Tractor & Farming Heritage
August 2007
Celebrating the history and development of the tractor
3 Welcome
Flaming June it wasnt as the editor looks back at a miserable month - and moves house with a Fordson Diesel Major.
5 Beavering away - at a dream conversion
When Jim Sedgwick and Steven Baines decided to fit a 1959 Leyland Beaver engine to an E27N Fordson Major, they faced a different set of problems from the usual Perkins P6 conversion. David Bowers reports.
12 Little red devil!
Geoff Lamb tells Jenny Peters why he added a Bristol AF28 crawler to his tractor collection.
16 Super Foursome
Robb Morgan loves County tractors, and when he saw a Super-4 advertised for sale, he went to endless pains to restore it despite its sorry condition, writes Pete Henshaw.
20 News
Carrington Rally washed out again; Ferguson memorial plan comes to fruition; Northern Ireland road run; W Somerset Vintage Farming Show; ploughing reports.
28 Major decisions
If youre thinking of buying a Fordson Major from the E1A series, Jane Brooks buyers guide will prove invaluable - but even if you arent, youll learn a lot about the differences between the various models.
34 Home-brewed
A Perkins-powered Unimog with a home-made cab; a Massey-Harris Pacemaker, Case LA and Allis-Chalmers U...Eric Brown has rebuilt them all, reports Pete Henshaw.
38 An emerging classic
In only its second year, with a winning route formula and the worthy aim of raising funds for the Unster Cancer Foundation, Northern Irelands North West Classic Tractor Road Run has become one of the best on the calendar.
42 Letters
44 It might be fun,but is it LEGAL?
The minute you take a tractor, vintage or otherwise, onto the road you become subject to a perplexing mountain of legal requirements. John Barker does his best to untangle the law.
48 Subscribe to Tractor...and make sure you never miss another copy of your favourite tractor and farming heritage magazine.
50 Stephens special selection box
Jo Roberts meets a North Wales vintage tractor collector whose tastes extend from the local to the seriously far-flung.
55 Were coming home!
Pete Kelly finishes his 750-mile marathon on a Chinese-built Siromer 404 tractor with a run through North Wales and Cheshire, and a final night flit in swirling fog to return to the starting point of Pilling, Lancs, by 6.30am!
58 La Robuste? Babiole? More Euro tractors
Mike and Julie Blenkinsop report from the agricultural section of the huge La Locomotion en Fête vehicle show at an airfield near Paris.
62 Combine history going cheap
A Volvo BM combine that reliably brought in the crop for Dumfries-shire farmer Rog Wood for more than a decade was sold at his displenishment sale for just £70 - with a spare machine thrown in for good measure!
65 Reviews
66 The little grey intruder
Theres an interloper among the ranks of Fordson blue in regular columnist Graham Hampsteads household - and its making a good impression already!
69 Rare Breeds Factfile
This month Marianne Thomas examines the history of the four Welsh pony breeds.
70 Putting a Big Bear back together
When Peter Harvey decided to restore an Ursus C45 tractor, he didnt realise that it would involve a building project as well! Jenny Peters brings the story.
74 Toms tractor Mewseum
Polly Pullar finds herself tractor-ed out as she rushes from farm to farm to view another tasty collection - this time the one belonging to Tom Mew just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
78 Handshakes and broken dreams
In the second part of her Harry Ferguson Story, Jane Brooks tells of the relationship between Harry and Henry Ford, and how it all went wrong after the Ford empire was passed on to Henrys grandson.
83 Horses for courses
Jo Roberts brings a mixed bag of happenings from North Wales, including fund-raising outings on her horse, Dougal, and her Massey-Ferguson 35.
86 Diary Dates
92 News Extra
93 More farm nostalgia from Trevor Mitchell
Pete Kelly describes the latest limited edition prints with an agricultural theme from renowned Yorkshire artist Trevor Mitchell.
94 MAN, what a neat little tractor!
Built more than 50 years ago, the MAN Ackerdiesel was an advanced tractor for its time. Jerry Thurston takes a close look at the fine example belonging to David Briggs of Bradford.
98 Is your number up?
Recognised and trusted by the DVLA, Thomas Andrews helps hundreds of vintage tractor owners with their registration procedures. Jenny Peters tells how we can help him to help us.
99 Tractor Marketplace
This is just the place to look for tractors or associated machinery.
3 Welcome
Flaming June it wasnt as the editor looks back at a miserable month - and moves house with a Fordson Diesel Major.
5 Beavering away - at a dream conversion
When Jim Sedgwick and Steven Baines decided to fit a 1959 Leyland Beaver engine to an E27N Fordson Major, they faced a different set of problems from the....