June 2003: By Dave Tallon

The Tale Behind the Tractor Dave Tallon's John Deere 4010 Puller The Real Tractor Roy Tallon - 1977 Pull at Melvin, IL My Grandpa, Roy Tallon, started pulling his John Deere 4010 back in 1967. The 4010 was a 1961 model that came out in late 1960. These models had smaller rearend housings like a 3010, which was lighter weight. The 4010 was on the large side for the 5000# class Grandpa competed in so he tried to save weight any way he could. Until the rules changed in 1970, Grandpa ran the tractor without sheet metal. After that, most of the covers and sheet metal he used were either light weight aluminum or fiberglass. The tricycle front end was the lightest one available. He narrowed the rear axle housing and welded the wheel hubs to the axle to make the rear end lighter. To further reduce weight, he removed most of the gears in the transmission, leaving just 4,6,7,8 and reverse. Not all the modifications were focused on weight reduction however. The motor was stroked and bored to 497 cu in. instead of stock 404. The injector pump was changed to a belt driven Bosch, instead of the stock distributor like RoosaMaster. Unlike many competitors, Grandpa just ran 1 large turbo, and no water injection. In its first year of competition, the tractor was nearly demolished when my grandpa and dad were hit head on by a drunk driver on their way back from a pull in Monmouth, IL. The wreck briefly put Dad in the hospital, but it could have been far worse. Grandpa was soon busy rebuilding the 4010 and was again competing with it in 1969. From 1969 through 1973 Grandpa and the 4010 were a tough act to beat. In 1969 and 1970 Grandpa won the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association points championship for the 5000# Stock Block class. Grandpa continually had to make changes to the 4010 to keep up with the rules. By 1974, changes required by the rules made the 4010 too heavy to compete. Then in 1977 a change in weight regulations allowed Grandpa to again compete with the 4010. He pulled with the 4010 until 1979, when he turned the driving chores over to my cousin Tim. In 1980, the rules finally outlawed the single wheel front end so an aluminum wide front end was added. Eventually, Grandpa's 4010 became less and less competitive as the competition went to smaller motor tractors with up to 3 turbo chargers and water injection. Grandpa sold the 4010 at his farm sale in 1986. 1969 - Before sheetmetal was requried 1970 - Illinois Points Champ 1971 - Augusta, GA 1971 - Trophies 1978 - Louisville, KY 1980 - IL State Fair The Model Dave Tallon's 1/16th scale model 4010 (Click  photo to enlarge) A few weeks before Christmas of 1999, I found an Ertl 1/16 4010 Diesel  in the toy aisle of my local Tractor Supply store. I bought the tractor and set out to turn it into a model of Grandpa's 4010 puller to give to my Dad for Christmas. Since the tractor changed a great deal through the years to keep up with the rules, the first step was to decide what point in the evolution of the tractor that I wanted to represent.  After searching through our old family photos, I decided to go with the 70-71 period when grandpa won the points championship. To make the model, I removed the fenders and fabricated a single wheel front end that retained the steering function of the original tractor.  I also fabricated the front weight bracket from brass stock and added an aluminum exhaust pipe. To finish it off, I filled in the holes in the hood for the stock exhaust and breather, repainted the hood and added a few decals.  The tractor was a big hit with my Dad when he opened the package on Christmas morning.   A few years later, I made a copy of the tractor for myself.  I used a similar process for making the second one, although this time around I purchased some oversized (1 1/4" x 3 7/8") rear tires from Dakotah Toys . I also added a more detailed battery with cables, and a fire extinguisher from an old plastic model kit I had.  Overall, I was very happy with the way both of the models turned out and they are a cherished part of both my Dad's collection and my own.   Original Ertl Tractor Dad's 4010 Model My 4010 Model

TTT June 2003 Page 11

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