The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello everyone... I am Alistair, new here so thought I would tell you a bit about myself..
I am 55 and started farming on my own in 1983 on a small farm which I got the chance to rent, with a 1961 single-clutch Super Major. It served me well for about 3 years when I was able to buy a Leyland 344, more modern with a cab, loader and more usable hydraulics/pto, so I stupidly sold the Major

Nowadays we have a 140 acre farm, and I work part-time on a much bigger unit; the last few years we have rented out this place to a neighbour, but I have now decided to run it myself again, and have bought 9 calves, some sheep, and a Czech girlfriend I still have the Leyland although it is now very tired; and also have a Ford 7710, and a 1957 Major Mk2 Live-drive. (also a dead '55 Major, a '48 Ferguson P3, and a '56 Ferguson TEF20, none of which run, they are my projects for when I get bored)

Once I have worked out how, I will post photos, I know everyone on forums likes photos.

Ok so this is my original, Super Major, this photo taken 1983 I think.. I used this initially with the MF 794 2-furrow plough which I already had, but then I got a set of wheel weights and a 3-furrow Kverneland, which was a good match..



..and the following year, same field.. I normally used dad's Zetor for baling, but it broke down so I used this - awkward with the single clutch!



..and this was taken this year, my current Major (and girlfriend..)
Some previous owner of the tractor had painted the wings and wheels white, perhaps to try to fool his neighbours into thinking he had bought a New Performance.. but apart from the wheels and Duncan non-safety cab, it is quite original, and a good working tractor

Hi Alistair & welcome - obviously figured out the picture posting, shame your old one didn't make it but probably ended up running on for years as bits in others tractors.

Congratulations on the purchases and projects, while there are plenty of majors advertised in the comic, I'd not spotted the Czech Girlfriend section (unless the readers WAGs is different in the comic you take Mind you T & M have just lost a customer with their new money grabbing idea of a seperate ads paper, I am currently browsing for a new comic (well once the Doe restoration series completes)

Anyhow there will be others along to welcome you soon enough, its a very friendly bunch and a super resource for all sorts of things, not just Fordson.

I haven't read T & M for a while, although I do read Classic Tractor every month, it's about tractors working for a living whereas I wasn't so interested in the rallies and road runs and 'hobbyist' tractor owners (no disrespect) in T& M. I keep old tractors because using them reminds me of my youth, a mid-life crisis thing I guess; my mum is from Leicestershire and our summer holidays were always a week at the dairy farm where she grew up, run by her brothers, and my earliest tractor-driving as a kid was scraping slurry with their Major (which I think must have been a Mk2 like mine, certainly Live-Drive and with the dash low-down).

I grew up on a 20-acre 'croft' (smallholding), dad worked full-time as a mechanic and we had a Fergie TEF; he wasn't really interested in farming although I always have been. Incidentally we kept the Fergie although it was never easy to start, I got an engine overhaul kit to renovate it - and then the tractor was stolen when scrap was at its highest a few years ago. Our neighbour drove past and saw someone pushing it onto a trailer, but assumed we'd sold it so didn't stop. So that was that - dad's tractor which he bought in 1967. I do still have, what was our next-door neighbour's TEF when I was a kid, better than our one at the time, I managed to buy it although it was 'spares or repair' needing engine overhaul.

Photos.. I'm on the Leyland forum where posting via Photobucket is exactly the same as here; and also on the Farming Forum, where posting photos is just a couple of clicks.

So this is 1440276, which I bought in 2009 - it has 7.50 x 16 and 13.6 x 36 radial tyres on PM rims, an alternator, and a scruffy cab (possibly originally from a 4000) but otherwise original, I think the bonnet has been brush-painted and the wings are being held together by the cab but it starts and runs well. When I got it i had to fit a new silencer, a starter solenoid, a governor diaphragm, and a seal in the lift cylinder - the lift used to drop quickly, and there was a little wedge of wood which I think the previous owner had used to jam the lift-lever 'up'.. what Massey would call 'Constant Pumping' But now the lift will stay up for days and not drop an inch, although I'm not sure how good the hydraulics are - I have a Ransomes 102 plough and it struggles to lift that, although i don't have any front weights and it waves its front wheels in the air if I drop it in the ground? I would need to drastically shorten the lift rods as I can't lift high enough to turn the plough over cleanly. It's not important, I have a bigger plough and tractor, I'm happy if the Major can saw firewood, and mix concrete (with a Teagle mixer), cut thistles (IH B-23 mower), haybob, pull a 3-ton trailer, etc, etc. It needs hub seals and better brakes, but that'll be a winter job.


I bought this post-hole borer a few months ago, as I have some concrete slats I want to plant as posts; there is no name-plate on it, but I was looking on ebay and found a brochure for it, so had to get that too

Iforgot that I also still have this, JCB 3c with a Super Major underneath (I was told it came from an all-Ford farm, hence the colour)


..and a couple from my day job:


"Are we there yet?" transporting cows to their summer grazing:

Bloody hell, Bob; it looks as if you are going to fit pilings rather than fence posts the way that auger bit is buried. Or are you just 'firing for effect'?
Anyway; welcome to the forum!

Pavel

Just showing off..
It's not as deep as it looks, only the depth of a spade, so about what I used to do when digging in an 8-foot strainer post

I didn't get the tractor end of the pto shaft with the borer, so have been using the one from my sawbench, with square-section; however looking at the brochure, the pto should have a slip clutch at the tractor end, so I have been using it at tickover.. and stalling the engine occasionally on hitting stones

Welcome to the board Bob,

It's like night and day: fordson versus New Holland. In the NH one you only need to pressure some buttons. I went once so fast with it on a speed bump that I almost hit the roof.

Also hello from Aberdeenshire!!!

brendan78 wrote:Also hello from Aberdeenshire!!!

Where abouts are you then? I'm near Turriff now, although my older photos are from Maryculter

Hi I'm about 7 miles from Turriff! Towards Forgue way, small world, originally from Devon!

I've hopefully just finished my power major will add some pics soon as possible

Maybe see you at the roup on Saturday? The 7710 in some of my photos spent most of its working life at Creelwell before it came here, looks like they still run New Hollands (and a Major, Dexta, and TEF20 http://www.anmarts.co.uk/event-details.cfm/eID/175 ).
I'm the opposite side of Turriff, near Cuminestown.

Yes get some photos!

Was thinking of popping along on Saturday but will be too busy, took my power major out tonight and running great, nice to have lights and brakes haha I'll get some photos on tomorrow!