Tractor & Farming Heritage - December 2013 - Sample Issue

A DREMEL PLATINUM EDITION TOOL KIT N I W

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DECEMBER 2013 www.tractormagazine.co.uk

AND FARMING HERITAGE MAGAZINE

CHALLENGER UNLEASHED Rare Fowler gets back to work BUYING A FORDSON

MAGPIE OF THE MEARNS Amazing implement collection

Practical guide

✦ CHECK

THOSE TEETH

Starter ring replacement

✦ ON A WING AND A SPRAYER How to get the perfect finish

Driven a Ford lately

Vintage power

Ferguson Bridge reconstruction

Classic tractors still earn their keep

John Deeres go large at Little Casterton

No. 122

December 2013

£3.90

Flying Fergie

CONTENTS

TRACTOR AND FARMING HERITAGE DECEMBER 2013

Regulars 3

Welcome

18

News

22 24

26 78

All the latest news in the world of tractors and heritage.

Graham has a grumble about the passing of an empire.

Who needs a car?

99

This Ford 5000 and 7810 are part of Trevor Johnstone’s collection of tractors; but visitors to his farm will soon notice a recurring theme…

40

Fired up with hot bulbs

46

Jo Roberts argues the case that we should slow down to around 15mph, and travel by tractor.

Tractor talk

All your news, views and comments around the classic and vintage scene.

Funky American imports!

The chosen one

12

Shipshape & County fashion

Why is this Massey Ferguson 158 so special that it only emerges from the shed when needed for an event?

Memories from down on the farm often decide which tractor we own – for David Seaton, the inspiration came from a boatyard.

28

32 COVER STORY

4

Good vintage in Madeira

56

A true thoroughbred

Dinky may not have coined the phrase ‘every one is somebody’s favourite’ – but many of the toys they made actually were, Mike Teanby tells us what made Dinky toys so special.

British built and made to last

Peter Anderson continues the Marshall story with the demise of the 18/30 and the rise of the 12/20 – which now command high price tags and are eagerly snapped up by enthusiasts.

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62

The Farmer’s Wife

Simon Butler tells us about his latest book, the largely untold story of the women who laboured on the land, and life in rural Britain.

Parrett – fashion by design

We focus on probably the most successful of the Parrett tractor designs, the Parrett 12-25 Model E introduced to the UK during 1917.

63 68

Building bridges

COVER STORY

TractorDecember2013

The Magpie of the Mearns

The stuff of legend

Donald Bowler is always on the lookout for tractors and other farm equipment the older or more unusual the better.

Father and son Fergie enthusiasts build a bridge made of tractors; recreating a Ferguson sales stand of 60 years ago.

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52

Jean Brown tries a bit of match making – at a ploughing match.

6

Unfortunate Ursus finds a friend

COVER STORY

122 Tractor widow

YourTractors

Allen’s activities

Stuart Gibbard is invited to see a rare Fowler Challenger 22 crawler make its working debut.

Graham Hampstead clears up his troubles with tractors over the months.

Preview of the January issue of Tractor & Farming Heritage.

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Heritage 48

46

Ursus finds a friend

Narrowboat owner Tony Clark is no stranger to the Bolinder engine, so once he got a taste for tractors the choice was bound to be Bolinder-Munktell.

James Tully from Mullagh in Co. Cavan tells how he came to own this 1974 Ursus C-335t.

A drove of Dextas Next Month

Driven a Ford lately?

COVER STORY

Don’t get me started

Jo Roberts looks at some of the tractors that have been brought to the UK via importers L and L tractors of Wales.

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Tractor archive

More heritage memories from the farming literature of yesterday.

Deere run free at weekend of wonder

The 2013 Little Casterton Working Weekend showcased some scarce vintage farm equipment, with John Deere tractors and farm machinery to the fore.

COVER STORY

We find out the story behind the Allen Scythe, truly world-beating machines, and the company that created them.

A visit to the collection of Jim Bruce soon makes you realise that there is probably nothing that has altered so dramatically as farming throughout the centuries.

Workshop 88 COVER STORY

90 COVER STORY

94

COVER STORY

On a wing and a sprayer

Take some of the guesswork out of spraying by following Ben Phillips’ guide for a perfect paint finish.

Get those teeth checked out

Take time to look at the starter ring gear – bit like going to the dentist really, if you don’t check for wear, the cure could be a right pain.

Models with the right statistics

Practical pointers toward selecting and buying a vintage or classic tractor.

Marketplace 98

Products

All the latest tractor and farming heritage related product releases.

100 Christmas gift guide

Ideas for the perfect gift for the tractor lover in your family.

104 Selling in Suffolk

There was something for everyone at Roger Desborough’s sale with prices ranging easily from £1000 to somewhere the lavish side of £20,000.

107 Classified section

Buy, sell, browse, this is the place to be.

Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

Why not Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month?

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12

Shipshape & County Fashion

60

The Farmer’s Wife

tRaCtoRS FEatURED tHIS ISSUE Allen Motor Scythe .................................70 Allis-Chalmers B........................................94 Bolinder-Munktell BM 20 .....................40 Challenger 22 ............................................48 County 1174...............................................12 Dexta .............................................................84 Doodlebug..................................................78 Ferguson TEA-20......................................32 Ford 2000/3000 ........................................94 Ford 4000/5000 ........................................94 Ford 5000 ....................................................34 Ford 7810 ....................................................34 Fordson Dexta...................................84, 94 Fordson Major...........................................94 Fordson Major E27N...............................94 Fordson Model N .....................................94 International B-250/B-275 ...................94 Marshall 12/20...........................................56 Marshall 18/30...........................................56 Massey Ferguson 158...............................6 Massey-Harris 102 Junior .....................78 Massey-Harris 25......................................78 MF 35.............................................................24 Parrett 12-25 Model E ............................62 Ursus C-335.................................................46

Win a DREM TOOL KEL iT Page 67

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Magpie of the Mearns

94

Buying a Fordson

SUBSCRIBE! Only £3 per issue ✦ see page 30 for further details

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Selling in Suffolk

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Funky American Imports

December2013Tractor

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YourTractors

Building Bridges – old style

Recreating this amazing tractor bridge, last seen some 60 years ago as a show display, has been the long held dream of father and son Fergie enthusiasts Sam and Colin Taylor of County Down.

WORDS & PICTURES Jo Roberts

J

ust a few miles from the homestead of the late great Harry Ferguson, a posse of Irish Fergie fanatics came together at Maze Long Kesh recently in order to recreate the iconic Ferguson Bridge. is tractor bridge was oen used by the Ferguson team as a display at shows and events, like the Smithfield show for instance, in order to catch the public’s eye and to show off the hydraulic prowess of this amazing little tractor. e ‘bridge’ would have been seen at agricultural shows some 60 years ago, and it was no doubt a sight that had little boys staring in wonder. With the tractor in the air for all to see, this was a very clever ploy by Ferguson and it made its product literally stand head and shoulders above all the others.

Bridge details

The bridge is formed by linking two tractors fitted with high lift loaders to either end of a steel frame (bridge) which then carries a third tractor in the centre.

Both tractors lift simultaneously until the bridge reaches the desired height of eight feet from the ground.

The tractors’ hydraulic rams are chocked with locking sleeves and four 1in thick pins are inserted through the bridge and the loader beams to lock the structure together, then any pressure in the tractors’ hydraulics can be released taking any strain off the front axles and wheels etc.

As a further safety measure, the four lengths of 6in x ¾in plate, which extend from the bridge, reach another set of holes 3ft up into the loader frames.

To this, four 1in thick bolts are fitted through the plate and loader beams and the locking nuts are then done up tight.

With that all taken care of, wooden wedges are hammered in between the front axle cradles and centre beam to prevent the possibility of the bridge swaying a little in the event of a heavy crosswind.

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Opportunity knocks

Father and son Fergie enthusiasts Sam and Colin Taylor of County Down, Northern Ireland, have dreamed of recreating the Ferguson Bridge, and finally their chance came to do so. Colin, whose vast Ferguson tractor and implement collection featured in Tractor in 2012, has been planning to make the bridge ever since he acquired two banana loaders. “People would ask me why I wanted two – and I would say, ‘one day I’ll have a job for them both’.” e idea had never got beyond the discussion stage until recently, when the opportunity, or rather the excuse, to build the bridge finally came about. Ireland’s largest agricultural show, the Balmoral Show, was held this year (2013) at a new venue, namely the site of the old Maze Prison, and the Friends of Ferguson Heritage was planning to have a stand there. e exciting part was that this would be the first time since 1953 that the Ferguson Bridge had been seen at Balmoral, but there were just two weeks to prepare. For a start there was a TEA-20 that Colin had intended to restore before putting the bridge together. e tractor was abandoned under a cover so that wasn’t looking too promising; then the bridge itself was going to need some careful measuring and fabrication work.

Make haste

But spurred on by the thought that there was no time to waste, Colin stripped the 1947 TEA-20 down to bare metal and applied a high primer, freed off and cleaned up the brakes, and replaced a bent steering arm and track rod end. e mudguards were ‘past it’ so new skins had to be fitted, plus the bonnet was covered in dents and the grille was broken, so all of that had to be repaired. e measurements for the bridge itself were finalised and John Lyons, a local steel fabricator, undertook the construction and welding work, as Colin and Sam decided that the work needed to be professionally done and fit properly first time.

“John is never one to back away from a challenge,” says Colin, “he’s a keen vintage

tractor fan too, and within a week he had it all ready.”

By now the TEA-20 was on its wheels and everything was pretty much ready to go out for a trial run.

Firstly the bridge was connected to the two loaders and elevated without a tractor in the middle to check the alignment of the safety locking bolts and pins; and when this was done it was lowered and elevated twice more until everyone was happy with the procedure of fitting the bolts and pins.

Colin added: “e fitting of the bolts and pins is very important and the bridge can only be erected safely if the correct order is followed. Of course, it’s crucial that no one is ever below the structure as it is being lied.”

Once the team was happy with the way the bridge fitted together, it was primed, then top coated and le to dry while attention was then focused on completing the TEA. With the paint only just dry, everything was loaded up and the convoy set off for Balmoral. e show ran for three days and the FoFH was more than happy with the response from the public. Some members of the farming community could even remember seeing the bridge 60 years ago, when Fergie tractors were current. ✦ tractormagazine.co.uk

The Ferguson Bridge set up at the Cultra Fol Museum.

A Ferguson Service Van, belonging to Raymond Browne, really helped to set off the whole display.

The FOFH stand at the Balmoral Show was a real eye catcher with the Ferguson Bridge standing proud as its main attraction.

Colin’s conclusions

Three generations of Fergie fans – pictured here are Colin, his two sons Aaron and Callum, and his dad Sam with Colin’s beloved Ferguson Brown. tractormagazine.co.uk

Colin feels that the display was a big success and that it definitely was worth all the hard work – he’s glad that he finally got around to it. Sam and Colin would like to thank the friends who all chipped in with the project over the two weeks, especially neighbours Johnny X, Rab C and Jim, whose presence proved invaluable while the bridge was being erected and lowered. You can view Colin’s extensive Ferguson collection at his website www.myfergie.co.uk

December2013Tractor

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YourTractors

Have you driven a

Ford lately

This Ford 5000 and 7810 are part of Trevor Johnstone’s collection of tractors, and they still have to earn their keep; but any visitors to his farm will soon notice that there is a recurring theme…

WORDS & PICTURES Dave Bowers

I

f you are busy working all hours holding together a thriving contracting business, this doesn’t leave very much time for taking on the niceties and intricacies of restoring old tractors. So the collection Trevor Johnstone’s managed to pull together on his farm will remain in their present condition for the time being. Indeed, some of these tractors are still working hard on the hilly uplands where Trevor and family reside near Keswick in north Cumbria.

Ford 5000 - JAo 504N

e tractor that Trevor has had the longest association with arrived on his dad’s farm from the local Ford agent, R D Lloyd of

Penrith, in April 1975, a day to remember for a 15-year-old. Trevor then spent the rest of the day aer the tractor’s arrival happily rolling all the fields, totting up the first of many running hours, amounting to a total of 7717 at the time of writing.

Trevor, tongue in cheek, added: “I was towing a trailer to take a cow into Cockermouth one day when the tractor clock stopped, but when I got home, this fault was soon mended, so the clock now only under reads by about half an hour.”

During its long 38-year working life, the 5000 became one of the tractors that were useful for starting Trevor’s contracting business, the other being a newer, more powerful, Ford 7810, also featured in this article. ➤

Tyre wear attests to many hard working hours, and the cab may need some attention shortly, also the wings, but in the meantime, this tractor continues to pay its way.

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TractorDecember2013

tractormagazine.co.uk

Ford 5000 – Trevor says “A lot of Ford tractors of this type and age suffered from the same problem of porous blocks. A set of liners had to be installed, which was done in 1983. Tom Lewthwaite of Whitehaven put the liners in the engine block after it had been rebored. And a set of new piston rings and shell bearings followed when I reassembled the engine myself; not that this engine’s needed much attention since then.”

Fitting a power steering kit was a great idea as this still works so well. The hydraulics were also improved by fitting a new hydraulic pump.

Left: Trevor with the Ford 5000 which has been working on the farm since new some 38 years ago. tractormagazine.co.uk

December2013Tractor

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FarmingHeritage

A true thoroughbred Stuart Gibbard is invited to see a rare Fowler Challenger 22 crawler make its working debut following a two-year restoration.

WORDS & PICTURES Stuart Gibbard

T

The Challenger 22 eating up the acres – John Goldup pushes the throttle for another blast across the field.

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TractorDecember2013

he only words that can describe the sight and sound of a Fowler Challenger 22 at work are ‘earth shattering’. You can sense that the tractor is in full control of the load as the ground begins to shake, announcing the crawler’s impending approach with a set of heavy trailed Pettit discs in tow. e hairs on the back of your neck stand up on end as it roars past at full chat with the tracks flying and its six-cylinder Leyland engine emitting a wonderfully sonorous bellow. A truly magnificent machine!

You would have to have no soul not to be moved by the occasion. With the autumn sunshine glinting off its chrome orange paintwork, the Challenger 22 was eating up

the acres against a backdrop of golden stubble fields; the vivid blue of the vast East Anglian sky muted only by the dust rising from the scurrying discs. e tractor was making its working debut following a two-year restoration. Previous to that, it hadn’t turned a track for more than two decades. And yet here it was, painstakingly bought back to life and as good as the day it le the factory; British engineering at its best. Furthermore, it’s a rare machine; few were built and only a small number, probably less than can be counted on the fingers of one hand, have survived. e Fowler’s owner, Cambridgeshire enthusiast Graham Rose, knows a thing or two about tractors. He’s been in the preservation game as long as anyone and has a feel for the rare and unusual, especially tractormagazine.co.uk

The restorer’s story

Graham Rose’s Challenger 22 is not only rare, but it also has an interesting history in that it was bought new by the famous equestrian Peter Robeson. Robeson rode for the British showjumping team 80 times during his 40year career and in 1967 won the King George V Gold Cup at the Royal International Horse Show on his mount Firecrest.

The Challenger 22 was purchased to work on Robeson’s Fences Farm at Tyringham, near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire. The tractor was eventually sold to the late George Nicholls from Stoke Goldington. Graham bought the Fowler from Nicholls in 1995. It was seized, the rollers were worn out and it was in need of a complete rebuild.

The Fowler was brought back to Graham’s home in the Cambridgeshire Fens, but the intended restoration, a mammoth task, was put on hold until such time when the workload and finances permitted.

The eventual rebuild, which began in 2011, was entrusted to the South Lincolnshire team of Fred and John Goldup, who had earlier made a superb job of restoring Graham’s Howard Platypus. It took more than 500 hours to bring the Challenger 22 back to life, and Fred Goldup

A man who knows his tractors – Cambridgeshire enthusiast, Graham Rose. admits that he wouldn’t want to tackle such a huge undertaking ever again. However, you only have to see the machine in action to agree that it was well worth the effort.

The Challenger tractor is an outstanding and very capable tractor in its own right, but it is also a Fowler product, which to the discerning collector means that it is a thoroughbred machine from one of the greatest stables on earth.

John Goldup gives a Challenger 22 a shakedown as the tractor makes its working debut after a two-year restoration.

Did the earth move for you? It did for us when the Challenger 22 went past at full chat. when it comes to crawler tractors. He also owns a Howard Platypus PD4, which is fitted with a Perkins R6 diesel engine and is possibly the only one of its kind.

Fowler

e Fowler name is one that is uttered in hushed reverence by serious enthusiasts. e company’s place in history is undeniable and it is regarded as one of the great British heavy engineering firms with an ancestry that encompassed both tractors and steam. In the steam world, John Fowler of Leeds is legend.

On the other hand, the tracklayers it produced were not always without their faults, but none were produced in great numbers and the vast heritage attached to the marque makes the machines instantly collectable. e company was one of Britain’s most tractormagazine.co.uk

celebrated engineering concerns with a history dating back to the mid-19th century.

Fowler’s Steam Plough Works in Leeds, as the name suggests, had been one of the pioneers of cable-ploughing. However, by the mid-1930s, the firm was already beginning to make the transition into a tractor manufacturer.

What followed was one of the most turbulent times in the company’s history as the business went through several changes of ownership. To add to the confusion, the firm embarked upon a policy of producing a range of different crawlers with similar designations, which makes it difficult to explain where each machine fits into the story – and none more so than the Challenger 22. A prewar line of agricultural crawlers had shown great promise, but sales

were disappointing. Crippled with financial debt, Fowler’s board ended the production of tractors in 1938. In 1941, the business was compulsorily purchased by the Ministry of Supply and the Steam Plough Works was then given over to tank production to aid the war effort.

Towards the end of the war, the Government put the firm up for sale and it was bought by the Howard organisation. By 1946, following a further change of ownership, Fowler had come into the possession of omas W Ward Ltd of Sheffield, which already had a controlling interest in Marshall Sons & Co Ltd of Gainsborough. is led to the development of joint products, including the single-cylinder VF crawler and the heavier Challenger I and Challenger Mark II tractors. ➤ December2013Tractor

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On a wing and a sprayer

Take some of the guesswork out of spraying by following Ben phillips’ guide on preparing your tinwork to make for a perfect paint finish.

N

early all tractors need some tinwork at some point – it’s one of the main areas to suffer from rust – tinwork is the first thing anyone sees and can make or break a restoration. Nearly every tractor I’ve done a full restoration on has needed a bonnet, wing or some other panel to make the end result perfect.

Reproduction tinwork has in the past gained a bad reputation for being poor quality or even poorer fitting. Yes, the metal is slightly thinner and some items need ‘tweaking’, but largely it’s getting better now and to the untrained eye it’s hard to tell the difference.

I recently needed a set of wings for a Fordson Major I am restoring – these came from QTP in Ireland and the following pictures will hopefully guide you through on how to achieve a good finish.

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Ben’s top tips

■ ■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Always buy good quality panels Take care when lifting panels Measure lights, brackets etc. on the old wings if present When drilling holes put masking tape where you’re drilling, this helps to prevent the drill slipping Wear goggles when drilling Always wear gloves when mixing and using paint Always wear a mask when spraying Take care when fitting panels – ensure they’re dry and paint hard Don’t rush – that’s when things go wrong

tractormagazine.co.uk

WORDS & PICTURES Ben Phillips

Workshop

old wings had seen better days: the 1 These main fitting bracket has rotted away, part of

the top section is dented but keep them until your new ones are with you.

the lot marked up, drill the holes into 4 With the wing that secure the lights. Also at this

soon as you’ve unpacked your new wings 2 As check the fitting on the tractor you’re going to

fit them to. Make sure all the holes line up in the main castings and where they bolt on to the footplates.

Fordson Major has rear lights mounted on 5 This a bracket, so fit this bracket first and Ieave it

point don’t forget to drill a third hole for the wires to go through.

fitted. Drilling a round hole and using a file to make it square is the only way.

it’s been flatted down with some wet 7 Once and dry paper it’s time to give it a couple of

the undercoat is dry and hard it’s time 8 When to get the blue out. A good light coat all over

holes for lights and brackets is done 3 Drilling now. Referring to the old wings is a great way

of getting these items in the right place, so measure up on the old and mark on the new.

all holes prepared, go over the wing 6 With with some wet and dry and flat it down. Most

panels come in some shiny paint that looks good enough to top coat but I would advise against it.

it to dry until it’s tacky then blast one or 9 Leave two good coats on evenly so you don’t get any

layers of undercoat.

is all that’s required at this stage.

paint sag.

the panel as long as possible for the 10 Leave paint to harden before you even attempt to

new side lights were painted separately 11 The and fitted afterwards in the holes drilled at

rear lights were bolted on the lighting 12 The brackets that were fitted into place before

fit it as fingerprints will always be left behind. tractormagazine.co.uk

the start.

painting the wing.

December2013Tractor

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NextMonth

AND FARMING HERITAGE MAGAZINE

The generation gap ▲ We compare two mid-power Massey Fergusons – one of the last 100 series red and greys, with one of the next-generation 500s, which are owned by two friends who have a thing about 1960s/70s Massey Fergusons.

In the Garden of England

Where else would you expect an orchard tractor like this Ford 3600 but in the depths of Kent, an area with many thousands of acres of land given over to fruit production.

ON SALE D EC 10

Double the power

Before the advent of today’s high-horsepower machines, farmers were limited in their choice of big tractors. We take a look at Sweden’s quest for greater output with tandem tractor conversions.

Plus Gray ‘Drum Drive’ ■ Allis-Chalmers D-272 ■ International B-275 ■ Buying a tractor ■ Oxfordshire waggons ■ Massey memorabilia tractormagazine.co.uk

December2013Tractor

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