It is fantastic!!!!!!!!, yes preserve it, back yard mechanics like this is the hall mark of ingenuity. The Power House Museum here in Sydney has a spot for things like this and the National Motor Museum in South Australia has a coupe of equally unique THINGS. Including a hand made motored carriage form 1890's made by a black smith, with wooden water jacket around it's 2 cylinders. RAYCYCLED
Glad that you like "The Thing". I think it's fantastic too. Unfortunately, many dudes here in the USA would consider this mechanical work of art nothing but junk and it would be scrapped. But, there are still folks around that want to preserve pieces of history like this to display as part of our past history and ingenuity.
Ok here is my guess, It looks like it could have been used to pull log rafts in a river up to the log yard at the sawmill or just for skidding. Wait! No spool for the cable! Ok It was used to run a rope tow at a ski resort!
28 Chevy LO Capitol 1 ton, 28 National 2 dr coach, 71 Chevy Custom Camper 3/4 ton. Also 23 Oldsmobile Economy truck and a 24 Olds sport touring.
Don't need a large capacity drum for running an endless cable to pull a load back and forth from a snatch block mounted at the other end of the run, or tied to an anchor or a big tree just a spool with a complete wrap or two. The load carrier or chains are attached to the cable, and the spool or cathead is sucked in and then either the attachment point is changed to the other side of the endless loop or the spool is run in reverse to haul the carrier back down or up! to the snatch block. The same type of endless cable is used to drive a ferris wheel or a tilt-e-whril.
Life's a long winding trail, love Jesus and ride a good horse!
That's cool. I think about making something like this every time I see a battered running car for sale cheap. This one was well thought out being able to move itself where as my visions are just a simple PTO design.
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
