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1929
Caterpillar 15
Owner:
Maris Hall
Muncie,
Indiana
Serial
Number PF3309
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Maris bought his Cat in Lamar
County, Colorado which is in the Eastern part of that state half way between
Denver and the Kansas state line several years ago. A rancher had used
it to farm with as the ground is flat and very tillable in that area of
the state. The cat has a 4 cylinder engine and is 3 bottom plow rated (It
would compare to an IH 15-30 from that time period). Maris told me that
a Cat would pull a load of it's own weight where most tractors of that
era wouldn't.
The pounds per square inch
on this tractor is small. When Maris got the Cat home he began immediately
looking for a carburetor for it and there began his frustration. He looked
everywhere for one and couldn't find one. He was told that the carburetors
on this model of Caterpillar in those days were what some people called
"Throw-away" carburetors. These carburetors were not rebuilt when they
wore out....they were so "cheap" that owners just simply threw them away
and bought new ones. As a result, there are not many of them around any
more...and even worse, parts are extremely scarce if they can be found
at all!
Never
the less....Maris was finally led to Branson
Enterprises in Peoria, Illinois where he was able to get the carburetor
fixed. This "only" took three years from the time he first brought it home
until he was able to get the tractor running with any kind of consistency
at all.
The tractor weighs in at
just about 5900 pounds. Maris has a friend (Paul Colonis) who made rubber
pads for the tracks on the Cat. They were made from agriculture "flotation
tires". This enables him to be able to run the tractor on pavement at shows
and parades. Very nicely done we might add.
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Maris acquired the original
Instruction manual and Parts Catalog when he bought the tractor and they
can be viewed in larger images by "clicking" on the particular one that
you would want to view. In the parts manual it lists all of the original
costs in 1929 for replacement parts....some of which are: Bare engine block
- $58; P/N V369, cylinder block assembly - $68.70; P/N V350, camshaft,
$22.50; and P/N V419, Case Assembly (lower end) - $68.55.
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Maris told me that when reading
the Instruction manual, it tells the reader (about half way through it)
the following: "Pages preceeding this sheet are for operators - pages following
this sheet are for repair men". I never laughed so hard in my life when
Maris started chuckling as he said "I guess they didn't want you messin'
around with nothing if you didn't know what the heck you were doing." Both
manuals have a copyright date of 1929 by The Caterpillar Tractor Company.
We hope you get some enjoyment
out of these pictures and the story behind them. Maris is not a computer
user and would not be able to talk with any of you via E-mail but he would
be glad to help anyone restoring one of these old beasts. Let us know if
that is the case and we'll get you one of his addresses or phone numbers
(he spends the winters in Florida and the summers in Indiana)
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