The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

I am thinking of buying a Super Major based County Crawler (P55?).
I know a bit about the Super skid unit and the basics of tracks and rollers but what else should I look out for on the crawler frame and castings etc.
All advice welcome.

If you know about the skid unit, additional crawler related issues are track condition (how worn grouser plates are), condition of rear sprockets (these can be turned to wear either side) should not be too pointed, idlers on bottom have replaceable "tyres" these wear on the insides and cause the track to jump off when cornering. See how far forward the front main idler wheels are, if they have been adjusted right to the end of the frame then the track gear has seen some wear.
Assuming its running steering clutches and brakes are easy to test.
Many have been retro fitted with hydraulics and a PTO. If it is fitted with the correct rear drawbar (much heavier than normal major) it will need a raised PTO to pull any trailed PTO implements.
Regards, Ed

Bodywork wise, the bits that often go missing are the side panels covering the engine from debris dropping off the tracks, these fetch several hundreds of pounds if you can find a pair. Many were fitted with a raised air intake to reduce the dust drawn into the engine. The exhaust is also taller than that of a major as the seat position is slightly higher. Rear seat frame (narrower on the later P55 models) rusts well but are usually repairable.
Check for county serial plate usually fitted on front N/S near fuel tank.

Thanks to Ed for his advice. I went to an auction today where there was the Super Major P55 crawler coloured yellow (industrial?). The tracks appeared to be well worn, were fully extended and links were so thin you could have shaved with them. It made about £3000.
A second County Crawler, I guess about 1957, had what I thought to be very good tracks and the engine sounded fine. Was said to have been in running order. Top bid was £2000 which didn't meet the reserve. On reflection might be worth finding out what the reserve is. I'll post again if I buy it and need some help.

Just goes to show today`s rubbish is tomorrows collectable. I owned a county crawler bulldozer around 1976, it shed its tracks once too often so we whipped the engine out and put it in a major based Dinkum? digger and sold the rest for scrap. When I say sold it was £20 to have it cut up and removed .
The digger was sold and the new owner did a bit of ditching and pulled the gearbox / back axle apart . I wonder if its still stuck in his ditch?