Anyone remember Torque Toppers?

[super99]

Back in the 60's before turbos became the rage, Torque Toppers were a LP injection system for diesel engines. Add a small LP tank somewhere on the tractor and somehow it injected small amounts of LP into the intake manifold to increase power. A guy at work said his Dad had bought a new Oliver 1850 and added it to it. He said you could hear the motor change sound when he turned it on and then it would pull anything better. I'm guessing there was a regulator of some kind that controlled the amount of LP added. Anyone remember them or had one? Chris

 

[rrlund]

I never knew it was a kit that you could buy. Tractor pullers did it for a real short time. Antique classes banned it pretty quick. I can remember guys having a small tank sitting right on the axle and they'd reach down and turn it on.

 

[miner09]

Got a friend here that has that setup on 84 Ford 250 diesel. Been running it for years. Gives more power and cleaner with no smoke out tailpipe.

 

[rockcreek4630]

Back in the 60's before turbos became the rage, Torque Toppers were a LP injection system for diesel engines. Add a small LP tank somewhere on the tractor and somehow it injected small amounts of LP into the intake manifold to increase power. A guy at work said his Dad had bought a new Oliver 1850 and added it to it. He said you could hear the motor change sound when he turned it on and then it would pull anything better. I'm guessing there was a regulator of some kind that controlled the amount of LP added. Anyone remember them or had one? Chris

If I remember wright red roster booster was the name of a kit.

 

[VicS]

My Dad had a kit on his 4010. He also had a pyrometer. He eventually burned a valve. It made more hp. But you could turn the diesel pump up and get the same hp. The kit had a small demand regulator. Now if you wanted to put a oxygen bottle on it, that made a difference, if you could get enough diesel from your pump.

 

[ss55]

Two neighbors had them around 1969. One was on an Oliver 1750 and the other was on an MF Super 90. Both tractors had broken crankshafts within three years. Farm income was good in 1972 so both tractors were traded in on new 100 HP tractors.

 

[trackrat]

our neighbors had 3 730 jd with them on , later they became the local propane dealer

 

[Butch(OH)]

If I remember wright red roster booster was the name of a kit.

Yes, that's the one I remember

 

[Dieseltech]

The idea YEARS ago was to turn DOWN the diesel max fuel setting, then bring the power back UP with the adding of LP when engine was in a hard pull. Some used an exhaust temperature switch to turn on the LP when the temp went up to a certain point.
For some REAL power boost Nitrous Oxide is much easier IF the injection pump has the EXTRA FUEL delivery capacity, or the Nitrous won't help.

 

[NDIHC]

I remember an old straight frame Case 4 wheel drive at the state fair tractor pull in the late 70s. I could see him reach down and open the valve on a 20 pound propane tank through the cab windows on the right side.

 

[NY 986]

Dad knew a farmer that had that setup on a 1968 4020 diesel complete with pyrometer. Ran it that way to chop haylage and corn silage. I don't remember the full conversation anymore but it seemed like that practice did not last very long. By the 1990's this same farmer was running a JD 5020 with a Detroit engine to once again chop haylage and corn silage. He talked about that setup going up a hill in 5th gear in a heavy crop.

 

[caterpillar guy]

The guy I used for some of my truck maintenance told me about one of his customers had a propane deal on his semi to get better mileage.
He was telling me long after the guy was out of the area the owner claimed he was getting close to 8 or 10 PG with it set up on the truck. I guess he was not looking for more power but to increase his mileage with it. supposedly helped with that. Just hearsay to me. Never was around all that p[woer stuff. Friend of mine claimed som distant relation used to push the ether button on a tough pull as he laughed so I beleive he was mocking their maintenance more than anything. We both knew they were hard on equipment.

 

[tom upton]

The idea YEARS ago was to turn DOWN the diesel max fuel setting, then bring the power back UP with the adding of LP when engine was in a hard pull. Some used an exhaust temperature switch to turn on the LP when the temp went up to a certain point.
For some REAL power boost Nitrous Oxide is much easier IF the injection pump has the EXTRA FUEL delivery capacity, or the Nitrous won't help.

I bet you can tell when the son hits the nitrous oxide!

 

[tumblebug54]

Back in the 60's before turbos became the rage, Torque Toppers were a LP injection system for diesel engines. Add a small LP tank somewhere on the tractor and somehow it injected small amounts of LP into the intake manifold to increase power. A guy at work said his Dad had bought a new Oliver 1850 and added it to it. He said you could hear the motor change sound when he turned it on and then it would pull anything better. I'm guessing there was a regulator of some kind that controlled the amount of LP added. Anyone remember them or had one? Chris

I was cleaning out our old barn today, in getting it ready for demolition, and I ran across an old torque topper from our old pulling days. It has a real small lp tank, a pressure regulator, and a 12 volt solenoid on it. My grandpa tried it on his 8000 Ford in a few pulls, but took it off. I don't remember the reason. I also found a water cooled intercooler that he ran. It was off a IH dozer I think.

 

[showcrop]

When I was pulling with a 9000 Ford and a good friend was pulling with a D-21 Allis, he had a tank attached to his exhaust pipe. It was supposed to represent a nitrous tank just to give people something to talk about.

 

[tumblebug54]

When I was pulling with a 9000 Ford and a good friend was pulling with a D-21 Allis, he had a tank attached to his exhaust pipe. It was supposed to represent a nitrous tank just to give people something to talk about.

Ah, the good old days when you could have fun without spending a million dollars!

 

[Dieseltech]

When I was pulling with a 9000 Ford and a good friend was pulling with a D-21 Allis, he had a tank attached to his exhaust pipe. It was supposed to represent a nitrous tank just to give people something to talk about.

I knew a fellow that would flip some switches while going down the track just to mess with his competition, those switches did nothing at all. Another good friend jokingly told me there are two kinds of tractor pullers, losers and cheaters! Got a good laugh from that comment.

 

[47fivewindow]

He must be cheating. cuz I'm cheating and he beat me.

 

[showcrop]

I knew a fellow that would flip some switches while going down the track just to mess with his competition, those switches did nothing at all. Another good friend jokingly told me there are two kinds of tractor pullers, losers and cheaters! Got a good laugh from that comment.

We eliminated the cheaters here in the northeast. You can run as much HP as you want in the stock classes, so there no way to cheat. You just need to stay below the speed limit and run uncut tires. I pulled Farm Stock with my 500 HP Ford 9000, when there any to pull against, but gradually there were fewer and fewer. I pulled sometimes against the much more powerful ones with the roll cages and drivers wearing flame suits and helmets. I could beat some of them on a soft track.

 

[300jk]

We eliminated the cheaters here in the northeast. You can run as much HP as you want in the stock classes, so there no way to cheat. You just need to stay below the speed limit and run uncut tires. I pulled Farm Stock with my 500 HP Ford 9000, when there any to pull against, but gradually there were fewer and fewer. I pulled sometimes against the much more powerful ones with the roll cages and drivers wearing flame suits and helmets. I could beat some of them on a soft track.

When we were pulling our tractor we were pulling in a light enhanced class. Oliver 88. There was a cubic inch limit. No cut tires, drawbar height, length, and engine rpm were all checked before you could pull. Obviously weight also. If you met the rules you could pull as fast as you could drag the sled. We pulled a few times where there were speed limits. Boring ! As long as everyone has similar engine size, limits on engine mods such as turbos, weight ect why restrict speed ? I’m guessing because there are very few rules as far as what you’re allowed to run. To me personally speed pulls are extremely boring. Coming from a puller.