25277 Rancho Apple Valley, California 92308-9707
This Caterpillar Model 11, Auto Patrol was built in September
1935. The frame serial number is 9F652, and engine serial number is
1F245. It has a four cylinder gas engine, dual rear wheels, a 10
foot moldboard, and scarifiers. This one does not have any
electrical equipment, but a starter, generator, lights, and battery
were available optionally. Other options were a snow-plow,
bulldozer, cab, air compressor, a foot operated Klaxon horn, and
even a front wheel hub mounted odometer.
Since I knew that GEM was originally written with mainly farm
equipment in mind, and Cat equipment was usually only mentioned
when it was used on a farm, I never considered writing anything
about a Cat grader. Now that GEM is gradually including all old
equipment, I decided to try writing about my old grader. Then,
also, C. H. Wendel gave me a boost by mentioning his old Cat grader
(I’ll guess his is an 8T) in the August 1996 issue of the
magazine.
I might mention here that, after working with operators who have
come from many other states in the Union, I have found that in
different parts of the country there are different names used to
denote a grader. Some still say ‘auto patrol,’ some
‘motor patrol,’ some ‘motor grader’, some ‘road
grader,’ and we in California just say ‘blade.’ I will
stick to the name ‘grader’ in this article.
Mr. Wendel’s theory that operators of old Cat equipment seem
to like the sound of the engine is partly right, but a
‘non-sound’ is more true. A screaming two-cycle engine may
sound great for a few hours (to a young operator), but try using
that engine for eight or ten hours a day for 40 or 50 years and see
if you can hear anything else for the rest of your life. Cat and
Cummins engines are still the preferred ones.
The main reason owners and operators liked Cat equipment was
because it was built heavy enough and engineered well enough to
outlast its competitors. Therefore, an operator wasn’t out of
work waiting for his machine to be repaired, and an owner
wasn’t losing money while the machine was down. The Cat was
built simply enough that even a ‘shade tree’ mechanic, like
me, could repair it.
I have operated most all types of construction equipment since I
started in 1947, but I specialized in running graders, and I have
restored other, farm type equipment since I have retired. So, I
really got excited when an operator friend of mine, Earl Dudley,
told me of an old Cat grader he found while working in northern
Nevada.
I started my grading career on a Model 99H Austin-Western,
single tire grader with a UD-14 International engine, which C. L.
Cummins once told me was all right for ‘some things.’ And
he knew that the older grader that machine replaced was an earlier
model Austin-Western that had dual rear wheels and a Buda gas
engine but had never heard of a Cat grader of any age having dual
rear wheels and a gas engine. I didn’t want to doubt Earl’s
word, but had to drive all the way up to that part of Nevada to see
for myself and found that he was right.
Since then I have read that Cat bought the Russell Grading
Company in 1928 (the year I was born). They first built a Model 88
pull grader with an engine mounted on it to just run the control
box, then came out with their first self-propelled, rubber-tired
grader in 1931. I would think they used the model 88 to test the
new control box for use on the new Model 11 Auto Patrol. Sure beats
the old ‘armstrong’ blade lift wheels they used before that
time!
This grader could be called the second of the new models because
they made some slight changes at Serial number 9F600.
Saw and bought it for what I thought was a fair price. Took my
four-wheel drive in case we couldn’t get it running and we
might have to tow it where a low bed truck could pick it up. Took
tools, gas, water, engine and 90W oil, and an air compressor. It
hadn’t run for about 15 years but we had no trouble getting it
started by hand cranking. Did have a problem getting four of the
six tires to hold air. We had to road the grader about 20 miles to
where it could be picked up, and to where it would be safe setting
for a while. And that was a lot of fun, since it had no brakes but,
luckily, there was no traffic. The only brake drum is on the front
of the transmission and it was missing. The engine was blowing so
much oil past the rings, it didn’t have much power.
Managed to get it where Earl lived near the Freeway, left it
there, came home and found, luckily, that a friend of mine, who
owns a construction company here, Don Cooley, was sending one of
his trucks to Reno to deliver a D-8 or 9 tractor. So, he had his
driver go on after that delivery and pick up the grader and bring
it to my home on his return trip. Don didn’t charge me much for
the haul and I think it was partly the result of friendship and
partly because he hadn’t looked at a map to see how long a haul
it was!
Don and his crew have helped me a lot on parts for the grader
that are more than I can handle like: straightening tie rods and
other heavy metal parts. He had new rings made for the engine for
me. Another friend of 40 years, Jim Mendenhall, has helped me on
the more technical parts of the rebuild, installing the pistons,
setting the timing, etc. Jim and I operated equipment together for
many years, then he became a mechanic, then worked as the Union
Business Agent for Local #12Operating Engineers in this area until
he retired.
Tore the engine down, honed the cylinders, put new rings in, did
a valve job, had new head gaskets made, tightened the main
bearings, and it now runs and sounds great. Put new seals in the
control box, a new front wheel bearing, had a new part machined and
hardened to replace a part in the steering gearbox that was broken.
I found a later model grader brake drum in the used parts
department of the Cat dealer in Riverside, had that machined to fit
this grader, got new brake linings and it now stops ‘on a
dime.’
The later model grader was a 9K. A company I worked for years
ago had a 9K and we all called it ‘old skinny legs,’ for
obvious reasons.
I got reprints of both the Power Unit and Grader Unit parts
books from John Orton of Cat’s Literature Distribution Center
in Morton, Illinois, but he could not find a repair manual listed
for the grader engine. I now think that Cat would not build another
gas engine just for this grader, especially since they were going
to change to diesel shortly. I now think they just pulled engines
out of their small tractor line10, 20, or 30 when they needed
grader engines. I would bet there are some missing numbers in the
tractor production that were used for graders for a few years.
I did not really need a repair manual for anything except
setting the magneto timing. For curiosity’s sake I would like
to know the factory’s suggested way of setting the timing, but
I think Jim and I have it set as close as possible, by the old
‘trial and error’ method.
Another thing I learned is that these are not ‘grader’
tires and wheels. One tire would not hold air and I wanted to be
able to move it while working on it, so I hunted all over this area
for a tube. Finally found one for $45. Took the tire apart and
found they are truck type tires and wheels and I could have gotten
a truck tube for half that price.
I have sandblasted every inch of this grader down to metal. Used
etching primer on the engine since it had been oil soaked, then two
or three coats of the best primer on all of the grader. I found
that Cat now uses all water-based paints, and wanting the best
paint possible, had the paint shop mix me some acrylic enamel and I
added hardener to that. The paint cost $85 a gallon and the
hardener is $30 a pint so, each gallon and a pint comes to $115. I
have used four gallons so far.
Of the seat, armrest and backrest there was only one worm eaten
part of one armrest left so, with the help of the parts book for a
pattern, I made the new parts out of plywood and had an upholstery
shop pad and cover them.
This grader is now driveable but is not finished and won’t
be, by me. I now know why most older men in this hobby restore
small engines or build model engines. I think I started this
project about five years too late to finish, at my age and
condition.
