—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 10,1977 100 Toy tractors aren’t just for kids By JOANNE SPAHR SCHOENECK - The crowd waits in quiet an ticipation, keeping their eyes on the track. In the pits, contestants mill around their tractors, adjusting the front and rear weights and checking tires as they prepare for the next class to begin. Suddenly, the scream of an engine slices through the air and all eyes turn to the tractor approaching the starting line. Sending up a cloud of smoke, it struggles against the formidable sled opponent-to its rear, with its tires clawing for the track ahead. In a short time the event is over, and the official runs to check the distance. The pull measures 14 feet, and with a smile the driver picks up his tractor and heads for his work area to change weights for the next class. This sport is called micro mmi tractor pulling, and instead of dealing with huge diesel engines, thousands of pounds of machinery, and the same amount of in- Unlike full-size tractor pulls, weighing in during micro-mini competition is done with a baby scales. A Hydro-Heater Franklin will cut your fuel costs... Can heat your whole house, even when it’s zero outside! A Hydro-Heater Franklin gives you a 300 to 500 per cent increase in - heat output over normal Franklin type stoves In fact, you get a 175,000 BTU output with a Hydro-Heater Franklin! And with a Hydro- Heater, you don’t put up with (he "freeze or fry” situation ex penenced with ordinary Franklin-type stoves That s because Hydro \ ' Heater trans to s its heat to your existing home heating system to eO^'iVo^ PA '’ warm every room m your house Why settle ,or t ust an 7 conventional wood-burning stove when you can have a beautiful, efficient Hydro- Heater Franklin. Also Available Are Fireplace Units JAMES L NEWSWAN6ER AT BLUEBALL MACHINE WORKS (717)354-4478 Evenings call (717) 354-9431 (215)445-4191 Micro-mini tractor vestment, it involves “toy” tractors, model airplane engines, and a little over $lOO initial investment. “I have to admit it hooks you,” said one contestant from Delaware who com peted in a pul! held recently in Lancaster County, “You can get a lot more than $lOO wrapped up in it once you get started.” But, getting started is the key. All it takes is a l/16th scale farm tractor model which has been altered to mount a model airplane engine and a gear reduction mechanism between the miniature tractor’s rear wheels. The minipull, which is patterned after large scale tractor pulls, was born in Missouri with competitive pulling beginning . there about three years ago. The sport has since caught on around the country. Taking place on a 16 by 2 foot plywood track, the object of each sport is to pull the miniature weight transfer sled the furthest distance in the allotted time A 1 water Jackat surrounds tha fire on back, sidas and bottom. This allows you to placa tha Hydro-Heater Franklin within 6" of any wall or partition, becausa tha outside tempaiature never exceeds 210*. Steering in a micro-mini tractor pull is done by touching only the front side of the tractor with a < * * v * * V I '• V* i * • v'-jr- > % %“ wa» ■- r >Vf Directional flow tubing captures the heat that is normally lost up the flue. 65% of tha heat collected in Hydro-Heater is absorbed by the tubing section. This heat is then transferred to your existing heating system. AVAILABLE ARE HOT WATER HEAT EXCHANGERS FOR DOMESTIC HOT WATER SYSTEMS tills period - about 18 seconds. The ultimate is a full pull, which is 15 feet. - , * To keep the sport com petitive,. engines can be no larger than .051 cubic inches with of these power plants winding out to 20,000 rpm. In the hot rod division, the motor may not exceed .20" total displacement. By changing gears and adding wheel and front-end weights, a puller can use one *, KOEHRIMQ Farm Division NEW FOX COMPACT MODEL SPREADER The Fox Model 0539-07 is especially designed for mounting on pick up, flat bed or dump trucks. Mounting, using the hold-downs-at all four comers, is quick and easy. The spreader is a self-contained unit powered by a 7 H.P. air-cooled 4-cycle gasoline engine with heavy duty centrifugal clutch, electric starter alternator. THIS COMPACT MODEL IS A MULTI-PURPOSE SPREADER PARTICULARLY SUITED FOR: • ICE CONTROL • FERTILIZER • DUST CONTROL • BROADCAST SEEDING • ETC. It will spread material (sand, salt, cinders, lime, etc.) in widths from 4 to 40 feet depending on weight and kind of material. GRUMELLI’S FARM SERVICE am m PdiSS 0539-07 FOR MOUNTING ON SMALL TRUCKS Quarryville, Pa. 17566 Phone (717) 786-7318 ularity ■ pencil or a flat stick held in a vertical position. tractor to compete in the three, four, and five pound weight classes. The six pound class is optional. Actually, while the large pulls are louder and visually more impressive, the minipulls are more powerful - pound for pound - than the real McCoys. “These engines pull anywhere from eight to 10 times their weight,” said a puller from the Blue Hen Micro Mini Pullers club, recently. This is in com parison to full-size rigs which pull on about a one-to one ratio. To guide these miniatures, each contestant is allowed to use a pencil or a flat stick held in the vertical position. Any pushing, battering, or pulling of the tractor causes the puller to be disqualified. The purpose is to guide the (Continued on Page 121) Material Spreader For Pick-up Trucks
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