Plum Crazy

Plum Crazy began its journey in 1981, when Robin Gericke and Andrew McWaters started building the machine with help from Tom McWaters and Allan Kranze. By March 1982, the build was complete, powered by two big block 454 Chevs and an International WD9 rear end.

At the end of that first season, Tom purchased the tractor and completely stripped it down. During the rebuild, Plum Crazy received its third engine.

From then on, Plum Crazy became one of the sport’s most recognised and well loved Open Modified tractors. Remarkably, it is one of the very few tractors in Australia that has carried the same name and chassis for more than four decades.

In September 1993, Tom sold Plum Crazy to Geoff Clifford, who competed for another seven years before retiring it in 2000.

Four years later, at the 2004 Quambatook Tractor Pull, a conversation between Joe Cottom (The Riverina Screamer) and father and son team Harry and Doug Williams sparked the next chapter. Soon after, the Williams family travelled to meet Geoff, and in October 2004 Plum Crazy became theirs. Joe fitted a roll cage just in time for Harry and Doug’s debut run at Tooradin in 2005.

After completing their first full season, Plum Crazy underwent a complete rebuild. The chassis was stripped and sandblasted, the engines rebuilt, and fresh paint and stickers applied. At the time, Quambatook held two events each year - Easter Saturday for the Australian Championship, and another in November. It was at the November 2005 event that Plum Crazy made its big return in its shiny fresh plum colour and new engines.

The tractor continued to compete strongly for the next five years. In 2010, the engines were replaced with much larger 540 cubic-inch Chevs, instantly making Plum Crazy one of the toughest machines in the Open Class. Backed by Stanyer Engineering Pty Ltd, it has remained a fierce competitor.

When Harry stepped back from driving Plum, Doug took the reins solo for a few years until his son Mark Williams made his debut at the 2015 Finley Tractor Pull. Mark shared the seat with Doug for several seasons before Mark moved to Western Australia. In 2022, Doug’s eldest son Ryan Williams had his first drive at Tooradin. Since then, Ryan has been trying to push Doug out of the seat whenever he can - even pulling an incredible 135-metre pull at Quambatook in 2025.

Today, more than 40 years on, Plum Crazy stands as one of the most iconic tractors in Australian pulling history!