[AT] Juicin it Up

[ken knierim]

On Mon, 2005-12-05 at 08:58, Easley, Greg wrote:
> 135hp is easy to get out of a MM 283 crankcase.  80-100 is attainable
> just by dropping in
> a 403 crankshaft and putting on a set of decent heads.  There are
> antique pullers out there
> with close to 700cid on top of the 283 case.  The LA Case crankcase has
> been built to 1100cid.
> Takes lots of $$$ to get that big...
> 
> Greg
> http://www.geocities.com/heartland/woods/1416


Ok, I have some questions for the tractor "hot rodders"...
  I've got a number of Case D's and I've often wondered what kinds of
horsepower increases (and/or better fuel economy) I could get if I
bumped up the compression on them. Also, what options does a person have
for something like this? Where does a person get pistons and sleeves and
a higher compression head? I thought I saw some piston kits awhile back
on Steiners' but memory has faded on it. 

I have one that has a distillate setup on it, and I know the compression
ratio isn't very high. If I put a higher compression head on it (like
say a propane head, if I could find one someplace) I would also like to
get a starter for it. This tractor is a 1940 DH (seems they changed the
ring gear and starter in about 1940 or 1941; it's different than the
1951 DI I have) and probably has the 3 7/8" pistons instead of the later
4" ones but I'm sure it would be a handful to crank if I bumped up the
compression. 

I haven't seen much in the way of modified tractors at the antique pulls
here... maybe there are (of course we see the JD's with the big exhaust
and a lot of bark and know they're not stock) but I'm not that familiar
with it nor do I know anyone that's doing that kind of thing. It's just
a budding interest for now. I'm still looking for tires for much of the
fleet too. :)

Ken

central AZ