This right here is some vintage tractor greatness! The film is called, “More Power On The Ground” and it was made by Allis Chalmers right around 1970 judging by the surroundings and vehicles shown in the film. This is the first time we have seen the sport of tractor pulling in this era shown in professional level film. The colors, the action, and the tractors are freaking awesome. Local, regional, and national level action is shown. Of course the AC tractors are a focus, but you’ll see some really wild Modified tractors as well, including one with a pair of 409ci Chevy V8s!
The loose storyline of the video is a farmer attending a pull and watching the tractors, making judgements on which are the toughest and strongest as judged by their performance in the competition. We do see some stock tractors working the land and we hear about how more power means more efficiency, better implements, and less hours working the land.
While all of that is cool, the footage of pulling events is what makes this video so great. We see three different kinds of sleds. The first is a static weight sled where more and more people climb on to add more weight as the machine is going down the course. The second is a big rig truck which has a lot of dirt on its back and a device that adds more and more pressure on the brakes as the tractor pulls it. Thirdly there’s the early version of the wright transfer sled we all know and love today. Ok, lots of people hate that thing, but you get there we’re going.
From stockers to heavily modified tractors, this video is time travel of the best kind.
