Last three pulls (Real Long )

September 6 2006 at 9:37 PM

ShaZam ShaZam   (Login TRUKPULR)
Reddog's Friends
from IP address 72.129.214.237

Saturday Aug 26
Pound WI & Wausaukee WI

Sat at 12:00 Noon the NEW club had there make up pull in Pound WI. That got rained out back in June.
This week we had a lot of rain during the week and then today it was very overcast and the Sun wasn’t seen at all. The track was wet.. Really wet. But they did a good job on scraping off about 3” of the slop to get to the better clay there.. After further review I’d say Pound has one of the better tracks in this neighborhood. It had lots of bite and took lots of power to get to the end.
Also the Suring Guys did some work too the eliminator to help make it work better in slowing us down. They added some 3/8” angle rakes to the skidpan. Now they didn’t have to pile that 4000# of weight on the pan like they did last week. And the box wasn’t hitting the top of the sled as fast as it was last week.

So I put a 1000 Gear in and headed for the scale, Where I was 25# light so I went to the trailer which I got smarter this pull and parked really close too the scale and added the needed weight to get to 6200 #. I was the 5th puller out of 9 trucks..

Now I have been fighting a coolant system-pressurizing problem from the middle of the season I thought, where ShaZam would have antifreeze coming out the over flow at mid track since Demark. This is where I first noticed it on video but after further review I now see ShaZam was doing this since Oconto WI pull back in June.. So the head gaskets just never sealed good on this motor.
I was just dealing with the situation from pull to pull by adding water before each pull But it seem to be getting worst. After the Super Stock pull where I finished 6th the Club Pres. came to my trailer and said some of the other guys where complaining about me watering down the track, and wanted me DQ’ed, but I explained that I put a catch can on ShaZam to keep this in check but the hose blew out of it and sprayed down the engine compartment with coolant that run and I’d try to do a better job of containing the coolant on the next run.

So I changed to the mod tires and dropped the usual 100 # for the tire change and went to a 850 Gear for Mod. At the scale the weight was dead nuts on and but I got froggy with the hitch and pulled it out from 36”to 42” from Center of the Axle for Mod, thinking I might get a little more pull down with it, then off to get in line. Well When I left the line I eased it out of the hole to long and when I did step into it ShaZam just buzzed the tires and turned 7800 R’s and spun out at 246’2”. So make note in Log book leave hitch in at 36”.. I’d say it cost me about 30 feet at least in that pull.

So I finished the day off in Pound with 3rd in Super and 6th in Mod ..

So Loaded up and head North on U.S.141 30 miles to Wausaukee for the P.I. pull.

When I got there I had to park across the road in the big field they had there, which I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time, but I learned something from this.
Anyway when I got to Wausaukee I filled the radiator up with water changed to a 900 gear and went to watch the others pull.


At the Drivers Meeting that nights line up was pulled from a hat. 1st Smoker Tractors, 2nd Two Wheel Drive, 3rd Mod Tractors, And 4th Super Stock 4x4. Cool at least the track will be packed good for Super Stock Trucks I thought to myself.. Not thinking about what the night was to bring in the cooling off as the Sun that popped out at about 6:00 P.M. went down, Boy it got really Dewy out and the track actually got slippery as the pull went on. As the Smoker tractors warm up there motors the Smoke just hung in the Air like really low clouds.
As we sat there and watched the track change from really loose in the first class to better for the next class and it was getting really good when the Mod Tractors came up and then it went to hell by the time the Super Stocks Trucks ran.. It was by no means a bad track it just got really slippery at the starting line and at the 280 to 320 mark on the track from all the rain we got during the week and they didn’t have that part of the track covered up. The Middle of the track was great Tight and Sticky just where you needed the traction.

And as the track changed so did I First I went back to the 850 gear then as the track got tighter I switched to a 800 then I made my final choice at the end of the Mod Tractors to a 700 gear with knowing it was the right gear.
Well I was 2nd to last Truck to pull so I didn’t have to bring ShaZam into the pulling court for a while seeing there were 19 trucks there. And I got to stand by the sidelines and watch as the other trucks pulled, this is something I don’t always get to do.
So after about the 10th truck I went to bring in ShaZam, the windows where covered in Dew on both sides seeing I had the windows rolled down. So I had a hard time wiping them clean and keeping them clean, but figured once ShaZam got some heat in the motor I’d turn on the radiator fans on and it’d help clear the windows with the heat blowing thru the cab.
When I got too the scale I was 40 # heavy so I made the adjustment and checked the hitch after I pushed it back in to 36” set it too the class max of 26” and drove up too the starting line.
Now to this point I was just going thru my normal routine, Pulled ShaZam onto the track and got lined up to the sled got hooked up and tightened up the slack.. When I got the green Flag I rolled it out about 10’ and put the go fast peddle to the floor and off to the races we went. ShaZam Tach read 3,4,5,6,7,78 and settled at 7500 for the most of the run. When ShaZam stopped going forward I was at the 301.55’ mark with the first place truck sitting at 313.83’ So with one truck to pull yet I pulled ShaZam off to the side and watched as Roy came down the track and he got me with a 305.56’ So I finished 6th for the night there. As I brought ShaZam back to the trailer I notices I had no water temp what so ever and with just making a run not 4 minutes ago there should have been some reading. I emptied the whole thing this run, and afterward one of the other Pullers said it sounded like a lost a cylinder at the end of the run. So I went to pull ShaZam onto the trailer and I went to pull the weight bar in, and I found I never put it out after I got there.. So there’s 12” of leverage I didn’t use, how much would that had made on the track.

So on the ride home I decided to pull the motor out and install the 530 back up motor for the week and get this problem fixed and take my time doing it.
So I spent all day Monday switching the engines And I was on 12 hour shifts this week so I didn’t have the time to work on the motor.. Which wasn’t no big deal seeing last season I ran this 530 and it had lots of snot last year. I figures just drop 2 gears from what I been running and where still in the running.

Sat Sept 2
Suring WI Pull

Registration opens at 4:00 P.m. So I picked up my dad at 2:45 to get there in time to get the el premo parking spot. Got all signed up and watched as the boys worked up the track and it looked really good almost as good as it was this spring when we pulled there.
As the classes winded down My Dad pulls in the 6000 and 5500 pound Stock class. Daddy was the first puller in the 6000 stock class And as he left the line his truck hooked hard and gained speed fast, As he got the 190’ mark of the 220’ track the rear end made a Grr Bang grr bang grr bang Sound and the truck shuttered to a stop at 196.4’. He took out the ring and pinion so put it on the trailer. Ended up holding on to 2nd place for the class so it wasn’t a total loss for the night.
So when it was time for the Super stock trucks to line up I headed to the scale. I was the first puller in the class. I pulled onto the scale and they said I was 140# light. Well I had all the weight I had with in the truck so I guess we’ll just have to run 140 light. Check hitch right on. Ok Head to the line.. Jump in hit the start button and the starter goes Zing Zing doesn’t seem to want to engage. So I got a Crescent wrench from one of the other pullers tried to turn motor over some to find a better spot on the flex plate but still just Zing Zing. So I got pushed off the scale and pulled back to the trailer As I went past the announcer I said I broke but will try to get it fixed by the end of the class and pull last. So the thing’s that run thru your head.. OK the starter won’t engage. Crawl under to find the bottom starter bolt pulled out of the aluminum c6 tyranny mount. Well after I found a Alan head socket to fit the bolts I had in there I had two flat washers in between to keep the Starter off the Block plate cuz the bendex would stay engage in the ring gear with out them. I pulled them out reinstalled the starter and got the bottom bolt to grab the thread and half that the washer took place of and fired it up as they where reading the placements of the class. I ran out too the flag guy and told him I had it running but he told me I was too late the class was over.
So switched over too the Mod tires and dropped a gear And headed to the scale, Seeing I was 140 light in Super I left the normal 100 I take out in there and was only 40 # light in Mod.. So the different’s between my 528 with dry sump and my 530 with wet sump is 140# Cool . Well As I lined up and pulled the slack out of the cable I found my line down the track and as I left the line I waited way to long to get on it and a bunch of other factors took over And the motor only came up to 6200 R’s And pulled it too the 205.2’ mark with a full pull being 220’ So I finished in 4th place for the evening.

So I have one pull left in the WUMPA club to pick my standing up and that will be this Friday Night..
This next weekend I’ll have a full plate with pulls on Friday Night 7:00 p.m. in Lena WI with WUMPA Saturday Noon in Kewaunee WI with P.I. Saturday afternoon 4:00 p.m. in Lena WI again With NEW Club and Saturday night at Kewaunee WI with P.I.

I hope the time factor works out for me.


Dan Homa and ShaZam