Help to make Charger 9 better

[WheelHorseEnjoyer 25]

I have a 1968 Charger 9 with the Tecumseh HH100 engine in it and the guy that I bought it from said that he used to pull with it back in the day with the turf tires that are on it. It seems to be bone stock except for the wheel weights on the rear, some stickers, and an 8-ball shifter knob on the hydro lever (very comfortable). My local club is going to be starting a turf tire class this year and I thought I would bring it down there to bring it back to it's glory days and to see if I can get hooked on it. I'm here asking if any of you here have any tips and tricks on pulling a garden tractor with turf tires on it. last summer I was pulling around a spring tooth harrow and I do know it's limitation is that it looses traction easily (who could have guessed with turf tires on dirt). My plan was to borrow the cast iron weights from my John Deere 110 round fender for a bit and fill the tool box on the Charger 9 to the brim with lead lead bars to help with weight over the rear axle. I don't know how that sounds but guys tell me. Thanks in advance. you  

[Achto 27,502]

Hydro's do not usually make the best pullers. I have pulled with them is some stock classes though so I can give a few tips.

 

Weight is always a good thing. When pulling front weight is just as important as rear weight. When the front end comes off the ground the hitch height goes down. This results in less up pull on the front of the sled that your are pulling, making it harder to pull. There is also the danger of having the tractor coming up too far & dumping you on the ground. Most pulls have a maximum weight allowed. You will need to read the rules to figure out max weight, with this number you will then need to figure out where you want to add weight to balance the tractor out.

 

When pulling with a hydro, once you are rolling you can push the motion lever all of the way forward. Continue with it in this position until you here the engine starting to work hard. Once you here the engine working hard pull back on the motion lever some. This will in a sense gear the tractor down some to allow you to pull further. 

[Pullstart 62,757]

Cool looking tractor!  You gonna leave the custom paint?  

[WHX?? 48,749]

5 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

Cool looking tractor!  You gonna leave the custom paint? 

Another pale face Dan? 

[WheelHorseEnjoyer 25]

9 hours ago, Achto said:

Hydro's do not usually make the best pullers. I have pulled with them is some stock classes though so I can give a few tips.

 

Weight is always a good thing. When pulling front weight is just as important as rear weight. When the front end comes off the ground the hitch height goes down. This results in less up pull on the front of the sled that your are pulling, making it harder to pull. There is also the danger of having the tractor coming up too far & dumping you on the ground. Most pulls have a maximum weight allowed. You will need to read the rules to figure out max weight, with this number you will then need to figure out where you want to add weight to balance the tractor out.

 

When pulling with a hydro, once you are rolling you can push the motion lever all of the way forward. Continue with it in this position until you here the engine starting to work hard. Once you here the engine working hard pull back on the motion lever some. This will in a sense gear the tractor down some to allow you to pull further. 

 Thanks for the info. I heard that it takes more effort for the engine to work with a hydro instead of a manual but I only have 2 manual wheel horses right now. (a L-107 lawn ranger and a 857). Again thanks for the tips.

[Achto 27,502]

11 hours ago, WHX?? said:

Another pale face Dan?

 

Nothing wrong with a pale face.

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Achto