This Might be a Military Snowcat...

I'm in Cooperstown, NY tonight positioned for an early morning retrieval. It's not like I need YET ANOTHER SNOWCAT , but they took my offer and I'm forced to haul her off.





After a look-over a couple of weeks ago, I could not determine for sure if she is ex-military, but she does come with this manual...



..so I left them with my best offer and got word of their acceptance a couple of days later. I think I may have made the offer just for the manual!

The serial number of this unit does not fall into the range listed on the manual cover, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't part of a different acquisition contract. Either way, it's been modified from stock, including a dump bed. Military or not, I think I can find a use for her.

More pictures...

Damit, When is it gonna be my turn....

Well thanks again for the eye candy........

Well...I can't think of much use for it down here, but I gotta tell ya...

Military or not...the "cool factor" rates high on my wanna meter and I betcha it will be a big assett up there!

Sure looks like I see a few military bits and pieces in those pics.........you might be right about it.

Boy some guys have all the luck

I believe it might have been military, but that does not mean it was ever painted OD green. For training purposes, I could see the next to have snowcats painted orange so that they can be easily seen if lost and rescue was needed. For tactical use, the M973 SUSV was camo to fill that role.

I operated an orange USAF Spryte when I was stationed at Eielson. The only thing that showed it as military was the 'USAF', registration number, and 'For Official Use Only' on the doors and the contract info on the dataplate. The Imp that I also operated was a lovely strata blue. I miss that cool little Imp.

ODdave said:

Damit, When is it gonna be my turn....

Well thanks again for the eye candy........

Click to expand...

eagle4g63 said:

<snip>
Boy some guys have all the luck

Click to expand...

Luck...no.

Blood, sweat, and tears...to earn the CASH !!

**** I live in MI and STILL cant find one for sale !!!!!

8 hour haul and she's home. Too late to go through her, but she motored right up the mountain.

Loaded...


Play time for co-worker...


Ready to unload at base of mountain...

Good score. It even came with an old school, Sun Super Tach II as a bonus.

How much do these things go for?

$5K-$15K should be a good range, depending on condition, but you can find them considerably above AND below that. I think I have a post somewhere that gives and idea of what you can get for how much. Will look around.

Meanwhile, since little sister watches my place in my absence, I gave her a little snowcat operating lesson in case she needs to move things around...

Colleens Snowcat Lesson - 1978 Thiokol Spryte with Plow and Dump Bed - YouTube


Ok, here's a link to a post about Spryte prices. Also note that snowcat prices fluctuate with the seasons. Buy in the summer and sell in the winter to make the best deals.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/motorcycles-atvs/77495-usaf-tucker-743-a-2.html#post979811

Congrats on a great score..!

Finally got a little time to scan one of the manuals that came with this cat. Had to reduce the PDF a bit to get it to upload here, but it still appears readable...except for the schematic on page 10-2.


View attachment Thiokol 1201-C Shop Manual Vol II mini.pdf

Glad your little sis didn't hurt any trees! LOL Thanks for sharing!
God bless,
Tony