Blew $200 on a 'rare' crane part from eBay that didn't fit

Found a vintage swing brake assembly for my old P&H, thought I scored big, but it was for a different model year entirely. Anyone else get burned buying random parts online and have a good source for older stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles9191mo ago

Did you try calling a local heavy equipment salvage yard instead of just searching online? I once spent a whole weekend rebuilding a transmission from a 1970s Cat loader because the parts diagram was wrong, turned out the previous owner had swapped in a different engine block years ago. For old stuff like that, I've had the best luck posting on a dedicated vintage machinery forum with the serial number, someone always knows a guy hoarding parts.

kais671mo ago

Man that transmission rebuild sounds like a nightmare. I've been there with mislabeled parts, it's the worst feeling when you finally get everything back together and something doesn't line up. For the older stuff especially, those salvage yards that have been around forever are gold mines. Had a buddy find a whole rear end for a 60s era farm tractor just by walking in and asking the old timer behind the counter. The vintage forum route is solid too, those guys usually have handwritten notes and know which serial numbers line up with which years. Your mileage may vary but popping the engine block casting number into a search can also turn up info that the parts diagrams miss. Just be ready to dig through a lot of dead forum threads from 2008.