Information on Cat Motor Grader No. 12

I have recently purchased a Cat Grader No. 12 & I would like to find out how old it is & whether I can source a manual for it.

The serial number on the frame of the Grader is S8T-520 & it was made by Steelweld Pty Ltd in Victoria.

I will attach photos of the plate on the frame showing the serial number & I will attach a photo of the plate on the Pilot Motor with more numbers on it. Not sure if they will help with identifying it.

Any information would be greatly appreciated to assist in working out the year of manufacture & whether I could possibly purchase a manual for it, whether from Australia or USA.

Thank you

Richard, Welcome..
There used to be a very active CAT forum a few years ago called ACME.. However It crashed & burned...

Forum members Ianoz or Swishy (Who were both ACME members) May be able to tell you where those Guys now hangout...

If they haven't chimed in over the next couple of Days Send them a Message Via CH40 (at the Top of the Page)...

I d be thinking it was a copy of the US model 8T,made from 1947-1957.....lists D318 motor ,6cyl,4.5x5.5,pilot start,100hp rated........my list has the 94C as the first Oz made #12,D318 motor,1955-1958 .

I may have some old Cat manuals here... If I haven't already swapped them fir truck manuals I'll go have a look

I've got one here fir a 21F... Not a 3A...

What would the difference be... Anyone?

There is a new movement named ACMOC which are all about Caterpillar toys and are Australia wide and have many 'chapters' in each State.
I can't remember what all the letters stand for but Australia and Caterpillar are in there somewhere. These guys have a lot of information so follow up on that.
Oddly enough I just read a brief story about a Family in Victoria who love the Cat product and one of the things they picked up was a Cat 212 grader made by Stillweld. Story was in the latest edition of TOMM. (The Old Machinery Magazine)
Sorry about being so vague but it is a start.

All early Caterpillars can be dated from the Numeral Code casting on the engine block (and I believe used on other major castings). I think they stopped using them in the late 50's.

They are a 6 letter group about an inch high cast, not stamped, into the block usually low down on the side. Sometimes these can be obscured by pumps, frame etc.

They indicate month, day, year in the American manner.

NUMERAL COD = 1234567890
So if you saw NUDMER it would mean the casting was done on December 03 1945

There is some discussion on a change to NUMERALKOD but in my looking just to see how old they are at shows I have only seen C not K.

Lang

ACMOC is Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club
Australian contact
Trish Walker
1668 Rouchel Road
Aberdeen NSW 2336
Ph: 02 65436203
email: trishwalker@gmail.com

I see its got the Rivinius power steering,so thats a definite plus........without power ,the only way you can steer is with the wheel lean.......The scarifier has been converted to some kind of over the front thing...hard to say what........maybe the scarifier frame is still there ...............unfortunately ,old Cat parts are weight in gold from the wreckers......even broken junk they want the earth for.

ACME forum is still running , but the owner has not upgraded it so new people can not join . I willask some questions and get back to you .
Steelweld was the first company in the world to be able to build Caterpillar machines outside of the USA .