2007
The story of the Beauty & the Beast
Back from Binderlite - awesome job Ted & Tony!
Tractor specs: 505 ci. three charger alcohol (the Beast) with 5 speed Profab, steel chunk, Engler mag planetaries, 30.5 Puller 2000's, solid steel front axle with steel rims on front.
Weight class: 6000 pound light super stock Larry Gorham as driver/owner
8000 pound heavy super stock Monica Gorham Shaw as driver/owner
As pulling tractors evolved over the years, Larry Gorham has drove them all. Starting with original cast iron housings,
then square tube welded frames, then the sheet metal wedge type, and round tubing, truck and tractor pulling frames are still changing.
When the idea for the new chassis design was presented, there was no hesitation on his part to be a test pilot for it.
The challenges: switching from two wheel drive trucks to super stock tractors, weighting a new chassis, and trying to get a bite with the Puller 2000 10 plys
This is a work in progress, and updates will follow as the vehicle progresses
6/16/07
Debut in Hazel Green Alabama - clutch issues
Rear weight rack not completed, but filled the belly and front rack and ran both classes to see what she would do...
photo courtesy of Chris Carlisle
6/22/07 Viola, Tn
clutch adjustment problems
6/23/07 Springfield, Tn
clutch problem is finally diagnosed and decision is made not to run again until it is fixed
since there is a weekend in between, the tractor will be stripped, sandblasted, and powder coated,
side shields polished, and mechanical problems taken care of...
photo courtesy of Chris Carlisle
7/06/07 - Hoptown, Ky -
Clutch did fine, now it is a waste gate sticking. Motor still not up to target RPM range
Computer did not record 3 of the 4 passes, so adjustments at this point are merely guesswork
photo courtesy of Chris Carlisle
7/14/07 Paris, Tn.
Waste gate opened like it should, but fuel line came off at the turbo and created some excitement.a few wires melted,
but nothing major. Experimenting with tire pressures, still haven't got them hooked to the track yet
fuel spraying out the side
7/20/07 Temple Hill, Ky
Moved all the weight to the rear to make the tires hook, and they did!
7/27-28/07 Tanner, Al
A major problem was found that was affecting the way the sled weight transfered to the tractor. It was caused by a non-functional part, and has been removed.
Unfortunately, we are back to square one as far as how to weight the tractor. Remember, this is the only light super tractor (that I know of) that is running these 10 ply tires,
and is a unique chassis design, so it will take some time to figure out what it takes to balance the tractor and make the tires hook.
Friday night we started with everything on the nose and it was too heavy. Saturday we tried the other extreme, (about 75% on the back) and it was closer,
but too much. Larry took a wild ride and got some green paint on both sides of his helmet...
8/04/07 Hillsboro, Tn
made a decent pass in the light class, but motor still not getting the RPM's it is capable of. Computer data is helping to fine tune the fuel
8/10/07 Somerville, Tn
light class was first, but clutch arm was bottoming out. Was fixed between classes. In the heavy class we saw a major improvement in the
RPM's and boost pressure over previous weeks. A faceful of dirt ended a very nice run early.
8/11/07 Crockett Mills, Tn
heavy class started very strong with lots of ground speed, but drifted out of bounds left.
light class was run (this time with face shield closed!) with all the weight on the nose. The beast came alive and made the first full pull for the Gorham team.
photo courtesy of Chris Carlisle
8/31/07 Springfield, Tn
After some strange objects turned up in the oil filter, the motor went to Jimmy Mattingly for a thorough check up. Nothing major was found,
but several little things needed attention. Tonight the headlines read:
MONICA WINS AT SPRINGFIELD!
9/1/07 Franklin, Ky
A hometown win would have been great, but still put on a good show.
The beast was a little too overeager for Larry in the light class, and he had to set the front end down twice to see where he was headed.
(He may have been in the same rut that Kevin made thru the chain link fence, so caution was in order...)
(Actually, it was a loose battery cable)
We did manage to get some unique video footage from a camera mounted on the roll cage, and later from one mounted under the tractor.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
This is part of an ongoing series of tests using video and lasers to compare how and where different chassis flex. The first few trials were a complete failure due to vibration issues.
It seems digital video cameras have an aversion to being mounted under pulling tractors, and tend to come loose. Of course, being drug in front of a sled is not
what they were designed to do, so a new camera is on the list. The results will be analyzed and the information will be useful in future designs.
In all, it has been a great year, and I hope you have enjoyed the ride half as much as I did. God Bless
Yeah. Lets build that...
The tractor that's in your head.
Mike
Jakedit
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Excessive Force (PPL)
