Fordson Dexta All you need to know about the Dexta and its Super sibling

The major gets a workmate

The Fordson Dexta was Dagenham’s answer to the ‘grey menace’, otherwise known as the rising tide of Ferguson TE-20 tractors found on British farms. Stuart Gibbard details its development and lists all the main model changes

Lewis McBride’s 1961 Fordson Dexta ‘facelift’ model and his father Lee’s 1962 Fordson Super Dexta. Both machines were restored by Lewis, who runs his own tractor restoration business, L. McBride Tractors & Machinery, at Altrincham in Cheshire (Tel: 07788 628 184). Photo: Ken Topham

T he Fordson Major got a workmate at the Smithfi eld Show in December 1957, which marked the public unveiling of the company’s eagerly awaited answer to the Ferguson TE-20 and FE-35 models. The company was making a concerted e ort to regain the market share it had lost to Ferguson, and the tool at its disposal was a worthy contender.

The Dexta had an economical three-cylinder engine, a handy six-speed gearbox and dra control hydraulics – dubbed Qualitrol – for the rst time on a Fordson tractor.

The o cial launch for the press, dealers and trade delegates had been held a month earlier at London’s Alexandra Palace from 19-26 November. This high-pro le event was accompanied by a revolving stage and an indoor marquee, called the ‘Dexta-Drome’, housing an extensive display of tractors and ‘approved’ implements. No one was le under any allusion as to what Fordson’s plans were: it was throwing down the gauntlet and meant business in the small tractor market.

The introduction of the Dexta had the desired e ect, and more than 22,000 units were sold during 1958, allowing Ford to snatch back its position as UK market leader from Ferguson, or Massey Ferguson as it had then become. The export demand was also strong and 5000 Dextas were shipped to the USA the following year. Export sales for the Dexta remained impressive throughout its production run, the greatest demand coming from France, the USA and Finland. Satellite assembly for the Antipodean market was also carried out by Ford New Zealand at Lower Hutt in the Wellington region. Development During the late 1940s, several proposals were put forward for a small tractor to complement the Fordson Major. In 1951, Ollie Schjolin, the American chief engineer of the British Ford Motor Company, suggested developing a tractor using a four-cylinder petrol engine and three-speed gearbox from a Ford Consul Mk 1 car mated to a rear axle

“Developing the Fordson Dexta, designated from an ET6 Thames truck. Two prototypes were built between 1952 and 1953, including experimental tractor No. 5315, but the design was deemed to be unsuitable for 957E, was a production. When Mick Ronayne took over as mammoth task” chief engineer, John Foxwell was appointed executive engineer in charge of the project to design a small tractor. The plan was to base it on the BELOW: A American Ford 8N, but with a diesel pre-production engine and a six-speed gearbox. A er Fordson Dexta evaluating an Austin engine, it was on trial. The decided to use a Ford-ised version of tractor is the Perkins P3 power unit. badged as a The P3 was modi ed to suit Ford’s ‘Cadet Major’. requirements. It was tted

ABOVE: Ollie Schjolin’s experimental 5315 prototype was the Dexta that never was. Built in 1953, it had a Ford Consul four-cylinder petrol engine and three-speed gearbox mated to a Thames truck rear

Specifi cation (957E Dexta)

Engine Ford F3 three-cylinder diesel Capacity 144cu. in (2.36 litres) Bore & stroke 3.5in (89mm) x 5in (127mm) Compression ratio 16.5:1 Power 32hp Rated engine speed 2000rpm Transmission 6F/2R (forward 1.72-16.8mph, reverse 7.42mph) Clutch Standard, 11in single-plate dry; Live, 9in double-plate dry Fuel tank 7 gallons (31.9 litres) Dimensions Wheelbase 73.5in Length 118in Height 46.5in Weight 2980lb

ABOVE: The official launch of the Fordson Dexta at Alexandra Palace in November 1957. The tractor was shown on a revolving turntable, and the display included the full range of ‘approved’ implements and equipment. LEFT: The 1957 launch brochure for the new Fordson Dexta tractor, designated 957E.

with a pneumatically-governed Simms inline fuel injection pump, and the cylinder sleeves were changed from alloy steel to cast iron to improve oil consumption. The displacement of the engine, which developed 32hp, was 144cu.in. It was designated F3 and the main castings were made at Dagenham’s Thames Foundry.

The rear axle was carried over from the 8N tractor, as were the hydraulic system and three-point linkage with top-link dra control. Several changes were made to avoid infringing any Ferguson patents. A Plessy gear pump in the axle housing was driven from the PTO sha . The latter passed through the gearbox’s hollow laysha s, allowing ‘live’ power take-o and hydraulics when the optional double clutch was installed.

The six-speed gearbox was con gured on the successful E1A Major layout, which was basically a four-speed design; the four highest gears (3, 4, 5 and 6) and high reverse underwent two reductions while the two lowest gears and low reverse underwent four reductions. When combined with the 6.66:1 rear axle ratio, the overall reduction to the wheels from the engine varied from 204:1 in rst gear to 16.8:1 in sixth gear. The gearbox was operated by two levers.

Astraight front axle with a single drop-arm steering box was abandoned because of the vulnerability of the front-mounted track rod. The swept-back axle from the 8N was then adopted with a double drop arm steering box

What’s in a name?

There has been much speculation over the years as to why the Dexta name was chosen for the workmate to the Major. Several names were considered before the final decision was made. Fordson ‘Minor’ was the obvious choice, but it was thought to be too ‘public school’ in inference, and it was also felt that ‘Minor’ could imply a product of lesser stature.

Several titles of a military association to harmonise with ‘Major’ were also discarded, the preferred choice being Fordson ‘Cadet’. However, this didn’t translate well into some languages, and in some it was even found to have unfortunate connotations.

Eventually, someone coined the name ‘Dexta’, but nobody knows who or why. The sales department claimed the name was derived from ‘dextrous’ meaning agile, while the engineers always claimed it was a contracted form of ‘Dexter’, a breed of small cattle.

with side-mounted radius rods. The steering box was developed by Burman & Sons Ltd of Birmingham. The design was cost e ective and it gave light and e ortless steering.

The sheet metal was scaled down from the Major and incorporated a fuel tank at the rear, through which the steering column passed. The axle-mounted dual servo brakes were made by Girling.

The Dexta, as the tractor was named, turned out to be as reliable as the Major, and the weight distribution between the front and rear axles meant it was well balanced. It was also designed for easy servicing as both the engine and the rear axle could be easily detached from the gearbox. Its range of speeds and low fuel consumption suited the smaller farmer and its performance as a yard tractor was outstanding.

Developing the Dexta, designated 957E, was a mammoth task involving more than a quarter of a million man hours for the designers, who produced over 2000 drawings. A total of 25,000 parts had to be hand-made for the prototypes, which clocked up more than 35,000 hours on test. Tooling-up the Dagenham factory for the production of the new tractor was a major expense costing £4.5mn.

BELOW LEFT: Based on a modified Perkins P3 design, the 2.36-litre, three-cylinder Ford F3 engine used in the Fordson Dexta produces 32hp at 2000rpm. BELOW RIGHT: The Dexta’s six-speed transmission is controlled by two levers and has a nippy top speed of just under 17mph. The proofmeter was optional. This 1961 model has a handbrake, left of seat, whereas earlier pre-1959 machines had a brake-locking latch.

Model changes

The Dexta went into full production in February 1958. The basic agricultural model cost £525. The standard speci cation included electric starting, parking latch, tipping seat, vertical exhaust, nonlive power take-o and hydraulic li / linkage with Qualitrol, and an auxiliary service control for operating external equipment.

The version with ‘live’ PTO and hydraulics could be had for another £30. Other options included a choice of tyres, an extra comfort seat, horizontal exhaust, belt pulley, electric lighting and horn, proofmeter, wheel weights, drawbar, pick-up hitch, pressurised radiator cap, starting handle and a DAR (double-acting ram) valve.

Several changes to the Dexta were made during its lifetime, beginning with the introduction of a handbrake to replace the earlier brake-locking latch during 1959. From 15 August 1960 (at No. 63953), revisions were made to the gearbox ratios to improve working and PTO speeds.

The ‘faceli ’ Dexta with revised styling to match the new Super

“The Dexta, as the tractor was named, turned out to be as reliable as the Major”

Major was introduced at No. 68355 on 31 October 1960. The most noticeable change was the relocation of the headlamps from the sides of the radiator cowling to an inboard position enclosed within the front grilles.

Serial numbers

Year Number

The headlamps remained on the side of the cowling on some export models to comply with the traffi c ABOVE: The Dexta was given a facelift in 1960 to bring its styling inline with the new Super legislation in certain Major tractor. The most obvious change was that the headlamps were relocated inboard. European countries. These tractors were then fi tted with horizontal bars in the grille to signify the model change.

Other cosmetic improvements made to the ‘facelift ’ Dexta saw new chrome badges affi xed to the bonnet sides and the deletion of the vertical emblem on the front cowling’s centre strut. A deep pan cushioned seat was now standard equipment, and a fl ow-control valve was incorporated into the hydraulic system. The new model was launched alongside the Super Major at a Ford convention held in Hamburg from 8-11 November 1960. The 1961 Smithfi eld Show saw the introduction of a diff erential lock as standard equipment for the Dexta. Preliminary announcements were also made at the show for an uprated version of Dexta with an enlarged engine, which would appear during the following year. This more powerful small tractor, called the

1957 0001 1958 0144 1959 22588 1960 46216 1961 71921 1961 (Nov) 09A 312001 1962 09B 700001 1963 (Feb) 09C 900001 1964 09D 900001 1964 (last) 09D 924433 Note: The serial number is located on the left-hand side of the engine-mounting flange of front transmission housing. Super Dexta, went into production at No. 09B 710530 on 24 April 1962. The model was unveiled to the press at a pre-production demonstration on 18 May 1962 prior to a public launch at the Royal Show in July.

The Super Dexta, designated 960E, had a larger displacement version of the standard Dexta engine with a swept volume of 152cu.in. This was achieved by simply fi tting thin-wall

ABOVE RIGHT: ‘Live’ version of the ‘facelift’ Dexta. A deep-pan cushioned seat was now standard equipment and the hydraulic system incorporated a flow-control valve. RIGHT: Designated 960E, the Fordson Super Dexta was launched in 1962. The bore was increased to deliver nearly 40hp, and a new nose-cone accommodated a larger radiator to improve cooling.

This publicity picture, taken in Cambridgeshire in the summer of 1961 shows the Dexta with a Ransomes TS1051 single-furrow reversible plough from the F-R range of ‘power matched’ implements.

cast iron liners together with larger diameter pistons and rings. The cylinder head was unchanged, although a new head gasket was required.

The new engine, which developed 39.5hp, was fitted with a mechanicallygoverned Simms P4588 Minimec pump. Ford called it the ‘Super 3’ engine while

“The basic agricultural model cost Perkins, which supplied the internal components, referred to it £525” as the F3.152 as opposed to the F3.144 fitted to the standard Dexta.

To cope with the extra power, the transmission was strengthened and revised components were fitted in the gearbox and rear axle. A stronger crown wheel and pinion with a 6.16:1 ratio (as opposed to 6.66:1 on the standard Dexta) meant that the Super Dexta had very slightly faster ground speeds. A larger capacity radiator, provided to improve cooling, was accommodated by a new nose cone.

The standard Dexta remained in production and also gained a mechanically-governed Minimec pump. The Super Dexta only cost £25 more than the standard model and now accounted for the bulk of sales.

The final incarnations of the Dexta line appeared with the launch of the ‘New Performance’ range at the Royal Show in July 1963. Most significant was the new blue and grey livery, but there were further changes under the skin.

The Super Dexta gained an uprated P4696 Minimec injection pump, which boosted the power to 44.5hp. This intermediate model in the range of three ‘New Performance’ Fordson tractors also benefited from the addition of a new automatic pressure relief valve, similar to that fitted to its larger brother, the Super Major. This was located in the hydraulic top cover and allowed a sustained lift under all operating conditions.

Sales of the basic Dexta had gone into decline since the introduction of the Super Dexta, but the model remained part of the line-up. Except for the new colours (and cost-saving bonnet decals), nothing else was changed for the ‘New Performance’ version, apart from the addition of an automatic relief valve in the hydraulics to bring it into line with the other tractors in the range.

Priced at £620, the standard Dexta was now only £46 cheaper than the Super Dexta and very few were sold in the new livery. Consequently, it remains a scarce model and often overlooked.

A phased run-down of Fordson production began in late 1963 in readiness for the introduction of the new 6X range from Basildon. Plans were made to build up a cushion of stock so that the tractors could be cleared out of Dagenham in the summer of 1964 to make way for a new engine line for the Ford Cortina car.

Unfortunately, Ford had miscalculated. In early 1964, it had an undersupply of Super Majors, which were in great demand on the home market, but was overstocked with Dextas. To rectify the problem, Ford Tractor Operations launched the Dexta Grand Prix, a concerted marketing campaign targeted at mainland Europe where tractors in the 25hp to 40hp bracket accounted for 40 per cent of the market.

The campaign had the desired effect, and Ford actually ran out of tractors to sell before Basildon came on-line. The last Dexta was built in July 1964. However, the Dexta and Super Dexta designations didn’t disappear immediately and were applied to the new 2000 and 3000 models for a short time in the UK.

In addition to all the main Dexta production models, there were several other variants including golf course, industrial/highway, narrow and petrol derivatives, as well as conversions from Roadless, County and others, but these are another story for a future issue.

Derivatives & conversions

Model Manufacturer

Golf Course Dexta Industrial Dexta Highway Dexta

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company County Commercial Cars Ltd

Narrow Dexta

Stormont Engineering Petrol Dexta Ford Motor Company /Turner Manufacturing High-Clearance Dexta Gates of Baldock Roadless Dexta/Super Dexta Roadless Traction Ltd Super Dexta Timber Tractor County Commercial Cars Ltd

Dexta Rotaped

Leeford (London) Ltd

ABOVE: The ‘New Performance’ Super Dexta was fitted with an uprated Minimec injector pump, which increased power to 44.5hp. Sales of this model now eclipsed those of the standard Dexta by quite a wide margin.