Innehållsförteckning för November 2021 från Tractor & Machinery

Hello and welcome to the not being able to November issue of Tractor & Machinery. I’d like to start by personally thanking the organisers of Ramsey Rural Museum’s annual plough day, on 3 October, for putting on a great event. After the 2020 event was cancelled, due to the pandemic, this year’s was even more special. It may only be a small-scale, local event, but to meet up with old friends and make new ones was just what was needed – and lovely weather proved to be the icing on the cake. I will admit that, having not ploughed for quite some time, both little brother and I were a bit rusty – but it was all in the name of fun and fantastic to be part of! Like so many…

Blue Force is throwing an open invitation to all exhibits that cover the club’s remit for this year’s Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show. Fordson, Ford and New Holland tractors and conversions, as well as Ford trucks, will all be welcome, says club spokesman and magazine editor Jonathan Whitlam. Normally the club has at least a couple of big themes on its large stand at the show, but following the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of shows for well over a year, it has decided not to specify a particular theme in a bid to encourage as many people as possible to take part. “Last year’s cancelled show would have seen the Fordson E27N Major celebrate its 75th year,” says Mr Whitlam. “This time around marks the 70th anniversary of…

One of my favourite recent classic tractor finds is this 1988 Zetor 14145, owned by Giles Bamberger. We have seen many models from the 1960s and ’70s from one of the pioneers of four-wheel drive, but this 150hp, six-cylinder model from the 1980s reflects later developments from the innovative Czech company and is a key part of Giles’ fleet of tractors. “I have been connected with farming all my life with my father, milking cows,” explained Giles. “The first tractors I can remember would have been Fordson Majors and Super Majors, then a Ford 5000 Select-O-Speed. By about 1978 we started our Zetor connection, with a 6748. “From this firm farming foundation, I developed a liking for Ford tractors and built on this experience with a new role in south-east…

To help celebrate its 100-year anniversary, Britains, Europe’s oldest specialist in agricultural toys and collectibles, has launched a special commemorative coin to help core fans honour this incredible milestone and further add to their ever-growing Britains collection. Teaming up with Tomato Source, Britains has designed a stunning silver-effect commemorative piece featuring the famous Fordson E27N Major tractor that was first replicated by Britains in 1948. Presented in a beautiful wallet detailing 100 years of Britains Farm Toys, this exclusive coin is sure to take pride of place in any Britains fan’s collection. Britains launched its first Model Home Farm in 1921, which featured 30 farm figures and animals along with the first farm vehicle. Since then, Britains has grown from strength to strength to become a specialist manufacturer of agricultural…

On Saturday 14 August, the Vow Vintage Club held a ploughing and cultivation day at Bryan Hanna’s farm near Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, writes James Connolly. There was an excellent turnout of vintage and classic tractors working together in one field, from the likes of County, Ford, Massey sey Ferguson, Muir-Hill and Zetor. The weather was kind and it proved to be a very enjoyable event. Monies raised will go to the Sandelford d School for children with special needs and Causeway Hospital Coronary Care Unit.…

Held on 11-12 September, the Longstock Rally is set in the Test Valley district, near Stockbridge in Hampshire, says Peter Love. Although the rally has been going for more than two decades, it declined somewhat in later years until Andy Knight and a new committee took over in 2020. The show is certainly on the rise again, and in a big way. With two rows of autojumble, plenty of refreshment stands, displays and a good timber section, it had plenty of appeal. Very much the highlight in the tractor line-up was the late Dave Hiscock’s John Deere tractors, now with Kay and Peggy Hiscock. They look just as immaculate as when Dave had them out, in some cases 20-plus years, and included a 3020, 4020, 5020 and a 4620 that…

As much as I’m a fan of David Brown tractors, I am aware of their shortcomings. One of which is the durability of the tinwork, the gauge of which was reduced with the introduction of the 900 models. The repairs to the bonnet have been well documented in previous issues of T&M and the mudguards are being replaced, leaving the wheels to be cleaned up and prepared. WHEEL CENTRES The rear tyres were removed in part 13 and took a lot of effort, as they had age hardened and were well rusted to the rims, one being badly corroded and too far gone to repair, as the extent of the pitting along the edge of the rim bead was excessive. Fortunately, I had recently acquired a pair of rims from…

A tremendous day was had at Middlecott Farm in Beaworthy, Devon, on Saturday 4 September, where Kivells’ machinery team dispersed of Phillip Warren’s collection of 83 Ford tractors. It was said to be one of the largest Ford 1000 Series private collections, or if not the largest, to come to market for decades. Phillip Warren (77), an avid Ford collector, restorer and ‘tinkerer’, started buying and retaining tractors in 1989 and confessed to having “an extreme hobby gone out of control.” His first purchase was a Ford 5000 Select-O-Speed from a Kivells auction. The sun shone on a huge crowd of around 1,200 buyers from all over the United Kingdom, with many travelling down to Devon from far and wide. As anticipated during the three-month build-up and preparation of this…

The prices are based on tractors sold at sales, on the Internet, privately and in some overseas markets too. Naturally, prices change as time progresses and it’s not always an upward trend, but you will get a good indication of what’s going on with the current market by referring to our guide. Here are a few pointers on buying a tractor to help you. If you are looking for a tractor to buy for restoration, or work, there’s a vast choice. However, if you are looking for something specific, do weigh up your options first, particularly if you have a limited budget. If it’s a popular model, then it’s not always to your advantage to go for the first one you see. Whatever is wrong with the tractor, make sure…

DECEMBER 2021 issue on sale Friday 19 November WHICH MF MODEL? A Massey Ferguson model will often present itself as a ‘safe bet’ when opting to buy a used tractor, but which one should you choose? We take a look. STILL PUTTING IN A SHIFT The 4/65 may not be everyone’s favourite Nuffield model, but it does have its plus points, as Willie Carson discovers when he talks to Henry Shannon. FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH Jonathan Whitlam’s journey through the Series 10 years continues with Ford’s introduction of Force II – the range that spawned the legendary 7810. PLUS Junior, Lost treasure, Machinery milestones, Model corner, News, Tractor Mart, Workshop & more……

www.sealey.co.uk We’re offering you the chance to win one of three Platinum Series 12-piece reversible combination ratchet spanner sets, courtesy of Sealey. The prize consists of 12 high-quality, slim-style, chrome vanadium steel spanners that have been hardened and tempered, with a polished micro satin finish. The ring end of each spanner has an ultra-smooth, 100-tooth WallDrive® ratchet with slide reverse, while a 15-degree offset keeps knuckles clear of obstructions. They are supplied in a carry rack and have a lifetime guarantee. With a list price of £137.94 (inc. VAT) in Sealey’s current promotion, we’re extremely grateful to Sealey for offering three as competition prizes. See the box (right) for entry details, but if you’d like the chance to win – why not enter today? For more information on Sealey’s range…

Initially, Marshall’s 100 Series comprised just two models – the 100 and 115 – but the 125 was latterly available as the range-topping model. As with many other ‘new’ ranges, the 100 Series was a blend of proven and new technology. At its heart was the Leyland 6/98 engine – with the 103.5hp Marshall 100 using the engine in naturally-aspirated form and the two larger models using a turbocharged version of the 6/98. Maximum torque was delivered at low revs, particularly in naturally-aspirated form, and other features included a viscous fan and stainless steel exhaust. Coupled to the engine, via a 13-inch (330mm), single-plate clutch, was a ZF transmission with 20 forward and nine reverse gears – of which eight forward and four reverse gears were creep speeds. This gearbox…

Norman Mitchinson lives in Selkirk, which was formerly the county town of Selkirkshire. The Royal Burgh is one of the oldest towns in the Scottish Borders and was prominent in the Scottish wool industry. These days the town is best known for its Selkirk Common Riding, which is held in the month of June. The ceremony features hundreds of riders and is one of the largest cavalcades of horses in Europe. Norman comes from a farming background and has lived in the Borders area all his life. “My father worked freelance and was involved in farm, dyke and drainage work,” he said. “Back in those days you had to turn your hand to most jobs, as and when they became available. Although he started off working with horses, he was…

Approximately 15 years ago, Tom Scott, from Crumlin in Co. Antrim, saw this County 1474 TW advertised for sale near Dover, Kent. It was sold new by Ford tractor dealer Haynes of Maidstone, Kent, and Tom decided to purchase it and have it transported to Northern Ireland. The serial number plate shows that the tractor was built on 24 July 1981, and although the original 1474 was based on the Ford 9700, by the time this tractor was built, County was using the Ford TW-20 skid unit to produce this model. When Tom bought the tractor it was in off-farm condition, and after being checked by a local Ford/New Holland-trained mechanic, any issues were sorted out and the decision was taken to respray the tractor. This was undertaken in…

RMPCS chairman Ben Ashdown welcomed everyone to the Romney Marsh ploughing match at Ham Mill Farm, Ham Street, on Sunday 5 September, writes Peter Love. There was a full commentary given to the proceedings and from a purist’s point of view, this is the best ploughing match in Kent these days, opening the season well. Despite many other things going on in the area, a larger crowd than 2019 was in attendance. The oldest tractor on site was Austin West’s 1938 Case C, in original condition, that was working to perfection in the trailed class with a Ransomes RSLD9 – taking third place. Using a Lister Cockshutt plough, Colin Fryer finished second in this class with an IH B-275 and John Dungey took first with his 1940 Fordson N and…

On the last Saturday of August, a silage working day took place on Mark Stewart’s farm near Loughbrickland, Co. Down, writes James Connolly. A variety of classic Fords and Ford-based conversions were in action, along with silage harvesters and trailers. The weather was superb and it was great to see these machines at work. Pat O’Sullivan, from Co. Offaly, brought along his replica County 1884, along with a very tidy 1474 TW to the event. The replica 1884 was built from a TW-35 and a County 1454. This was the tractor’s first public outing and it performed well on the day, drawing silage with a Kane trailer. The highlights included a Muir-Hill 141, belonging to John Mulholland, which was teamed up with a JF Stoll FCT 1050 harvester, and Malcolm…

It is nice to be able to tip a tipping trailer without oil leaking from the tipping ram, and with that hurdle now crossed I have turned my attention to the bodywork of the trailer. It’s been a while since the sides and tailboard were fitted to the trailer, as one of its last tasks was bale carting, which was a few years ago now. The trailer had been re-bodied many moons ago with softwood, and this has rotted to nothing over the years. The sides and tailboard were stacked up to store and in the fullness of time the wood had completely disintegrated, leaving the ironwork loose and at risk of being lost! I pulled the sides and tailboard from their resting place and placed them onto the trailer…

ADJUSTABLE WRENCH HEADS See text for price Laser Tools Tel: 01926 815000 lasertools.co.uk Brand new to theLaser Toolsrange, these adjustable wrench heads have quick, single-handed, pull back adjustment to grip fixings such as nuts, bolts and setscrews, including single hex (6pt), bi-hex (12pt), Star/Torx, spline, and square, etc. They are available in two sizes – the 3⁄8in-drive version (part no. 8215) has a range of 8-17mm, while the larger1 ⁄2in-drive version (part number 8216) has a range of 14-32mm. Manufactured from chrome-vanadium alloy steel, they are particularly good on damaged or rounded-off fasteners. The twin male/female square drives means they can be used with ratchets, socket extensions or breaker bars and the robust, serrated jaws offer a firm grip on any shape of fastener. Particularly useful in automotive, agricultural and…

Featured was an eclectic mix of machines, including various David Browns in original and unrestored condition, along with a number of crawlers of all sizes. The prices achieved were good for the stock offered and some of it had been on the farm since the current farmer bought the farm in the 1970s. Auction results (abridged): David Brown Albion pick-up baler, ⅔, £1,650 1943 Marshall SM, 54in, steel wheels, good, 4, £560 Ransomes Hexatrac, ⅔, £750 Ransomes TS46, SEW bodies, ⅔, £420 Ransomes TS46, ⅔, £340 David Brown 2A21, 2-furrow plough, 3, £2,500 David Brown 950 Implematic, nice, 4.3, £3,000 David Brown 990, CHR 352C, original, lovely, 3, £2,100 1968 David Brown 880, NVJ 189G, original, ⅔, £2,500 1981 David Brown 1390, so so 9, £3,000 1956 David Brown 50D…

Carters Steam Fair is a traditional, travelling fun fair, with rides dating from the 1890s to the 1960s. Boss Joby Carter said: “We are a unique piece of living history. Over the past 44 years we have been rescuing and restoring vintage fairground rides and attractions, taking them on tour around London and the South East for everyone to enjoy.” One of the features that makes Carters Steam Fair unique is the decoration of its rides and transport, with consistently superb signwriting, lining and traditional fairground decoration, created by Joby and his team. Joby is a leading expert on the traditional craft of signwriting and fairground art and hosts training courses at Carters Yard, particularly during the colder, winter months. In 1977, show promoters John and Anna Carter bought the…

Like many enthusiasts, Jeff McKee’s interest in agricultural machinery goes back to his early years. His grandfather was a contractor and continued exposure to tractors meant that Jeff was soon bitten by the bug. An International Harvester B-414 played in important role in his grandfather’s business and when he passed away Jeff vowed to restore it to its former glory. His father, Robert, and uncle, Graham, had grown up around machinery from this era and for them the implements are as important as the tractors. Over the years, the trio have taken great interest in finding and restoring implements to complement their tractors and have built up quite a collection. A few years ago they decided to hold a ‘theme’ day at their home in Kilkeel, Co. Down, and it…

The Astle Park Traction Engine Rally is a traditional family event, held this year on 14-15 August. The show is mainly steam orientated, but more than 100 tractors were present this year, with nearly all of them braving the rain showers to parade in front of the large crowd, says David Reed. To be fair, despite there being a number of marques represented at Astle Park, the tractor section was dominated by the Fordson name and those that came under the Ferguson banner. Andrew Dobson was at the event with his 1951 Ferguson TE-D 20 that he received as an early 14th birthday present, back in 2005, after the tractor had stood unused for a number of years. It has been restored by Andrew with the help of his grandfather…

The Bath & West Country Festival 2021 was held on the August Bank Holiday weekend, 27-29 August, near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, and replaced the Society’s usual Royal Bath & West Show for one year only, writes Joseph Lewis. A newly-created layout included the regular tractor club entries from the Ferguson Club, Ford & Fordson Association and The Nuffield & Leyland Tractor Club, as well as a display of David Brown tractors from a local collector. A number of tractors were either new restorations or first-time appearances for their owners at this event. These included a Roadless 980-4 owned by Mike Mitchell but now ‘as intended’, with equal-sized wheels and ‘980-4’ designation on the nose cone, as well as Mike’s newly-acquired Ford 8000 complete with fender-mounted radio. Other highlights included…

The late summer weather did not disappoint and a lovely warm sunny day attracted a massive crowd to this year’s Weald of Kent Ploughing Match at Honey Farm, near Pluckley, writes Gary Hawkins. Along with the large crowd, a good number of ploughs turned out to contest this year’s match, on a reasonably flat venue of stubble with a medium soil providing a fairly good ploughing canvas for all. It was noticeable that some areas had more straw and longer stubble, which proved hard to bury with the older classic and vintage ploughs. This was not the case for the modern commercial ploughs, however, with a deeper furrow dealing well with the trash that was presented. The age of the tractors covered everything from the early ’30s up to the…

Fordson Major E27N Q I’ve had magneto trouble on my 1947 Fordson E27N. Until now it has had a Lucas RF4 magneto fitted, which I believe is the original style for this tractor, but sadly mine now has no spark. I’ve looked into the cost of having it rebuilt by a magneto specialist, but currently the cost is somewhat prohibitive. As a result I trawled a well-known online auction site and came across a Lucas SR4 magneto, which I was informed would replace the original RF4 model. The SR4 has a good powerful spark, so I set about fitting it to the tractor, which involved changing the distributor cap, so I was careful not to mix up the plug leads. I then attempted to start the tractor, which fired up…

The owner spent his early farm life in Kent before moving to this area of Hampshire in 1966. He built up this excellent collection of mainly MF tractors more than 16 years ago, but he has concluded that you can only drive one of them at a time and after his handyman had retired there was no one else to help lift things, so he decided it was time to sell up. The 173-lot sale was held in lovely weather conditions and the main interest was his genuine 1964 John Deere 4020 with Syncro-Range transmission, which was supplied by Lundell of Edenbridge, Kent, the main UK/Ireland JD importer at the time. This tractor also starred at John Deere UK’s 50th anniversary celebrations in September 2016 celebrations and ploughed both days…

On Saturday 6 November, H J Pugh & Co. is holding an extensive sale of good veteran and vintage tractors at Nailsea, Bristol. The majority of these are runners and many have been shown at Tractor World Spring over the years, where they have been class winners. The collection features many Fordson, Case, Hart-Parr, Oliver, Chamberlain, International Harvester and John Deere models, as well as a lovely Fordson N-based Automower winch tractor. Please visit the website for further details: www.hjpugh.com…

The family collected nothing but Ford and Fordson models and had some fine machines – with 27 offered at auction. The prices went as expected, but prices for the original Fordson Ns confirmed that prices for these venerable machines are going down, not up. Auction results (abridged): 1951 Fordson E1ADN Major, petrol, with log book, project, 1.5, £1,650 1947 Fordson E27N Major, petrol/TVO, high top, so so, ⅔, £1,600 1946 Fordson E27N Major, petrol/TVO, intermediate gear ratio, 2, £1,200 1947 Fordson E27N Major, petrol/TVO, Howard rotovator, runs well, ⅔, £1,580 1940 Fordson Standard N, nice with road bands, needs recommissioning, ⅔, £1,350 1940 Fordson Standard N, needs recommissioning, ⅔, £680 1944 Fordson Standard N, needs work, ⅔, £540 1959 Fordson E1A Power Major, needs nose and more, hedgerow, 1.2, £500…

Matt McClelland writes: “Here is my son, Koby, with his granddad.” Peter Harrison writes: “This is our son Sam, aged three, who is very excited about learning to restore his grey Fergie. He spends lots of time polishing it and would be delighted to see his picture in your magazine.” Basil George writes: “On 28 August 2021, at the Coed Hills wedding venue in St. Hilary, Vale of Glamorgan, Adam George-Weaver married Jessica Rosser. There were 120 wedding guests with more joining the party in the evening, celebrating into the early hours. “Adam is a member of the Ferguson Club and runs his own landscape contracting business. His association with the Ferguson TE-20 started many years ago, in 1998, when he sat astride a 1947 TE-A 20. “At his wedding,…