Tractor and Engine
Picture Page
These pictures are
of some of my Tractors and Engines and a couple of others that
you may find interesting.
This is my first Fordson E27N after restoration. The
colours are Empire Blue and Fordson Orange. The engine is a 27
HP Petrol/TVO flat head design which hadn't much changed since
1920's !. A bit confusing to drive as the clutch is operated by
the right foot pedal and the rear wheel only brakes are operated
by the left foot.
This is my second E27N. It has a Perkins L4 diesel
conversion giving 45 HP at higher revs so I can go faster up hills
easier. I bought from a Guy in Wales where it was fitted with
twin rear wheels but they were very awkward so I didn't refit
them after restoration.
The winch fitted is a Lainchbury Engineers of Oxford
model and was used for manoeuvring a Threshing machine for most
of it's life.
This tractor is an Earnest Doe of Essex conversion
where two Fordson tractors were joined together so as to give
extra power and traction when ploughing the heavy Essex clay soil.
A bit difficult to drive especially trying to come out of a road
junction. Surprisingly it is very manoeuvrable with a turning
circle equal to its length.
This is a Photo of a Fowler Gyrotiller used in the
30's and 40's for bringing rough land into cultivation. This machine
is a monster and aroused a lot of interest at the Great Dorset
Steam Fair, Devon.
This is my Lister type "J" 4.5HP petrol engine.
The magneto is a Bosch flick model firing at the top of every
stroke. The starting handle is setup so that the engine is cranked
anti-clockwise as the belt pulley is fitted to the other end of
the crankshaft. The carburettor does not have a float chamber,
the fuel is constantly pumped up from the tank and the excess
overflows the bowl and runs back down into the tank.
This is a Standard Fordson tractor adapted to reverse
into a dung/manure heap and deliver the contents via the elevators
into a waiting cart for spreading on the fields. Better than the
previous method of doing it by hand fork but still a messy job.
The tracks are 'Rotoped' tracks which are moved by a system of
chains to enable the central wheel to roll over the sections.
This a drainage trench digger fitted onto a Fordson
New Major. With all this weight on the rear of the tractor, counterbalance
was achieved by having front wheels of steel filled with concrete.
The working speed of this machine was only about 1 MPH leaving
the operator to concentrate on adjusting the depth etc.
Here's my Fordson E27N L4 conversion sitting outside
my previous house while I was working on it.
The fellow in his "throne" is my Westie Fergus
who is on guard with his lead attached to the front tow pintle.
This is owned by a friend, Jimmy Thomas. It is a Field
Marshal single cylinder Tractor. It is normally started by first
unscrewing a tube from the cylinder head (you can see it in the
square hole in the front of the engine cover) and fitting a glowing
element like a cigarette end. Once screwed back and smouldering
then the exhaust valve lifter is set onto a groove on the flywheel.
All you have to do now is fit the huge and heavy starting handle
into the flywheel and crank as hard as you can. After the flywheel
has rotated without compression for I think six turns then the
valve lifter drops and on the next compression stroke the diesel
is ignited from the smouldering element and it starts up. That’s
the theory, the practice is it takes more than one attempt to
start it and each set of cranking severely exhausts you!! As an
alternative a 12 gauge starting cartridge is installed into it's
fitting and with the piston at the top of compression it is set
off. With a cough and bang it should have started.
With a large bore single cylinder engine mounted horizontally
it really does shake and on tickover the whole tractor rocks to
and fro quite violently. In use it also spits out large soot smuts
from its exhaust.
I
hope you have enjoyed my tractor and engine pictures, thank you
for being patient during the download.
Follow these links to my other pages.
Go to my Hobby Page
Go to my Home Page
Go to my Vintage Tractor Page
Go to my Restoration and Preservation
Links Page
Go to my DUKW page 1
Go to my DUKW page 2
Go to my DUKW page 3
Go to my DUKW pictures page
Go to my Pet Pictures Page