The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

hello all! I am so glad to be writing this!
After i finished som topping i drove the vac-major into its shed and did a quick re-torque of its head,having completed the job i started it up just to hear it purr.Only trouble was it was parked in 4th gear and i was standing on the dirt floor next to it!
Before you could say "dangerous procedure" the thing charged for the wall and tried to flatten it with me hanging on to the steering wheel .when the wall held "just" she tried to climb it and the rear wheels ploughed themselves into the ground.luckiley i just maneged to keep my legs from beeing grabed.Finaley I got hold of the fuel-stop and things calmed down.
I think if we hadent been parked so close to the wall it might have run me down and i would not be writing this.

OMG (Oh My God) Glad your OK. Hope your pants were not to brown.

Thanks Jim,
Well a quick change of undies and I was ready to go again!

Well Sven,
We are more then happy all is well with you. Could have been worse!
We just may not forget we are working with old machines and the newer safety stuff weren't available at that time.

I have tied a cord to the engine stop lever when my son was learning to drive, 'just in case' I've also devised a spring loaded stop for when I get round to driving my saw bench from the pulley boss with a prop shaft, pull the 'kill' cord, a peg comes out and a big spring snaps it shut.

Delighted to hear you are undamaged but of more concern is how it occurred, did it start unasked or was it running and slipped into gear ?? if the latter then you may have a detent problem, my series 1 landrover suddenly 'stuck' when pointing uphill at a stop light, (in 1st with my foot on the clutch) restarting in neutral gave reverse ! I found the reverse detent ball had been nipped up by an overlong bolt above it having deformed the aluminium above it allowing the shaft to slide back into gear with the vibration, not sure what holds the shafts in the Major but perhaps worth a check if that is what happened. I've heard of similar where rust or mud has disabled them, but not on a tractor.

Better a change of underpants than an afternoon out with the undertaker and thanks for highlighting the problem.

I got into the habit of leaving tractors and cars in gear when parked. In the UK in the 1960's our winters were much colder than now. Mud on brake mechanisms would freeze and be impossible to free in the morning.
Also parked crawler tractors on thick straw overnight to prevent the cracks becoming stuck to the ground.
Still leave my car in gear, force of habit, when parked. Causes problems when others borrow the car.

I also have a bad habit of starting my Majors while standing on the ground beside them. I always check twice to be sure the transmission is in neutral, but it's still a bad habit. The only safe way to start any tractor is while sitting in the seat. I'm glad that you are ok. I hope your Major and your barn are ok too.

Hello all
thanks for your comments,the accident was entirley my fault for not making sure the tractor was in neutral and to make things worse the throttle was fully on and the engine warm.
the shed were the major is parked is devided by a wooden wall,on the other side we keep some goats (ecological).This wall luckiley stopped the major and now needs a little bit of repair.
The major itself seems unmarked excpt for a broken rev-counter cable,I mistook it for the fuel-stop in the excitement.From now on I start from the drivers seat,always!

Glad you are allright.
Just as JC writes, take a seat.

It doesn't help that starter and stopper are on opposite sides of the tractor if you are not sitting on it

One thing Ferguson addressed on the LGM (there must have been a history even then of 'in gear' startups back then) with the gear lever needing to be in a neutral position before the solenoid energises.

'Oh Guardian of oily rag wielders everywhere, please leave me enough memory to survive another day in the workshop'

I have many bad habits including this one. I hope to learn from this.

If my near -miss could help prevent you or someone else getting hurt that would be great

Food for thought! I am another one who starts my tractor (cold starts, at least) while standing beside it, for no particular reason, except that climbing aboard gives the engine a few seconds to warm up before driving off?
I have recently had to change the turbo on my wife's car, and have given her a lecture on the need for a turbocharged engine to be allowed to idle for a short time after a cold start, to allow the oil to reach the turbo, before driving off at high speed. I must admit I'm not sure if she was actually listening though

My 'other' tractor is a Ford 7710, which has a turbo - and can only be started with the clutch pedal depressed, so you have to be in the seat. The Major must have been one of the last tractors (and certainly the last Ford) that you could start in gear like that?

Glad you are ok Sven, and thankyou for sharing your experience - it will make us all think!