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FYI - A-1 Miller's Performance Enterprises is a legal, legitimate, tax paying and reputable business. And as of 2024, A-1 Miller's Performance Enterprises is still in business and offering all parts and services listed in this website. Please click here to contact A-1 Miller's Performance Enterprises to place an order, send your parts for repairing, if you need a part or parts, or service(s) performed that's not listed or mentioned in this website, and/or for FREE professional and honest technical customer service assistance and support and payment options. |
A-1 Miller's Performance
Enterprises Automotive Services
These
type of small pulling trucks would not cost nearly as much to build and maintain
as a traditional full-size (and high dollar) pulling trucks. In addition,
unlike the full-size pulling trucks, which require a large, heavy towing
vehicle and a heavy duty goose-neck trailer to haul the truck to and from
the pull sites, these small and light-weight pulling trucks require just
a newer/late model 1/2 ton pickup truck (which have better braking than
earlier/older trucks) and a 16 ft. tandem axle utility trailer is all that's
needed. It'll be low-cost and very economical to build, maintain, and transport
a truck of this type to and from the pull sites.
If you decide to build one of these trucks for pulling, it'll be best to use a mini pickup truck or an early model/vintage (pre-1955±) 1/2 ton pickup truck that weighs no more than 2,900 lbs. The most practical (short bed) mini trucks to use are: 1947-'55 Chevy/GMC 1/2 ton (with a 4 cylinder or V6 engine), Chevy LUV, Chevy S-10/Colorado, GMC S-15/Sonoma/Canyon, Ford Ranger, Toyota, Nissan Hardbody, Mitsubishi Mighty Max, Mazda B-Series, Jeep Comanche, Isuzu, Dodge Ram 50, etc.
For the two wheel drive (2WD) class, it's best to use a short wheelbase (approximately 108" from center of the front spindle to the center of the rear axle) truck because less forward weight will be transferred toward the rear tires, allowing the tires to dig in better for improved traction. And for the four wheel drive (4WD) class, it's best to use a long wheelbase (approximately 118" from center of the front axle to the center of the rear axle) truck because the extended forward weight will place more weight on the front tires, allowing them to have more traction for improved traction.
To build a mini class pulling truck like these, the basic necessities are:
4-cylinder or V6 engine, naturally
aspirated carburetion or factory fuel injection. A V8 engine may add too
much weight to the truck to get into the weight class. Plus, it'll be about
40 lb. heavier on the front. And besides, the small 26-12.00x12 tires don't
need the power of a V8.
Exhaust Manifold or Header Pipe Mounting Gaskets VS Using Just Silicone Sealant Alone - Which Works Best?
Personally, whenever we install
exhaust manifolds or header pipes on an engine, we don't use gaskets. Instead,
we use RTV clear silicone sealant because silicone will not burn due to normal
or extreme exhaust heat. (Silicone can withstand up to 5,000º F.) Anyway,
gaskets always compress or "squeeze down" where the fastening bolts are,
causing the cast iron manifold to flex a few thousandths of an inch or thinner
steel header flanges to bend more than a few thousandths of an inch where
the mounting bolts are. When metal is compressed, the uncompressed area that's
between the bolts will allow the gasket(s) to leak and eventually burn out.
Also, before we install the manifolds or headers on an engine, we use a long,
wide flat file to make sure the mounting flanges on the manifolds or headers
are perfectly flat. Using silicone and the elimination of gaskets will allow
the manifolds or header flanges to be mounted flat against the cylinder heads,
creating absolute metal-to-metal contact, which also keep the mounting bolts
securely tight. The bolts will not loosen under any circumstances. Plus,
the silicone fills in the imperfections between the two metals, eliminating
any leaks. By the way - it's best to use
Clear RTV Silicone Adhesive Sealant for three reasons:
Gaskets don't always seal the irregularities between mating metals, especially
thin metal covers; being it's an adhesive, it bonds parts together, forming
a leak-proof seal; and being it's clear, it makes for a clean and
professional-looking repair job. When applied sparingly, it can't be easily
seen or noticed between the parts. Also, engine heat has very little effect
on silicone rubber. It can withstand up to 2,500 degrees heat.
Using 26-12.00x12 Pulling Tires/Wheels with Automotive Axles -
All
12" diameter wheels, rather for a garden tractor or small utility trailer,
come in the 4.5" x 5" bolt pattern (4-1/2" spacing with 5 bolt holes). An
early model 8" or 9" Ford car axle flange will work with 12" garden tractor
wheels because they have the same bolt pattern. The bolt pattern that come
in virtually every 12" diameter wheel center that have 5 mounting holes is
4-1/2". This size bolt pattern will work on Ford Ranger mini trucks. But
to use 12" wheels on a Chevy S10 or GMC Jimmy mini truck, the centers can
be adapted to a different bolt pattern (4-3/4") by drilling five new holes
between the existing 4-1/2" holes using a super spacer or indexing fixture
on the table of a large milling machine. 12" diameter wheel blanks are available
at
millertire.com. But to use a Ford truck or GM car or truck
axle with 12" garden tractor wheels, the centers will need to be cut out
of each wheel, and then true-up and weld-in the automotive centers in the
12" wheels. Make sure the offset back-spacing is set correctly, too. Go here:
Wheel Bolt Pattern Cross Reference Database and Conversion
Guide. To locate a set of wheels with the bolt pattern that's needed,
try a local automotive salvage yard, search eBay or Craigslist.
And we can't really give you a dollar amount to build a competitive two wheel drive or 4WD mini class pulling truck because building a mini-rod depends greatly on where you can find or purchase the parts, the quality of the parts, and their availability. If one owns their own auto salvage yard and/or an automotive machine/speed shop/business, and is a professional machinist and welder, then it shouldn't cost much at all to build their own mini class pulling truck. But if you don't possess these things, then it will cost a lot more. And as for the parts required to build a mini-rod, first, you will need a small truck cab and bed, a sturdy frame or chassis with the steering mechanisms and brakes, a 4-cylinder or V6 engine (because of their lightweight) in good condition, a lightweight automatic or manual transmission with a shielded flywheel, rear and front tires/wheels, centers out of the truck wheels to weld in the garden tractor wheels, various other parts, and lots of engineering to complete the truck and make it truly competitive on the track. Go here for videos: Check out our YouTube channel to see these pulling trucks in action. 2WD Pro Street Mini Pulling Trucks on YouTube.
Click
Here for Detailed Illustrated Plans on How to Construct a Professional Pull-Back
and Self-Propelled Garden Tractor Pulling Sled (Available
Soon)
FYI - The self-propelled garden tractor pulling sled that I built is such
an excellent design, I realized later that I made something very special
when other people copied after it. - Brian Miller
To place an order, send your
item(s) for repairing, and/or for customer service assistance, and FREE honest
and accurate technical support, please contact: A-1 Miller's Performance
Enterprises, 12091 N Route B, Hallsville, MO (Missouri) 65255-9604 USA. Please
call in your order or send an email with a list parts you need and your contact
information. 
Phone: 1-573-881-7229
(cell; call, text or leave voicemail) or use
Whatsapp. Please call
Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm, Central time zone, except holidays. If no answer,
please try again later. (When speaking with Brian on the phone, please
be patient and understanding because I stutter.)
E-mail:
pullingtractor@aol.com.
Payment Options. A-1 Miller's shop is open
to the public Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm, Central time zone, with an appointment
on weekends, except holidays. If you're the kind of person who don't trust
delivery/shipping companies (mis)handling your high-dollar and fragile
merchandise, you can make the long drive to
A-1 Miller's new shop (click image
to the right) to personally purchase parts, or drop off and/or pick up your
carburetor, clutch assembly, engine and/or parts, etc., for repairing and/or
rebuilding. Or visit the address of our (old) shop mentioned above to drop
off your engine, transmission, transaxle, garden tractor, small motorized
vehicle, etc. We also custom build pulling tractors and other small vehicles.
Please contact me before coming so I'll be at my shop waiting for your arrival.
When you visit our shop, you will be dealing directly with the owner for
the best customer service.
12091 N Route B, Hallsville, MO - Google Maps "The road
to a [trusted] friend's house (or shop) is never long." Don't sacrifice quality
workmanship for distance. [Return To Previous
Paragraph, Section or Website]
By the way - As business is booming, we relocated our business at 12091 N. Route B, Hallsville, MO 65255 with a new, bigger, better, fully insulated, heated and air-conditioned building/shop (shouse) so we can provide many more professional services and high quality parts, and hire more reliable and knowledgeable help to have our customer's parts orders fulfilled sooner, parts repaired sooner and engine rebuilds performed promptly without a long delay. We will also offer custom welding fabrication jobs and other custom services. And we also provide pick up and delivery service and perform professional repairs for various small engines and lawn & garden equipment! Photos of our new building/shop are posted here! 12091 N Route B, Hallsville, MO - Google Maps
Payment Options, and We Ship to Canada and
Worldwide 
Item(s) in a package or cushioned envelope weighing less than 1 lb. is sent
by US Postal Service Airmail Letter Post for a 4-7 days delivery. Packaged
item(s) weighing over 1 lb. and up to 66 lb. is sent by US Postal Service
Airmail Parcel Post for a 4-10 days delivery. I cannot use the US Postal
Services' Flat Rate Priority Mail envelopes and boxes to ship outside U.S.
territories. Item(s) weighing over 67 lbs. or more is sent by FedEx Ground
or equivalent services. We try to keep our shipping cost to customers within
reason. Therefore, we don't ship our products in a fancy-looking package
with our company name and/or logo on it because most customers will just
toss it in the trash after they remove the contents. And being there is no
USPS tracking number outside the US, all I can do is make sure I write your
address correctly on the customs form and on your package.
My websites are not set up to process orders and accept payments. Therefore, to place an order with me, please call either number above or send an email with a list of parts you need, with your name, complete and correct postal mailing address and phone number. For payment options, I accept cash (in person), USPS Postal Money Orders, cashier's checks, business checks, MasterCard, VISA, Discover, American Express (please add 2.5% to the total amount for the credit/debit card processor's surcharge). If paying with a credit/debit card, please call me at either number above. Or to make a payment to me through PayPal, please click this link: https://www.paypal.com. Or use Cash App (username: pullingtractor) or Venmo (username: Pullingtractor) to make a payment to me. And be sure to mention a description of what the payment is for with your full name, postal address, phone number and email address. I also accept payments through Western Union Money Transfer or MoneyGram Money Transfers. If sending a money order or cashier's check, please include a note in the envelope with your name, complete mailing address, phone number, email address and a description of what the payment is for. I'll make a note of your order when I have all your information, and I may have to order some of the parts on your list, which should take a few days to come in, but I will send everything to you as soon as I have the parts in stock after I receive your payment.
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Copyright © 1996-Present. This website created, designed and maintained by Brian Miller