Race cars are cool, but oftentimes, they have rules to follow. The same is true for pulling trucks and tractors. But that doesn’t stop some folks from building the ultimate version of whatever they own. Some people engineer Corvette track cars that would stomp a factory racer, but Dave Will put his wits to work on a John Deere 5020 with a 16-cylinder Detroit Diesel engine out of a daggum tugboat.
It’s called “Johnzilla,” and rightfully so. The big ol’ two-stroke, which measures 1,136 cubic inches on its own, is fitted up front. Will had to lengthen the frame by three feet to fit it, as it’s effectively two V8s positioned in parallel. It makes an estimated 600 horsepower and who knows how much torque.
Clearly, that’s a lot of power, but other pulling tractors make way more with way less displacement. Maximum specific output just isn’t the goal of Will’s project here. He told Farm Show Magazine that he previously built a Detroit 12V71-powered John Deere, …
Go to Source
Author: Caleb Jacobs
