Vintage tractors
Posted
#160980
(In Topic #9133)
Inactive Member
© David Meaden
Posted
Full Member
Posted
Legacy Member
reg
Posted
Full Member
I must say some of those old tractor shots above are quite harrowing
Cheers MIKE
I'm like my avatar - a local ruin!
I'm like my avatar - a local ruin!
Posted
Full Member
Posted
Full Member
The third shot, I think, is a paraffin engined tractor made by Case of USA. I didn't drive that particular model but put rubber tyres on it and you're in my era ………..
During WW2, when tractors really started to take over from horses on farms, rubber tyres were difficult to get hold of so tractors tended to have metal wheels. The 2nd and 3rd shots show what we called "spade lug wheels" - steel wheels with "lugs" bolted on for traction and my word, could they pull !!!!
The 4th and 5th were "modern" tractors when I was a callow youth - the Nuffield 440 diesel engined tractor - the model that powered our local threshing machine whilst the 8th and 9th photos are of an early Fordson Major and Standard Fordson respectively - both again, paraffin (TVO) powered. These "paraffin" tractors had 2 fuel tanks. A small one for petrol and the main one for paraffin - or, more precisely, TVO - Tractor Vapourising Oil, very similar to aviation kerosene. If you look carefully, you can see the 2 filler caps - particularly on the green "Standard" Fordson. From front to rear - the radiator cap, water temperature gauge, TVO filler cap and finally, the filler cap for the small petrol tank.
The "Standard" Fordson also had another peculiarity in that the clutch and brake pedal were one and the same. Press half way down to disengage the clutch and fully down for the brakes (such as they were) ……..:shock::shock:
TVO won't vapourise at low temperatures so the engines were started on pure petrol then, once they reached the operating temperature, a fuel tap was switched over to the TVO tank. Before stopping, we used to turn the tap to "off" until the engine coughed, then turn it to petrol to purge the TVO from the carburetor before switching off otherwise you had no chance of starting it from cold.
'Petermac
Posted
Site staff
Regards
Alan
Born beside the mighty GWR.
Alan
Born beside the mighty GWR.
Posted
Full Member
Sadly it had to go when we moved.
Shaun.
Posted
Full Member
:shock::shock::shock::shock:A good substitute for TVO is ordinary heating oil (central heating boiler and AGA) I used it in my old Petrol/TVO Fergie with no problems.
Sadly it had to go when we moved.
Shaun.
Surely Shaun, domestic heating oil is diesel……………hmm
I wasn't aware diesel would burn in a petrol engine :shock:. Are you sure your grey Fergie wasn't a TF - the diesel version …….? :roll:
'Petermac
Posted
Full Member
When I used to work for Texaco back in the sixties we had to import TVO from Trinidad until they built a cat cracker at the Pembroke refinery.
My Fergie had the twin tank petrol engine engine - but I also had a diesel, that would only start after a whiff of ether…
Shaun.
Posted
Full Member
I really had no idea that, other than having the same origin, heating oil and paraffin/kerosene were so closely related, but more importantly, I didn't know the former would work in petrol engines.
I know what you mean about the squirt of "Easy Start" into the air intake. In days of yore, many diesel tractors had a liking for the stuff and refused to start without their "fix" ………;-)
Presumably your diesel Fergie had that little button on the side of the transmission box that you pushed in with your heel whilst operating the starter via the gear lever (which would only work with the clutch depressed) ………………opposite reverse if memory serves me rightly …..:roll::roll:
'Petermac
Posted
Inactive Member
Yes it was at the Salop Steam Rally this bank holiday weekend just past. Although it is a steam rally there are lots of non-steam vehicles there as well including the various tractors, buses, lorries and cars I have posted pictures of.Can you remember where the tractor rally was David?
regards
David
Posted
Legacy Member
reg
Posted
Full Member
Got to watch this one running the saw mill
1 guest and 0 members have just viewed this.