The machine has been cold weather prepared to operate in temperatures down as low as -40 degrees C. This included changing all oils to fully synthetic low viscosity cold weather oils, adding a double set of cold weather batteries to increase capacity, plus diesel-fueled block heaters to bring the engine up to operating temperature before starting. Engine compartments were sealed with the help of Mototrim NZ to help retain engine temperatures and reduce snow drift here.
To prep the machine for the flight to Antarctica, the counterweight and bucket were removed to reduce the overall weight of the 330GC, to be reinstalled on arrival by the local ground crew at Scott Base.
As part of a long-standing relationship between Terra Cat and Antarctica New Zealand, this 330GC joins a Cat 982 wheel loader and CS56B single drum compactor from Terra Cat, which were transported by ship to Scott Base earlier this year.
