Tractor & Farming Heritage November 2013

WIN A RESTORED B-275 TRACTOR NOVEMBER 2013 www.tractormagazine.co.uk

AND FARMING HERITAGE MAGAZINE

8 PAGE NEWARK TRACTOR SHOW PROGRAMME INSIDE

UNIVERSAL SOLUTION

The Nuffield story

BIG POWER

The day TW-35s ruled the land

MINNESOTA MONSTER TD-24 comes back to life

TOP TIPS

For buying a Massey Ferguson

Heritage

M-H 745

Rare conversions collection complete?

Marshalls – a thumping Family classic still alive and kicking good tractor story

No. 121

November 2013

£3.90

Northrop

Welcome

NBVTC member Les King on the club’s road run (see page 24) with his 1948 Massey-Harris 744 PD. “This is one of the very early M-H 744s made,” said Les, “it’s number 167 and was built in the Manchester plant. I had to do very little to it as it was in very good condition when I bought it.” Photo Daniele Casanova.

Y

ou can never have too much of a good thing I always say; so when the kids go back to school and the nights start to pull in, it’s all too easy to look back on the fantastic summer (amazingly) that we’ve had and get all wistful. But there’s always something to look forward to, and this issue I’m very pleased to have worked on the official programme for the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show in November which is presented in this issue. is year the special theme is MasseyHarris, Wallis and Ferguson and it looks like it’s going to be another action-packed weekend. I’ll say no more though and guide you to page 100 where Adrian Johnston, CEO of the Newark &

Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society, tells you all about what to expect at the show.

We are starting to receive your first impressions of the new look Tractor & Farming Heritage, and we’re pleased that you like it. As I’ve said before, there are plenty of interesting features in the pipeline, especially on the heritage front, so keep a lookout. As always, if there’s something you would like to see in the magazine or something you would like to tell us about please get in touch. A final reminder too, if you haven’t already entered our competition to win a tractor, turn to page 56 and fill in the coupon now. is is the last issue in which you can enter the competition; although if you are going to the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show make sure you visit our stand, where you can not only see the International B-275 in the flesh (so to speak) but also make a last minute entry – as the competition closes aer the show.

Meet the team...

Ben Phillips

Polly Pullar

Jo Roberts

J Whitlam

Peter Squires

Stuart Gibbard

Tractor restorer - aka the tractorlad.

Photojournalist with a passion for heritage.

Professional heritage Writer and farming writer based in Wales. video producer.

Tony Hoyland

Editor

To link to our Facebook page, just scan the image (right) with your smartphone.

Alternatively, go online and visit www.facebook.com/TractorMag

tractormagazine.co.uk

Married with kids, Fords and Fordsons.

Author, historian and tractor specialist.

Also thanks to Alan Barnes, Dave Bowers, Daniele

Casanova, Peter D Simpson, Peter Anderson, Pete Small, Henry Smith, Richard Lofting.

November2013Tractor

3

CONTENTS

TRACTOR AND FARMING HERITAGE NOVEMBER 2013

Regulars 3

32

Darren Challis finds out that if you live around tractors it’s not too long before you’re taking on a restoration of your own.

Welcome

18 24

26 70

News

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

Tractor Talk

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

The Marsham Massey-Harris man

Most collectors’ passions date back to a time when they first drove the real thing, just ask Massey-Harris collector Bob Parke.

80

Montgomeryshire’s memories

Who wouldn’t love to own a tractor with family connections that go far back? We meet John and Maureen Lewis, who are lucky enough to have two.

84

You never know what you’ll find

Most of us are guilty of saving things that we should throw away ‘just in case’, but on a smallholding like Graham Hampstead’s it eventually gets out of hand.

98

36

Happy birthday NBVTC!

The North Bucks Vintage Tractor Club turns ten years old and a special gathering is a good excuse to review its development.

Next month

Preview of the December issue of Tractor & Farming Heritage magazine.

130 Confessions of a tractor widow

Jean Brown contemplates looking after an agricultural sort of chap and keeping him tidy.

COVER STORY

12 COVER STORY

4

Preserving the family tradition

42 48 COVER STORY

John Walker adds to his impressive collection of International crawlers with his latest ‘Red Peril’, a TD-24.

TractorNovember2013

Caught in the act...

70

Model World

78

99

38

44 COVER STORY

50 COVER STORY

58 COVER STORY

63 68

This year marked the 175th anniversary of the Kelso Ram Sales; we take a look at the event’s landmark history.

Newark programme

The official eight page guide to the best tractor event of the year, the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show.

COVER STORY

Blue is the colour

Workshop

Stuart Gibbard reports on the latest rare Ford conversions to join Richard Mason’s collection in Lincolnshire.

The tables are turned

When John Cowell went to see someone about selling a van, he suddenly found himself bringing home a Farmall F-20 to restore.

88

A thumping good start

We review how Marshall Tractors began to study the growing tractor market and implement a design of its own.

Poppy orange tractors

Prevention is better than the cure

If something is easier to check out while the tractor is apart then its worth doing; such as a front crank oil seal replacement.

90

The problem with pumps

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it goes the old adage, but in this case it’s worth keeping an eye on the condition of your fuel lift pump.

Progression of power

Jonathan Whitlam dusts off his archive and recalls a time when the Ford TW-35 began to dominate the fields of East Anglia.

94 COVER STORY

Looking for the perfect match

Ben Phillips gives us a few facts about Massey Fergusons to help potential tractor owners find the machine of their dreams.

Marketplace

Stuart Gibbard traces the evolution of the four-cylinder Nuffield tractor from the ‘Universal’ M4 to the final 4/65 model.

110 Auctions

Tractor Archive

112 Products

Tractor motors on past 100-year landmark

114 What’s on

More memories from the farming literature of the past.

Finland’s oldest tractor, an Avance Motor Plough, celebrates its centenary and is returned to working order 100 years after its birth.

74

A sale of some pedigree

Vintage and classic tractors – we spot them everywhere!

Heritage

Keith Taylor’s interest in machinery came from his father, Jim, and his 1954 Massey-Harris 745.

Minnesota monster rebuilt

Mary’s Marshall missions

If you have a Field Marshall like Mary Phillips, what better joy is there to drive it – other than to raise funds for good causes.

YourTractors 6

The Challis Challenge

Stumbling on a gold mine

It’s not every day that you stumble on an unsurpassed vintage collection just by sheer chance.

In-depth report fron the Cheffins Vintage Sale, Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, in August.

The latest tractor and farming heritage related product releases.

Your guide to heritage days throughout the month.

115 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?

tractormagazine.co.uk

YourTractors A date Mary will never forget, the start of her latest long haul in June 2013.

Mary’s Marshall

Missions

If you have a lovely vintage Field Marshall Series 3A like Mary Phillips, what better joy is there to drive it – other than to raise funds for good causes along the way.

M

ary’s story begins in 2009 when she drove her Field Marshall Series 3A at 9mph from her home in St Teath, Cornwall to Hatherleigh cattle market, a distance of 50 miles and raised £4500. en in 2010 she drove from Hatherleigh to St Teath raising £6330; while in 2011 it was a trip to Truro cattle market another 50 miles and £8520 raised.

It was then, just before Christmas 2011, Mary announced to her partner Peter Treleaven, who is well known for his knowledge of Field Marshall tractors that she would like to drive the Marshall from John o’ Groats to Land’s End. Mary said: “He couldn’t believe I was serious at first, but eventually agreed to it as he knew I wouldn’t be able to do it without him. So

36

TractorNovember2013

the tractor was thoroughly examined and a date set for the end of July.

“Bryn Jones from Newton Abbott picked the Marshall up on his lorry and took it to Scotland for me, while Peter and I went in Peter’s Land Rover with our two collie dogs and we took along our old caravan. We le John o’ Groats on August 2. e weather was good until we came over the border, then the heavens opened and it did not stop raining until I reached Land’s End, but it wasn’t cold and I raised £15,000!”

Time for a re-run

Aer this Mary went on to give a series of interesting talks to tractor clubs, young farmers and Women’s Institutes. But Christmas 2012 came round and she

The joy of not knowing what’s around the corner! announced to an amazed Peter that in 2013 she wanted to drive the Marshall from Land’s End to John o’ Groats. Mary added: “Aer a time he got used to the idea, and the tractor was fully inspected yet again; a date was arranged for June 30.

“We had only driven 55 miles and the fog came in so we parked up; but, believe it or not, the next day I drove 95 miles at a speed of 9mph! We were invited to Dart’s Farm at Topsham, Exeter where we parked overnight.

James Dart wanted us to stay all next morning for all his customers to see us and to be able to get donations, which went down very well.

“I averaged between 60-70 miles a day, the traffic going through the big cities was horrendous but I was not afraid one little bit. tractormagazine.co.uk

The Field Marshall did not miss a beat throughout the entire journey.

The start of the journey in 2011 now the finishing post in 2013.

“We eventually arrived at John o’ Groats, we did this trip in 17 days, exactly the same as last year, my total miles was 1188 at 9mph.”

Mary and Phillip pause for a photocall at another well-known landmark along the route.

Mary’s thoughts on the last trip

The long and winding road; “Are we nearly there yet…?”

All shook up

“e things I saw on this drive were amazing, I had a book with me and when I saw something interesting I would pull over and write it down, but, as you know, when the Marshalls are ticking over you are being shook up all the time and I could hardly read my writing at the end of the day! We were soon at Falkirk and looking for somewhere to park up. Peter saw a farmer bringing his bales in so he asked if we could park in his field. He was delighted to let us, then came back in the evening with his friends to see the tractor and invite us to the Caithness County Show that weekend.

“We agreed that we would get to John o’ Groats first, then see what time we had the next day. We wanted to go to Dunnett Head, the highest northerly point of Scotland, on tractormagazine.co.uk

the way there must have been millions of acres of open land and not a tree, house or animal in sight, just me on my tractor as Peter would drive on ahead.

Mary reflected on the 2013 trip: “Everything went marvellously. Not a spanner touched the tractor, but of course I was as black as a badger every day with oil spitting out of the Marshall. I just hated driving back home in the Land Rover I felt I was in a cage; on the tractor I would be dancing with my feet to keep the circulation going, Peter and I enjoyed every single minute of it. We didn’t have the very hot weather everybody had; in fact it was cold but just the job for driving the tractor. It has been a pleasure to do all these drives for the Devon and Cornwall Air Ambulance.”

Finishing post

“We eventually arrived at John o’ Groats, we did this trip in 17 days, exactly the same as last year, my total miles was 1188 at 9mph. But then our lorry driver telephoned us to say his load up to Scotland had been cancelled therefore he couldn’t pick up my tractor for another week.

“Now we could go to the show and drove 16 miles back to Wick and were treated like royalty. I had to lead the parade of tractors around the ring, and was presented with £100 for my charity drive. I was so very grateful.” ✦ November2013Tractor

37

YourTractors Richard Mason with one of the scarcer machines in his collection – a 1950 Roadless Type E crawler based on a Fordson E27N Major – one of about three known survivors.

Blue

is the

colour

Stuart Gibbard reports on the latest rare Ford conversions to join Richard Mason’s collection in Lincolnshire.

WORDS & PICTURES Stuart Gibbard

A

s far as South Lincolnshire collector, Richard Mason, is concerned, blue is the only colour.

His passion is for Ford and Fordson tractors and he has one of the best collections in the country. at collection only extends to exactly 40 tractors, but you would be hard pressed to find a better selection anywhere.

What makes Richard’s collection so special is that he is fascinated with Ford conversions and owns a number of very rare derivatives. ese include several County, Roadless and Doe models, but also much scarcer machines such as a Matbro Mastiff and a J J omas ‘Ninety Five-100’.

Richard’s Ford collection ranges in age

48

TractorNovember2013

from a 1940s Fordson N to a 1970s Ford 7000. However, it is the conversions that create the interest. e Matbro Mastiff, for example, is arguably the world’s first pivotsteer tractor, but only 20 were built from 1963-64. Richard’s example was rescued for preservation by the writer in the 1980s and is one of just 10 known survivors. e ‘Ninety Five-100’ is one of a small number of six-cylinder conversions of Ford tractors built by J J omas of Banbury in Oxfordshire from 1973 to the early 1980s.

Richard also owns a Doe 5100, which is a similar attempt to re-power a Ford tractor using a 2704E power unit, but is probably even rarer because only a handful were made. Other gems in Richard’s collection include a County ‘Hi-Drive’ conversion of a US-spec Fordson Super Major, which is a very rare bird indeed.

A tractor on stilts – the County ‘Hi-Drive’ conversion of a US-spec Fordson Super Major. tractormagazine.co.uk

How the bug bit...

It’s hard to believe, but it is only about eight years since Richard began collecting in earnest. It was back in 2005 that he imported a rare blue/orange County Super-Six from Belgium. At the time, Richard was relatively new to the movement, owning just four tractors, and was actually better known in the truck world – a small collection of restored lorries being a natural offshoot of the family-owned Mason Bros Transport business.

Growing up with Fordson tractors had instilled Richard with a passion for the marque. The County Super-Six kindled a fascination with the rarer Ford conversions – and the tractor bug began to bite deep.

He threw himself into the hobby with unparalleled energy; amassing a large and superlative collection of predominately blue machines in a very short time.

The Doe 130 model, which was supplied new by the Lincolnshire Motor Company, is one of three Doe tractors in Richard’s collection.

Amazing additions

Recently, Richard hosted an open weekend for fellow enthusiasts and friends at his Swineshead premises near Boston over the weekend of June 29-30. e Blue Force Club was entertained on the Saturday, and on the Sunday it was the turn of the local Lincolnshire Fenland Preservation Group.

Despite Richard telling us that his collection was now complete, visitors were amazed to see two new and exciting additions to the ranks. e latest acquisitions were a Northrop 5004 and a Doe 130. e Northrop, a 1968 naturally-aspirated 5004 model, which comes from a collection in the north of England, was only delivered on the Saturday morning of the open weekend. is four-wheel drive machine was a Chaseside product manufactured in small numbers from 1965-67. e Doe 130, serial number 627, is a preForce tractor that was supplied new by the Lincolnshire Motor Company and has been totally restored by its previous owner. As Richard already owns a superb ‘New Performance’ Doe Triple-D and the aforementioned Doe 5100, this was getting a little greedy.

“I’ve finished now,” Richard tells us. “ere’s no space le in the shed so I don’t intend to buy any more. e Northrop and the Doe 130 were the last two machines I wanted to complete the collection.”

However, he has said that before, so now we’ll have to wait and see... ✦

“I’ve finished now,” Richard tells us.

“There’s no space left in the shed so I don’t intend to buy any more.” tractormagazine.co.uk

Richard Mason’s Northrop 5004 model was recently acquired from a collection in the north of England.

The ‘Ninety Five-100’ is one of a small number of sixcylinder Ford conversions built by J J Thomas of Banbury in Oxfordshire during the 1970s.

One of only 20 built, Richard’s Matbro Mastiff was supplied new in June 1963.

November2013Tractor

49

WORDS & PICTURES Ben Phillips

Workshop

PreventIon

is better than the

cure

If something is easier to check out while the tractor is apart then its worth doing; such as the front crank oil seal replacement on this Fordson Major E1A

A

ll tractors leak something at some point. It’s either oil, diesel or water. A water leak is easily fixed by replacing a hose or a hose clip, which will usually suffice; water however will always dry up. Oil and diesel won’t. ere’s nothing worse than a pool of something nasty on the floor under a tractor while it is parked in a garage or driveway, so doing all you can to stop this happening while the tractor is apart is all the better.

While the radiator and cowl was off this Fordson Major E1A I am restoring I took the opportunity to do the front crank oil seal.

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

88

TractorNovember2013

Ben’s Top Tips

■ Be careful when striking hammers on

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

things – firstly (and importantly) don’t miss, secondly don’t damage anything including yourself and always wear goggles. Remember that things will often shift better if you have a gentler approach.

Keep nuts and bolts and other parts safe at all times.

Take pictures first if you’re unsure how things go back together.

Keep things clean and working areas tidy.

Coat all working parts, i.e pulley and seal, with oil prior to rebuilding.

Tools needed, wrench, emery tape, scraper, brake cleaner, large screw driver, 1⁄2 AF ratchet and spanner, couple of hammers.

pulley nut can be undone striking a big 1 Front wrench. This Major has no tab washer but on

some models there is, so bend the tabs back first.

this Major the casting is in the way so 2 On gently tapping the rear of the pulley in the

middle where the construction is strongest usually releases it. Careful as the pulley is easily chipped. tractormagazine.co.uk

The bolts around the timing case are now 3 undone, they are all 1⁄2in AF.

gasket is usually stuck so some gentle 4 The prising is needed.

timing cover is removed and can be 5 The cleaned if required.

The timing gears are exposed now and the 6 old gasket is hanging off. Take a quick look at

Removing the old gasket requires a scraper.

7 Those with a Stanley blade are ideal. If the

old seal can now be tapped out; care 8 The should be taken here not to cause damage to

the gears and make sure all is okay.

new seal is fitted and tapped in gently 9 The and evenly all round – this is important to

gasket is stuck hard there are products to ease this.

the face of the timing case.

breather hole in the timing cover needs to 10 The be checked to ensure that it is free of oil and

section on the pulley that contacts the 11 The new seal needs dressing up with some emery

remember.

anything that restricts the passage of air.

tape to get a nice shiny surface.

the new gasket fitted the cover is put 12 With back on and the bolts tightened up.

The pulley is tapped on with a hammer and 13 block of wood.

nut and washer is fitted a few sharp 14 The blows with a hammer will tighten it up.

tractormagazine.co.uk

November2013Tractor

89

NextMonth

AND FARMING HERITAGE MAGAZINE

The County set ▲ Not everyone who owns an old tractor is a farmer.

Perhaps dad had a tractor, or grandad did, or the owner helped on a farm in the school holidays. For David Seaton, the inspiration came from a boatyard.

The chosen one

Most of the tractors in Ray Cleggett and Dennis Belton’s collection are regularly used for ploughing and mowing but this Massey Ferguson 158 only emerges from the shed when it is required for use at an event or to take part in a road run.

ON SALE NOV 12

All fired up with hot bulbs

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

Plus Buying a tractor – Fordsons ■ Jo Roberts ■ Ford 5000 ■ Allen Scythe ■ Marshall 12/20 ■ Graham’s Grumbles ■ Tractor Archives ■ Farming Focus 98

TractorNovember2013

tractormagazine.co.uk