18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 02:18AM

The Musick family from LaPrairie,ILL pulled this M with a very high rpm 427 Chevy built by Lee Edwards in Quincy,ILL.This tractor was discussed a year ago on here and they still have it 40 years later in running condition.



1970 NTPA national champ Chuck Wheatley from Pocahontas,IA with a 427 Chevy.



Heres the tractor on the trailer behind Chuck Wheatleys truck.Its Bruce Wheatleys Wards with a 427 Chevy.



The Magnificent M pulled by Keith Pearey from Cambridge,IA.



The Gerdes injected 426 Hemi from Illinois.



The Super Rat F-30 427 Chevy owned by Lonnies Texaco out of Monmouth,Illinois.



Claude Woodworth from Ursa,Illinois with his F-30 blown 427 Chevy.Possibly the 1st blower motor pulling tractor.Another high rpm motor built by Lee Edwards from Quincy,Illinois.



In 47 years of going to tractor pulls this is the most memorable run ever for me.Not a great picture as it needs lightened up.Claude Woodworths F-30 blown Chevy pulling the 12,000 Unlimited in 1971 at Bethany,MO.He got 2nd place between the Allison Team.The huge crowd was all on their feet for this hook.

Heres a tractor that normally pulled the 7000 class and he put 50 more 100 lb IH weights on it.He easily kept up with the 8 mph pace tractor while turning 8000 plus rpms.Right at the end he had to shift a smoking automatic tranny to a lower gear.I think that it only had 23.1x30 rear tires.We all that that he would break something but he didnt.The crowd was sure buzzing at the end of this run.



Chuck Wheatleys Boss Hoss turbocharged Chevy.



This is possibly the late Rollie Boughtons blown 426 Hemi from LaMonte,MO.



This is Derald Doerschers F-30 blown 426 Hemi from Davenport,IA.



A closer look at Doerschers Hemi.



Bob Chickerings Inch Pincher inj 427 Ford from Bloomfield,IA.He later ran blown Ford cammers.



Maybe Robert Ault from Iowa? 20 years ago I could remember all these pullers.



Maybe Steve Tate from MO with a blown Chevy.



C & H Team from Blue Mound,Kansas with the Blue Angel.Steve Brown drove this F-20 with a 427 Chevy.
It pulled the 5000.



The C & H teams second tractor from Blue Mound,Kansas.Howard Herman drove this one in the 7000 class.I knew Steve and Howard pretty good.They later pulled a V-12 Allison but found out that you cant crank them like a Chevy.They then went to twin blown Chevys before quitting in the late 1970's.They were tough to beat in Kansas and MO.I think Howard won the open class once at an NTPA pull at the Kansas state fair.Notice what they pulled their trailer with.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 03:40AM
In looking at what they hauled their tractors on back then I remember it was a pretty good show just watching them load and unload.Ive seen guys without dovetails on their trucks backup crossways to a truck that did to unload.Pulling back then was more dangerous all the way around.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 08:18AM
When I was a teen showing dairy cattle , on tractor pull day it was great , because a lot of pullers hauled on flat beds and used the cattle unloading ramp that most fairs had back in the old days .You could really get excited watching the pullers unload knowing what good iron you was going to watch later that evening .
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 21, 2011 11:23AM
Do you have any pictures of Johny Macmanus or the Ruasch Bros out of Talyor Ridge Il. When I was young we hang out at their shops.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 03:49AM
Cool pics!!!! Ahh, the old days, brings back memories!!!
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 05:40AM
motors in muzics & woodworth tractor were built by lee hamilton of quincy il. not edwards
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 06:08AM
Thanks again for the pictures.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 06:11AM
BG-IH could you e-mail me your phone number@[ rustyregenbrecht@hotmail.com]
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 11:14AM
I'll email you the phone number later this evening.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 03:10PM
do you happen to have any photos of the old "betty's headache" tractor? Thanks
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 01, 2011 04:00PM
there is good video of betties headache on youtube,from l-ville
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 11, 2014 01:50PM
I stumbled across these old pulling tractor pics and can't help wonder if the Farmall F 30 i got out of Illinois may have been one of these at one point. Story was the F 30 rear end was narrowed and maby drops were flip flopped up high, not sure about that, the rear was not always coupled to the rest of the tractor that i have, the front hasremains of metallic green paint and Ford script logos with white trim, and the frame was modified to fit a F 20 rearen. Very interesting this chassis does have an overdrive an an eletric start. I got it from Dale in Illinois a cool farmer that has 20 or more F 20 tractors each one has a purpose. I'm interested in knowing more on my tractors 2 other former lives, I am restoring it this winter the block frame and tag are all in tact 1933 I did aquire the correct duck bill front end for it. I will try to post pics here feel free to contact me. jason@verbstractors.com
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 13, 2014 01:36AM
Jason,
Do you have any photos of your tractor to share? I think there's several of us around that like the thought of resurrecting old pulling tractors, especially the modifieds. It's amazing the amount of different combinations of engines and chassis' that were tried. It was very common back in the day to narrow an F-30 differential / axle housing, then flip the final drives upside down (only after removing the PTO housing from the bottom of the transmission housing). The Cook and Tate team out of Tennessee ran two F-30's on the national circuit back in the 70's. There was another one from Kentucky called the Under Rat that also run back in those days, but right now the owners name evades me. I knew of one F-30 modified originally powered by two 409 Chevy's, then a single BB Chevy and finally to twin BB Chevy's before it was retired in the late 70's. It ran here in west central Indiana and was owned by Mack Bohn from Fairbanks, Indiana. There were a lot more F-30's that run back then, but I'd have to do some research to come up with the names. Anyone have any names or photos they can add of old F-30 modifieds? This thread needs to keep running as the photos and discussions reflect the history of tractor pulling.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 13, 2014 02:21AM
One that I'm sure you have seen over the years Charlie is Frank Fryman's Hercules. Frank didn't run any national events but ran very strong. The tractor is an F-20 with a big block Chevy. I watched Frank run against some HSTPA tractors back in the mid seventy's, he ran 18.4 tire and they all had bigger tires. I was a little shocked when he was in the top two or three,he may have even won l can't recall for sure. Mark Fryman has put that tractor back out on the track in the last few years and Frank even gets in the seat evey now and then. One of the events that I went to was in Vevey,In and there was another F-20 or F-30 that was flipped over,I remember the guy made a fullpull then stood up and did a little dance only to be told the the sled had not worked right. Someone said that this guy did that little dance all of the time when he did well.

S'no Farmer
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 13, 2014 04:12AM
How many years ago has it been since the "dance" at Vevay took place Todd?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2014 04:16AM by One Sick Puppy.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 13, 2014 11:16AM
That was around 1975 or 1976.

S'no Farmer
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 14, 2014 01:52AM
Todd, if the F-20/F-30 was all black, then it sounds like it might have been Mack Bohn. He was always very flamboyant. He called his tractor Asinine 1. Many people thought the lettering said As# Annie when they first looked at it. I've got some poor quality photos of his tractor. If I can scan them and get them to come out, I'll post them. I attended a lot of pulls with him, including the year he went to Louisville.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 14, 2014 02:03AM
I remember the person next to me said he does that all the time and kinda rolled his eyes. Another tractor that I remember seeing in about 1977 was a tractor called Bull Shippers Express, it was a co-op with a V-8. He hauled it in a gooseneck cattle trailer. I allways thought that that was a clever name.

S'no Farmer
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 14, 2014 04:42AM
Todd,
I do remember the Bull Shippers Express, but for the life of me, I can't remember the owners name. Wow, this thread has brought back a lot of memories of old tractors. I had nothing against the Supers and Stockers of the day, I just always loved modifieds. I remember mainly the mod pullers from west central and southwestern Indiana. Names like Coffman, Watson, Sanders, Clodfelter, Harness, Blesch (spelling), Cardwell, Larry Jones, Don Morgan, Clayton, Freeman, Livesay, of course Engler and so many more. I'm sure if I think a while, I'll come up with more. Back in the late 60's through the mid 70's it was relatively easy to pull a modified. Power was one thing, but skill much more and it also didn't cost a fortune to build one. My first modified tractor built for competition was a MH 44 with a 409 Chevy. I built in when I was in high school in the fall of 1974. I was working at a local welding shop part time after school and that's where I mounted the engine in it at. I'm relatively sure I didn't have much over $500.00 in it, until I bought a set of 24.5 X 32's for it. I gave Paul Wilkey $500.00 for the tires and Ed Carmichael $300.00 for the rims. The rims were 27" wide and really spread out those old 45 degree Firestones. Later the rims worked great when I went to 30.5 X 32 Firestone Field and Roads. That was just about the time the C. Dalton frames started gaining popularity, and lots of mod pullers were starting to move the engines farther forward. I was young and build mine then running basically a stock location with hood, grill and fenders. It didn't take me long to remove the cast tub and build our own wedge frame. Wow, what memories!!!!!!
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO March 14, 2014 03:56AM
I have realy enjoyed the photos and the coments that are posted with them. I was wondering if anyone has any photos of a puller from northern illinois from the 70s named Norb Brachle I see often and would love to see some photos of his old pullers. Just on a side note Norb will turn 80 this sunday still works each day and is a pleasure to have as a freind.
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3 Pages Early Iowa Pulling Pics-Bettys Headache January 02, 2011 01:09AM
[ksi-iowa.com]

Heres a link to 3 pages of early Iowa pulling pictures.There are 2 more pages after the one that comes up.Find the one that says Fairfield puller.Its when it was a single engine and no blower.I think another picture of it was on here a year ago.
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Re: 3 Pages Early Iowa Pulling Pics-Bettys Headache January 02, 2011 01:50AM
BG-IH do you have any pictures of Kreed Smith's Green Rat , or Holman Bros., or Wayne Andrews "the Other Women" ? They were from Il.
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Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 02, 2011 02:15AM


The Green Rat at Greenville,Illinois in 1972



Taken at Greenville,Illinois in 1972.Not sure whom it is.

You got lucky on this one.It was over 300 miles to Illinois to see a pull but I happened to be at Greenville,ILL in 1972.I only have 3-4 pictures from this pull..The others are lost.I remember seeing Wayne Andrews pull a time or two.
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 02, 2011 05:47AM
Thanks, BG-IH . Kreed's tractors were the Green Rat name , later Paul Nelson ,Uncle to the Nelson 's with Midnight Motorsports partnered with Kreed . Then a guy named Carl got in the mix, and a new tractor came to be as The Parts Stop Exspess . Kreed drove the exspess and Paul handled the Rat . Illinois had great Mod pulling back in the 70's and 80's , Wayne's tractor I heard ended up at the Montgomery's that own the sled in Il., but not for sure on that .
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 02, 2011 01:20PM
My dads tractor is back in the family. I would like to restore the Other Woman some day. Jeff Montgomery bought it after dad past away and I bought it back last year. I just need to go get the old girl and bring her home. I have tons of old pictures of pullers from the 60s and 70s. It is nice to see some of the old pullers again.
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Wayne Andrews' Tractor January 02, 2011 01:53PM
Here are a few pics of my dad's tractor; The Other Woman:








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Re: Wayne Andrews' Tractor January 03, 2011 08:22AM
Thanks for the photos of your dad's tractor,those photos bring back old times,i think your dad travel with Jerry,he had a minirod,i forgot his last name.I sure hope you can restore your dads tractor
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 02, 2011 01:59PM
I saw your Dad pull several times and even talked to him at the 1972 St Louis,MO indoor pull held on Jan 4th and 5th..I still have the program and see that he pulled a MH 44 with a 427 Chevy in the 7000 Mod class..Thats great that you got his tractor back.

Any chance you could get some of those 1960's-70's pictures on here? I'd kill for a picture of Barns McKinnons Red Bone Coon Skinner 1206 Farmall and his AC 190 XT.Theres many others that I'd love to see.
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 02, 2011 02:25PM
It would be much easier to if we all just got together and looked at every ones pictures some time. The old timers of the ITPA used to have a reunion once in a while. Would be nice to do so again. I have to thank my wife for posting those pictures. Kreed was a good friend of my dads. I talk to Kreed about once a year, and I try to get him out of retirement, but have not had any luck
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 03, 2011 01:15PM
im interested in trying a reunion of somekind,even tho most of these were before my time,ha ha.it would be so nice to see some video from this timeframe,surely someone has some hidden away.
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 20, 2011 11:10PM
Hello, would you have any pictures of Perry Noord (golden nugget - stretched out M with a chevy) from prophetstown, Illinois? If I remember right he drove it from 1969-71. Thank you
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL July 29, 2011 04:50AM
Lincoln,
I almost bought that tractor off of Jeff Montgomery a few years ago (8?). If Jeff Mongomery would have sold me your Dads tractor, I was planning on putting one of my V-12 702 GMC engines in it and taking it to antique tractor pulls and shows. I remember your Dad pulling "The Other Woman" all over Illinois and western Indiana at various pulls. If I remember correctly, your Dad had a very early nitrous system (self built?) on it. I use to attend a lot of Indiana and some Illinois pulls with a mod puller from here in Indiana by the name of Mack Bohn. In those days he ran an F-30 flipped upside down with an injected 427 Chevy on nitro. I know he and your Dad knew each other fairly well. Good luck in getting it restored, it should be a great project and bring back loads of memories for you.
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 03, 2011 08:28AM
My brother work on those motors for the Parts Stop Express,in Carls shop during those times.
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 03, 2011 10:26AM
Linc , I painted a picture for your sister of your dads tractor, and i think she was giving it to him for christmas oh about 30 years ago , you still have it ? I was living in Neoga at the time in one of your dads rentle houses.
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Re: Heres The Green Rat-Unknown Mod At Greenville,ILL January 04, 2011 02:44PM
Yes, my sister does still has it. It was painted on wood, cut out and framed right.
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Re: 3 Pages Early Iowa Pulling Pics-Bettys Headache July 28, 2011 12:39PM
h



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2011 04:30PM by the legendary green rat.
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Re: 3 Pages Early Iowa Pulling Pics-Bettys Headache July 28, 2011 12:53PM
would be great to see you get pictures on here of the restro project as you are working on the RAT !
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Re: 3 Pages Early Iowa Pulling Pics-Bettys Headache March 11, 2014 01:26PM
Quote
BG-IH
[ksi-iowa.com]

Heres a link to 3 pages of early Iowa pulling pictures.There are 2 more pages after the one that comes up.Find the one that says Fairfield puller.Its when it was a single engine and no blower.I think another picture of it was on here a year ago.
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO January 21, 2011 02:02AM
DO you have a picture from Bethany Missouri of the tractor called Owl Creek Special It was the Tractor Pulled by Kim Smith and Larry Simmons Out of Edina Missouri?
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Re: 18 Pictures-Early 1970's Modified Tractors At Bethany,MO July 08, 2015 10:24AM
Love looking at pictures
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