Tractor Pulling News - Pulling-World.com: 8/1/21

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Pulling Oldies from Oldendorf

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Today, 24 years ago!

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Thunder in Orange Virginia Pull

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Secret of the Valley for sale!

The John Deere 4.5t super sport / farm stock tractor called ''Secret of the Valley'' of Geert de Heus, Jurrien van den Geer and Maarten Imminkhuizen from Overberg in the Netherlands is for sale. After many years on the top level in the Dutch Championship with the John Deere 7710, the guys have decided to put the tractor up for sale due to new plans for the future. The Secret of the Valley Team are currently building on a new John Deere 4.5t super sport machine on component base. The maiden voyage of the new tractor was usually planned for this year, but due to other important work in their company, the tractor isn't ready yet. The maiden voyage of the new component tractor was postponed to 2022. The Team didn't currently want to show pics or information about the new project yet. If there is more to see about the new machine, we will report here on pullingworld.com.
Here are some details about the John Deere 7710:

FOR SALE:
Secret of the valley 4,5-ton Super Sport tractor
-Type : John deere 7710
- Engine : Big Block 9 ltr. 2700 RPM
- Intercooler : homemade
- clutch : 5 Disc 12.5” JGGH
- Gearbox : 6-speed JGGH Gearbox
- Fuel pump/Injectors : Sigma 17mm with Hydraulic Woodward
governor/ triple feed injectors
- Turbocharger : Holset HX 82
- Tyres/Rims : Michelin 650/65R42 Tyre’s with homemade light rims

For more information:
Geert de Heus +31 6 24 98 0525

For further information about the team and the tractor, check here: https://www.facebook.com/secretofthevalley.overberg/

Monday, August 23, 2021

The new Blacksmed 2.0

The Danish mini modified competitor Flemming Smed from Skjern, together with his teammate Johannes Hauge have built a new V8 Hemi-powered 950kg mini modified machine during the last winter. After 2 years in the mini modified class and some wild rides on the pulling tracks in Denmark and in the Euro Cup, the 47 years old Dane decided to build a new mini with a different type of tube chassis.
But back to the beginning. In 2018, Flemming Smed returned to the pulling tracks with a new mini modified tractor after an 18 years of absence.

By most of the people in the pulling scene, Flemming was known as a team member and driver of one of the most successful modified teams in Denmark, the Fox Pulling Team which was own by Torben Larsen at that time. Flemming came to the team as a young bloke in the early 90s. He started as a mechanic in the team and has mainly worked on the V8 engines on the Fox tractor. Due to his education as a car mechanic, he also brought knowledge and experience with repairing engines to the team. At the beginning of 1997, some things changed in the Fox Team.

The main driver of the tractor Peter Larsen, the younger brother of Torben Larsen had decided to stop with tractor pulling and stepped out of the team which he had founded with his 5 brothers. After that Torben decided to give Flemming the chance to drive Fox from 1997 on. That decision was a good choice, Flemming learned very quickly and become one of the best modified and heavy modified drivers in Europe at that time. In his first season of Euro Cup competition, he finished in a great runner up position in the point standings. During the next years, he also drove the second tractor of the team called ''Fox Junior''.

In that season which has the team competed for the first time with two tractors in the modified and heavy modified class, Flemming positioned both Fox tractors on the podium in the 3.5t modified class at the 1998 European Championships in Great Eccleston, England. With Fox, he missed the European Championship title by just 10 cm to Johnny van Alphen with the twin Allison V12 powered Q8 Team Popeye from the Netherlands. Flemming was also to find during the next two seasons always under the first 3 in the 4.5t Heavy Modified class of Euro Cup point standings with the Fox. In 1998 he finished in 3rd and in 1999 in runner up position in the point standings.

These 2 years were successful at the EC in the 4.5t heavy mod class too. 3rd in Great Eccleston, England, and 3rd too in Bouconville, France.
Before the 2000 season started, Flemming Smed decided to stop with tractor pulling due to private reasons. But the Dane never was completely away from the pulling sport.
Sometimes he helped out as engine mechanic for the Fox Team or he was at the pulling events to find as a spectator, like at the European Superpull in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, or on his Euro Cup home pull in Herning / Brande. But during this time of his absence as an active pulling competitor, he always had in his head the plans to build his own pulling tractor.

Maybe one of his biggest dreams was to build a tractor for the heavy modified class, like the Fox which he has driven in the 90s. But these plans were impossible to realize for him, due to the less financial backing from companies and sponsors and also the own money in his pocket. So the only plan which was possible for him was a 950kg mini modified tractor.After a long time of waiting in 2017, came the opportunity to build a new mini modified tractor. At that time, the Lambada Pulling Team from Zwolle in the Netherlands had their old Hella Lambada 9 chassis for sale.

After some conversations and negotiations with the Dingerinks, he decided to purchase the used chassis from them. After that he bought for the tractor an AJPE 5300 V8 Hemi engine with the biggest AJPE Hemi cylinder heads which were available at the time. The engine was blown with a DMPE 18-71 blower with an Enderle big & ugly aluminum scoop. The engine received the best parts which he could get on the market. With this powerful power plant, the tractor was the most powerful mini mod in Denmark. If someone thought, a mini mod tractor is a new experience for Flemming Smed, then he was wrong.

Flemming already drove a mini mod tractor once in 1998. That was at Karl Sofus Engen's own organized tractor pulling event in Trogstad, Norway. At that event, he exchanged his Fox driver's seat with Karl Sofus Engen's mini mod called ''Mini Breaker''.
But between this mini driving experience was more than 20 years. And in those 20 years, it has changed a lot in this class, from tires, chassis up to the engines, etc. Everything was different, that also said Flemming after his maiden run in Brande, Denmark. In his first season, he competed only in the Danish Championship with his Blacksmed to gain experience with his new toy.

Already at the third round of the Danish Championship in Allingabro, Flemming did two monster pulls and won with his Blacksmed the competition there. He beat everyone in the pull off and the rest of the field followed far behind him.
After those great two runs, everybody thought that the tractor at the Euro Cup round in Brande, Denmark can fight for the top places. Everybody was excited about how he would do against the others. But the track conditions were difficult on that day, with less traction in the track for the minis. Both runs were pretty wild in front of the sled and the second pass ended with bent steering. It was not the best day for Flemming.

But all in all, he finished his first season in the Danish Championship in runner up position in the mini mod point standings.
For the 2019 season, he did some changes on the tractor, especially to save some weight for more movable weight. Also, the blower of the engine received a lighter carbon fiber scoop and a Racepak data logger system was fitted on the power plant. And he registered the Blacksmed for the Euro Cup. But that Euro Cup season started not so bad for him with a 6th place at the round in Lidköping, Sweden. But only an event later in Made, again the same problem like last year in Brande, another wild ride with a broken front axle. At the final round in Putten, the Netherlands was the balance better on the track but the engine ran not well, only 9th place.

In the end, he finished with Blacksmed in 7th place in the 2019 Euro Cup point standings.

But already after the pulling season came the plans to build a brand new chassis for the tractor. The main focus for that project was the weight distribution and more movable weight on the chassis. The main problem with the old chassis was not only the balance of the tractor but also the weight was a big problem. With that old Lambada chassis, Flemming only had 5kg moveable weight on the tractor, which was way too less for good pulling tracks and the maximum power out of the engine.

So the only way was to build everything as light as possible. He started to build the new chassis in the winter of 2020.
The new Blacksmed received a new homemade chrome-moly tube frame with a new constructed homemade 2 bar chrome-moly roll cage, a fiberglass Go-Kart seat with a 5 point Simpson harness, a new homemade hydraulic steering from a boat, newly developed engine and weight brackets, homemade chrome-moly tube wheelie bars, and a Vampire Gears steel sheet metal rear end.

All the tube parts for the chassis were cut and bent by Flemming himself in his own car workshop of his company in Skjern. From the first point of view, many people may be thinking now the new chassis of the tractor looks like Bruce and Tyler Slagh's mini chassis from the USA, but that is not true. On the new chassis, there are so many differences compared to the tube chassis of the Show No Mercy Pulling Teams.
Compared to the old Blacksmed chassis, the new chassis is completely different. Especially, the driver's position is much more forward and the cage is a bit smaller and shorter.

With the new position of the cage, Flemming is sitting almost 300mm more forward on the chassis.
Flemming hopes to have a better balance on the pulling tracks with those changes in the nearby future. Due to the less space between the driver's position and the engine, the steering column for the steering was directly attached to the back of the DMPE blower. Also for the brake pedals was no space inside of the chassis anymore. The pedals were positioned outside of the frame rails underneath the exhaust headers. Also, the Racepak data logger was positioned in a different place.

Usually, the datalogger was positioned on the back of the blower. But due to the new driver's position and the position of the steering column, the data logger was placed between the clutch bell housing and the blower.

Also, completely new and different in the chassis is the rearend. The old ride had an Advanced Chassis sheet metal rearend without planetaries from the USA. For the new tractor, he decided the purchase a brand new rearend with planetaries from Vampire Gears in the Netherlands. The reason for that switch was the weight.

He talked with Vreeman (Vampire Gears), Modern Machine and TRB about the weight of the rearends. The planetary rearend from TRB Machine & Tool and Modern Machine from the USA were heavier than the planetary rearend from Vampire Gears. So then the choice was pretty easy for him.
The Vampire Gears rearend base on a Ford 9 inch rear axle with a lot of billet parts. The Vampire Gears planetary rear axle is currently the most used rear axle in the mini mod class in Europe. But meanwhile, many teams in the USA using this rear axle in their minis too.

The Vampire Gears rearend in the Blacksmed has a steel sheet metal rear axle housing with CNC-machined aluminum planetary carrier housing and custom-built planetaries, custom-built steel half shafts, a machined stock Ford 9 inch aluminum center section with a custom-built aluminum diff, a custom-built ring and pinion gear and Willwood brake calipers with Willwood steel brake discs from the USA.
The new mini also got a homemade gearbox with a homemade driveshaft between the gearbox and the rearend, a Trick Titanium bell housing, and a Molinari 10 inch centrifugal clutch with 2 discs. The aluminum housing for the gearbox and the driveshaft were CNC-machined by Flemming's teammate Johannes Hauge.
For a good grip on the pulling tracks in Denmark and Europe, Flemming bought a set of new cut Mayhill Giant Puller tires on new polished Real Wheel aluminum rims. He purchased those tires and rims from Flemming Svendsen-Tune of pullingtires.com in Denmark.

The new fenders on the tractor are homemade and made off carbon fiber. The carbon fiber fenders were layer for layer in handwork fabricate by Flemming and a good friend of him in his workshop. They spent a lot of hours on the production of those new light fenders.
The new fenders are lighter compared to the old ones on the old tractor.
The new Blacksmed is powered by AJPE 5300 V8 Hemi engine on methanol fuel.

The engine was completely dismantled and overhauled after the 2019 season. On the engine nothing was changed or improved, everything is still the same as in 2019.
The new engine has an AJPE billet aluminum block with new AJPE 5300 cylinder heads, Manley valves, and valve springs, homemade stainless steel exhaust headers, a Bryant billet steel crankshaft with GRP billet aluminum rods and CP-Carillo pistons, a DMPE 18-71 blower with a carbon fiber injector scoop, an RCD oil pump, a homemade fuel tank, a Gorr Racing fuel system with a Sassy Racing fuel pump, an MSD 44 Pro Mag ignition and a Racepak data logger.

So far Flemming Smed has competed with his new mini on 3 events in Denmark so far. Unfortunately at the planned maiden run in Brande, Denmark the ignition on the AJPE Hemi engine made trouble and no run was possible in front of the sled. The last two outings were much better, where he could gain very important experience with the new chassis. But, he already told us it will take some time before everything works properly and problem-free.

The long-term plans for the future with the new tractor are quite clear for Flemming. With the new Blacksmed 2.0, he wants to fight for the podium places at the Euro Cup rounds in the future. Another very important person in the team is Hans Bossen. He is the starter man for the tractor and is the truck driver of the team. Hans transport safely the mini mod to every Danish Championship and Euro Cup round.
By the way, the old Blacksmed chassis with the fenders and rear wheels is still for sale. If anyone is interested in the chassis contact Flemming Smed under his Blacksmed Facebook fan page!

For further information, check here: https://www.facebook.com/Blacksmed-1565260060220904/