Little Clark forklift

[Nortonscustom]

Decided I wanted a small forklift to use around the shop and asked my friends to keep an out for one. Couple months later my buddy text me "been sitting for 20 years, nothing works, they want it gone ASAP" and sent this picture.



So I grabbed my wallet and trailer and headed out. Offered them scrap price and to haul it away. Now owned a Clark C20B

It put up a fight dragging it onto the trailer and a fight dragging it off.



After pushing it out of the way and taking a closer look, I started getting a little nervous about my purchase. She was pretty rough. The seat was at least 4 rolls of duck tape. So came up with a plan of attack and some hard stops as far as time&money. This could turn into a pit quickly.



Couple weeks later had some free time to mess with it. Checked fluids and put plugs and a battery in it. She fired right up! Was shocked. Had great compression in all 4 cylinders and the hydo pump worked. Although EVERYTHING leaked and every hose sprayed oil in a different direction I was pretty happy. I got something I can work with here!



Time to start measuring hoses and ordering parts.

 

[IndyGarage]

I've had two of those just like that one. Congrats on getting it running.

I suspect It is a 2,000 lb lift with a 4 cylinder continental flathead engine. The triple mast will reach 10-12 feet. Even the chrome hood scoops are good. The only problem with them is they don't generally have power steering - which is nice to have. The combination tilt and lift lever usually gets pretty sloppy. And the brakes almost never work when they've been sitting.

After you get the hoses fixed then go to the paint store and have them mix up a can of Clark neon green paint for it.

Then get ready - this little thing will change everything in your shop. You'll be able to move stuff with ease that before was a challenge.

Just take the time to learn the safety aspects it. Very easy to start lifting heavy stuff high in the air and getting in over your head real quick. I remember one of the first days with mine running over a rough spot and dumping a load of steel all over the floor. Fortunately nothing hurt, but I easily could have hurt someone or something nearby.

 

[dr_clyde]

Nice, small forklifts are super handy. I wish I had a little one like that sometimes, my big one gets to be a bit much sometimes to maneuver in tight spots.

Keep the thread updated!

 

[Firebrick43]

Decided I wanted a small forklift to use around the shop and asked my friends to keep an out for one. Couple months later my buddy text me "been sitting for 20 years, nothing works, they want it gone ASAP" and sent this picture.



So I grabbed my wallet and trailer and headed out. Offered them scrap price and to haul it away. Now owned a Clark C20B

It put up a fight dragging it onto the trailer and a fight dragging it off.



After pushing it out of the way and taking a closer look, I started getting a little nervous about my purchase. She was pretty rough. The seat was at least 4 rolls of duck tape. So came up with a plan of attack and some hard stops as far as time&money. This could turn into a pit quickly.



Couple weeks later had some free time to mess with it. Checked fluids and put plugs and a battery in it. She fired right up! Was shocked. Had great compression in all 4 cylinders and the hydo pump worked. Although EVERYTHING leaked and every hose sprayed oil in a different direction I was pretty happy. I got something I can work with here!



Time to start measuring hoses and ordering parts.

You ****!

 

[Nortonscustom]

IndyGarage, yep it's a 2000 lb lift with a Continental Y112 engine.

The first unscheduled side project before tearing down the little Clark. $25 garage sale find.



Lead to this.



And now the little guy has it's own official parking spot.



At this point it runs and drives great but has no brakes and the "clutch" inching peddle is inoperative. It's already been very handy around the shop.

 

[Damon L.]

I have a similar sized Allis. Mine only lifts to 9 feet, but it is unbelievably handy when I need it.

 

[Sweetcorn]

My father in law has one of those on his farm, but with a larger counterweight on the back. It lifts far more weight than it looks like it should.
Those are stout little lifts. Congrats, you'll enjoy it for a long time and so will your back!

 

[Nortonscustom]

Tear down was pretty uneventful. Mainly a lot of cleaning. Replaced all the wiring and hoses. Changed the filters from canister to automotive spin on style. Lots of little updates.





Pulled both the drive units out and rebuilt them. Parts are really cheap so just replaced entire brake system with new parts.





Next up to start painting. My two girls vetoed the idea of Clark green and going with Oliver tractor green instead.

 

[jumbojak]

There's a guy on here with a Clark forklift painted like a station wagon with a piece of luggage on top. An ode to National Lampoons. Always wanted one like that.

 

[The Cobbler]

Nice find !

 

[IndyGarage]

Before you put it back together, look carefully between the back (front) of the engine and the transmission.

On many forklifts, the seal between the torque converter and the trans goes bad. Neither of my Clark's was bad, but if yours is, right now is the time to pull the engine and replace that seal. I honestly don't even know if that one has a torque converter or a conventional clutch.

 

[Nortonscustom]

IndyGarage, I went through and replaced all needed seals and gaskets. It has the torque converter/ auto trans. The "clutch" just actuates a bypass valve. Pretty neat system. I got really lucky, the company I bought it from were the original owners and it came with all the factory manuals, sales receipts and service records up 1998. The nearest Clark dealer was very helpful and usually had everything needed in stock.

Let my girls decide on the color. They choose Oliver tractor green and International Harvester white.






The little machine has been incredibly handy around the shop. Use it almost daily.

It's also a fantastic tug for parking and shuffling trailers around!





All said and done I'm into it for $2600, my target was $2500 so that's not bad. Spent way more time on it than planed but isn't always the case with projects.

 

[Sumboodie]

Surprised it can get around with the tiny tires.

My Mutsushitty 5k gets stuck easy, even with the tires chained up.

 

[mike93lx]

Thata awesome. Looks great

 

[Nortonscustom]

Surprised it can get around with the tiny tires.

My Mutsushitty 5k gets stuck easy, even with the tires chained up.

I was worried at first too, but it zips around on the gravel with zero issues. It's not a very heavy machine that helps.

 

[dr_clyde]

The clutch isn't a traditional driveline clutch like in a car or tractor but is actually a "mast clutch". It is designed so you can de-couple the driveline and rev the engine to move the forks quickly to position without risking higher truck speeds. Because the engine drives both the hydraulic pump and the transmission, you need a bypass so the truck can stay in gear but not crash into the pallet racking while speeding the mast up.

They're pretty common in automatic transmission forklifts with an IC engine. In my Mits I usually just flick it into neutral, I rarely find it worth the extra footwork to use my left foot haha. Warehouse guys make serious use of them, after awhile the forklift becomes an extension of their body and they can move skids of product around with amazing speed and accuracy.

 

[Sumboodie]

The clutch isn't a traditional driveline clutch like in a car or tractor but is actually a "mast clutch". It is designed so you can de-couple the driveline and rev the engine to move the forks quickly to position without risking higher truck speeds. Because the engine drives both the hydraulic pump and the transmission, you need a bypass so the truck can stay in gear but not crash into the pallet racking while speeding the mast up.

They're pretty common in automatic transmission forklifts with an IC engine. In my Mits I usually just flick it into neutral, I rarely find it worth the extra footwork to use my left foot haha. Warehouse guys make serious use of them, after awhile the forklift becomes an extension of their body and they can move skids of product around with amazing speed and accuracy.

Called an inching pedal by Hyster.
Use both feet for forklift operation, same as front end loader.

 

[4xdog]

...Let my girls decide on the color. They choose Oliver tractor green and International Harvester white...

Kudos to your girls. It looks terrific.

 

[Nortonscustom]

Called an inching pedal by Hyster.
Use both feet for forklift operation, same as front end loader.

That's what Clark calls it as well. The original inching master cylinder was obsolete and to retrofit it to the newer style was too expensive to justify doing. So I replaced it with a second brake master cylinder. The left pedal only works as a "clutch" now with no braking. Works perfectly fine for my needs.

 

[m6z]

Looks great.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Great work, Nortoncustom. It looks really good, and will probably pay for itself with all the capabilities.

BTW, everyone should watch this forklift training video.

 

[jollygreengiant]

Awesome job on giving that little lift truck a second life!

I'm more and more convinced that someday I need to find one of these little lift trucks for my shop. They look super handy and useful.

 

[ZRX61]

 

[619DioFan]

Off to wally world.

 

[Nortonscustom]

When I was looking for info on mine that picture kept coming up. Cracks me up.

Awesome job on giving that little lift truck a second life!

I'm more and more convinced that someday I need to find one of these little lift trucks for my shop. They look super handy and useful.

Thanks! And I love your IH 484 with a loader. That's a machine that can get stuff done.

 

[IndyGarage]

IndyGarage, I went through and replaced all needed seals and gaskets. It has the torque converter/ auto trans. The "clutch" just actuates a bypass valve. Pretty neat system. I got really lucky, the company I bought it from were the original owners and it came with all the factory manuals, sales receipts and service records up 1998. The nearest Clark dealer was very helpful and usually had everything needed in stock.

Let my girls decide on the color. They choose Oliver tractor green and International Harvester white.






The little machine has been incredibly handy around the shop. Use it almost daily.

It's also a fantastic tug for parking and shuffling trailers around!





All said and done I'm into it for $2600, my target was $2500 so that's not bad. Spent way more time on it than planed but isn't always the case with projects.

Fantastic - you rebuilt that in a hurry. Yes, moving trailers with one is so cool, because of the leverage of the forks and the rear steering, I can put a trailer anywhere I want with inch accuracy. I can't do that with my truck.

Eventually, I found that a 5,000 lb lift is the sweet spot for what I want to do with one. I sold one of the little clarks and traded the other for my Mohawk lift, and bought two 5,000 lb Nissan Electrics. I've been through about a dozen other lifts, but one of those Nissans is still my go to.

 

[cretedog]

I've had two of those just like that one. Congrats on getting it running.

The combination tilt and lift lever usually gets pretty sloppy.

 

[IndyGarage]

Another use for a forklift: Dent removal.

I've done this a couple times. Bought a car at IAA for a friend who had hers stolen. Very nice condition, but had a pretty nasty crushed left rear quarter panel. I tried using my big slide hammer, but it didn't have enough hammering power to move the heavier structure under the sheet metal. Enter my 11,500 pound forklift. Hooked a chain under the structural metal and to the forklift. Literally two fairly light taps with the forklift pulled the heavy structure right back to near perfect. The sheetmetal needed more work, but the forklift did 90% of the structural work in about 5 minutes.

 

[lynnbilodeau]

Looks great. How long from purchase to completion? I know your first post was 8 days ago. Surely that wasn't the day you brought it home.

Anyone have experience with a CAT T50? Have a chance to buy one that "Hasn’t ran in years." Probably overkill for my needs. Not even sure how I would get it onto my car hauler.

 

[IndyGarage]

Looks great. How long from purchase to completion? I know your first post was 8 days ago. Surely that wasn't the day you brought it home.

Anyone have experience with a CAT T50? Have a chance to buy one that "Hasn’t ran in years." Probably overkill for my needs. Not even sure how I would get it onto my car hauler.

Cat T50 is an old 5,000lb lift. Depending on age it may have a continental or a Nissan (datsun) or mitsubishi engine in it. All of those engines are fine. I believe the later cat models are rebadged Mitsubishis - which are good forklifts.

The only problem with those older gas or propane lifts is they are relatively big and long for their lifting capacity - which means they are a little less maneuverable in a tight space.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Really nice work on that. I just picked up a 4000lb gasoline Clark that wasn’t running. Cleaned up the carb and fuel pump, put the cap back on properly and set the points and it runs like a champ.

I intend to paint it as it sat outside for a few years but that’s about it unless it breaks. I admire your ambition to restore yours to the extent you did, mine will remain fix as fail. I might add some of the Griswold touches I’ve seen here if I’m feeling silly one day.

 

[Nortonscustom]

Looks great. How long from purchase to completion? I know your first post was 8 days ago. Surely that wasn't the day you brought it home.

Anyone have experience with a CAT T50? Have a chance to buy one that "Hasn’t ran in years." Probably overkill for my needs. Not even sure how I would get it onto my car hauler.

It took about 6 months from start to finish. Worked on it as time allowed. I should have made that clear in the first post. I had the same problem with my trailer as well. Welded up quick ramp just for loading the Clark.

Really nice work on that. I just picked up a 4000lb gasoline Clark that wasn’t running. Cleaned up the carb and fuel pump, put the cap back on properly and set the points and it runs like a champ.

I intend to paint it as it sat outside for a few years but that’s about it unless it breaks. I admire your ambition to restore yours to the extent you did, mine will remain fix as fail. I might add some of the Griswold touches I’ve seen here if I’m feeling silly one day.

Nice find. Now those are some long reach forks! Love the seat, that thing is ready for a Griswold family road trip.

 

[metlmunchr]

You dd a great job on that. Good move on rebuilding the brakes. I've got the same lift and the brakes have always been more problematic than everything else on the lift combined. One area on my shop is walled off from the remainder, and that lift will actually drive thru a standard 6-8 height door opening with the mast fully collapsed. Beats the hell out of having to raise 2 overhead doors and drive outside, especially when it happens to be raining.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Nice find. Now those are some long reach forks! Love the seat, that thing is ready for a Griswold family road trip.

Dual armrests and seatback storage, I'm all set. I had a towing company move mine on a tiltdeck for a few hundred bucks. I'd have to borrow a trailer so to go get the trailer, move it and return the trailer fuel would be half that. Plus someone else winched it on and off and tied it down.

 

[lynnbilodeau]

Your custom ramps look like the same C channel iron I used to make my smooth ramps. I use them to load my scissor lift, as well as when I need to transport a fork lift. I only use a fork lift about once every two years, so I borrow one from a friend who is about 15 min. away. I didn't weld my smooth ramps together. I just welded angle iron on the end to sit in the channel on my car hauler. That way they are still adjustable.