[AT] Older John Deere tractor

[jtchall at nc.rr.com]

Used to be a guy in eastern NC with a Deere R diesel. He was as close to 
unstoppable as you could get. He came to our clubs pull one time and they 
only let him pull exhibition. I don't know the reasoning. The state was 
pretty much divided into 2 or 3 pulling circuits, each with their own rules 
and points standings, (just like Nascar, this is where it all began).

One of my favorite pulls watching was a guy on an Oliver 70 with tiptoe rear 
steel, pulling a "stone boat" style sled in muddy conditions. Appeared 
completely stock and did very well.

Then there was this ragged Farmall M, 98% rust, fair tires, owned by a 
salvage yard no less. I don't what was non-original in that engine, but 
whatever it was sent all the trailer queens and ego maniacs packing.

John


-----Original Message----- 
From: Dean VP
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 12:45 PM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: Re: [AT] Older John Deere tractor

John,

Antique Tractor pulling is a combination of science and art.   Inexperienced 
pullers tend to think HP first when in fact it is secondary to traction. The 
mistake you saw and I've seen quite often is the JD 435 owner tries to 
overcome the lack of traction with engine RPM's and noise.  The trick is to 
get the hitch set at the right height for the given track so that the front 
end gets very light but doesn't come off the ground,  and to run out of HP 
about the same time as you run out of good traction.  That combination 
varies with each progressive sled hookup and unique track.  We had a guy in 
the NW part of the US, Renaissance Tractor, who pulled many different JD 
tractors including a JD 435 who had it down to a science.  He did really 
well with his JD 435 as well as with his other tractors including a Black 
Dash 820.  He had the 1958 JD 820 so well-tuned and setup that he gave the 
Oliver Super 99's with the Detroit Diesels a run for their money.  My wife 
and I pulled a JD 60 and a JD H for a few years. Both were as stock as you 
could get from the factory.  After I learned some of the tricks about hitch 
height and tire pressure we did a very respectable job of competing 
until.... the sport was ruined by those who had to win at any cost.  Cut 
tires, weights in places the manufacturers never made provisions for , 
engine modifications that were extreme and the whole concept of what was a 
stock antique tractor got lost.  We chose not to follow the crowd and 
pulling became less and less fun so we quit. However, my wife would jump at 
the chance to pull again. She was a farm girl and she knows how to drive 
tractors. One year we were at a pull in Shelton, WA, and the track was at 
best loose gravel and small rocks.  I made the fateful decision to raise the 
hitch higher than I had ever had it before because I knew the track was 
going to have really poor traction. I adjusted the tire pressure to what I 
thought might be best on the loose track. So my wife gets hooked up to the 
progressive sled with our stock 1942 JD H, with a pounding 12 HP at the 
drawbar, and she starts off slowly like she always did. She didn't get 10' 
down the track and the front end came off the ground about 3" and stayed 
there. I was kicking myself for setting the hitch too high.  But the front 
end being up a few inches didn't bother my wife, she just feathered the 
brakes, with her hand on the clutch lever, all the way down the track and 
did a full pull.  No one beat her that day and some of the competition had 
way more horse power.  This was in the 2500 lb class. The look on her face 
was worth all the work to get the tractor ready for the pull even though I 
thought I had messed up. Even my stock 1953 JD 60 did quite well in the 
6,000 and 7,000 lb classes when setup right for the sled and track.  Bur we 
were not willing to spend the extra money to add all the non-stock 
enhancements to keep up with the win at any cost crowd.  When my stock 60 
was doing well, the competition went bonkers. The next year the completion 
had changed to sometimes unrecognizable tractors.  It was fun  for a while 
but good things sometimes get too good. I've gotten too old now to do any 
more competitive pulling but every once in a while I think about that 
aftermarket Power Block that is sitting in the barn that would add 10 to 12 
HP to my 39 HP 60 and dream about what that might do on the track. Oh well, 
not too old to dream.

Dean VP
Apache Junction, AZ

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the 
gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”  … Sir 
Winston Churchill

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com 
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of jtchall at nc.rr.com
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 5:58 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Older John Deere tractor

Whats real funny is seeing one in a tractor pull. Reminds me of a Volkswagen
with an exhaust trumpet!  Whole lot of noise and nothing to show for it.
That’s where I saw my first one, I think he had a straight pipe on it also.
A friend of mine actually came across one of these in great shape about 10
years ago and at a bargain price. Instead of the show circuit he put it into
the hay field pulling a hay rake. Nobody really wanted to drive it because
it looked so nice, he sold it after a couple years.

John Hall




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