Caterpillar 933

[Mike Keith]

When i was just a boy my grandfather had a 933 CAT s/n: 11A1226. it was sold in the Beaufort, MO area. i would like to find this tractor back. if anyone has any ideas as to how to go about this i am open for any suggestions. any help would be most appreciated.
 

[VaTom]

Mike, that's a nice sentiment. Gotta ask, how do you know the s/n? I don't imagine it made its way to Virginia, but I never remember the s/n on mine without looking it up. I'll check later, and if I'm close I'll check with a guy who has one I worked on with a near s/n which now resides in Kentucky. Amazing, the travelling they sometimes did.

Tough old tractors, but the ones I've seen retired for parts had a transmission that the owner didn't want to rebuild. I've been into both of these. As you'd expect, both had a lot of owners before the present ones.

My Cat dealer has my serial numbers in their computer data bank. Helps them ensure the correct part is sold. Don't know if that's something they could access for you but it would be worth asking there. Good luck.
 

[Mike Keith]

Thanks, our tractor had a bad rearend at one time. my dad broke the housing on a stump is the story that i heard. we got the s/n of of some old paperwork. dad and grandpa had also built a cab on our rig but it may be taken back off by now. you have made my day. we have asked around for a while now with no luck. i dont care if i have to drag it out of someones woods in Montana somewhere, id just like to find it. thank you for your help. if you have anymore info that would be great!
 

[VaTom]

Sorry Mike, these are both 42A.... But otherwise, somebody did some major damage to my final drive housing on the left side and its the only one I've ever seen with a top. The welds on it aren't exactly professional-looking, just strong. This photo was on a job I did for a guy who was thrilled to see it work. A lot of the boulders were so large all I could do was nudge them downhill. Tough tractor.

You already know you're looking for that needle in the haystack. Most likely it's no longer intact, like the one I got a track rail from. That was the last piece left from that tractor, whatever s/n it was.

Best of luck with your search.

 

[Mike Keith]

Thanks Tom, Well there must be another one out there somewhere with a top on it. My dad is on of the best welders i know and i dont think Cat could have done it any better. The only thing that makes me think that it may still be around is that it was in really good shape. Good undercarraige, tracks and bucket, but alot can happen in the time it has been gone. I talked to dad and the ring gear in the final drive was broke. When the housing got broke, it did not get aligned perfectly when they welded it back together. they rebuilt the rear end about every other year or so. i appreciate all of the help. if you ever run across any more info please let me know. what about the rig in KY? Again thanks. Mike
 

[bob plumadore]

ask you local cat dealer if he has sold parts for that SN. Most folks would have junked it the first time the tranny or rear end went out. I have rebuilt probably 50 trannys in the past almost 50 years. I don't think I could do it now. I got to fat in old age to crawl down in the operators compartment. The last one I did I hired a teen ager to help me. I put him over in the compartment and let him do the muscel work, I did the brain work. Good Luck
 

[Mike Keith]

Tom, got a lead on another 933. what do you think a rig like these should go for?
 

[VaTom]

Mike, I was being very polite when I said the welds on mine were unprofessional. I'm not great, but I'm an immensely better welder than the guy who did that.

The 933 in KY is also a 42A.... and topless. The owner, who lives here, thinks I'm giving mine away by offering it for $7900. But it's still here. He just dropped $7k at a shop there, and still hasn't touched the undercarriage which looks bad. Mine is solid, with grousers. Good tractor, but I prefer my 944 rubbertire loader, considerably larger.

As Bob says, the transmission rebuild isn't much fun. You stand on your head and have the option of one hand inside the case OR you can see something in there, but not both. Then you have to get your head inside the wet clutch compartment to see how to hook it all back together. I've got a custom reverser gear in mine, something Cat no longer supplies.

 

[Mike Keith]

Thanks guys. I am going to keep looking. it would mean alot to me and my dad to be able to find it. if anyone comes up with any more interesting info please let me know. please email me directly if you like (mikeandheatherkeith@yahoo.com). if anyone sees the old 11A1226 any where let me know!
 

[Mike Keith]

Thanks Bob, my dad and grandpa are definitly not "most folks". kind of hard headed! i remember them repairing the ring gear twice... and also remember it being not much fun.. now i have found a few of the 42A s/n around but none of the 11A1 s/n. i think the 42A is a newer tractor. i dont know for sure. ours had the spoked rear sprocket whereas the 42As i have found have the sprocket with the round holes in them.
 

[AJ.]

Get yourself over to the to the Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club at the link below, you will have to register to post,you can browse the site but can"t view the pictures,the 933 was one SOB to work on the transmission,there were lots of modifications to the machine over the years but the best modification of all was when they stopped making it.
AJ
ACMOC

 

[Mike Keith]

Thanks AJ, just alot of found memories of my grandfather and that old 933..
 

[Mike Keith]

Tom,
I did a litte more research and found out that our tractor was built in 1956 so it would be a bit older than the 42A series. Our local Cat dealer has no record of parts being sold for that s/n for a long time. She may be gone... The parts manager refered me to ACMOC. There website is a pain. I have tried to register 6x with no return reply... Anyways, thanks for you help.. Mike
 

[Mike Keith]

I found it guys! It came back home last week after being gone for 20 Years! I would post some pics if I could figure out how![/img][img][/img]
 

[Pops1532]