Fabrication and Color - The Antique Tractor Pull Guide · China that failed quickly. In talking with other pullers, many have had similar experiences and only swear by Firestone tubes.

Welcome to the Podium Premium Club! The technical information found at www.antiquetractorpullguide.com is like no other information out there. In depth explanation of the how and why of successful tractor pulling are designed to improve your performancedepth explanation of the how and why of successful tractor pulling are designed to improve your performance at the next tractor pull, while having more fun at the same time.

In an effort to speed up the project, the Massey Harris red and Straw Yellow were matched in powder coat. Even though the plan is to paint the chassis

Fabrication and Color

p g p pand various parts, simply cleaning and prepping the parts takes an enormous amount of time. Below is a picture of the parts before they went out for powder coating. This included all sheet metal, platform pieces, seat, steering supports, linkages, brackets, and fabrications such as wheelie bars. Depending on final color match the “A surface” or outer surface of the parts

b t d ith i t P d ti l t f ti b t thmay be over coated with paint. Powder coating saves a lot of time but the trade off is cost associated in the sandblasting service and powder. The turn around time to finish these parts was quick - less than a week.

©2014 by Zack Peterson and Podium Finish, LLC – www.antiquetractorpullguide.com 1

Fabrication and Color (cont)

These are how the parts looked after powder coating. It’s also a good idea to have parts done that may not be used on this exact project since the incremental cost is low. Notice there is an extra gauge panel in the picture above. The platform pieces were made out of aluminum diamond plate and once powder coated they look just like the steel originals. Powder

ti i l i t t d


coating is also wear resistant and well suited for the clutch and brake pedals.

These are the side panels for the hood and the smaller pieces that fit under the fuel tank.


Wheelie bars and rear bracket The wheelie bars bought from Duane Derringer in Lima, OH were meant to fit a square shaped Farmall axle. Unfortunately the Massey Harris axle housings

d th d th h li b h d t b t fit T t tare more round than square and the wheelie bars had to be custom fit. To start, instead of squeezing the bars to the axle with two large threaded rods, the wheelie bars were welded to flat stock and bolted to the top of the axle.


Top of wheelie bar welded to ½” thick flat stock. The clamping tube on the front side of the axle is also welded to the flat stock.


Next, some small tabs were cut and drilled to capture the ½” bolt holes in the mounting pads on either side of the axle. These tabs were bolted to the axle and then welded to the wheelie bar and front tube. This ensures strength

i t b di d l h l k th h li b f t i tiagainst bending and also helps keeps the wheelie bars from twisting. Eventually the heavy threaded rod will be added in the lower holes for ultimate strength.The wheelie bars provide a good mountinggood mounting area for the rear weight bracket. In trying to keep the design as light and as gsimple as possible, angle iron and flat bar stock were the only materials

d d I th

Notice incorporated support for the platform

needed. In the picture above, notice the pieces of angle iron on either wheelie bar angle platform.bar angle. These were bolted in place and the weight bracket was welded between


Mounting tab welded to the wheelie bar (bolt to axle removed).

the two. This also helps stabilize the wheelie bars.


The chassis paintAnd finally we have arrived at the moment when all of the hard work starts to look like something. The chassis was painted with Martin Senour Single Stage U th hi h lit i t th t ill l t f l tiUrethane, a higher quality paint that will last for a long time.

The chassis in olive drab colored etching primer.


Finished paint. Notice the hubs are painted Straw Yellow

Detailed Fabrication (cont)

This is what the finished chassis looks like.


Rear end view with the wheelie bars bolted in place and the weight bracket between them.

The engine painted black similar to the factory. Also, they say black is slimming.

The NW Fall National in Moses Lake, WA

This year’s NW Fall National pull in Moses Lake, WA had a lot of hype surrounding it. There have been several strong tractors that emerged this year and since this is the last pulling event of the season in the Northwest it was

i d t b d P ll f ll th i d d d Mpoised to be a good one. Pullers from all over the region descended on Moses Lake for the October 10,11, & 12 event put on by the Columbia Basin Antique Power Club. On a sad note, we lost one of our dearest pullers not two weeks before the pull, Jinny McMinimee from Outlook, WA. She was such a wonderful person and was a heck of a good driver Earlier in the year another one of the region’swas a heck of a good driver. Earlier in the year another one of the region s pullers, Al Gillman, passed away as well. This year’s Fall National featured a memorial pull honoring Al Gillman and Jinny McMinimee. Al Gillman pulled a Super 77 Oliver that was always tough in the 3mph classes. The special class was set at 4650# with a 3mph limit.The track this year was better than ever. Pull coordinator Mark Valentine spent most of the prior week prepping the indoor arena by adding water and packing in the surface. The result was more of a power track than has ever been seen before.


Hinton built Oliver tractors ready for action

The NW Fall National in Moses Lake, WA (cont)

In a race to finish the 101 Senior that fell short, the old stand by Twin Power was called upon once again to defend its titles at this pull. Every year the competition gets tougher and this year the different track conditions made thi i t ti Th T i P t d i th diff tthings even more interesting. The Twin Power was entered in three different classes – 3500# 4mph, 3500# 6mph and 4000# 4mph. Also, there is a 3750# King Of the Hill (KOH) class that this tractor is the 3 time defending champion. With two day combined total distances determining the overall weekend winner in each class, this is a big one.Here is a short summary of how the hooks went At 3500# the Massey 101Here is a short summary of how the hooks went. At 3500# the Massey 101 Twin Power doesn’t have any moveable weight and it’s natural balance has done well at most tracks. On a hard track like this one, it popped a huge wheelie in the 3500# 4mph class, ending up near the back of the pack. At 6mph it had a better hook, placing 3rd. In the 4000# 4mph class the hook was better, but still well off the podium in 7th place. It was disappointing at best since the 4000# 4mph class has traditionally been the bread and butter class for this tractor. The second day of competition was better but not stellar.


3500# 6mph hook


The 3750# KOHLast year the format was changed to crown the KOH winner. It’s not simply who has the longest hook, but the top 3 finishers must pull again and the two h k bi d di t d t i th i Thi t thook combined distance determines the winner. This puts extra pressure on each puller to bring their “A” game. It also takes a bit of the luck factor out of a single hook, forcing pullers to use their skill to repeat a good hook. This year the three top tractors all had a full pull in a field of 12 tractors. The Massey 101 happened to be the last tractor to make the pull off and joined Bryan Haithcox on his WD-45 and Luke Tevelde on his Allis D-14Haithcox on his WD 45 and Luke Tevelde on his Allis D 14.

Allis WD-45 Allis D-14

In order to win a class like this, especially in a pull off, it is the fine details that must be adjusted between hooks. This goes for any pull off. Once down the track you have a good idea of what to expect and if the tractor didn’t perform

ll it ld dj t t i d d F th 101 th f t das well as it could, some adjustment is needed. For the 101, the front end was just a tad light, not by much, but enough to make a difference in the pull off. I moved a 25# weight from the back of the tractor to the front weight bracket. This doesn’t seem like much of an adjustment, but it turned out to make the definitive difference. Since we all had a full pull the first trip down the track (250ft) it literally came down to a single hook to determine the


the track (250ft), it literally came down to a single hook to determine the winner. Luke pulled the D14 to 169ft, then Bryan pulled to 180ft. Right before I took off with the sled I looked up and said, “Jinny, I might need a little help with this one…” The ‘ol 101 put 6ft on Bryan to become a 4 time champion!


One other AWESOME experience was pulling Jim McMinimee’s Minneapolis Moline U in the 4500# class. The tractor won the over all prize for the weekend with a full pull each day. For full results, see www.antiquetractorpullguide.com.

Jim McMinmee’s Moline U Don Weil, Farmall 300

Bruce Bouwman, Farmall HRJ Rupard (14yrs old), JD 435 ,p ( y ),


Anna Hempel, Ford 840 Lamar Wolley, Oliver Super 77

A lesson in Tubes

Sometimes the lightest ideas aren’t the brightest. Below are pictures of one of the 15.5-38 tubes that I used in the Massey 101 Senior’s 18.4-38 tires. It failed in a blowout with only about 6 psi in the tube at the time. The lesson here? ONLY USE FIRESTONE TUBES Th t b h d iONLY USE FIRESTONE TUBES. These tubes were cheap ones made in China that failed quickly. In talking with other pullers, many have had similar experiences and only swear by Firestone tubes. Needless to say, I changed both of these tubes to Firestones in the proper size.

Not just a small hole


This time the pros handled the tube

change.

Coming up…I want to hear from you! If you have feedback, requests or information you g p

• Finishing details

• Farmall fabrication

, q ywould like featured, please send an email to: [email protected].

• Farmall fabrication

• The steering project

• And more…

November Newsletter available 11/26/14


Eddie Hadaller, MM GTB

Fabrication and Color - The Antique Tractor Pull Guide · China that failed quickly. In talking with other pullers, many have had similar experiences and only swear by Firestone tubes.

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