I know how Betty feels. At 62 years old, my fan belts are a little stretched too.

Don’t get discouraged about ole Betty . She is a diamond in the rough . She will be right soon enough . Once all the kinks are worked out of her

One of the things I love about the older machines is the intricacy of the coordination between the controls versus the modern joystick controls. A true test of a good operator.

I do want to thank chirs for filming his work I did that kind of work most all my life now I have a lvad heart pump disabled for ever being able to watch makes feel like I am part of something so thank you so much chirs

On the overheating of the cat, if you replace the Fan Belts and that doestn't help, place your hand on the upper and then lower portion of radiator and see if the temp. is differant from top to bottom of the radiator, you may have a plugged up radiator and it needs cleaning. With a machine this old and has been setting ,this is a common problem.

Always fascinated to watch dirt come to life. All the things you can do with it

Betty is liken all that service work done her, she did a good start up for you. Great to see that Cat in action, so many of them setting around and rusting into oblivion. Thanks for the ride along young man, enjoyed it.

Chris in mid November. "Betty's just a toy." Two weeks later, Betty's putting in 10 hour days & loving it. 😁

What a Gem and work horse of an old machine... it's really satisfying to see guys like yourself bring awesome equipment like this one back to life... just a bit of TLC ($) is all that's needed... Good Job 👍

Learnt a lot about dam building this time . Thanks so much🥰👍

You know, I'm telling you, your jobs are always so well organized, neat and clean. Professional work as always.. Enjoy watching your videos.

Betty has quite the throaty growl when under load. Beastly 💪💪

Those first few pops are a wonderful sound. You know instinctively its going to make it.

It's starting to shape up and look as great as the rest of the ponds you put in.

Love seeing old yeller out working. Looking good.

Nice to see Betty back in action! Looking forward to seeing more of her Chris.

I have Never seen Betty so Happy to be Moving dirt again. You Saved Betty so you’re our Hero😬👍

Attention to detail is amazing. The clean up passes on each side of coring the damn. Love your work and videos. Keep up the great content .

You have a great vision Chris 🏝. To me it looks never ending Just moving dirt around and around and then just like that a pond is born.

Excellent educational video. I now understand what a core trench is and how it’s properly constructed. This has been a fascinating project. Chris is doing a great job explaining ‘pond building 101’. Glad to see the ‘part time use’ of Betty. :)

Betty brings the love in and overheated! 😄 Check the cooling system of the ol' beauty once again and get it fixed. Sending my love to that track queen!

How many yards of dirt can Betty take in one big bitefull, as opposed to the Volvo tractor? Can you do a sideby side comparison? Also one load in the Volvo truck compare to your gray dump truck, can we see a side by side comparison in a load of dirt size per. Always enjoy your work Chris.

Love ya work mate...my eldest brother used to do this sort of work...mainly on dozers ..he passed away 4 years ago..great job..I will keep watching you bloody great work.. from Tasmania

Glad to see you using the ear protection. Dad started running old cats back in the forties when he was fifteen. By the time he was fifty years old he was deaf in two frequency bands and he was management for most of those years so did not do seat time all day very often. But those two frequency bands were total deaf so had to get very specialized hearing aids to fill the gaps. Just not worth the risk Chris. Keep using them. Love how Betty is working out. You will get the bugs out and she will work hard for you. Just takes time to overcome the years of neglect she had. Have you checked the coolant? Straight water does not work as good as a fifty/fifty mix of anti-freeze if that is what she uses. That stuff does more than just protect from cold. It helps cool and helps stops corrosion that can plug radiators but too many just pour water in them to save in the moment with old iron. Not knowing her history, you might want to check it.

'Good morning Betty.' 'Sorry Boss I did my best.' Betty certainly can move a load of dirt saving time and money. This is going to be one very pretty pond, especially when full with the sea of solar panels in the background. Looking mighty good.

Dont you just love the reverse bucket dump.The first time i operated a 977 i thought someone put the hoses on backward GREAT MACHINE.

Betty certainly doesn’t give you any side protection from the elements and it’s getting Cold. 🥶👍

Thanks for explaining about the trench, now I understand how a soil dam is supposed to work. Betty smokes less now, the rings are seating in nicely.

Been watching Betty and I thought that it had a hinged bucket on it and I finally saw in this video that it does. What an amazing machine so versatile and so useful on a job like this

Betty sure is sounding better with the new injector, she runs alot smoother.

I spent a lot of time on one of Betty’s sisters while with the 820’th CESHR Squadron at Nellis AFB Nevada, Awesome piece of equipment. I really like to see you get a big dozer, I know they’re tough to get from job to job but it would be a real treat to see you give a clinic. Thing big, we had D9’s and TD25’s I like to see you on a D10 sized Dozer.

Chris another great pond job! Thanks for sharing! Kevin

Betty sounds really strong,not seeing any thing coming from exhaust,you got lucky with this girl👍👍👍👍👍

Ol Betty looks and sounds amazing! Nice to see her work under the hands of a skilled operator.. Keep up the good work, and videos! Cheers from Southern Indiana!

Betty's packn. It's amazing how much she can push. She makes everything look small. Great video 👍👍

That bully is a great little weapon for what you do, your efficiency all the while keeping your work tidy is impressive

Betty sure is coming in handy for such a large project!

Big Betty looks happy. She had a vacation and is into workin now.

Y’all have accomplished a lot in day,looks like it will be a beautiful pond and surrounding area,you never disappoint.carry on and continue on with your vision 😎😎😎😎👍👍👍👍

I love to hear those cats growl. Its like a Harley they have their own sound. Old John deeres and farmalls with a plow in the ground. When the sun went down you gained a gear on the old John deeres. Moisture and cool air more power.

As always I enjoy watching you work on a another masterpiece

Chris is very good with the Dozer, I think he would be Great with a couple more Jerry's lessons. Just my opinion it was fun watching them work.

Hi Chris Barrie from the UK I ran A 977 L with a root fork for a number of years she sounds great chap you don,t see many in the states with a 4 in 1 though lol keep up the great channel love it 👍

Looks good. Workin machines gettin it done. Better get a wheel loader, too when you get tired of getting jarred around.

Chris an his super size skid steer doing the work. Stay safe and happy holidays to you.

Perfect Sunday evening. One eye on Sunday Night Football and the other watching Chris movin' dirt around building another awesome pond. Couldn't be better unless I had a mug of my Wife's hot coco in my hand. Hmm, now that I think about it I think I'll ask her to make some and ad a shot of Peppermint or Butter Shot Schnapps. KC is up 7 to zip over the Denver broke down ponies.

Seeing Chris getting close to Betty, I knew better to turn down my headphones (🎧 🙉) to save what little hearing I have left 😁

Chris, you could replace the 2 lever setup for the bucket curl and lift levers with a single joystick valve. It looks like there might be enough room to "fit it in" the same spot. They come in open center and closed and are relatively cheap to buy.

I love Betty. My first machine was an ole D6 Hightrac. Machinery has come a long way.

Betty sounds sooo good, man that loader will move some dirt, at least you can work on Betty an not have to worry about some emissions bull mess, however production sometimes does need to move along pretty fast an the newer machine's are let's just face it, there alot faster than the old iron, but old iron is just so badass, good work Chris, pond is coming along nicely, thanks for sharing 💪💪🇺🇸🇺🇸

Betty was ready and doing a great job!!👍👍

When I was a kid I had a tank that was named "Battling Betsy " . Betty makes me think of that tank because even that goober that had her before you couldn't put her in FUBAR condition . She's a fighter for sure .

So, as I'm sitting in the bath... watching you push dirt with the dozer. It reminds me of when I rented a mini-ex with a pushblade. It was quite difficult trying to keep a level grade going across the little humps. Those little humps quickly become some nice hills 😒. I really wish I had the funds to bring you to Oklahoma to do some dirt work for me. Let me win the lottery real quick 🤣

The narrow tracks and heavy weight of Betty should pack that clay really well!

There is a chance that you actually could just go to any parts store and get belts for Betty in s pinch. A truck stop garage and even older gas stations with repair garages might be an even better option since they are more likely to have old stock from before everything switched to the serpentine flat style belts. There is nothing really magical about belts and part numbers. They all translate down to style, thickness, width, and diameter. Matching a belt on those parameters are pretty easy with modern computers and parts systems. Of course different manufacturers might make them with a slightly different recipe that can impact the longevity of the belts but getting something to use while the OEM is ordered can save some stress on the motor and be the difference between making money and sitting.

With a heaping bucket, how many yards do think Betty will hold ?

You don't realize just how much dirt old Betty's moving till you see your dozer move a much smaller ammount... She's a real BEAST!!! 'Sad the mechanic didn't order belts when he was there the other day... That's quite annoying!!! Amazing work Mr LD18 :-)

Ole Betty looks like she's doing great after all the work U had to do to put her back to work.

The new injectors have stopped the smoky exhaust and she started w/o a whiff of ether too. Chris, has the change in transmission fluid made any difference in the way she handles off the line? Can you get her to bark in second gear now? Betty the Beast - I see a new T-shirts in our future. Looks great man, Take Care, ASH PS: I like the new camera view on Betty. Much better.

Betty's like that older cocktail waitress down at the corner bar, takes a little bump to get her started in the morning, works steady all day long, a little loud but will give you the goods if you treat her right. Go easy, or she'll leave you putting more money in her than you thought you had. Thanks for the content.

Pond Doctor doing an excellent job.

They will get that Dam completed where it's suppose to be

I wonder if the rad has a lot of rusty goo in the bottom? Plus is that water pump impeller is all rusted away? Old iron has a way of doing that. From a armchair mechanic.

Sounds like Bette is running great.All you need now is an air ride seat.

Betty needs a dozer-friend of a similar size and vintage. Her engine sounds great by the way.

Thanks for upload 👍🏻

A nice old Cat988 from the 70's or 80's with a 6+ yard capacity would fit in your arsenal of equipment.

That motor does soundgood. Bet it's fun to drive. POWER!!

Another great video. Looks like Betty is doing a good job of earning her keep. OBTW, who's your helper?

Wow . Thats gonna be a pretty deep pond. Your digging to the blue clay . Im guessing it has a a water resistant bottom

Well look at that girl go!, she's off the tractor crack and dancing around the job site showing us all she still has all the moves!

How long until the novelty wears off and he’s back in his warm, quiet and comfy Volvo cab? 😉 Betty is only good for a quicky.

I use to run an old d8. No matter what we did To try and fix it would get hot after two hours and turn into a dog 😂 still my favorite machine though !

Great job so far, but you need to bring in the rock truck and move some dirt a little faster

I'm not a CAT fan, Komatsu is my favorite machine. Oil and grease, plenty of it keeps everything running great.

Love the video Christ, on the old 977 Betty and the pond too .

Betty - aircon cab! Luxury! Pity about the missing sound insulation and dust filters.

Chris, I just want to thank you for all the entertainment as well as the instruction and why for's that you share with use. I used your videos 1.5 years ago to learn how to use an excavator to make some repairs and clean up a very expensive attempt at a silt pond dredging and drain pipe replacement.. Their work failed in a major way and and all the matterial they used to rebiuld the dam, the new pipe, and a LOT of the silt from the silt pond eneded up in the main lake and filled about a quarter of it in. I have recovered a bunch of it over several times of mini excavator rental and enjoyed it the the whole time. It also gave my sister and brother in law hope about the future of their main lake and that it really could be sorted out over time. So again, thank you for letting us live vicariously through your work! Merry Christmas and God Bless! P.S. Pretty sure betty is liking the sun shine, the TLC, and getting to do what she was made for again! Lol!

Starting to take shape bro, aunty Betty will be like a new machine once all the physical love has been carried out, be down to love from the heart from then on. Safe travels up your way

Possible the ignition sw is bad.shouldnt do anything in preheat but apply voltage to your glow plugs!

It seems like a D9 (or bigger) would be an asset right about now. Nice work and nice video!

Have a great weekend and thank you. :)

You should have seen the loader I saw at the expo on video! Largest wheel loader in the world; CAT 994! 1800 HP, 23 ft tall, with a bucket 8 men could stand in!

Looking Good.

Great video Chris 🇺🇲 I always enjoy watching your videos 🇺🇲

Betty seems to be running faster now that she’s all liquored up on the new transmission fluid.

Looks like you have some more kinks to get worked out on the old loader. You might still have another bad injector. It's hard to tell in the video, but after the six minute mark and the sun is at a different angle you can see a puff in the exhaust stream when under full load. Not sure if it's fuel or oil or maybe just cleaning up the one hole with the bad injector. I guess time will tell. You can use an infrared temp gun and shoot the exhaust manifold and see how close the temps run on all the cylinders. You had a helper in this video as well. I keep wondering how well a scraper would do on a project like that?

Awesome 👌

Glad to see Betty up & running

It will not be a pond, but a large and shallow puddle. In which you can't even get your eggs wet.🤣🤣🤣

After getting [sanded] once, my HD-21P ran hot!!! I flushed,removed the rad and hat it cleaned,changed thermostats,and cleaned the heat exchanger!!! At wits end i mounted a truck heater on the platform and when i turned the heater on NO MORE PROBLEM!!! Bud.

Betty is a powerful women Chris. She needs a lot of love. 🤠🇦🇺

Probably wouldn't hurt to the the coolent if you haven't already. And coolent filter if it has one. And maybe the thermostat too.

Love watching you work them old school levers , keep the videos coming , y’all be safe !!

Nice to see Betty started the way she should

Man, THAT THING sure can move some dirt!

Glad you're wearing ear pro.

Nice!

Betty is a recovering tractor crack head! One day at a time Betty. You can do it. & We love you.

I wish I had half of your equipment do my land I love running heavy equipment