 Santiago working on the engine of his Chevy Nova, with the help of his forklift. |
"I'm just an operator of old forklifts, but let me tell you some stories from these old lovely machines." Santiago Pezzelatto from Argentina tells us about his life with forklifts.
My family (my brother, my father and I) has a small brick sales company called SUPERCEMENTO. The first forklift we ever owned was an old Clark from the '60s or '70s. After buying it, I found the help I needed to fix it up in the
Forkliftaction Forums. The forklift was produced here in Argentina by the local Clark division, and had an IKA (Industrias Kaiser Argentina) Continental four-cylinder gasoline engine.
Buying our first forklift and getting to learn about the simple hydraulics system and electrics was very enjoyable. With the Clark's continental 4-cylinder engine I always felt that it was like driving an old Jeep. It worked very well, despite being 50 years old, and it was a great help in starting our family business.
 "The restoration of the Nova is on hold for the moment ... but at least it's running". |
Afterwards we replaced the Clark with a far newer Linde machine with a Deutz Diesel three-cylinder engine (I think from the '80s or '90s). The Linde is stronger than the Clark because of the two hydraulic pistons lift, but I really miss the Clark.
We use our forklifts for work and for fun: I am currently restoring an old Chevy Nova and use the forklifts to remove/install the engine.
We made a trailer to move the Linde, and now I'm trying to make a loader to move sand.
 Custom sand loader. |
|  A trailer built to move the Linde. |
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The family business is going well! We now own a TCM FD25 forklift and the Linde. With two machines, work is much faster, and if one of the forklifts is out of action, we can continue using the other one while we fix it. Our company has also bought an old Mercedes truck.
 "With two machines, work is much faster..." |
|  The family brick sales business is going well. |
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We are very happy and feel the business is making good progress.
The restoration of the Nova is on hold for the moment, because now I'm in the process of building my house, but at least it's running, and I use it daily.
If you work with forklifts and materials handling products in any capacity, we'd love to hear your stories. Drop us a line or two or send us some photos.