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Tractorfile
Classic items of interest from the archives of editor Rory Day and our readers.
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IMPORTED GEAR AT GRASSLAND
FOLLOWING RECENT COVERAGE of higher-hp Deutz Fahrs in Tractorfile, former Watveare product manager Andy Delaney dipped into his archives and sent me some great pictures of a couple of larger DX6 Series models working with Gehl machines at the Grassland ’90 demonstration at Stoneleigh. At the time, Watveare was responsible for the UK distribution of Deutz-Fahr, Gehl and the MercedesBenz MB-trac.
“This event was the first time Watveare had shown a range of grassland machines from the American manufacturer Gehl,” recalls Andy. “Watveare Ltd had just undergone some internal restructuring and had been split into two departments – power units, namely tractors, combines and MB-tracs, were being headed up by Paddy Flynn, while other machines were managed by Tony Edwards. It was thought that Gehl products would be a good fit for the machinery department.
“As with many North American grass machines, it was soon discovered that conditions and crops in the UK were very different to those in the USA, and the Gehl machines were quite power hungry,” continues Andy. “Watveare’s association with Gehl was short-lived. In February 1991, the parent company, Lohnro, decided to merge its two agricultural machinery companies, Watveare and Westmac, under a new division called Dutton Foreshaw Land Machinery and rationalise its machinery offering. The Gehl products were dropped. One of the unusual machines demonstrated at Grassland ’90 with a Deutz-Fahr DX6.30 was a Gehl swath merger. This enabled two rows to be put together and picked-up by the forager.”
PLAQUE FROM MANNHEIM
PARTICIPANTS IN TRACTOR MANUFACTURER SERVICE COURSES are generally awarded a certificate at the end of their training, but when Alan Kellett completed John Deere’s programme on its new 40 Series tractors in 1979, he received something more weighty – a cast iron plaque.
“The new range had synchromesh transmissions, a tow-startable Hi-Lo, fully hydrostatic steering and a ZF mechanical front-wheel drive, while one model, the 2140, even had a turbocharged engine,” he says. “All John Deere European branch service personnel spent 1-2 weeks at the Mannheim factory in Germany, learning about the new systems. At the conclusion of the course, each person was presented with a cast grey iron plaque measuring 11in by 8in. The plaques were cast in the factory’s now-demolished works foundry and worded in English, French and German.
“We spent one week on the 40 Series and a few more days on changes and Improvements to the French-made balers, mowers, etc,” adds Alan. “I always thought of the plaque as special, because it wasn’t something bought-in, but actually cast in the same foundry as the engine blocks and transmission cases. The foundry has now been demolished and is the site of the Hotel LanzCarré.”
Rarely seen cab
ONE OF THE THEMES of recent Tractorfiles has been the weather and safety cabs made by Tractorvision. Not many of these large and well-appointed operator units were made and few seem to have survived, so I was pleased to hear about one that still exists in Co. Roscommon in Ireland. The cab in question, fitted to a Nuffield 4/65, was spotted in July by reader Colin Jordan as he was passing Regan Tractors’ yard at Frenchpark.
“I don’t know if the tractor is in good working order or even if it is for sale, but it appears to be in very good cosmetic condition, apart from the cab wings which are in need of replacement,” he tells me. “It is a roomy cab, but you would need to be nimble to get in and out. I’m sure it would make a lovely addition to someone’s collection.”
One of the early imports
IN THE PREVIOUS ISSUE’S TRACTORFILE,
reader Barry Clitheroe asked if his 1964 John Deere 4020, serial number 21T70693, was one of the earliest original imports in the UK. Cue a response from farmer’s son, tractor importer and CLASSIC TRACTOR Farm View columnist Richard Keel, whose family own an earlier example.
The tractor that is currently in the care of Richard and his father John at Droitwich in Worcestershire is serial number 21T70176, making it 517 units earlier than Barry’s machine. Most of the 4020s sold new in the UK had what were known as ‘Standard’ shell-type fenders, whereas this particular tractor, and some other very early arrivals, had flat-top row-crop fenders.
“My uncle and grandfather bought this tractor in the late mid-1970s when they farmed in north Somerset,” he explains. “It was a choice between the 4020 and a pre-Force 5000, both of which were similar money.
“Our tractor is well-travelled,” continues Richard. “In 1985, when the family farm was sold after my grandparents retired, my uncle Chris moved to west Worcestershire. In 2002 he retired and moved to southern France. In early 2020, they moved back to Worcestershire, bringing the 4020 back to our farm. The tractor had actually spent a few months here in 1985, between my uncle’s move from Somerset to Worcestershire.
“I was talking to someone in the last couple of years who has a John Deere 4020 that’s apparently a few hundred tractors earlier than the one we look after, so I’m expecting there to be several older ones out there,” he notes.
MF TOY IS TRANSFORMED
FOR ALMOST AS LONG as he can remember, Cameron McKay, a New Zealander now living in Co. Cork in Ireland, has been fascinated by Massey Ferguson 760 combines. He played with the Britains toy version as a child, first sat in the cab of a real machine in 1980 and went on to buy his own machine, which remained down under when he moved to Ireland a few years ago.
“Every farming lad had a Britains MF 760 when they were growing up and I was no exception,” says Cameron. “When I was carpet farming back in the day, the narrow wheels on the Britains toy always bugged me. I bought an unboxed Britains MF 760 this year, initially with the intention of changing the wheels, but one thing led to another and I decided to do a complete custom-build.
“I modified the toy’s header to make it like an 18ft Freeflow and added details like fingers, pulleys and belts, and made a header trailer out of wood,” he adds. “I added some realism to the feeder house and gave the cab some controls, a black interior, windows, a wiper and mirrors. I also altered the grain tank, fitted an elevator and straddle tanks, and made other alterations.
“I based my model on a 1977/1978 MF 760 with a red cab and black interior. I might even create a silver cab European grain tank version sometime,” says Cameron. GOLD FIAT 1280DT Peter Wilde has come forward with some great information on the gold-painted Fiat 1280DT that got a mention in Tractorfile in the August 2021 issue. “The gold Fiat displayed on John I. Fearn’s stand at the 1984 Newark & Notts Show was in fact the dealership’s demonstration tractor,” he tells me. “I was the person who washed it prior to it being sprayed gold at the local Ford car body shop, Gregory’s of Worksop, at a cost of £400. The tractor was then sold by salesman David Sherlock I think in the Doncaster area. However, the customer insisted on it being painted in its original Fiat colours and stated that if the new paint came off when he pressure washed it, he would send it back. “The tractor was resprayed in Fearns’ workshop by service engineer John Whittington,” he recalls. “As a footnote, I was the person who sprayed the vintage Fiat 702 that was also displayed at the show. It was part of Trevor Fearn’s collection.” LELY ROTTERA The 8m Lely Roterra power harrow that was recently used by the Suffolk Bunch, along with three smaller 6m versions, to establish 90 acres of linseed (August 2021 issue) caught the eye of reader Will Turner. He has responded by sending a picture of an identical machine he saw working in 1984. The superwide Lely was being used at the time behind a Massey Ferguson 4840 in the Boston area of Lincolnshire. He believes it may have been the first 8m Roterra in the UK. Sadly, the registration number of the tractor isn’t visible, but it appears to have been supplied by local MF dealer Chandlers, possibly from its Spilsby depot. Does anyone know who owned this impressive MF/Lely combination? DEUTZ-FAHR CLUB In the previous Tractorfile, I asked former members of the now defunct Deutz-Fahr Driver’s Club to get in touch. This prompted reader and former club Andrew Smith to share some of his past experiences of working with Deutz-Fahr products. “I was a member of the club and may still have the tie somewhere – I must have a look,” he says. “I’ve always had a soft spot for Deutz-Fahr products. After a short spell at Writtle Agricultural College, I worked for the Wallis family at Greensted, near Ongar in Essex. They had a five-cylinder Deutz-Fahr DX90 that pulled like a train and was a lovely tractor to drive. The five-cylinder engine was a gem, although it did vibrate its way through brake pipes and silencers at a rate of knots. They then got a two-wheel drive four-cylinder DX80 that really punched above its weight. With some heavy weights on the front end, it pulled a four-furrow Ransomes 300 Series reversible plough far better than it had any right to. “After leaving the Wallis family I worked on a farm at Shenfield, near Brentwood, before moving to Coleman Engineering, which was a Deutz-Fahr dealer at the time. Later in life I spent time with Carter Agricultural at Harleston in Norfolk, where we sold Valmet tractors, materials handlers and Deutz-Fahr combines, the latter being a match for anything at the time in my eyes.”
