European Championships 2021 cancelled!

Today I have got the message from the ETPC that 2021 European Championships which was planned for the end of August is cancelled due to the current restricted travel throughout Europe. But the North West Tractor Pulling Club (NWTPC) is currently looking for a possibility to held a national pull on the same weekend.

 

From the ETPC: 

Dear ETPC Members, Promoters, Teams and Sponsors,

 

Further to our recent message about the Eurocup and Eurochallenge Series 2021 we are also now in the unfortunate position to have to announce that the planned European Championships 2021 at Great Eccleston, England at the end of August are cancelled. At the ETPC General Meeting last weekend it was very clear from the feedback given by the members, linked to the latest government information, that unrestricted travel throughout Europe will not be possible by the end of August when the event is scheduled for. This will undermine the essence of the European Championships so we feel that this is the only possible action under these current circumstances. 

The positive side is that the vaccination programme is gaining momentum across Europe so there is every chance that some events later this year possibly in September and October will potentially be able to go ahead with audiences and maybe on a cross border format with teams from throughout Europe. Our members and the promoters in each country are working together to put plans in place for what events can potentially be run later in the year and the ETPC will be looking to support all possibilities to bring tractor pulling back on to the track in 2021. 

We are sorry that this is another blow to our sport for the 2021 season and we trust that you understand that this decision was not taken lightly. Above all the health and welfare of everyone in our sport is and will remain our number one priority and we will continue to work in this way to plan events within the Covid restrictions. 

 

With best regards,
On behalf of ETPC Daily Board
Andy Miller, ETPC President

Stay safe and we still hope to see you on the track later on this year! 

 

For further information, check here: https://tractorpulling.com/

 

or check here: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanTractorPullingCommittee  

First Limited Super Stock in Finland

The New Generation Pulling Team around Tommy Karlsson and Mikael Noorgard from Jeppo in Finland have built a completely new 7700lbs/3.5t Valtra component limited super stock tractor during the last 10-12 months.

But we are going back to 2007. In that year Tommy Karlsson and his cousins purchased a Fordson Major tractor with a 6.2l engine and competed with the tractor in the 3.5t / 7700lbs farm stock class in the Finnish Championship. Only 2 years later in 2009, he bought his first own pulling tractor which was called "Red Cat" of Tapio Kangas.

The history of this tractor goes back to the 90s. Originally the IH 1066 tractor was built by the late Ed Clock from Michigan in the USA for the pro stock class.

At the end of 1999, Ed sold the tractor to Peter Clarke owner and driver of the super stock tractor called "Red Alert" from Buckingham in Great Britain. Peter competed only one season with the 1066 in the Euro Cup and the British Championship and was for quite a while on the best way to win the Euro Cup title in the class. But unfortunately, his engine blew up at the finals in Bettborn, Luxembourg, which cost him the almost safe title at the end. But the runner up position in the point standings was his. After that season, Peter sold the machine further to Lucien Keulers from Beek in the Netherlands.

The tractor was renamed into ''Too Hot to Handle'' and Lucien competed with the machine in the Dutch B-Divison Championship and in the Euro Cup.

Like Peter Clarke, he drove with the IH 1066 only a season and then sold it to Tapio Kangas from Finland. He competed with the tractor in the 3.5t/7700lbs pro stock class in Finland a couple of years, before Tommy purchased it in 2009. In the hands of Tommy Karlsson, the IH was rebuilt from a pro stock into a 4.5t/9920lbs farm stock tractor. Also, the tractor received a new look on the hood with an airbrush paint job by Johnny Sjöblom. The airbrush paint job should change on the tractor a couple of times in the next years and also technic of the farm stock ride was further improved. Also, the name of the tractor changed again in 2015, the IH 1066 was renamed into Red Warrior.

Tommy mainly competed in the Finnish Championship and the best result was a runner up place in the 2015 Finnish Championship. With that runner up place, he was qualified for the first farm stock EC in Brande, Denmark. But that trip wasn't so successful and ended with a broken engine right after the start. In 2016, the team drove their last season with the machine and after that season they sold the tractor to Paul Siebers, owner of the 3.5t/7700lbs super stock called ''Yellow Dream'' and 3.6t/7930lbs super sport called ''Yellow Thunder'' from Kleve in Germany. After the tractor was sold, there came the opportunity to purchase a Finnish pro stock tractor from the Herlevi Family. Tommy and Mikael always dreamed about running a pro stock on national and international competitions in Finland and Europe. 

So, they purchased one of the 3 pro stock tractors (it was the tractor called ''Doris'') from the Herlevi Pulling Team and they gave the Valtra pro stock a new look and a new name. The Valtra received an amazing airbrush paint job, like their former IH farm stock and was renamed into ''New Generation''. The guys competed until 2019 in the Finnish Championship and in the Euro Cup with the Valtra pro stock. During the 2019 season came the considerations to do something different new. After 2 years in the pro stock class, they decided to build a new limited super stock tractor on component base. Because of the less time (both owns a company), they asked Emil Roth of the Nasty Toy Pulling Team from Sweden if he, together with his brother Olof could build a new rolling component chassis for the new limited super stock project. 

The reason why Emil built the chassis was the costs because Mikael has his own metal workshop and Tommy works there, and Tommy has his own company and they also have a company together called ''NG Motorteknik''.
They have had a lot of work in their companies now, so it was much more cost-effective for them to pay Emil and he made a great job with the chassis, and they worked in their companies bringing in the money for the building of the tractor. Also, the time was an issue for the 2 guys, if Tommy and Mikael have made the tractor by themselves it wouldn't be ready for a long time yet. The differences between the old pro stock tractor and the new limited super stock are quite clear to see. The newly built component chassis is much lighter compared to the old chassis of the pro stock. The new component machine has not the rearend and gearbox case of a stock tractor, which saves a lot of weight for more moveable weight and a better weight distribution on the tractor. Also, the driver's position and the engine position are lower on the chassis, which should give the tractor a better balance on the pulling tracks and also the maintenance on the tractor is much easier which saves time for other works.

The new Valtra component tractor received a completely new 3mm Domex 700 wedge frame with 3 bar 48.5x2.5mm chrome-moly roll cage, an RCI Poly Highback racing driver seat, a new custom-built front axle with a hydraulic HD boat steering, new front wheels with polished aluminum rims from the USA, newly constructed steel weight and engine brackets, new chrome-moly tube wheelie bars and new sheet metal rearend with a newly built drawbar.
The new sheet metal rearend received a Rockwell 20-145 stock aluminum center section with a modified stock Rockwell 20-145 steel differential, a stock Rockwell ring and pinion gear, machined

MAN aluminum planetaries carrier housing with stock MAN semi truck planetaries and Van der Waal Pulling parts billet aluminum brake calipers with laser-cut steel brake discs by ''Maskin och Motorteknik''. All the sheet metal work around the new component tractor also were done by Emil Roth in his workshop in Skane, Sweden.   

The new sheet metal housing for the rear axle was built by Emil Roth in his little company called ''Maskin och Motorteknik'' in Skane, Sweden. The sheet metal rear axle housing is much lighter compared to the shortened stock Rockwell 20-145 semi-truck rearend housings. The MAN semi-truck aluminum planetaries carrier housing were machined on a turning lathe because to save weight on the rear axle. 

With all those custom built and modified parts in the rear axle will be more reliable and stronger compared to an original semi-truck rear axle. Another advantage of this rear axle is the axle is lighter which should give the team more possibilities for more moveable weight on the tractor. Completely new too on the component tractor is the drivetrain. The new drivetrain received a new SCS 4 speed transmission with a reverse gear, an SCS billet steel driveshaft and couplers between the transmission and the clutch and an 11inch centrifugal clutch with a steel flywheel by Christer Örn of Eagle Clutches from Kuminek in Finland.

The Eagle centrifugal clutch has 4 discs and is protected by a Probell steel bell housing which covers the driver and spectators for flying debris if the clutch should explode during a run, but that happens luckily not so often. Every clutch will be inspected by the Tech and Safety people of the national organizations before every season starts. That also shall prevent clutches from being installed in poor conditions into the pulling tractors.
The rear wheels on the Valtra are a set of new cut 24.5-32 Pro Puller tires from the USA with new polished Northern Sheen aluminum rims from Canada. The new Pro Puller tires and new Northern Sheen rims were purchased from the John Deere Pulling Team (JD Motorteknik) in Thy, Denmark. 

JD Motorteknik also did all the tire cutting work on these new Pro Puller tires for this new Valtra limited super stock tractor. The company ''JD Motorteknik'' is the company of the Danish top European pro stock team, the John Deere Pulling Team. The company is owned by Rasmus Hoyen and Michael Galsgaard. They are building parts for other pulling teams and trade with pulling tires in the whole of Europe. The company also is the official tire distributor for Pro Puller tires in Europe.

The new component limited super stock tractor received a new Valtra hood of the current Valtra S Series and also new fenders of the Valtra S Series. But the Valtra hood on the component machine isn't original, the hood is a replica of the current S Series hood and was made out off fiberglass. The fiberglass hood is lighter compared to the original hood of the stock tractor. The new hood was built by a guy somewhere from Finland.

The current Valtra S Series is the 4th generation of the Valtra S tractors and was introduced by the Finnish company in 2014. The Valtra S Series is available in 5 different versions since 2014 and since 2017 in 6 different versions. The stock tractor is available as S274, S294, S324, S354, S374, and S394. The Valtra S Series tractors are powered by an Intercooled turbocharged inline 6 cylinder Agco 84AWF engine with a displacement of 8.4l. The biggest one in this series, the Valtra S394 which was revealed at the French agricultural machinery exhibition Sima in Paris in 2017 has 405hp with a maximum torque of 1600Nm at 1500rpm.

The new Valtra limited super stock called ''New Generation'' is powered by a turbocharged 6 cylinder AGCO Power 634 engine with a displacement of 7.6l / 464cui on alcohol fuel. The original engine has a displacement of 7.4l and had a power ratio from 160-200hp on diesel fuel. The engines were built into the Valtra T170, T180 and T190 tractors.

These Valtra tractors with those turbocharged/intercooled engines were built from 2002 until 2004 in the headquarters of the company in Suolahti, Finland. But the powerplants for those tractors were produced in the Finnish engine plant in Nokia, near Tampere.       

The powerplant in the limited super stock has a bored up AGCO Power cast iron engine block with a counterweighted and balanced AGCO Power steel crankshaft, new JD Motorteknik billet steel rods with new billet aluminum pistons, a modified 24 valve AGCO Power cylinder head with stock valves and stronger valve springs, a billet valve train developed by Maskin och Motorteknik and the New Generation Pulling Team, a billet steel camshaft, a homemade aluminum intake and stainless steel exhaust manifold, a billet Holset HX82 turbocharger with a billet aluminum intake impeller wheel, a homemade aluminum oil pan, a Aviaid oil pump, a homemade stainless steel fuel tank, a Waterman fuel pump and a MaxxEcu EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) system.

With the MaxxEcu EFI system on the AGCO Power engine in the new limited super stock, they can control the engine. The ECU is the brain of the operation and It uses engine RPM and other signals from different sensors to meter the fuel. It does this by telling the fuel injectors when and how long to be open and deliver fuel into the inlet ports of the cylinder head. The Ignition system is a Fueltech FT-Spark CDI system with one coil for each cylinder. Also, all data logging is built in the ECU. The system also measures temperatures of every single cylinder, the oil pressure and the temperatures of the motor oil.

The New Generation Pulling Team have planned to compete with their new Valtra component limited super stock tractor in the Finnish Championship and maybe on some pulls outside of Finland in the future.

The maiden run of the new Valtra in front of the sled is planned somewhere on a pull or test & tune event in Finland this year.

 

For further information, check here: https://www.facebook.com/New-Generation-Tractorpulling-Team-129385577628287/  

 or, check here: https://www.facebook.com/Maskin-och-Motorteknik-i-Sk%C3%A5ne-506220369784354/

 

 

Former Tractor Pulling competitor wins with his company the CSR People Prize 2021

Torben Larsen, former tractor pulling competitor and team owner from Denmark won with his company called ''Give Steel'' the 2021 CSR People Prize in the category "Company with more than 250 employees".

He received the award at the annual CABI digital conference on March 24th.

Torben Larsen isn't an unknown face in the Danish and European Tractor Pulling sport. In 1986, he, together with his 6 brothers founded the popular and well known Pulling Team ''Fox''. Over the years, the Fox Team became one of the most professional pulling teams in Europe and took part with two 5 V8 engine powered heavy modified tractors successful in the Euro Cup and at the European Championships. Torben also pulled always the best sponsors to his team on land, like that time the sponsorship with the Danish plastic construction toys company Lego in 2000, which made team known then by the kids too (Lego Power Puller). 

His most successful season was the year 2000, which he won with Fox the European Championship title and his teammate Kjeld Andersen won the Euro Cup title with the second tractor Fox Junior. From 1996 until 2003, the Fox Team was always to find with one tractor under the top 3 in the Euro Cup point standings, which was pretty amaizing at that time. After the 2003 season and almost 6 years of full time pulling, Torben stopped with tractor pulling and sold both tractors and the trailer for the tractors. The trailer for the tractors went to the Lambada Pulling Team from the Netherlands, the engines of Fox Junior were purchased by the Cougar Pulling Team from Sweden and the complete Fox tractor was sold to Torbens nephew Martin Larsen.

After his pulling career Torben Larsen, together with Teil Bechmann Pedersen took over the company called ''Give Steel'' in 2003. Over the years the Give Steel grew from a 7 employee company to a successful export company that now employs over 350 people at four sites in Denmark, Germany and Poland.

 

For further information, check here: https://givesteel.com/give-steel-vinder-csr-people-prize-2021/

 

or check here: https://www.facebook.com/Givesteel/

Tractor Pulling Wekerom (NL) 2021 cancelled!

The official statement from the STPW:

Dear sponsors, volunteers, participants, officials and visitors  

Unfortunately we are forced to cancel the competition on King's Day again this year due to the covid-19 virus. Once the virus is under control, and there are no more restrictions, we will consider organizing another competition later this year.  

 

Regards Stichting Tractorpulling Wekerom  

for further information, check here: https://www.tractorpullingwekerom.nl/index.php

or, check here: https://www.facebook.com/tractorpullingwekerom/

2014 Eurocup Tractor Pulling Brande - Denmark - Part 1 (Superstocks)

This Weekend!

https://huskerpullpromotions.com/

 

http://www.cocopahspeedway.com

https://www.facebook.com/DothanMotorSpeedway/

Kirkbride (GB) 2021 pull cancelled!

From the Cumbria Tractor Pulling Club: KIRKBRIDE 2021 EVENT CANCELLED
After discussion with club members, we have taken the decision not to go ahead with this year's Cumbria Power Weekend.
Although the expected date to return to ‘normal’ life is Monday 21st June, the Lockdown roadmap currently states that further work is required on how to safely hold outdoor events with a possibility of mass testing requirements upon entry. Taking on board the ongoing uncertainty and risk of delays to the end of the restriction period, and with time now critical for all the organisational preparations to make the event happen, the timing and odds are against us.   
We hope all of our followers remain safe and well. We look forward to seeing you when we are safely able to.

For further information, check here: https://www.facebook.com/CumbriaTractorPullingClub/posts/5132781983461892

NTPA Spring Nationals 2021 results

Session 1: https://ntpapull.com/pullresults/2021/2021-ShipIN-01.htm

 

Session 2: https://ntpapull.com/pullresults/2021/2021-ShipIN-02.htm

Bill Berg has passed away

From NTPA: WPI/NTPA regrets to report the passing of Bill Berg of Rosemount, Minnesota. Mr. Berg was the NTPA's 1987 Grand National 7,500-lb. Super Stock champion and was inducted into the Association's Pulling Hall of Fame in 2018. He was additionally the father and teammate of current GN competitor Bret Berg of Farmington.

After Bill got his pulling career started in 1973, he and Bret campaigned several editions of the "Not-a-Nuff" and "Never-a-Nuff" International diesels throughout the 1980s. The elder Mr. Berg did so in a comeback effort following the collapse of the construction industry due to the 1981 recession.

The eventual title-winning "Never-a-Nuff" 3688, built in 1983 and reconstructed into a four-charger configuration for 1985, found its stride in a sweep of the inaugural Chapel Hill NTPA GN event in 1987 with Bill at the

wheel. Bret and crew chief Billy Giberson additionally contributed to that championship season. Together, they kept the red machine in the conversation for three of that year's Super Stock titles before overcoming a 10-point deficit at the season finale Nebraska State Fair Pull to clinch the 75.

We will post funeral details in this space once they have been announced.

We invite you to follow the link below to read Mr. Berg's Hall-of-Fame profile and learn about---or refresh your memory of---a legendary career amid a golden era of Super Stock pulling.

Bill Berg, 2018 Hall-of-Fame Inductee

We express our deepest sympathy to Bret and to the Berg family.

2012 Eurocup Tractor Pulling Herning - Denmark - Part 4 (Prostock)

39 Liter V12 - Starten mit Druckluft (Teil 1) || Tractor Pulling erklärt...

This Weekend!

https://www.michianaevents.com/

 

Euro Pulling Show this evening

Today in the Euro Pulling Show Thomas Beattie and Andy Miller will talk with Mark Santen from Santen Technics and the Rednex Pulling Team about all things about diesel tuning on pulling engines. The show will start at 7pm UK = 8pm CET on Facebook. 

Livestream, check here: https://www.facebook.com/Europullingshow/

 

 

 

 

The new Midnight Deere Component Super Stock of the Carle Motorsport Team

The Carle Motorsport Team around Marcus and Benjamin Carle from Neuenstein, in Germany have built a completely new John Deere 4840 component super stock tractor during the last 3 years.

The German team started with their new component project in the winter of 2017 and worked until now to get the new John Deere ready for the first run. First, we are looking at the history of the Carle Motorsport Team how everything started. The team started with Garden Pulling in the 350kg Stock class in 2003. 

Benjamin Carle was 8 years old at that time when his dad Marcus built his first tractor for the competitions in Germany. The tractor was a John Deere 317 stock tractor only with some little changes like a different exhaust manifold on the engine. The little John Deere tractor made its maiden voyage at the German Championship round in Krumbach-Breitenthal at the beginning of July 2003. Benjamin was at his first event not registered in German Championship and ran out of the official competition on that day. After the first 2 attempts, it was clear the John Deere garden tractor need some major changes to be competitive in the German Championship for 2004. 

So after a short decision, the tractor was completely revised during the winter of 2003 / 2004 and received some changes on the chassis, a bigger engine with more horses and a set of new puller tires with new aluminum rims. After those changes, the little John Deere was competitive in the German Championship and Benjamin drove on his first official competition with the tractor on the podium in Füchtorf, Germany 2004. With consistent results during the 2004 season, 4 times runner up position and a couple of 3rd places, the team finished in a great runner up place in the German Championship point standings behind Andrea Heckenberger with her Hursquana tractor called ''Husky 2''.That meant the south German team was qualified for the European Championships in Schleitheim, Switzerland. And again it was a successful event for the young Benjamin and his dad Marcus.

They went back home with a nice runner up place under the 8 best 350kg stock tractors from all over Europe. The 2005 season was even better, Benjamin took his first win with the Cat Dog at the German Championship round in Niederbipp, Switzerland and a second-round victory followed during the summer in Walsheim, Germany. During the year he also finished 5 times in runner up position on the events in Germany, which brought him equal in points with Phillip Schilling with Tiger Duck in the German Championship point standings for the title. But it wasn't enough to win the first title in their second full season. 

In the end, the most round wins counted in the German Championship for the title, which meant Philip Schilling won the German Championship title because he had more wins on his account. The dream to win a German Championship title finally came true in the following year. With another consistent season and a couple of wins, he won his first German Championship title at the age of 10 years. But the biggest success for the team was the win of the European Championship title in the 350kg stock class in Füchtorf, Germany 2007. With 2 nice passes, the young bloke beat all his rivals on the track by a little bit more than 2m ahead of Melanie Hofer (She's driving the mini mod tractor called ''Catweazle 3'' now) with Hot Cat from Germany and Boog from Denmark. 

During the next years from 2008 until 2013, they could win only 1 further title in the 350kg stock class, but they were to find always under the first 3 positions (except 2009) in the German Championship point standings. They were runner up in the 350kg stock class in 2008 and 2012 and 3rd in 2007, 2010 and 2011 in the German Championship. The biggest change came during the 2011 season when Benjamin was 16 years old and stepped up into the seat of their pro stock tractor. He handed over his steering wheel of his Cat Dog to his sister Julia Carle. At her maiden voyage on the tractor pull in Bookholzberg 2011, she won her first event with the tractor. She also won the German Championship title in 2013 and almost the European Championship title in Bookholzberg, Germany in the same year. But Cat Dog wasn't the only garden puller tractor which was built by the team. 

In the winter of 2005 / 2006, Marcus Carle decided to build a new garden puller tractor for the 600kg compact diesel class. The tractor had a homemade steel wedge frame with a homemade 2 bar steel roll cage, a homemade steering, a modified Opel Kadett rearend with a homemade drawbar and a John Deere 955 sheet metal hood. The machine was powered by a 4 cylinder 1.9l VW TDI engine with one turbocharger on diesel fuel. It was the second compact diesel tractor in Germany and the first compact diesel which was built by a German team at that time. The maiden run of the new toy called ''Cat Dog 2'' was on the first weekend of July 2006 in Krumbach-Breitenthal. Marcus was pretty successful with this John Deere tractor in the past. He won many pulls in Germany and 2 times in that class the German Championship title in 2007 and 2009. He also finished 2 times in runner up position in the Championship in 2006 and 2008. At the end of the 2009 season, Marcus sold the John Deere compact diesel tractor to a new team in Switzerland. 

After the 2013 season and 10 years in the 350kg stock class, the team decided to rebuild their successful Cat Dog tractor into a 500kg stock tractor. The garden puller received a new bigger engine and a completely new frame with a newly built front end and a set of new Cepek Garden Puller tires on aluminum rims. Also, the tractor was renamed from ''Cat Dog'' into ''Green Deere''. The first full season for the completely rebuilt tractor was pretty good with a couple of German Championship round victories and a nice runner up position at the European Championships in Bakel the Netherlands.Better was the 2015 season, Julia Carle was again victorious at the German pulls that brought her and the team their first and only German Championship title in the 500kg stock division.

During the spring of 2017, shortly after the German Championship opener in Füchtorf, the south German team sold the Green Deere to Andre Stiehl from Kleve in Germany.His young son Julian currently driving very successful with the John Deere 317 in the German Championship.  

At the end of 2007, Marcus Carle started with collecting parts for a new project, it wasn't again parts for a new garden puller, this time it was for a new bigger project, a 3.5t / 7700lbs John Deere pro stock. The Carle Motorsport Team started to build the pro stock during the winter of 2008 in his little workshop. 

The pro stock got a homemade steel roll cage with a steel wedge frame, a used machined John Deere rear end and gearbox from the super stock tractor called ''Green Muscleman'' from the Netherlands, a John Deere 4440 hood, homemade aluminum fenders and a set of used 24.5x32 Firestone All Traction pro stock tires on old aluminum rims. The pro stock was powered by a 6 cylinder John Deere 6076 engine with 7.6l capacity and a Holset turbocharger on diesel fuel. The pro stock received the name ''Midnight Deere'' because the team worked most of the time on the machine during the night. The new JD pro stock debuted at their home pull in Eschach-Seifertshofen in 2009.

The machine stood in front of the sled but technical problems didn't really let the wheels turn on the 4440 John Deere. The team competed on 2 further events during the season of 2009 and learned more and more about the technic of the pro stock. During the winter of 2009/2010 the Midnight Deere received many changes and was further improved. After all those changes and improvements, the 4440 ran now pretty well and the first positions on the podium were earned. At the end of their first full pro stock season, the team finished on an excellent 2nd place in the German Championship point standings. Also during the next few seasons, the guys were usually to find under the first 3 in the German Championship point standings.

The 2015 season marked their final season in the pro stock division and they, unfortunately, lost the German Championship title by a few points at the finals due to a technical problem with the kill switch. After Krumbach-Breitenthal the pro stock chapter was finished. Because of the high costs to run a pro stock tractor and the constantly growing level brought then the final decision to switch into a other class. After some considerations during the fall of 2015, Marcus and his son Benjamin decided to rebuilt the tractor into a super stock on alcohol. The guys rebuilt the Midnight Deere in around 8 months to a super stock. The rebuilt super stock got a lighter homemade steel wedge frame with a completely new front end and a new homemade 3 bar steel roll cage. The John Deere rear end and the gearbox and the rear wheels stayed the same and were taken over of the old pro stock. The biggest changes were done to the engine.

Due to the switch from diesel to alcohol, some important changes had to be made. The engine needed a different fuel system, a different cylinder head with intake and exhaust manifold, bigger turbos, new rods and pistons and a ignition system. The 7.6l 6 cylinder John Deere 6076 engine had a 2 Holset HX 80 turbocharger setup, a JD 6076 crankshaft from GMS (Gene's Machine Shop) with homemade billet aluminum rods and modified Arias pistons, a VSP (Veldhuizen Special Products) fuel injection system and an MSD ignition. The most interesting thing on that engine was the aluminum cylinder head. The Indy cylinder head on the engine was the first alcohol cylinder head of Willem Veldhuizen´s former super stock tractor called ''Magkal Bits N Pieces'' from the 90s.

Midnight Deere did its maiden voyage as alky burner with Willem Veldhuizen in the saddle at the German Championship pull in Edewecht 2016. But mechanical problems with the ignition distributor prevented a nice pull in front of the Red Shadow Sled. During the next 2 years, the team made with the little John Deere super stock some nice runs in front of the sled at the pulling events in Germany. During these two full seasons, they achieved some positions on the podium and the runner up position in the 2017 and 2018 German Championship point standings. Unfortunately at the final round for the super stocks in Sonsbeck, the crankshaft of the John Deere engine broke into three pieces. After that broken crankshaft, the team decided to spend the money on their new project, the new component super stock.

After the first full season in 2017 with the rebuilt Midnight Deere, it was clear the team has no chances in the super stock class with the little engine against the super stocks with the much bigger engines. After that season, Marcus, Benjamin and the rest of the team started with collecting parts for a new component super stock with a bigger engine. Already before Christmas 2017, Marcus and Benjamin worked on the new chassis and new ROP for the tractor. During those 3 years, the Team built this new John Deere 4840 pulling tractor mostly in their free time and vacation step by step ready to run.

The new Midnight Deere received a completely new homemade steel wedge frame with a homemade 3 bar steel roll cage, a Kirkey Racing driver seat with a 4 point safety harness, a homemade hydraulic steering, new homemade steel wheelie bars and a modified Rockwell rear end with a completely new constructed CNC-machined drawbar. The driver's position on the new component machine is more forward and the center of gravity is lower compared to the old Midnight Deere super stock tractor. The Rockwell rearend was shortened and machined on a CNC-milling machine at a local machining company in south Germany. In the back of the Rockwell housing was a hole milled in and later a bull eye fitted. Through that window, you can see the internal parts and the oil level of the rear axle.  

The rear end got a Rockwell stock steel center section with a modified Rockwell diff, a Rockwell ring and pinion gear, custom-built half shafts, ZF planetary carrier housing with original ZF planetaries from a wheel loader, billet aluminum brake calipers with Willwood brake cylinders and CNC-plasma cut steel brake discs. The new component ride received a John Deere 4840 sheet metal hood and homemade aluminum sheet metal fenders. The new homemade fenders base on the 4840 fenders and are much lighter compared to the original John Deere sheet metal fenders. Marcus and Benjamin purchased the John Deere 4840 hood somewhere in the internet from Canada. After the hood finally arrived in their workshop, they started with the sheet metal work on the 4840 hood. 

The hood was still in a good shape but it was plenty of work to do before it was ready. They built a new homemade steel cooler grill and new homemade aluminum side shields for the hood. For all that sheet metal work they spent hundreds of hours in their workshop before everything was ready for the paintjob. The hood comes from the John Deere 40 series which was built in the John Deere main plant in Waterloo, Illinois in the USA between 1978 and 1982. The 4840 John Deere was the biggest model in the 40 Series of the company. The 40 series John Deere was available in 5 different versions as 4040, 4240, 4440, 4640 and 4840. The biggest tractor in the series, the 4840 is powered by a turbocharged inline 6 cylinder John Deere 6466AR engine with a displacement of 7.6l on diesel fuel. The engine in the tractor has 181hp with a maximum torque of 770Nm at 1400rpm.   

The side shields on the hood can be removed and the hood can be opened electrically for inspections on the engine, turbochargers and clutch.

The paint job work on the new machine were done by the team himself in their workshop and the brand new nice vinyl graphics on the hood and the side shields were designed and foiled by their sponsor DooDis Werbetechnik & Mediendesign from Bietigheim-Bissingen, in Germany. The deere on the side shields like on the old 4440 super stock, was replaced by a new look with a black-white checkered flag on the new 4840 component super stock.

The rear wheels on the Midnight Deere are a set of used cut 30.5x32 Goodyear Harvest Torque tires with steel rims.

Also, newly built in the tractor is the drivetrain. The drivetrain received 3 speed Kippley transmission with a custom-built driveshaft between the transmission and the clutch and an 11 inch Kaiser Performance centrifugal clutch with 4 discs and a billet steel Kaiser Performance flywheel. The Kaiser Performance centrifugal clutch is covered by a proven Crower steel clutch bell housing.  

The new Midnight Deere component super stock is powered by a turbocharged 6 cylinder John Deere 6466TL engine with a displacement of 10.4l on alcohol fuel.

The John Deere 6466 engine come out of the John Deere 40 series and 50 series stock tractors which were built between 1977 and 1988. The power plant was used in the John Deere tractors 4240, 4640, 4840, 4650, 4850 etc. The engine with a displacement of 7.6l was built turbocharged and natural aspirated. The natural aspirated version had 128hp with a torque of 470Nm at 1300rpm and was only used in the John Deere 4240 tractors. The other 4 versions were powered by the turbocharged version with a power ratio between 132 and 210hp. 177hp version in the 4640 tractors was a water-cooled four-stroke 6 cylinder inline turbo engine with direct injection, hanging valves, multi-hole nozzle, three-ring light alloy piston with a seven-bearing crankshaft, distributor injection pump with automatic injection adjustment, piston cooling, replaceable wet cylinder liners, pressure circulation lubrication by means of a gear pump incl. oil cooler and a counterflow cylinder head.

The 40 series was specially designed for the American market. Both rear-wheel drive and 4-wheel drive versions were on offer. The tricycle version popular for the US market was offered for the last time in the 40 series.

But from the original 6466 engine under the hood of the new component super stock is not anymore very much leftover. The only thing which is left is the engine block, but it isn't original anymore too, because the block was drilled up from the original displacement of 7,6l to 10.4l. With the higher displacement, the engine will have much more power and much higher torque. 

The most of the original parts like the rods, pistons, etc. are no longer designed for those high power at the end.The US American power plant received a machined John Deere 40 series cast iron block with Darton billet steel sleeves, a billet steel crankshaft from the Zeinstra Pulling Team, billet aluminum rods and pistons, a billet aluminum cylinder head with a billet steel camshaft, a aluminum valve cover, a aluminum intake and a steel exhaust manifold, 3 Holset HX82 turbochargers in 2 steps, a homemade aluminum oil pan, an Aviaid oil pump, a homemade stainless steel fuel tank, a VSP alcohol fuel injection system with a Waterman fuel pump, an MSD 8 Plus Dual Coil ignition and an Eliminator data logger.

The JD engine in the component tractor should make around 3000-3500hp with this setup.

The team will receive help from Willem Veldhuizen of Veldhuizen Special Products and the owner of the 3.5t/7700lbs modified tractor called ''Bits N Pieces'' for the first firing up of the newly built power plant.

Their plans with the new John Deere component super stock tractor is to run in the German Championship and on some invitation pulls in Germany. 

During the building time of the new tractor, they also built a completely new trailer for the component super stock. All the work on the new trailer was done by the team himself. In the trailer is enough space for the tractor, workshop work, and sleeping possibilities. Also on the Renault semi-truck were made some changes in the living room to have more space. Another important point for them is to have a reliable tractor in which everything is working well and remains intact. The team also have not a budget like a top team that is competing on the top level in Europe. Most of the building costs on the tractor were paid out of their own pocket. 

 

For further information, check here: https://www.team-carle.de/

 

or, check here: https://www.facebook.com/MotorsportTeamCarle