Bone stock class - a good idea? Club considering over USAP.

MMZAck

Member
Our local club voted in USAP rules last summer for the 2013 season. Now there are rumblings they may reject the 3mph class in favor of a bone stock class. Just curious if other clubs are running rules like that and how hard it is to police. With rules like "no internal engine modifications" it could be tough. This makes me think we are headed for trouble.


Zack
 
Are these Oliver guys? When you go to bone stock Olivers will generally win. they are light and have a long frame. Ihc's are next or is it Masseys? Also someone must have a perfect road worn set of tires! A neighbor, kind of who pulls plow classes. Just told me he had spent hrs and hrs and a lot of gas spinning his tires backwards getting ready for spring! Top cuts 11ft long levels the playing field. Lengthen the chain if everybody is powering out.
 
good luck, does anyone want to spend a hot afternoon at a pull trying to police that? we are starting to get a few classes around here that are no suit case weights, no welded hitches, 12.4 or 13.6 tires in the lighter classes, I guess my take on it is if it has internal mods intended for farming I don't have a problem with it, I would like to try a CC with M&W domes. Unhook the sled and hook up a plow that's what I built it for.
 
Zack, my first question is, are you gonna get enough participation to make it worth while?

Second, get rid of the "internal modifications" rule. You and I know that you can't police that.

No matter how you set the rules, somebody just gets in under the wire and loves it, and somebody is just over the wire and hates it. That being said, I think 3mph might be too much for pure stock.

JMHO, if I were making the rules, I would go with stock RPM, clevis on factory drawbar at 14", and 2.6 or 2.7 MPH.

That might give a truly "stock" tractor a fighting chance.
 
That was my first thought too. The rules are written pretty narrow and I would be surprised if there were lots of tractors in that type of class. I can't see policing horsepower very effectively either - someone always seems to be disappointed.

My thoughts are along the lines of what you describe - if they want at bone stock class, make it slower than 3mph and maybe lengthen the sled chain. If they want really stock then make it 2.5 mph plow speed at factory rated rpm. I'm all for everyone having fun.

On another note, the 4mph and 6mph modified USAP classes are really heating up around here, especially with surrounding clubs. These are my favorite classes to pull in. My hope was to draw in pullers from other clubs to boost hook numbers using USAP rules. I would like to see our club's rules appeal to a broader audience.

Thanks for your responses! I wanted to bounce this off the YT community before I go to the rules meeting this weekend.

Zack
 
Thats what everyone does around by us. Well they try to do it. if your serious you need a trustworthy tach for stock RPM's and a dyno for horsepower. Find something like the old M&W sheets to go by. They had RPM and horse on them, at least the set Ive seen did. Now you can either dyno everyone or dyno the top 3 or dont dyno until someone b!tches about that 310 in a 77. There is one place that dynos everyone be fore the pull around here. Lets not forget the stock hitches and stock weights that everyone must have. What about class jumping? Around here we have guys go from stock to modified all the time. Not everyone likes that. I say you either build to run with them or dont pull. i think if you start a stock class your just going to open a whole new can of worms and its going to turn into a soap opera, least that's what ours has become.
 
Original Drawbar ht and Length sound great...
I would much rather see them "as built", pulling..

Brings it back "Home", I think..

You can go anywhere and see "Smokers"...

Ron..
 
"As built" would be a great place for newbies to start. Problem is that nobody wants to stay there for long. Most people get "the itch" after a year or maybe two. Next thing you know, its M&W kits, hitches, and tires. A couple more years, its strokers and race fuel.

Tractors evolve. Drivers evolve. Competition evolves. Its just part of any motorsport. People naturally want to improve themselves and by extension, their rides.

Its hard to get new people started without a bone stock class, but its hard to have a bone stock class because nobody wants to stay there.

Catch 22, so to speak.
 
You have been around long enough to know that there is no such thing as a stock tractor anymore that goes to the pulls. At the pulls I have been at you might see a few in the local class when someone just brings them there from the hay wagon and they only go a short distance. Everyone in so competitive that it almost takes a good division 2 tractor to pull Farm Stock class. In the club I pulled with around here people who couldnt get it done in the Modified class just dropped down to the farm and field class.
 
We have a farm stock class. There"s a fair turn out for it. Rules say gotta have factory air cleaner on and hooked up no power blocks or the like, factory style hitch non adjustable 16 inch drawbar and pull from a Clevis provided by the club,2.75 mph, 2 size up on tires from factory seems to work good. At that drawbar and pace a modified tractor would struggle.
 
VicS I thought all JD where running stock.All kidding aside the speed limit is the best way to give everybody a chance.That is the rule that helps the lower HP tractors the most and is easy to police.
 
(quoted from post at 16:24:28 02/05/13) We have a farm stock class. There"s a fair turn out for it. Rules say gotta have factory air cleaner on and hooked up no power blocks or the like, factory style hitch non adjustable 16 inch drawbar and pull from a Clevis provided by the club,2.75 mph, 2 size up on tires from factory seems to work good. At that drawbar and pace a modified tractor would struggle.

That's an easy one, cut the guts out of the factory air cleaner and grind the letters and numbers off the powerblock :D
 
I response to your dyno idea. If you go by the Neb. test for a DC Case which was only tested in 1939 at 37hp with 3 7/8 pistons and a 4570 head and I come with a 52 DC with with 4" factory overbores and the 5505 gas head and it dyno's 45hp am I in violation of the rules? I think a dyno check is about as big of a waste of time as I have ever seen.
 
Even the speed limit will have lots of arguments, if you get below 4mph the big MM's and Case's can't run 1st gear at 10 to 15% over rpms. If your going to try to keep it stock, go with org. size tire or what replaces it.
 
Both clubs I pull with state that tractors must be in stock condition as they came from the factory. So no hang on weights and tires can be 1 size over or under no cut tires, must pull from factory drawbar 17" hitch height and 22" min. length for 6500lb. and under, 20" height and 25" min. length for 7000 to 12000. Weights have to bolt on and if you pull from the 3 point hitch it has to be locked in place. No T/A or shifting gears while pulling. We"re suppose to get a speed limit this year it"s either 3 or 3.5 I can"t remember, but it"s going to be for all classes. I like pulling stock tractors, the only thing I don"t like is not being able to use hang on weights.
 
But we inspect them and they need oil in the air
cleaner! As for power blocks Well there's other ways to check them out!

Cliff S
 
288 hooks ten yrs ago VS struggling to make 70 in 2012. Dave, everyone who had a stock tractor back then partaked every weekend. Its what kept it alive cause everyone had one. when the beginners have to have div 2 machines to get started and compete for 5th place, nobody but the old experts stayed n linger in what they created. was it a good idea when it was made then when talking bout the old club? 288 to 70.
 
I'm a big believer in speed limit and no cut tires for a "stock" class. It's the easiest to police and fairest all things considered. No matter what you choose someone will push the envelope. Choose an rpm max limit for safety and let the speed limit and tire restrictions control the rest. This let's the local with stock tractor and a wire on the governor compete with the div2 guys and even those transplants like a 310 Oliver 77 or 450 in an m or gleaner wd etc.... You can have all the power but at 3mph it's a test of driver knowledge to get it to the track. Now if your using a drop pan well that changes things slightly. But most local antique groups don't have drop pans.
 
What about a rule requiring a working governor. Must pull in a gear that no load wide open throttle is under 3.5 mph, or set the throttle and let the governor work. No pulling in a 5mph gear and opening it up as the wheels start to slip. If you want a beginners class, requiring the use of factory weights defeats the purpose. A show or farm tractor that is balanced properly with factory weights can still be competitive.
 

What happened to the "Farm boy", who wants to go and have some good fun with what he uses every day..He don't care if he wins, he just wants to BE part of it..
If I take my stock JD "B" and pull in 1st gear..do I really expect to win..??
Ya never know though..I may get Lucky..!!

Ron..
 
Our club went through this a couple of years ago,and the rules we adopted seem to be working well for us and have helped us recruit new members: In a nut shell; Stock appearing,no parts stripping to save weight, 3.0 mph, hitch can be fabricated but must mimic stock dimensions,fully functioning governor that can not be over-ridden,10% over on rpms, no cut tires & limited to one size over stock. Electrical enhancements like 12V alternator,Pertronix,etc. is allowed. Factory aircleaner must be hooked up. We allow any type of properly secured weights...several of our members even use iron barbell weights. I believe that policing hitches, tires , & speed are the keys, as all can be easily checked. A RULE THAT CAN NOT BE ENFORCED IS WORSE THAN NO RULE! Our biggest point of discussion for this type of class was...what is the best speed limit, but by allowing slightly bigger tires and a few extra rpms we found that 3.0 mph works great for us. Even though some 2 cylinder guys would still prefer it just a tad slower they are competitive.Good Luck!
 
Well it depends. At the pull where they dyno everyone you would be put into the 5000# class automatically. They run it 30 horse = 3000# - 40 horse = 4000# and so on and so forth. At the other pull where they might only dyno first place, or unless someone b!tches about someone, a 45 hp DC probably wont take top place so you would be fine there too!
 
all of this debate sounds like a drivers meeting or a rules meeting in my area. Just remember as soon as you make a stock class there are people pushing or breaking the rules. We had a pure stock class in our area and one of the rules was factory bolt on weights only. It didn"t take long for the hot ones to bolt on wheel weights and act like the mean kid sitting on the ant hill with a magnafying glass.
 
(quoted from post at 21:11:02 02/06/13)
What happened to the "Farm boy", who wants to go and have some good fun with what he uses every day..He don't care if he wins, he just wants to BE part of it..
If I take my stock JD "B" and pull in 1st gear..do I really expect to win..??
Ya never know though..I may get Lucky..!!

Ron..

I agree. Me and my "A" are still hoping for something better than last place but its still fun just to hear the ol' girl lug. :D

The local club requires a pto. Tractors aren't checked on a regular basis but anyone can call your tractor to the dyno at any time. Antiques are allowed 1 horsepower for every 100 pounds of tractor.
 

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