Morgan M32F Tracked Carrier
 

These machines look to date from the early 80's. What was the source of parts, and what was the story behind them? Logging? Mining?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Morgan-M32F...oAAOSwkaxbYPMw

Morpac
 

Interesting!

Morgan Power Apparatus of Vancouver, BC, Canada (part of Morpac Industries Inc.) manufactures "Off Road Crawlers and Carriers for the Logging & Mining Industries" using Sherman tank parts - see my webpage http://www.mapleleafup.nl/g104/ploughshare.htm

And Stuart:

https://www.forestech.ca/product/mor...4p-tank-drill/

Interesting mixture of track on this one:

https://www.forestech.ca/product/mor...2f-tank-drill/

Not a Stuart
 

Actually, that is an M4 High Speed Tractor

Attachment 108681

OK, but still cheap for Detroit-powered track.

I recently acquired a pair the Morgan Power / Finning M4 Tank Drills. Currently looking for front bodywork from an artillery tractor for a resto. Any leads would be appreciated.

Here’s an M4 HST based carrier in Austin, Texas, USA

Attachment 108768

Great find! The typical Sherman based West coast logging chassis is/was under a Madil brand spar yarder made in Nanaimo on an M32 recovery vehicle. They made several models. The second most common one has been mentioned, a Finning brand rock drill. This Morgan is a new name for me, and one I will have to research.

What is intriguing is how many subcontractors and suppliers would have been in business to keep the rainforest logging operations going, and what inventory do they have left?

The Madill carriers were not made on M32 recovery vehicles, they were only designated as M32’s to avoid confusion with the M4 carrier. Most Madill machines used the so called M4A3 spar carrier, originally supplied by NAPCO, later Traxxon. It was lengthened and widened. They still retain the Armoured diff housing. The M32 carrier was only used on the small 071 yarder, but Washington Iron Works used them on a couple of swing yarders. The M4 tractor was used to make drills by G.M. Philpott and later by Finning, then they switched to the M32, then the M40, really a HVSS Sherman and nothing like an M40 at all. The M5 tractor was used as a drill carrier by Chapman Motor and Machine Shop, the “Drilmobile”. There were quite a few around. The M6 tractor was used as a spar carrier on some early Madill yarders, often with the original body and engine. There were also a lot of M26A1 tank retriever trucks used as spar carriers.

SECO - Southeastern Equipment Company
 

Southeastern Equipment Company (SECO) also converted surplus military tracked vehicles into tracked carrier for the mining and logging industry.

This included T16 Universal Carriers (see photo source), High Speed Tractors (it may be where the one now in Austin Texas came from). They also bought a batch of Sexton SPGs from Portugal, but it seems most of those were not converted and eventually sold to collectors.

Read a bit more about SECO here: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=13607

Attachment 108780

Tracked vehicle outside forestry museum in Duncan, BC taken from Google maps. Appears to me to be military chassis but I'll leave that to those who know.

Madill “S” series spar on M6 carrier.

I agree with every available heavy chassis was worked into the product line, from M4 Sherman FOVs to High Speed Tractors and others. My reading has been that the M32 name was originated from M32 vehicles, not necessarily because they weren't M4s. The vertical volute suspension has been my differentiation point. The horizontal volute system would be entirely appropriate for post war Shermans.

Attached are a couple of shots of a Madill and its data plate -because we are all rivet counters at heart. Had I been smarter when this line of inquiry had my interest, I would have looked at and recorded serial numbers.

A lot of the 071’s I suspect were built on Sextons. They often came with the useless CDP tracks.