THE TRACTORS

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MINI MODIFIED A CLASS

 

Little Dan

It was in early 2001 when the Desperate Dan Team started to discuss getting a minipuller for Brian’s son Rob to run. After some discussions with the USA, and other pulling friends, Brian and Karl were on the look out for anything that would get us started.
In 2002 we found out the Lambada Team had their old Lambada V chassis for sale, so at the 2002 EC at Bakel one of Brian’s deals was done! We took home with us a chassis, diff, fuel tanks and front wheels.
Then a Motor was needed; the spare motor for Desperate Dan was fitted, the chassis was of course sprayed yellow, a gear box was purchased from the USA and it was all put together- plus all the “little bits” were done! Believe you me- that may not have sounded like much work but it was! Even with 25 years tractor pulling experience within the team we still encountered some problems… Then we needed to convert the trailer to take another tractor, so the living quarters were shrunken down in order to make space for the mini. Rob’s first pull was at Great Eccleston 2003 in July. Early Sunday morning it was decided that he should have a trial run, so as the mini sledge was there we tried out the tractor early Sunday before anyone was on the show field. And it worked! The rest is History as they say… Later that day he jack-knifed it, and at the EC in Finland later that year we achieved 5th place with Robs 3rd ever pull. The tractor has developed a lot since then, with the best result of 2005 at the Eurocup in Putten, where Rob achieved a 2nd place. The Little Dan Team is made up of Rob Armistead, Jack Hull, Michael Bell, Hayley Parkinson and Andy Richardson. The "old" Supercharger of the top motor of Desperate Dan has now been fitted to Little Dan for 2006. Also over the winter months Little Dan has had some new Chassis rails fitted and then the whole tractor has had a respray, but of course its still the good old Yellow.

Dealer & Gambler

The Dealer team got started back in the mid eighties, I was in the yard I rented off a local farmer when appeared two chaps to rent the building aside of me. They wanted the building to store their Tractor Puller called ‘Headache’ which was a modified machine with two comma two stroke engines, started by a motorcycle engine. This seems mad I thought, best go and have a look- so off we went to the Royal Show to have a look at this sport. Whilst I was there I saw the mini pullers and thought I could build one of those, so off to the breaker I went and came back with a Rover V8 and dumper axle and from there made my first puller Hangover. I attended our first event at Santa Pod Raceway and embarrassingly went nowhere! From our first event it was a steep learning curve with probably a few more embarrassing moments along the way. After a few years of fun with the mini we purchased a half share in a tractor called Hot Pot; a Continental powered machine built by the Bicanicz brothers Roger and David. The tractor was always reliable and gave us many years of competitive fun in the lower powered machine division, pulling in what then was the 7000lb, 9000lb and often the 12000lb class. With only two tractors in the latter we had to come third! Hereafter there were a number of other mini projects. Mr Magoo with the rear engine set up is still on the track today running competitively with my nephew Tommy Pacey. Also I had a notable dabble with a twin Rover V8 set up which was fondly known as Double Trouble which some may remember. Then came the Dodgey Dealer which was a 440 chrysler powered machine, a lot of which resembles the Nat Attack which is seen at pulls in the UK. I have also had a lot involvement in my brother’s tractor Red Rooster, which is powered by a 451 cubic inch Chrysler. This has recently won the British Championship for the past 2years. The Dealer, our current tractor, was born after having a chat with Jaco from The Little Rascal Team in Holland, they advised us that a mini puller called Little Bandit was for sale from Johnny Kraii. After a number of phone conversations and a few photos later we were off for Holland with trailer in tow to view the mini. What can I say, I did a few impressive spins round the paddock with just a blip of the throttle and even better the missus thought it looked quite pretty and the colour of the mini would go well with the horsebox. A deal was done. Our hope was to have a go at the Eurocup and see how we faired. First event in 2002 took us to Denmark where we achieve an 8th place. This result put us somewhere midfield and for a first go we were more than happy with that. In 2003 we upgraded to a 520 cubic inch chevy, this was to be a great year obtaining a 3rd in Putten and a 1st in Denmark. This therefore meant we were leading the Mini Eurocup series, up until the last event at Bettborn. Alas it was not to be as both The Dealer and Lambada ended on equal points at the end of this event. But with Lambada taking the win on the day meant we had to be content with 2nd place in the Eurocup. In 2004 we were invited to attend Ahoy where The Dealer showed a very promising run but unfortunately the blower belt broke towards the end of the pull leaving us just short of the full pull. This meant going home with a 4th place. 2004 wasn’t the best Eurocup series as our chances were dashed when we got disqualified in Denmark after clipping the chalk line. This really left us out of contention for 2004.
In 2005 we achieved a 3rd in Bernay, 5th in Putten (out of 26 in the class!) and 3rd in Denmark, this again put us in 2nd place in the Euro cup championship. The Dealer has now had an engine transplant for 2006, now powered from a 588cui Donovan Chevrolet motor. The Gambler, the team’s second tractor, was assembled in 2005 in partnership between ourselves and mechanic Dob. The tractor pulled well in 2005 but had teething problems which we hope to sort out for this season. The Gambler will be having an engine transplant this season from The Dealer, so will run a 520cui Chevy. Many thanks to all the people who help with the tractors, and to Simon at Automotive Services for his continued support.
The Dealer and The Gambler will be competing again in the Eurocup series for 2006, again campaigned by Mark Pacey, his wife Mel and daughter Elise, and their mechanic Dob Wykes.

Red Rooster

Crystal Spirit

The chassis of the 2005 spec Crystal Spirit was imported from the USA in 1995, although several changes of engine, gearbox and rear axle have gone on since then. The last three years have certainly been Alan’s most successful in his long Tractor Pulling career, with a number of first and second places, including the 1050kg A-Class Championship 2005. The engine uses a 511cui Rodeck Block (aluminium Chevy copy). The supercharger is a 14-71 Littlefield blower, purchased together with the fuel system from Alan’s good friend and European Top Alky drag racing champion Dave Wilson. Alan estimates the engine produces somewhere in the region of 1700hp! The team are hoping to have the same success with a new tractor that they are currently putting together ready for the start of the season. The team consists of Alan and his wife Tina, and his friends Dave Wilson, Tony Roots and Mark Chapman

 

 

Stardust

 


UNDER 401 PROSTOCK
 

Under Pressure

George Davies, from Builth Wells in Wales, has been campaigning Ford 9600 Pullers for a few years now. Together with assistance from his family crew, Caryl-Anne, Rosie and Billy, George had a good season last year with the tractor running better than ever. He was pleased with the good pulls he enjoyed all over the country, and expresses his thanks to the Scottish and Irish promoters for their invitations and hospitality at their events. For next season George is aiming to have a new tractor out on track in the over 401cui Prostock Class. A lot of hard work ahead of him, George is collecting the parts together at the moment, and aiming to have the new machine out on the track by the start of the season.

Interrygator

Interrygator was built in 2004 with the help of George Davies, and after many teething problems it competed in Carmarthen, Yeovil and Great Eccleston in 2005. In his first year Terry came 6th out of the 13 tractors in his class in the British Championships. Interrygator is an International 1055 competing in the under 401 unlimited producing around 500hp. Barry and Liz came up with the name and designed the logo for Interrygator.

Mean & Green

Mean n Green is a Deutz D8006 based Prostock which produces approximately 500hp, owned and driven by Peter George from Wiltshire. Peter is a machine operator for RAF Lynham, who has been pulling since 2002. The tractor went very well through the 2005 season, where a newly fitted turbo certainly showed an improvement. Unfortunately the team were unable to travel to the Great Eccleston Show, which reflected in the end of season results. As for 2006 there are no major plans to develop the tractor, although there are plans for major improvements for the 2007 season. Peter also had his first run on a modified this season, driving John Summers’ T~55 to a 2nd place in Yeovil.

SuperSonic & Skipper

The original tractor was built in 1952, and Steve acquired the tractor in 1997 from Turnham Bros, and it was known then as the “Astwell Agrivator”. By 1997 the tractor had been transformed into Skipper and first pulled in 1998. The transformation took approximately 550-600 hours, so a lot of hard work went into the restoration! After only one season pulling with the BTPA, Skipper gained a 3rd place in the British 4.5t Prostock Championships. The class structure within the BTPA then changed slightly to allow the under 401cuin tractors to pull in a class of their own. Since the introduction of the under 401cu class Skipper driven by Steve Mason took part in the British Championships. In recognition of Steve’s success, Skipper qualified to go to Fuchtorf in Germany to compete in the 2004 European Championships. He made history when he travelled to Germany, as this was the first time a Major was allowed to pull in Europe. The tractor provoked a huge amount of interest and Skipper put on a tremendous performance. Skipper also took part in the 2005 European Championships in Blackpool, putting on an excellent display considering the major has considerable less power than the other tractors in the class. 2005 was another very successful season for Skipper gaining 1st place in the British Championships in the under 401cu in class and a reputable 15th at the European Championships. Team members include Steve (driver), his wife Helen and two daughters Christina and Victoria. The whole family travel to every event to support Skipper and enjoy the weekends together. We live in Pembrokeshire in West Wales and have been pulling for 7 years. Steve together with his cousin Alun put on a Tractor Pulling Event in June in Carmarthen as part of the British Championships.

Major Madness

One of the new pullers on the track in 2005 was John Orwin, campaigning a new build, ‘Major Madness.’ Based up north in Lancashire, John has been a Tractor Pulling spectator for a number of years, before making the decision to build a tractor and take part. He had more than his fair share of problems at his first event, cooking the clutch and blowing the head gasket at the Eccleston Show. Yeovil showed some more promise though, with the motor certainly showing some good potential for 2006!

Hill Billy

Scotch Mist

Scotch Mist is a Massey Ferguson 699 under 401 cui Prostock, owned & driven by Andy Wallace from Longside ( Near Peterhead ). Andy has run the machine for the last 8 years, where previous owners included Mike Simmons and the late Euan Rugg.
The tractor has been a top Scottish Prostock for many years and the current champion at 3.5t & 4.5t classes. Winner of 6 Scottish titles in 4 years, the peak season was 2003 when Scotch Mist won the Scottish Superstocks as well as winning both Prostock classes. The team’s aspirations for 2006 include retaining the Scottish titles, gaining more rpm and meeting Steve Mason’s Skipper at the British finals.

Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction is based on a Massey-Ferguson 399 model and competes in the Pro-Stock Class of the BTPA.
The Team is headed by Graham Ward – the main driver, who competes in Points and Championship Rounds. For demo pulls it is driven by Dawn Evans, who has gained a lot of experience in the 2 years she has been driving. Gary Ward is the technical guy in the background doing a lot or running around in the pits, keeping a check of how the tractor is balanced, because nearly every track is different. Paul Evans also runs around doing various jobs and is in charge of photos and videoing our pulls. The winter months of 2005/6 will see a vast difference with new chassis, front axle roll cage and maybe new panel work!

Herbie

Big Smoke

 


OVER 401 PROSTOCK
 

Simply Red

We had a bad start to the season but with a new engine fitted we started to feel our way and the results we got were more than we expected for the 2006 season. There will be some small changes for the 2007 season. We have built up a large stock of spares to keep us running. We still are on a fast learning curve and need to take our time to learn what changes to make for the best. The tractor is owned and run by J L Racing the team consists of John Eccles (Joint Owner) Alistair Parkinson and new man Richard Scott with help and support from Lorena Eccles (Joint Owner) and Lisa Parkinson.

The team would like to thank all there sponsors

 Kiernan Construction ltd, Inglenorth ltd, LIJ Hydraulics and Finnings UK

We would also like a big thanks to Karl Carter the big man himself Brain Armistead, We would have struggled without there help this year also a special thank to the original builder of simply red Dave Powell without his help we would have taken a lot longer to get back out after the engine failure thanks Dave for giving your expertise so willingly.   

JBJ Express

2005 has been a very successful year for the JBJ Express Team, in that they have managed to overcome the engine reliability and configuration issues that have been experienced in previous years. The first pull of 2005 for the team was at Carmarthen in Wales. At this event the team quickly learned that the changes that had been made over 2004/05 winter had made a significant improvement in the performance of the tractor. The changes included a new set of fuel injectors and a new cylinder head. Unfortunately during the pull at Carmarthen the tractor got out of shape at around 65m which resulted in a blown turbocharger, 2 bent front wheels and a bent steering rack. During the pull at the Great Eccleston Show, the team was back with a new slightly different turbocharger, during the initial pull the tractor got to around 50m at which point the boost fell away. With a chance to come back for testing, the team returned to the pits and changed the turbocharger, during the second pull the tractor made a much better pass getting to around 95 m with the speed to go further but unfortunately the tractor went out of bounds. Following the pull at Great Eccleston the team just missed out on a 3rd place at Yeovil due to the loss of a weight. With an invitation to the EC’s at Great Eccleston, the team achieved 13th place out of 21 tractors in competition and finished 2nd out of the 6 British Pro-Stock tractors in competition. At the January 2006 BTPA AGM meeting the JBJ Express team were also very pleased to receive a trophy for the best turned out tractor of 2005. The team consists of the following 3 members, Wayne Davey, James Bray and Caroline Matthews. The JBJ Express tractor pulling team was formed in 1999 when Wayne purchased the tractor from Scottish puller Billy Walker who now runs Judgement Deere. For the 2006 season the team is planning to spend time lightening the tractor up to allow more weight to be put forward. During the 2005 season the team struggled to balance the tractor. The team will also be looking at changes in the gearbox to increase the number of usable pulling gears for the 2006 season.

Trail 'n' Error

Trial n Error is the John Deere machine of the Peaslake Tractor Pulling Team from Surrey. Driven by Agricultural Mechanic Mark Edgington, the tractor has given a great deal of grief during 2005, having attended Carmarthen and Great Eccleston Show. Everything points to lack of oil somehow, repeatedly wrecking shells and damaging crankshafts. The team are puzzled, but working hard to find out what the problem has been. Hopefully it can shortly be found and rectified, allowing Trial n Error to go back to its previous successful ways for the 2006 season.

Ice Bear & Baby Baby

I think the conversation went something like ‘we have this tractor that we pull things with, do you want to look after it?’  That was six seasons ago now and I am still well and truly hooked on the sport.  The ‘Bear Essentials’ Prostock Tractor Pulling Team is the name for our little venture. In 1996/7 Mike Simmons in conjunction with the then MD of Valmet Tractors UK Limited decided to put together a Valmet based Prostock tractor puller.  Mike has been pulling for longer than most can remember and used to own the Massey Ferguson ‘Hit ‘n Miss’ that now runs in Scotland as ‘Scotch Mist’.  The project, christened Ice Bear, hit the British circuit in 1997.  Over the next few seasons Ice Bear established itself as a very competitive machine claiming 5 championships in 7 years and a third at the EC’s at Great Eccleston in 1998. In 2004 we were British Champions again and managed a 6th place in the Eurocup.  In addition we invested in a lorry and trailer for the team.  This year Gareth Jones has achieved his goal and managed to build the second tractor, Baby Bear, that forms the newly named Bear Essentials Pulling Team.  Once again we are on the Eurocup trail and trying to get two competitive tractors running.  Many hours hard work are still in front of us but we are all still fully committed to this crazy sport. In 2000 a colour change to red was decided and in I came as team manager.  The signs were not good as we proceeded to blow the motor up on a regular basis for the rest of the year!!  A visit to the Sisu Diesel engine factory in Finland and some redesigned parts offered us a competitive package for 2001.  Unfortunately the Foot & Mouth outbreak put paid to all domestic pulling that season but we did run at the EC’s in Sweden. More work was done in 2002 to improve performance and we decided to take the plunge in 2003 and compete in the Eurocup competition travelling abroad to compete for the first time on a regular basis.  Many thanks to John Cox for transporting us around during these years. We decided to update the panel work on the tractor to the latest Valtra S Series model and arrived at Bernay in France with a new look tractor and not really knowing what to expect.  After a very steep learning curve we managed to achieve some good pulls in what was becoming a highly competitive class.  Many Super Stock tractors had been down rated to Prostocks and we were still trying to up rate from a base tractor.  Our year resulted in an 8th place in the Eurocup and a 5th at the EC’s in Finland.

 

The Viking

JustaFORDable

Rough Justice

Rough Justice, a Case IH 3688 Prostock forms part of the Peaslake Tractor Pulling Team, based in Surrey. The tractor is driven by Martin and Ted Nicholson. Martin, having driven the tractor for many years campaigns the machine on the Eurocup circuit, whereas his son Ted participated for the first time in the British Championship in 2005, finishing in Runner-Up position. ‘Driving the tractor in 2005 has certainly been a steep learning curve’ explains Ted, ‘and I am hoping that with a little experience behind me, 2006 will give me a chance to really get to grips with the tractor.’ On the European level, Rough Justice was 7th at the European Championships in Gt. Eccleston; with the best Eurocup position being a 4th place at Made in the Netherlands. 2006 will see the machine in almost the same guise as at the end of last season. Having dialled in a Sigma injection pump at the end of 2005, the team are hoping to see the benefits as the new season gets underway.

Super Toy

 


LIMITED MOD

 

Little John

 

Thunderchild


Steve Cox and his Thunderchild compete in the Limited Modified class, powered by a Rover M120 Meteor, and using an Avon cam clutch. The Team consists of Steve, Glo, Rhea and Gina Cox. Steve started pulling back in 1979 with SAM, which was built and operated by Steve, together with Adrian Troutt and Martin Richards. This tractor was a Fordson Major with a V8 510 Perkins, twin turbocharged. This was a very successful tractor in the first few years; in particular in the first year when we won 7000 lb Goodyear Cup. The team disbanded around 1982. Steve also competed with G-Force in the early days of the minipuller Class.

Mustang Sally

Mustang Sally uses a Russian Transmash V12 diesel engine as used in tanks/scud missile launchers etc. The capacity is 38.88litres; it has 4 valves per cylinder and two pairs of overhead camshafts. The engine runs at approximately 2900rpm, with an estimate of between 800 and 1000hp. The clutch is a 11" four plate Avon cam clutch, and the transmission is a 9 speed Fuller with high/low range removed giving 5 forward speeds- 5th being overdrive. The rear axle is a Ford truck heavy duty diff with DAF Hub reductions welded on with homemade half shafts. Mustang Sally has a few recycled parts from other tractors; Fuel Tank from Tanked right up, clutch was from Martini, SIMA bellhousing from Avon Lady, and Rear wheels and tyres from Bluebeard.
For 2006 we have a new needle roller diff, have done some more tyre cutting and have moved some more weight to the rear


 


2 WHEEL DRIVE

Legand and Hero


 


SUPERSTOCK 3.5T

 

Red Fever & Red Alert

The Clarke Pulling Team have certainly had their fair share of ups and downs in 2005 with their two 3000hp methanol Superstock machines. It all started off at the indoor pull in Ahoy Rotterdam where the Red Alert was proven to be Bullet Proof, passing the US ‘Silver Bullet’ by an impressive 5m! The season then delivered a share of reliability difficulties, of which the Red Alert’s annihilation in Bernay was certainly the most impressive! After a lot of wrenching through the season, the team is now back on winning ways, with a triple victory on the indoor circuit (Arnhem, Zwolle and Rotterdam) for the Red Fever, and a Eurocup Runner Up position for the Red Alert, with Peter Clarke quoting them to be ‘invincible’. Let’s hope this stands true in 2006

Just Smoky

Just Smoky, an all-new alcohol super stock tractor from the Jones stable, made its first runs in Arnhem and Zwolle after almost 12 months of engineering and development work. Geoff Ashcroft talks to puller David Jones about his plans to pull against the best in Europe with his new red tractor David Jones is no stranger to Tractor Pulling. His father John and uncle Bill have had an active role in the sport since 1979, when the Jones Brothers first took to the track with Smoky Joe – a single turbo Fordson Major diesel. After three successful years with the Major, John and Bill progressed onto a Ford 8600 super stock until 1990, when the tractor was downscaled into a pro stock machine that competed regularly on the British circuit with young David eventually taking over the controls. In 1998, the Jones family mothballed Smoky Joe to concentrate on developing the family farming business – two, 1000-hectare arable operations in Warwickshire and Bedfordshire.
“We didn’t have enough time to make Smoky competitive enough, and the farm had to come first,” explains 30-year old David. But Tractor Pulling was still coursing through young Jones’ veins. And two years ago, the family once again decided to return to the track with their trusty old Ford 8600. “We spent a couple of winters rebuilding the Ford, though it has yet to return to the track properly,” says David. “The pro stock class has moved on considerably since we last pulled and I really did get the bug for something a bit faster, more special and with a greater adrenaline rush.” That bug grew from seeing the alcohol super stocks run in Ahoy, and after a weekend in Putten with the Clarke Pulling Team, David realised that the class offered far more appeal than what the old Ford could offer. And the chance to pull in Europe with a top alcohol machine was temptation enough to turn dreams into a reality. But rather than buy a proven machine, David chose to build a new tractor, to help learn and understand just what makes a component alky burner tick. “Dad and Peter Clarke were very much old enemies from the early days, and we had admired what PC has achieved with Red Alert and Red Fever – for us to build a competitive super stock, there was no other help we wanted,” says David. “It had to be a Clarke-inspired machine.” As luck would have it, PC had a rolling chassis at Tingewick, which had been built by long-time pulling friend Ron Bultemeier, from Indiana. “It was to be a project of sorts, maybe for us, maybe for someone else,” says Clarke. It had everything that David needed to get started. Chassis, rear end, roll cage, transmission, planetaries and Puller 2000 tyres – the only drawback was that it was painted green and yellow.
“It was originally meant to be a component Deere, but as we farm with Case tractors – an STX450 Quadtrac and MX270 Magnum – our new puller had to be Red,” he says. So in December 2004, the chassis made its way to the Jones family’s farm in Warwickshire, where teammate and colleague Alistair Walsh and engineering friend Steve Collins could help David to develop the MX285. “It’s been great having Peter Clarke’s help and using his tractors to learn from,” he says. “Red Fever has been an ideal template from which we could make parts,” he says. “Without Peter’s help, we would have really struggled to get to the track. He’s helped to build a motor, get us a cylinder head and developed our fuel system – so it should run every bit as good as Red Fever.” With just five weeks to go before Arnhem when I first visited the team’s workshops, the engine had just been fitted into the chassis. The electrical system, fuel injection, data logger, fuel and oil pump systems had still to be fitted. There was a huge amount of work still to be done, and David won’t be rushed. “We’ve taken a lot of care, time and effort to make sure this tractor is built properly,” he says. “We’re not cutting corners or bodging – this tractor needs to be 100% right from the start. And with Peter Clarke’s constant help, advice and encouragement, we know that it will run right, first time, when we eventually get out onto a track.” Fortunately, the work was done in time and with the help of Rough Justice’s owner Martin Nicholson who provided transport, the tractor made the journey to Arnhem and made it into the pull-off on its very first run. But clutch troubles and a nervous pilot meant that Just Smoky couldn’t leave the line a second time. And an invitation to Zwolle quickly followed after the tractor’s potential was acknowledged and the Jones team – again with Martin Nicholson’s support – returned to Holland and notched up fourth place finished just behind Red Alert. “We we’re just so chuffed to get down the track in Arnhem,” says David. “But to have finished fourth in Zwolle against some tough opposition made us feel like we have really achieved something special.” “We just need to go pulling now, to get the tractor properly dialled in, unleash some more potential and start to understand how it performs and behaves on the track – and only experience will help us with that,” he says.


 

Judgement Deere


 

MODIFIED 2.5T

T-55

John Summers was in competition with T~55 at the European Championships 2005, where he finished in 6th place in the 2.5ton Modified class pulling against the best in Europe. John, from Calne in Wiltshire, was the only British driver in the class and T~55 was the only Diesel tractor in the class. John has been involved with Tractor Pulling since 1990, where many will remember his early ‘Sleepless Nights’ tractors. The current machine runs a Transmash V12 motor, and produces around 1800hp at 2800rpm. T~55 had a very good year in 2005 winning the 2.5ton British Championship and finishing 2nd in the 3.5ton British championship Modified class. Overall it was nice to have the tractor running without lots of problems. Second driver Peter George also had a run at Yeovil and finished 2nd- not bad at all for his first time driving a modified. For the 2006 season the tractor has had the gearbox turned around to give higher wheel speeds which is what is needed to get the tractor more competitive in the 2.5ton modified class; this should give the tractor 80mph wheel speed in this class. There are also plans for an injection system to give the tractor more horsepower but you will have to wait and see exactly what we will be injecting!


 


MODIFIED 3.5T


Desperate Dan

 

Super Tramp & Starlight Express

As most Tractor Pulling enthusiasts will know, Starlight Express started life as a BTPA tractor in the Jim Snell stable. When it came up for sale David Clarihew took the chance to bring it up to Scotland to challenge for the top places in the Scottish Championship. Running with 9 Jaguar engines in the 5.4 tonne class and 7 engines in the 4.5 tonne class, getting the power transferred to the loose Scottish tracks proved to be a bit of a problem. Spinning out without any front end lift usually left Starlight in second place to the Corskie Supertramp. After a couple of seasons sparring with Iain Green’s Corskie Supertramp, Iains work and family commitments meant that this tractor was left in the shed for several years. During this time new shatter blanket rules came into force which meant four new blankets would be needed to keep Starlight legal. As farm worker’s income is not the greatest the £1,000 to purchase the four blankets proved too much, and so a decision to remove 4 engines and 2 clutches was made. The following season the new 5 engined Starlight came out to play. Having less power units on I came down a gear and to my surprise more revs were showing on the rev counter, so forward speed appeared to be no different if not more than previously and high front end lift was produced the first time ever.
To say I was delighted would be an understatement! I now thought I had a better balanced tractor all together. At the end of the season, and with the Scottish Championship in the bag, I was happier with Starlight than I had ever been. The now annual clutch inspections were in force, and removing the Jaguar 5.3 litre V12 and realigning the power belt being a tricky job, another decision was made to refit the V12 to a lower position at the front end instead of up top. This made the removal of the collector gearbox much easier. Clutches and flywheels can now be accessed without the removal of any engine. Next season out with the front mounted V12 in place, balance of the tractor was near to perfect. I now thought I had a tractor to compete with the previously all conquering Corskie Supertramp, but it was still in the shed. At the end of the Scottish pulling season an invitation to go to Ireland was received. Off I went with the family, as son Alastair had now begun to take a serious interest in Tractor Pulling. He joined the Irish Club so he could have his first drive of Starlight. A full pull was achieved at the first attempt, his girlfriend Lisa was in tears of joy and Alastair shaking with delight and beaming from lug to lug. Yes you guessed it; he’s now hooked on Tractor Pulling. On the ferry home some hard thinking was done to find the best way of getting a tractor for Alastair. With Supertramp still in the shed at Corskie Farm and by this time well out of date with new rules that had come about namely roll cages, drawbars, bell housings etc, an opportunity may have arisen. Alastair and I went off to see Iain Green who still had not enough time to do up the tramp. A deal was made that if we took the time to do the work required on the tramp and bring it up to spec, Alastair would be allowed at least a whole season to compete for the Scottish Championship. All being agreed the tramp was taken to Unthank Farm, home of Starlight Express.
Work then began on the Tramp, much more than was first envisioned. We decided before we stripped it down to try and start it first, just in case it wouldn’t start after our refurbishment. Holding in fluids and getting carbs to work on the 6 Rover V8’s was our first time consuming job, but eventually the time came when an attempt to start her for the first time in approx 6 years was made. Nervous anticipation and cans of instant start at the ready, ignition on and a push the start button the starters slowly turned over but certainly not at great speed. Then suddenly with little warning, 5 of the V8s fired up with deafening roars inside our corrugated iron workshop. Lisa has never moved so fast in her life, exiting the workshop, but father and son were beaming.
Now for the long haul; strip off all the engines to a bare chassis, rebuild the cockpit with a roll cage, new drawbar, new bell housing, new petrol tanks, new seat belts, new fire extinguisher, new water cooling system as well as numerous little odd jobs. As usual the pulling season seems to come on fast when you are struggling to get ready. Some annual holiday time had to be taken to ensure we would be ready, but ready we were ‘well nearly’. First time out and over the weighbridge sees us still safely inside the 3.5 tonne class with all the new parts on and running on 5 engines. What gear do we pull in? Alastair asks. Best ask a major prostock puller says I. Soon a posse of major ‘experts’ are around us. Every gear from 1 to 6 was suggested, needless to say we picked the wrong one and not much performance resulted, but a fair bit of clutch warming was done.
What a downer, never mind try again in the 4.5 class. Stuck on the 6th engine but it refused to start. Problem diagnosed to a dodgy distributor, throw it off again and back on the track one engine down. Pick a better gear but no match for the hardly looked at Starlight Express. Over the season a catalogue of troubles dogged Corskie Supertramp. Breaking 3 power belts and numerous fuel problems. Alastairs first season proved disappointing, especially as Starlight seemed to perform with very little attention, welcome to Tractor Pulling.
Iain Green then kindly allowed Alastair to use Corskie Supertramp for a second season. In the second season Corskie Supertramp started to show signs of coming back to something like her old self but electrical problems still dogged us, using up another 3 distributors and countless spark plugs. However at the Scottish finals she pulled well and stayed reliable all day. I am sure a lot of the problems over the 2 seasons were partly caused by Corskie Supertramp’s inaction over several years of hibernation. Back to Iain and yes, we can use Corskie Supertramp again, great stuff, but Iain now thinks he might sell it if the right offer comes along. We don’t do much work on her for season 3 as it ran so well on finals day, and sure enough she’s still going well first day out on season 3. So well in fact Starlight gets beaten for the first time by Alastair on Supertramp.
By the time we reach the finals Starlight and Supertramp are equal on points. A pull off is required to determine who will be Scottish champion of 4.5 tonne class. I could give a thousand excuses why Corskie Supertramp won over Starlight but it would seem like sour grapes. Needless to say my life is being made a misery now by some ‘friends’ and family. By the way Alastair’s apprenticeship is now officially over. Corskie Supertramp has now been bought by Alastair and myself and will now be known as Supertramp. My nephew Neil Clarihew also started driving Supertramp in the 3.5 tonne class in season 2005, he is now also hooked. Anyone got a multi engined modified tractor for him sitting about?!?


T-55

 


MODIFIED 4.5T

 

Desperate Dan

Well what can we say! The whole of the Desperate Dan team are extremely happy to be European Champions again. We would like to thank all the fans for being there at Great Eccleston- it makes it even more worthwhile to hear you lot cheering. I don’t think anyone will forget the 4.5 modified pull off at Great Eccleston for a long time! The Desperate Dan Team have been pulling for 25 years now, and currently consists of Brian Armistead, Karl Carter, Stan Leeming, Andy Cowley, John Eccles, Mick Hollin and Tom Beattie. There are quite a number of changes due for Desperate Dan next season. Over the ‘05 season we fitted a new computer system that records information on the motors as they are going down the track. We can then plug in a laptop and find the temperature, boost, fuel pressure and rpms from the run. It should help us get as much as possible out of the motors without blowing them up! The block that broke at the end of the 4.5 pull off at the EC has been repaired in the USA and a new Kabelco supercharger purchased for it, which seemed to run very strong at the season opener in Zwolle, NL.


 

 

Starlight Express & Supertramp

 
 


TRUCKS

Mean Ole Pete

Tony Bruegger’s new machine has just arrived from Nebraska, in the shape of a 1979 cabover Peterbilt called ‘Mean Ole Pete’. The truck is powered by an 8v92T Detroit with an Allison transmission.
Tony, from Temple Cloud in Somerset, started pulling back in 1988 with a V12 Meteor Modified, and later with the Noddy Truck. Plans for the new machine are to make some exhibition pulls in the UK, and hopefully make a trip out to Holland to run with the trucks over there!

Wicked Blue

 

Karens Nightmare

 

Gromit


 

SUPER FARM

 

Bluebird Too

Meirwen Davies took over the driving of Bluebird Too from her husband George for the 2005 season. Plagued with bad luck all season, the clutch was slipping at one event, the kill switch broke at another, and at Yeovil the tractor jumped out of gear! Meirwen also had a few problems controlling the tractor as the front end was very light. She finished in 4th place in the Super Farm Championship. Changes are planned to rectify this however, with more weight being moved forward, and gearbox changes, to help her to get in gear and stay in gear!


 

 

Not so Hot

We bought Not So Hot from Bryn Jones in August 2003 and that September at the last pull of the season up at New Deer in Scotland, Terry did his first pull. In 2004 Terry was 3rd overall in the British Championships. In 2005 Liz decided to compete too, and drove Not So Hot for the first time at Bristol in May and has competed in all the pulls this season, coming 3rd in the British Championship Super Farm class. Not So Hot is an International 1046 which runs in the Super Farm class producing roughly 400hp.

 

Ditch Witch

 

Midnight Express

JD n Smoke

 

Lackham Ballistic

Lackham Ballistic’s Student Power now celebrates 15 years on the track. Each year students studying the National Diploma in Farm Mechanisation at Wiltshire College, Lackham form a new team for Lackham’s tractor. The puller allows the students an opportunity to experience the thrill of competing on the national circuit and to encounter the pressures and satisfaction of maintaining a competition tractor. Situated in North Wiltshire, Lackham offers students the chance to become involved in these types of projects, considerably enhancing their learning experience. Some thirty five drivers to date with countless dedicated support team members have enjoyed the thrills of Tractor Pulling. Originally built in 1990 by student Phil Collins, lecturer Dick Hanraads and a small student team, the project has seen many student-inspired innovations. Most notably was the introduction of a second set of injectors by Richard Crossman and Gareth Dear, giving a unique twin injection system powered off a single pump, unrivalled in the history of Tractor Pulling. Student Kit Norriss said “It was a fantastic adrenalin rush driving on the track” Dick Hanraads the programme leader said “The NDFM students have consistently and with great enthusiasm, maintained and run the Lackham Ballistic on the circuit, we are proud of their achievements.”