antique tractor pulling?

last weekend I participated in a pull I was not familiar with. Had a nice time,but as the pull went on myself and a couple other pullers were commenting on the actual number of antique stock tractors there actually are.I have a fairly competitive tractor. AsI was pulling I got two good hooks,and was in first gear both times. Then other competitors pass?d me by pulling in second gear. Beat me by a mile.I can tell by the sound of the motor, bigger cubes, and very high rpm. Also tire size, cut tires way bigger tires than stock, the list gjust throwing this out there. Most clubs are 1959 and older, 20% over rpm, 4 mph. One club I used to belong too, moved to 1970 and older. It is getting harder to go too different pull's because people run way over stock, and it is getting discouraging to go too pulls. Competing against olivers with 310"s mm u's with 504's,jd" well over 600 cubes, farmall's with who know's what. What constitutes antique anymore? I asked to run radials and absolutely not.But yet were allowed cut tires? Radials were introduced in th us in 1973. Were in eroupe in the 1950's. I wish if we are allowed to run bigger motor's,biggger tires, cut tires, 20" drawbar, 20% over rpm's, every club would do the same, so when you go too different pull's, the same people don't win time and time again. Just food for thought.

'
 
Around here, "antique " is 59 and older. Most places I pull have the farmstock or super farmstrock limited to 15.5x38 maximum tire size until about 7000lb. You can use "topcut" tires which eliminates the argument on what is road worn and what has been helped. The ultimate equalizer is a 3 to 3.5 mph speed limit. The "hot" tractors can run full cut 18.4x38 but have speed limits of 4, 6, 8, and 12 mph. Just have to put a tractor where it is competitive. Using the speed limits helps prevent an 800ci Moline from running 15 mph against a near stock JD 720 at 2 mph.
 
A group of us ran a local antique tractor pull here. All tractors, tires, engines weights etc. had to be bone stock field applications. Ticked some pullers off, but we had 70 to 80 tractors every year for 25 years. Ben
 
Right!! 15.5x38 maximum tire on 3mph; 18.4x38 on 4 thru 12. Same tires, same weight, same speed . Equal chance. Gets down to driver ability.
 
What were the rules? You said 4mph. Cut tires. What size tire? Everything moves on the tractor that won a few years ago is yesterday's news today. The tractor I am building will have twice the cubic inches it came with. The tractor I am pulling now was a winner 5years ago. Now is just competitive. I wish it wasn't that way but it is. Vic
 
Our club still pulls stock antique tractors, 1959 and older. NO cut tires of any kind,no radials,tire size limits for every class. Rim diameter must be the same that came on the tractor. 4MPH speed limit.RPM subject to check. 20 in. draw bar height.No locking differentials,etc. We had a pull Saturday,99 Hooks.We enforce the rules,we don't have arguments, we pull for trophies and the fun of it. If someone shows up that don't want to abide by the rules they are asked to leave. Our club was started in 1993 and has been pulling ever since.
 
I?m having the same problems . I think an a jd came stock with 12.4 - 38 ..mine has 13.6-38 but every one is winning my classes running 15.5-38 ans16.9 -38 and even 18.4...I cant compete with that. Am looking for some good used 15.5-38 with rims
 
Danny, I have a set of Firestone deep treads gum dipped 15.5 by 38 on 9 bolt rims. Might be selling.. not sure yet. Asking $1200. Tires are road worn having 1 inch of bar left, very good shape. Excellent pulling tires.
 
My wheels are 8 bolt. On a 1952 John Deere A. With cast wheels.Would that matter as they are 38. I?m in Georgia. Where are you located? I?d probly have drive to pick em up.doubt I could afford shipping
 
Pulling depends a lot on promoter or hosting club. I have seen rules so restrictive that hardly any tractor on the track was legal. If you were a local it didn't matter. If from out of town and won, you were disqualified. Others had rules but lax or no enforcement. Pretty much an "anything goes" attitude. Then there are the issues of what is stock. Tire size, rim size, overbore, power blocks, replacement carburetor and manifolds, propane heads, cast wheels or steel, etc... Just a few issues we ran into 20 0r so years ago. I much prefer regulating tires, rpm and speed.
 
The club I pull with limits you to 15.5s max and no cut tires. We pull 3 mph, 18"high drawbar, 3" twist clevis,no weights behind rear tires and the only weights used on front of tractor have to be factory weights that was used at the period time the tractor was built.
 
Stock is just that....the way the tractor came from the factory, no mods whatsoever, no cut or larger tires, no weight placement other than factory . With these rules, it comes down to operator skill ...... we have seen almost every make or model of tractor win in its specific class.....it comes down to optimum weight, well tuned engine, proper drawbar position and how the operator uses all of these to his advantage while reading the track just right. Ben
 
I don't know any of these old tractor that haven't been rebuilt , rebored and returned to near stock but don't have the original horse power . do you have a dyno at these pulls for challenges to the winner on horsepower ?
 
Yes we do. If a tractor pulls substantially further than all others in the same class, it is dyno'ed.....it usually becomes obvious that some modifications have taken place. Ben
 
No, our club bought the old Ottpa sled and roller about 5 years ago. We are located in southern WV. We also pull at Mt. Empire and New River Valley clubs in Virginia. We all have the same rules and work together to avoid conflicting dates.
 
(quoted from post at 18:58:45 10/25/17) Exactly my point. What is "stock".

Generally speaking, I would venture a guess that 90% or more tractors from the 1950's have had engines overhauled at least once since then. As far as Farmalls are concerned, some of those tractors have likely had a overbore kit put in for a modest HP increase. Sometimes that includes higher compression pistons.
I've never pulled anywhere where that wouldn't pass for stock.
To me, there should be a line drawn somewhere. If you really want to hold people to "from factory stock", then you might have 1 tractor in that class. The tractor with a simple overbore in it wont even come close to a tractor that is truly enhanced/modified or whatever you want to call it. Those tractors are probably stroked, had machine work to fit much larger pistons in, all to get 100+ more cubes than just a stupid overbore kit. They also likely had a lot of head work done, sky high compression and need 100 octane gas.

I have never had the head off my SM, but I would bet $100 that it has an overbore kit in it. If I got kicked off the track for that, I wouldn't bother showing up because if I had to pull against actual enhanced tractors I would be 100+ feet behind them easily.
Of all the Farmalls I have had the head off of, I have only seen two with stock 3" pistons in it. I have never seen an H or M with stock from factory pistons.
 
I'd suggest looking around for Division 1: two and a half or three miles per hour, small tires, wheel weights only, and 16 inch hitch.
 
One last comment and I am done. One size does not fit all. Pulling a stock bore Farmall M against a super M and it is already a mis match. Not to mention pulling either against a 560. I expect you have some way of classing so a JD 70 with narrow 38 inch tires don't pull against a Minneapolis Moline GB with 18.4x34. I prefer to decide what class I pull. No overbore, power blocks, aftermarket carburetor, etc..seems like over limitation to me. We do whatever we want to engines and let the speed limits keep it equal. Thanks for your time
 
Yes, most antique pulls have morphed into those. The original intention of our pull was to provide another venue at the local fall fair, and for guys to get that dusty old tractor they never use out of the shed at least one day a year. Our pull has been replaced by a super stock pull with every type of tractor or truck modification available. It usually ends up with those having spent the most winning, but does draw several thousand spectators. The antique pullers we had have gone on to pull in competitions similar to the ones you describe. More action and fun I agree, but kinda miss the old days. Siggghh. Ben
 
Class 1 rules will be different depending where you live and pull. In our club its 1959 and older, 3 MPH first gear ( IH can use TA once) ,15.5 max on tires,10% over on RPM, 18" high drawbar, no weights behind rear wheels and only what was available from factory on front but can have belly and frame weights. I pull farmstock in Indiana but if go into Michigan I have to take barbell weights off and drop drawbar to 16".
a176357.jpg

a176360.jpg

a176361.jpg
 
I think clubs pay too much attention to engines. It doesn't really matter how much HP it has in a speed restricted pull of 3mph if it was actually measured.
 
Big horse power tractors with small tires in 3 MPH classes have trouble keeping tractor hook to track.
 
It seems that any motor sport eventually becomes a "cheating contest" for those at the top. Do you enjoy pulling for fun or is winning important to you? Building to win can get expensive.
 
Ask pullers what type of track they want to pull on and 98% will say a power track.

Get out on a loose low traction track, and the men are quickly separated from the boys. HP doesn't matter if you can't use it.

Speed of the tractor doesn't make much difference until you get above 12 mph or so. (My observation from the seat of the sled.)
 
I just looked at the nebraska test on the 1947 jda and the tire size was 11x38 which equats to 12.4x38
 

Moresmoke, I agree 100%!!!! on a power track, you can force those power boys down to 3 MPH, and they can still keep the sled moving on down the track after their RPMs get pulled down. Speed makes little difference. But, you put them on a soft track, that is where you even things out, because they can't use their power. I used to do pretty well with my slightly warmed up Ford when most tracks in the area were soft. Over the years a number of the soft tracks have had clay put on them to make the power boys happy. Now we have just a few soft tracks where I can still do well. The power boys love to agree with each other about how speed limits level the playing field. Sure, it does for them, but the stock or nearly stock tractor people are on a different level playing field a few floors down.
 
Every thing that pulls at our pulls is gasoline or LP and the club has tach and checks engine RPM. We allow 10% over in stock and 20% over in modified classes. In our area I don't know of any bodys tractor that is stock bored pulling tractor or not.
 
Lol, all my fs pullers were. Altho, most said otherwise. Last I knew, there's a bunch of strokers n non stock bores in fs in your club. Rpm checks? Right.
 

So many younger fellas have the $$$ and do not care about any rules they don't get caught breaking..( known no-a-days as "Fun")..

Those tractors are just like their automobile..just a TOY.

I am surprised not more are killed on their HotRod tractors..they are terribly unsafe operators..

I guess it makes them feel more "manly", is all I can see..
 
here's our tire size for the weight classes

2,750 - 3,000 - 3,500 - 4,000 LBS

14.9 MAX WIDTH UP TO 170 SQ IN

13.6 x 38 = 168 SQ IN

4,500 ? 5,000 LBS

16.9 MAX WIDTH UP TO 210 SQ IN

14.9 x 38 = 200 SQ IN

5500 -- 6,000 ? 7,000 LBS

18.4 MAX WIDTH UP TO 260 SQ IN

16.9 x 38= 252 SQ IN

8,000 ? 9,000 LBS

18.4 MAX WIDTH UP TO SQ IN

18.4 x 38 = 300 SQ IN

10,000 ? 11,000 ? 12,000 LBS

23.1 MAX WIDTH UP TO 420 SQ IN

20.8 x 38 = 352 SQ IN
 
CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE,NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL SPORT. Most problems come from clubs not enforcing the rules in place.
 
Every club is different ours is speed limited, 10% over stock hp, 1% over class weight. We can run up to 18.4 tires. The ones not following the rules really standout who are asked to weigh their tractors first thing after a win.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top