Pony starter motors/

[Jackman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km1EfBaOxNQ

Neat video here vintage Catapillar 60 with pony motor, never seen one started and noticed after he got the big Cat running he never turned off the pony is that the way they did back in those days/ ya just let it keep on running?

[BigBill]

On my cousins farm when i was a kid he had a cat bulldozer that had a pony start. I liked seeing it start up. I would like to own a big JD diesel tractor with a pony start someday.

[Jackman]

Yep the pony start is interesting , I ve never seen one in person but my Uncle had a diesel JD 70, 50's era and I think that had a pony but long gone before I came around...

[BigBill]

They look and sound so cool. There more interesting than an electric or air starter.

[junkman1946]

Trying to remember many years ago. The only way to shut off the pony motor was to pull the plug wire off or shut off the gas and let it run dry. Looks like thats what the guy did after it started.

[DanR]

I started and drove one to pull my pickup out of the mud. The pony was on the back of the diesel and was started with a rope around the flywheel. As I recall the pony had a kill switch.

[Virginia Mike]

Cat used to recomend turning off the fuel and letting the starting engine run out of gas.
The price of repair parts for starting engines often made them the key factor in junking out an old crawler. Cheaper electric replacments are available.

[dakcub]

I too love the sound of all old engines.....You shoud see the modern way we start our industrial gas turbines. We use the generator as a starting motor to spin it up. Right before it makes it's own power at around 3000 rpm it is pulling almost 9-MW to overcome the axial compressor..........Awesome stuff I tell ya.
Robert (sitting at the power plant controls at 2:30am) Miller

[cubbrian]

I don't think those JD pony motors had a very large gas tank. I think that it only held enough gas to run the engine for a few minutes.

[RaymondDurban]

Last year I parted ways with a JD 720 with a pony start engine. The gas tank was very small, about 2 qts. The pony engine did have a shut off, you didn't have to pull the plug or run it out of gas. Electric starter motors are available to swap out as the parts for the original pony engines are expensive, but not nearly as fun!

[Clark Thompson]

I have had many cat engines in bulldozers that has a pony engine. After the big engine is started with the lil pony engine you should always sut the pony engine off. thereis no reas to run the pony . On all my cat engies there was a kill switch for the pony. sometimes they didnt work and then I would move the throttle cable to idle and most of the time the pony would quit.

[SONNY]

I had at one time 2 RD-6 Cats. with pony starters,---also had one JD 730 that had pony start,---Dads 730 was electric start, but a newer 730 than mine.---I always hated them!--VERY high upkeep to keep them running!---the deere had 2 sets of ignition coils,points,condenser, etc, and very expensive and got very hard to find!--thats why I sold my tractor.--I still have Dads ele. start but dont use it much. thanks; sonny

[56cub]

Cool video!