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Who all pulls with antique tractors?

24K views 62 replies 26 participants last post by  snoxrider85 
#1 ·
I hooked for the first time ever today with my oliver 77. I went 189.22 ft I dont think that was too bad for a fully stock tractor when most are set up for pulling. I feel that I could have gone at least10ft more by dropping the pressure in the tires by 5psi.
 
#3 ·
I will post some pics tomorow.
 
#5 ·
I pull an antique John Deere 720 Diesel. I have only had one hook this year, but for the last 7 years I've done at least 15 pulls/30+ hooks per year. It's just as addictive as the diesel trucks. That Oliver 77 will make a real good puller with a little work!
 
#7 ·
We pull a WD-45 for about the last 5 years. It is a great tractor, but get tired off pulling against 6 cylinder, 500+ cubes Minneapolis Molines. One thing to remember, don't go to low on tire psi as it can actually have a negative affect on traction. To low of psi will actually cup middle of the tire yielding less traction! Good-luck!

Reuben
 
#8 ·
my other bro "95babystroker" pulls i attend some of the local pulls. I love it always wanted to enter my IH 856 but never have.
 
#9 ·
I pull the antiques. Here is a list of tractors that I pull out of the barn to play with.

Oliver 88, gas- 4300 lbs (this one is hard to beat)
Oliver 88, diesel- 5200lbs
Minneapolis Moline U, lp converted to gas (have to run race fuel)- 6400lbs
Minneapolis Moline GB propane- 6700lbs
IH 560, diesel - newest one, don't know weight yet
Farmall M, gas- 4800 lbs
John Deere 70

These are the most competitive tractors on the farm. We have 20+ more antiques of all brands and sizes. Most of the pulls I go to are percentage pulls and not distance pulls because all of our tractors are stock with pulling hitches.
 
#10 ·
I pulled our 1939 Farmall M one year and did fine. Had two sets of rear weights on it. That thing would push great and pull just as good. Usually has a loader on it.
 
#11 ·
heres my tractor, 1952 oliver 77 rowcrop gas
 
#13 ·
What size tires Deereman? I would probably start with 6-8 lbs. of air. Deereman......Oliver? :confused::confused::poke:
 
#22 ·
The tires are 15.5 by 38 and they are on cast iron rims.

Yeah I am a big John Deere fanatic. but me and my dad don't agree on which is best(Case IH vs JD) so we kind a found a middle ground a tractor that has green yellow and red on it.haha Really we got this tractor for a nice little project since it was cheap($200) but it was more than we could handle so we had the engine rebuilt by one guy and another guy wired it and painted her up nice. I really like that tractor, and I'm never going back to 2 cylenders unless it is a diesel.
 
#14 ·
I pulled for about ten years, I attached a couple of pics. The first is of me loaded up to go to a pull a few years ago. The two on the front were the pullers, both G JD's. I temporarily retired last year when I lost the motor in both of them at the same pull. The one on the front busted the block, the other one broke the crank. The other pic is of the broken crank.

Justin
 

Attachments

#16 ·
Wow, I believe I would temporarily retire too after losing two motors at the same pull. I don't belive I have ever seen anything break on the antiques at the pulls I attend, other than the occasional clutch that slips or JD tractor that pops out of gear.
 
#19 ·
Yeah it's a 730 gas. It would have no chance because the engine is stock...gotta have some pretty good hp to run around here. We've got several more that me and Dad (mostly Dad) have collected over the years, but we try to leave them original.

Justin
 
#20 ·
That makes sense the gassers just don't seem to have it like a diesel when they are stock, but they seem to get power out of them after they build them up.
 
#23 ·
What do yall think about a 766 with a 466 engine with a 3LM466 turbo along with upgrades?
 
#25 ·
99binder on here is putting a 05 CR cummins in a 706 for a 10 mph class around here......... :D

My uncle pulls a pretty nice Super 77, runs on race gas. I pulled grandpas 620 a few times when I could still walk.
 
#27 ·
So my 4300 lb Oliver 88 should run only 4-5 lbs?

There is a lot more to it than that. I run 12lbs in that tractor because any less than that it will flip the tread and spin out way to soon. There are other factors to consider too. On a very hard clay track with a lot of bite, you should run a little more pressure. Loose tracks require less air pressure for better traction. Sharpness of the bars, how hard or soft the tires are, weight of the tractor, and size of the tires are all things to consider when thinking about air pressure.

I used to run 6-8 lbs whenever I went pulling and I couldn't compete. Now I run anywhere from 10- 14lbs and I am much more competitive. That Oliver always takes 1st or 2nd unless I drive it into a hole. These tracks around here though are typically like pulling on asphalt. Usually leave black marks in the dirt.
 
#28 ·
The best way to find what tire pressure works for you is pull and look at where you spin out. If it's not perfectly flat across, you need to adjust air pressure. If it "cups" or doesn't dig as deep in the middle, add air. If it's deeper in the middle, let air out. I usually ran 15-16 lbs. in the 5500 lb. class. A lot depends on your tires, rim width, and how much pulldown the sled puts on you.

Justin
 
#31 ·
well i was told that from a long time puller and tried it and it works great for me, gets a good bite and wrinkle. i run about 5psi in my 4000 ford w/ 16.9x30's. and my buddy w/ an 11k lbs profarm runs 11-12 in it, its around 700hp.
 
#32 ·
we pull a IH 460 with all alunimum wheeels runing off c-16 race fuel. it possibly might be for sale
 
#33 ·
I got JD 70 gas that i pull in the 6500 and 7500 lbs antique and farm classes. I personally don't think that tires really matter, just run about 10-12 psi every track is different, sometimes you do good sometimes you suck, its all about the track you can't base your pressure or set up on what the track looks like or what other pullers have to say, each tractor, each tire, and each pull is different from the last. you just need to trial and error until you find a place you are happy with, then don't vary your settings very much, you can do little things so cheap on old tractors and you can try many simple changes to tires, gas, engine, weight balance, anything you just need to try new things each pull and then figure out for sure about ho you want to run them.
 
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