NW Fall National – Moses Lake, WA · NW Fall National – Moses Lake, WA ... – get over it and it’s possible to pick up speed and get out to the promise ... A spectacular full

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This was another great year at the NW Fall National tractor pull in Moses Lake, WA. The Columbia Basin Antique Power Association runs the most efficient pulls in the Northwest with a fantastic sled furnished by Mark Valentine. This year again was an especially good year for the Massey 101 as it underwent some exercises in losing weight before the pull. The goal was to make the 3500# class. In order to lose enough weight, the factory hubs were removed and a set of CAP Bros hubs were installed – easily within in minutes I might add. This saved roughly 50# total. Then, the PTO and front drive shaft were removed, which was about 75#. At this point I knew it might be close to make the weight with me on the seat (~160#).

NW Fall National – Moses Lake, WA

Easy way to remove a hub – hydraulically

Cap Bros Hub Original MH Hub


NW Nationals (cont)

The drive up the Columbia River Gorge was beautiful on Thursday the 3rd of October. Friday morning I weighed in with the tractor stripped of all weights and the front weight bracket removed. It was 3520# with me on it. At the Columbia Basin pulls there is a 40# allowance in all classes, which was implemented with the firm rules on wheelie bars required in all classes. So with this allowance, I made the 3500# class…barely. What happened next was probably the most amazing thing ever. For the first time I am not only going to share the results, but my exact thought process as the pull was happening. Read on…

Never revealed until now

So let’s pick it up here. I sat on the scale looking at the total weight of the tractor with me on it – 3520#. It was so neat that I took a picture of it, a great way to record weight from the seat. In fact, I do this almost always when driving over the scale, but first snapping a picture of the front wheel weight before I drive all the way on. This way I can get a weight percentage of front end weight relative to the overall weight of the tractor. With no movable weight at 3500#, I would simply have to roll with it. On a side note, sometimes if I’m hurried on the scale or don’t have the camera in my hand, I will immediately park the tractor after driving off the scale. From there, I will get my camera out, scratch down the numbers in the dirt and take a picture of it. Either way, I have the weight numbers recorded.

ExampleClass (3750)

Front Weight

(1320)

Total Weight (3790)

Percentage = 35%


NW Nationals (cont)

The “roll with it” percentage for the 3500# bare weight was 33%. This is what I had to work with in both the 3500# 4mph and 3500# 6mph classes. Here is a really good tip that I tell people often – the first hook on the track I consider a “test hook”. Yes, I know it’s for all the marbles, but my thought process is that if you have a learning hook in a lighter class, it tells SO much about track conditions, weight balance and tires. You can then take this knowledge and dial things in for your “bread and butter” class at a heavier weight. Remember, it’s almost impossible to win a tractor pull every time you hook, so my philosophy is to learn first, dial in and hope to do better in the next hook. Historical data from year’s past will also help, especially on first hooks, but track conditions, sled settings, weather, etc. can make things interesting.

The next step was to walk the track. Mark Valentine is an excellent track builder. He did a very good job of working up, smoothing out and packing in the indoor arena at the Grant County Fairgrounds this year. The track appeared hard on top, but watching the classes before me would tell a lot about how it would pull. What I especially look for in tracks is if there are any humps, soft spots or preferred lines. This is where experience tends to take over in what you see. For this track, I saw a fairly consistent surface, although about midway through I could tell there was a slight hump which is typical for many indoor horse arenas. Historically this hump has been there – get over it and it’s possible to pick up speed and get out to the promise land. Furthermore, after each hook in this track a roller is used to pack in the surface behind the float tractor. Near the end of the track is where the roller has driven over it many more times – make it to this point and you’re ensured a full pull. In reading the track and then watching the tractors in the lighter classes, I knew about where to set my 15.5-38 Firestone 151’s for the track – 10psi. The first hook would be a tell all, both on balance and tires.Alright, so 33% is what I had to work with. The Massey 101 is an easy tractor to balance. And by the way, 33% is a good number for the 101 and remember weight percentages do vary with wheelbase length for other makes and models.So how did the first ever hook at 3500# go?


NW Nationals (cont)

A spectacular full pull. It was one of those magical hooks that we all dream about. It turns out 33% for the Massey 101 was about right, although the front end was in the air higher than it should have been at the finish. I spun out on the harder surface past the full pull marker. After unhooking from the sled I pulled forward, stopped and looked back at the tracks in the dirt. The 10psi looked alright out in that area, but I would have to check it again further back in the looser dirt. For the 2nd hook on the day I simply came around for the 6mph class, threw it in 2nd gear and poured the coals to it. The Chrysler 265 flathead is outclassed at 6mph, even at 3500#. It just doesn’t have the power to spin out in 2nd gear, but with a decent balance and steering for the softer spots in the track, it did alright. After that hook I again looked at the tire marks in the softer ground. They looked flat, so it was onto the next class.

In considering the wheelie pulled in the 3500# class, as I weighted up for the 3750# KOH a little more weight was added to the front end – a 1270/3780 split for a 33.6% balance.Not only did this work, but worked very well. This year the rules changed

slightly for the King Of the Hill classes in that the top 3 hooks in the class would have a pull off with the two distances added to determine the winner. This is actually quite interesting since it gives a chance for adjustment. The 101 had another stellar hook, finishing 1st the first go around. In the pull off, I chose not to make any adjustments to the tractor, only making the decsion to try a different driving line in the track. I tried to straddle existing lines to find harder ground and it worked, barely. The tractor again finished ahead of the competition by 3ft on the second go around and was crowned 3750# King Of the Hill for the 3rd year in a row. As with all pulls, I consider them a learning experience and I was deeply humbled to have won the class again, especially with the growing difficulty in competition.


NW Nationals (cont)

For the 4000# 4mph class, the tractor was weighted up accordingly to exactly the same weight balance of 33.6%. The splits were 1350/4020. Not only does this take the guess work out of the weight balance for the next class, it also makes it less critical to remember where certain weights are on each weight bracket. In other words, it doesn’t matter which weights go where, it only matters what the overall weight percentage splits are for the class. Still, I always take pictures of the weights on the brackets just to make sure I have the setup fully recorded. This class proved even more critical because I tried a special trick that paid off big time.In one of the 3500# hooks I had drifted to the left side of the track. In watching other tractors in the ensuing classes, anytime a tractor was on the left side of the track it tended to drift left toward the boundary. Since few tractors had gone down the extreme left side of the track, I thought it was worth a try. In order to safeguard the possibility of running out of bounds, I decided to try a weighting trick.

The TrickWhile in line at the sled I made the decision to move one 100# weight from right to left. This loads the left wheel a little more, giving that side just a little bit more traction. In the 4000lb 4mph class I steered to the left and ran the sled about 3ft from the left hand boundary line. Where the tractor had drifted left before, it now walked dead straight down the track. This hook ended in another spectacular full pull. In other words, the call I had to made to safeguard the sideline was the right call. This was Friday afternoon at the pull and by the evening, I could hardly believe the success the ‘ol Massey was having once again – two full pulls, a 2nd, and a KOH win. Paying attention to the fine details certainly paid off. On the Saturday the pull resumed with the 4500# class and went all the way through the order.


NW Nationals (cont)

The TreatWith no scheduled hooks on Saturday for the Massey 101, I got the opportunity to pull a different tractor in the 4750# KOH class. It was Diane Valentine’s Ford 840. This tractor is one I’ve pulled against many times in the past and this year the tractor was totally rebuilt front to back. With big tires and lots of power it was a real treat and honor to be able to take a trip down the track on it.

To the right is a picture of Diane Valentine on her Ford 840. With Mark Valentine’s help, we set up the tractor for the 4750# KOH class. The tractor features a 4 speed transmission with a Sherman combo – a total of 12 forward gears. For this class Mark

recommended 3rd gear low range, which seemed to be a good match for the 4mph speed limit. The tractor’s 275 cubic inch engine also had plenty of power in that gear, easily spinning the 18.4-38 tires to a stop. Although I didn’t make it to the pull off for the KOH crown, I smiled ear to ear the whole way down the track. What a great experience.The rest of the day I spent helping the Columbia Basin club run the pull. This year we adapted the single sign-up sheet we used down at the Benton County Fair pull in the spring. In past years, pullers filled out a paper for each class registered, which was a tedious process. This year, numbers were assigned to each tractor, similar to the Tunica Southern Nationals. Using the tractor number to drive registration pullers used the single sign-up sheet to choose classes for each tractor, similar to choosing items on a menu at a restaurant. The information was filled in about the tractor, then they circled classes they wished to enter from the “menu”. They were allowed 3 hooks per day plus a bonus to enter a King of the Hill class. This sign-up system was well received


NW Nationals (cont)

by the pullers in attendance and seemed to alleviate the tedious task of writing information multiple times. Changes like this are an iterative process that may need tweaking over the course of several pulls. There were several opportunities identified to improve the process further. Ultimately, the club would like to arrive at an electronic registration format and also streamline the recording and result reports. There are club members investigating software to do this. My goal was to make it easier for the pullers to register, easier for the people behind the scenes to record, and faster to publish results. The new system took some getting used to but overall worked very well.

One of the other things that I look forward to is announcing at the pull. With the help behind the scenes on registration, the master book of tractors listed by numbers proved easy to reference for the announcer during the pull. For me, getting to announce is a fun part of the pull that I really enjoy.

Here’s one other thing I love to see – pullers helping pullers. To the right is a picture of Russell Gourleyon his Oliver 88. He had been fighting ignitions problems with the tractor for some time. The tractor would pull strong and then shut itself off halfway down the track. In switching ignition coils and a few minor adjustments, the tractor was running like a top for the 2nd day of competition. It took a few heads together to pin down the problem, but it got resolved.


NW Nationals (cont)

Pictures from the pull. For more photos and full results from the pull, visit the photo gallery at www.antiquetractorpullguide.com.


NW Nationals (cont)

The Sunday pull is the 2nd go around of competition. There is a two day combined total distance award for all regular classes. With many sponsors for the event, the ribbons and trophies awarded at this pull are top notch. With the knowledge of the first day in the books, it was easier to gauge the set up for the Massey 101 on the 2nd day. It again did very well.One other thing that I love about this pull is the “destination” of it. During the pull and in the evenings there is so much time to chat with fellow pullers and discuss things around pulling. It’s just a great time that is thoroughly enjoyed.

And finally, it wouldn’t have been a trip without visiting Doug D’Avis’ parts yard. This time I came back with a Massey Harris 44 rear end (just to have) and a pair of wheels and tires. The wheel centers aren’t in very good condition, but the tires are a usable pair of unmarked 18.4-38’s that are hard from years in the sun. The rims are a perfect 16” wide set. The centers will be removed and likely receive a set of CAP Bros centers similar to the Chrysler powered Massey 101. Since I brought back a set of 16.9-38 BFG’s from that area last spring, I now have two possible tire options for the Massey 101 Senior once it’s together. I call it the “puller collecting”. Folks who collect tractors look for tractors. Pullers are collectors also – of engines and tires. You can build just about anything around engines and tires, so always keep this in mind no matter where your travels take you.


NW Nationals (cont)

The deepest honor

At the Sunday morning driver’s meeting there is a special award given out that was started a few years ago. This award was created by Jim & JinnyMcMinimee and is called the “Can of Whoop Ass” award. The purpose of the award is to recognize a certain puller for their character, attitude, enthusiasm, dedication, and so on. The physical award looks like a red oil can that is labeled as a can of “Whoop Ass”. The ingredients are Hot Air, Leather, and Attitude, Attitude, Attitude. Inside the can is a prize as well, different for every person who wins the award.

This year the award was given to me. I was actually quite surprised and it caught me off guard. They stated it was for “Boundless enthusiasm and knowledge brought to our sport.” I was deeply moved by this honor. In fact, after the driver’s meeting I went out to the parking lot for several minutes to reflect on the award and think about the things I have worked on in the past few years. It makes every late night typing, hours of research, skinned knuckles, set backs, agony of defeat, and successes all worth it. My goal all along has been to strengthen antique pulling through demonstration and I believe it’s starting to make a difference. Tractor pulling folks are some of the best folks in the world to be around, and that is what is so motivating for me.

When it was all said and done, the NW Fall National pull had almost 70 tractors registered and almost 400 recorded hooks over the three day pull. For full results, pictures and videos of the action, check the galleries on the website.


Project Update – Massey 101 Senior

The good news to report is that the gear assembly this month in the Massey 101 Senior project has made some headway. Using the I&T manual, the ring and pinion were set with proper backlash. Here are some photos showing the clean parts and some of the assembled components.

Differential laying in the bottom of the case

Bull gear pinions with new bearings Differential carrier bearing cups

Look close – 9 tooth fast pinion gear


Coming next month…

� Big carbs for big cubes

� The rolling chassis

� Tunica pep rally

� And more…

I want to hear from you! If you have

feedback, requests or information you

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email to:

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November issue will be available 11/27/13

Left to Right: 3750# KOH Trophy, 2 Day win clock trophies (3500# 4mph, 4000# 4mph), 1st place individual day ribbons, 2nd place individual day ribbons,

2nd place overall ribbon (3500# 6mph), Can of Whoop Ass (sitting on top)

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NW Fall National – Moses Lake, WA · NW Fall National – Moses Lake, WA ... – get over it and it’s possible to pick up speed and get out to the promise ... A spectacular full