No need for any body, or head armor at all. No arguments, or fights to be had here. Most of what you stated in relation to parts availability is very true. Parts are NLA for Allis most of the time. Not everything is available easily for Caterpillar all of the time either. A lot still is however as the company is still in business. Where those replacement parts come from is anybody's guess. A part may be cast in India, and finished out someplace else, shipped by sea to a US port to be entered into Caterpillar's marketing arm. That's just what I've seen myself.
Never have heard someone say Caterpillar undercarriage wore, or lasted better than other's. That is just me saying as I've never heard that in the past. I'll ask the gent I purchased my track press from as both his he and dad, were involved in the undercarriage business over 40 years and they would know from a practical standpoint. I will reference both the D7E, and D7F models along with the HD-16, and HD-16B series as they would have competed for the same market share. Not looking to berate or anything, just a question I'd like an answer for.
Myself, I was mostly around IH undercarriage as doing an apprenticeship being just a few months in when the mines started shuttering and there simply weren't any jobs to be had for a young guy starting out in the field. Since then, well, you know the track business is about kaput with everything run to destruction these days. Except for the emergency type repair, track rebuild really doesn't exist as it used to.
This is where a guy like me comes in to make a part, or rebuild something that is worn out and NLA. As example, there is a guy around here that has an old Oliver crawler tractor and he made the chains that are on it. Of course they look different than the originals, but using pins and bushings from another tractor and finishing his links to meet the pins, it works well. Has rubber block pads so pulls a float on the streets during the town celebrations that go on here.
I have little actual experience and certainly am not an "operator". It does however start with an idea.
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