posted September 25, 2006 09:31               

This will put the cats paw in the mouse hole! (Stefan) .

Barry in Aus. Sent me details of a Major that was sold there that I have never heard of. He is still collecting information but here are the specifications and a picture of the badge for all you badge lovers!

Click here to open a .pdf file with all the details. If you want to download it, then right-click that link and choose "save target as".

Many thanks Barry (and Oscar). The details of the Power Major sold over there are for comparison.

------------------
Kind regards
Brian

posted September 26, 2006 08:41               

More information from Barry today indicates that this tractor was sold until 1962 alongside the Power and the early Super Majors. Looks like it ran until the introduction of the Minimec Pump.

Must have been made in Dagenham or assembled from old stock parts in Australia.

I don't think Stuart Gibbard mentions it in his book on Ford Tractors. Must be a bit like the petrol Dexta that Ford would not admit existed.

posted September 26, 2006 12:16               

Yesterday I could read the leaflet, now not anymore because the image is smaller.

But what is it? A rebadged NewMajor with MKI engine or is it a defueled PowerMajor?

I think the first one, then only the injection pump had to be calibrated different then, which is easier in production.

Might be quite interesting on a show, but it might be difficult to gain attention for a simple "ordinary Ford Major".

posted September 26, 2006 14:20               

Seems like it is the old Fordson Major Diesel with the Mk 2 engine. Oscar has changed the size this morning.

Possibly Australia wanted a tractor that was cheaper that a Power and around the same HP as a Dexta. Size might have been a thing because they tend to lug implements rather than use the hydraulics. th Dexta would have been too small for that.

Thing is, if it was made at Dagenham, and this was the only production line in the world as far as I know for the Major, they kept it very quiet.

I really cannot see a place for it. Perhaps I'll ask Barry to send me a badge, buy a Major and stick it on. Should cause a bit of a stir like the "rubber injector pipes" on our old ladies.

posted September 26, 2006 19:19               

The fact that even you are surprised Brian, tells us that this is indeed a rare model. Looks like the finding of a new species.
I hope Barry is also capable of showing a few pictures of it.
Who knows what Fordson still has in mind for us.

posted September 26, 2006 21:17               

I was thinking along the same lines as Henk, if Brian was surprised it must be a rare beast!! but an interesting find. I'm sure jomoon will add this side decal to his collection, in fact he may well have done so by now.

Brian could this have been in camouflaged colours and tested in and around the woods of Dagenham?? or an Australian adaptation of the FMD.

Regards,

Barry

posted September 28, 2006 08:05            

I share Brian's excitement over this information . As for the size issue: I had originally uploaded the original documents, without any markings and notices whatsoever. There are people out there who take advantage of that, sadly enough. So I added a notice to the documents, but unfortunately I've had to make them somewhat smaller in order to do that .

If you right-click an image and choose "save as", then you can open the documents from your hard drive with a program like Microsoft Photo Editor (everyone who has MS Office installed on his PC also has Photo Editor - it comes as a package). In Photo Editor, you can zoom in. It gets a bit vague if you go far beyond 100%, but you'll probably be able to read it properly. I plan to make Adobe .pdf files (which allow infinite zooming) of these documents one of these days but I'm very much pressed for time.

posted October 05, 2006 14:00               

Engine Number is 1573379. According to Super Major Parts Book, this is between September 15th and October 17th. 1960.

posted October 05, 2006 17:06               

E1ADKN6714 A, Tecalemit, E1ADKN6731, Fram, E1ADKN1862B Tecalemit, E1ADKN1862B AC, and 957E6731A.

Is the throttle under the steering wheel on the Farm Major? Sounds like the only difference is a de-rated engine.

posted October 07, 2006 07:38               

Your last post described the Farm Major as it should be 'a derated no frills Power Major'.
The Farm Major arrived home yesterday, and as soon as I clean it up abit, we will take some photos.

posted October 07, 2006 08:43               

How about some before and after pictures, always very interesting to see what you have achieved, or is that only people like me who think like that? Look forward to see your progress.

posted October 07, 2006 08:54            

I've uploaded a .pdf file of the scans. You can zoom into them as much as you like . It's a big file (3,8 MB) so if you use a dial-up internet connection it might take a while before you've downloaded it.