it. Evening is fine..
Oh man that's a sweet crawler, nice to it out making a lap or two. I'm a Tucker Sno-Cat owner (1953 Model 443) and that orange does it for me. Tucker's are "Omaha Orange" - real close to your MM.
