A little bit of history.

Post by **Brian** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 3:12 pm

These pictures came into my hands today, they show the J.J.Wright and Sons Royal Norfolk Show stand sometime in the late 1950's

Note the StaDry cab, the last word in operator comfort!

All the Majors are 1957 series ones, the presence of Dextas on the stand mean that it was 1958, a month before the introduction of the Power Major. Note that one Dexta is less lights.

The tractor drivers were NOT Wrights service staff!!

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:15 pm

i wonder what was used for the ignition switch if no lights were fitted to the dexta? or was the lighting part of the switch not connected?

Pascal · Post by **Pascal** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:15 pm

Great pictures, Brian!!
If you have any more, please do not hestitate to post them.

Mervyn Spencer · Post by **Mervyn Spencer** » Sat Aug 21, 2010 11:53 am

Brian

Even on those black and white photos' it is possible to make out that those grills were not orange when you compare the shades of grey on the wheel rims and grill. I'm still in support of your version that they were orange.

Mervyn

Post by **Brian** » Sat Aug 21, 2010 2:24 pm

I was not going to mention that Mervyn!

To our eyes, they are blue here, and we have gone over the originals with a glass!!

I am passing copies on to Mrs Wright who lives in our village and will ask if she still has any coloured versions. She is a very old lady now and a bit frail, but her husband might have kept some.

Mervyn Spencer · Post by **Mervyn Spencer** » Sat Aug 21, 2010 2:38 pm

Thanks Brian, I look forward to more great pictures.

Bensdexta · Post by **Bensdexta** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:08 pm

Who are the people in the pics (apart from the drivers

)

Perhaps Mrs Wright might know?

Post by **Brian** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 5:00 pm

I knew them all personally but I do not have permission to reveal names. They were salesmen for Wrights and the lady is the wife of one of them.

Bensdexta · Post by **Bensdexta** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 5:25 pm

I forgot you used to work for JJ Wright.

It is sad they are no longer in business - outlived by the products they sold, like quite a few other dealers.

Frans · Post by **Frans** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:00 pm

Brian, do you have som pics of farmers fro that time I would like tohave some clothing from that time but have no idee what they wore (wear ??) at that time ??

Post by **Brian** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:51 am

My father wore hessian sacks Franz!

One over his head in the rain, one over his shoulders, one round his legs when driving the cab-less Major.

Normally they were just old clothes and cast-offs but here in Norfolk they had things called "buskins". They wore hob-nail boots, leather boots with studs or nails in the soles and metal plates on the heel and toe. The buskins went around the calves of the legs and were made of very thick leather with laces up the sides.

I have some very old photgraphs from my parents which go back to the 1920's which I will look out and post them over the next few months if you are interested.

Frans · Post by **Frans** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:21 pm

I would love to see them, I have a pic from my granddad I will post that as soon I get my PC back I am mostly intested in pic from the 60 th's so I can buy some clothing to wear at shows from our club, they are all in dutch clothing but its an englisch tractor

dexta4 · Post by **dexta4** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:26 pm

great pictures

just noticed the major and dexta with no lights have what looks a live drive badge on the grill which doesn't ad up if it was 1958? unless its a dealer name badge or somthing else ??

JC · Post by JC » Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:40 am

Those are great pictures, Brian. If you have any more from that era, I'd sure like to see them.

Dexta4,
I think that live drive first appeared on Majors in March of 1957.

dexta4 · Post by **dexta4** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:45 am

wasn't sure when it appeared on the majors but the dexta was later?

Post by **Brian** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:33 am

Live clutch on Dexta tractors was available from Novenber 1957, from the introduction of the tractor.

Gman · Post by **Gman** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:40 pm

Brian wrote:Live clutch on Dexta tractors was available from Novenber 1957, from the introduction of the tractor.

Hi Brian, great pics. When did the live clutch start on the Major?
Thanks

dexta4 · Post by **dexta4** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:05 pm

Brian wrote:Live clutch on Dexta tractors was available from Novenber 1957, from the introduction of the tractor.

well as they say you learn somthing everyday! i've read it somewhere it was an option from 1960!!

Post by **Brian** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:33 pm

Not according to the Fordson parts book. Dual clutch became available in November 1957.

They did do some gearbox changes and ratio changes around 1960 around the time the petrol was introduced.

The pictures have been confirmed as June 1958 by the owner.

dexta4 · Post by **dexta4** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 9:18 pm

i was meaning i'd done the learning !

Post by **Brian** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:18 am

Dexta4

Sorry, that sounded a bit short and it was not meant to be

We have been going over the same points here, me and the old Wrights men, trying to get a date because the pictures did not seem to be correct.

All the people in the pictures apart from the lady, have passed on and we have been talking to the families.

The lady got back to my contact a couple of days ago and confirmed when the picture was taken. The original estimate was 1960's but none of us agreed with that.

The Swanndri Guy · Post by **The Swanndri Guy** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:58 am

Brian, are the "drivers" the same as used at the Dexta launch at Alexandra Palace from 19-26 November 1957?

Post by **Brian** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 8:43 am

That is quite possible!

We thought that it was a Ford based display, so is possibly the same one.

We used to get a lot of stuff like that as well as getting tractors from Boreham to sell.

dexta4 · Post by **dexta4** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 9:11 pm

Brian wrote:Dexta4

Sorry, that sounded a bit short and it was not meant to be

We have been going over the same points here, me and the old Wrights men, trying to get a date because the pictures did not seem to be correct.

All the people in the pictures apart from the lady, have passed on and we have been talking to the families.

The lady got back to my contact a couple of days ago and confirmed when the picture was taken. The original estimate was 1960's but none of us agreed with that.

thats ok

i could have wrote it better! this is bad news for me knowing that the dexta was launched with the live drive option, i have alot of banter with mf 35 owners and as i'm taking the mickey out of they're poor hydraulics they get back at me about the high pedal position when using the clutch for the pto saying i must have a sore chin where my knee hits it!! and i've always said it was the only way they could have adapted it for live drive when they introduced it!! now what do i say??

Frans · Post by **Frans** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:20 pm

Her eis a pic my granddad made in the early 30th in Berlin he was going to school there, he had written beside the pic The bilding of the olympic stadion for the 1936 games